General News

Investment By Peter Ejiofor London, Dec. 25, 2024: Dr Akaninyene Friday Willie, the President of  Akwa Ibom Indigenes Organisation South Africa (AIIOSA), has urged their relatives in the Diaspora to begin to invest in areas that would promote all-round development of Akwa Ibom State. Akaninyene, who made the call in his Christmas message to the people of Akwa Ibom, said that it was time for the people of the state in the Diaspora to think about home and ways to develop huge resources the state was endowed with using their …

By Paul Ejime Abuja, Dec. 25, 2025 – According to experts, Human intelligence refers to the “intellectual capability of humans, marked by complex cognitive feats and high levels of motivation and self-awareness.”  Since human intelligence is partly linked to the structure and genes of the human brain, it is also believed that intelligence could be “enhanced” using “genetic engineering,” a process sometimes called “biological uplift” in science fiction. Indeed, “genetic enhancement experiments on mice have demonstrated superior ability in learning and memory in various behavioural tasks.” But this reflection is …

Port Harcourt, Dec. 25, 2024 – Siminalayi Fubara, the Governor of Rivers State, has approved ₦100,000 Christmas bonus for workers and pensioners in the state. George Nwaeke, the State Head of Service, announced this in a statement on Tuesday.  He said the bonus was given to enable workers and senior citizens have a fulfilled Christmas celebration. This is the second time that Fubara would be giving Christmas bonus to the tune of N100,000 to civil servants in the state. (GBN)

By Chidi Anselm Odinkalu Lagos, Dec. 24, 2024 – In 1991, Nigeria was in the full throes of the interminable transition to civil rule programme of General Ibrahim Babangida. The effort by the regime in 1991 to relocate their terminal date from 1992 to 1993 coincided with a planned meeting in Ibadan, south-west Nigeria, of the leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS). At that time, security agencies had secreted on major campuses around the country, assets masquerading as students. The University of Ibadan was no exception. The …

By Paul Ejime Abuja, Dec. 23, 2024 – Archbishop Michael Francis Crotty, the Papal Nuncio to Nigeria and ECOWAS, celebrated his first Mass at Our Lady Queen of Nigeria (OLQN) Pro-Cathedral in the Abuja Archdiocese on Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024 with 244 candidates receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation. The Irish diplomat-cum-prelate used the occasion to explain his dual role as representative of Pope Francis, head of more than one billion Catholics worldwide in Nigeria in a religious and diplomatic capacity. The Pope is also Head of State of the Holy …

Washington, Dec. 23, 2024 – President Joe Biden is commuting the sentences of 37 inmates on federal death row, the White House announced Monday. The move is coming not even two weeks after he went through with the “largest single-day grant of clemency in American history. Biden is commuting sentences of 37 out of the 40 inmates on federal death row, reclassifying their sentences to life without the possibility of parole. The three inmates not included are: Robert Bowers, who is responsible for the mass shooting at the Tree of Life …

Abuja, Dec. 22, 2024 – The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on the National Assembly to cut the bogus budget allocations for the presidency and National Assembly contained in the 2025 federal budget. SERAP made the demand in a letter to the National Assembly dated Dec.21 2024. It said the N9.4 billion earmarked for travel, meals, and catering for the presidency and the N344.85 billion proposed the for lawmakers in the budget were extravagant. SERAP said these figures reflected unnecessary spending that could be redirected to address …

Abuja, Dec. 22, 2024 – The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a businessman, Olisaka Chibuzo Calistus, for attempting to smuggle 256 wraps of cocaine hidden on his body into the country through the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) Kano. Femi Babafemi, the NDLEA Spokesman, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday. He said the seized drugs, weighing six kilogrammes, was the single largest cocaine consignment intercepted at the Kano Airport since the creation of MAKIA Command of NDLEA in 2006. The NDLEA said the seizure was …

Onitsha, Dec. 22, 2024 – The police in Anambra State have confirmed that 22 persons were killed during a stampede in Okija in Ihiala Local Government Area of the state on Saturday. Tochukwu Ikenga, the State Police Spokesman, gave the figures in a statement on Sunday. He said the people were killed during a stampede at an event where they were sharing bags of rice donated by a philanthropist through a foundation when the incident happened. The statement said the State Commissioner of Police, Nnaghe Obono, confirmed the casualty figures …

….jointly chart a path for improved food safety and quality Abuja, Dec. 22, 2024 – The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and members of the Association of Food Beverages and Tobacco Employers (AFBTE) have agreed to collaborate further to ensure that a food safety culture is entrenched in Nigeria. The decision to jointly chart a new path for food safety in the country was reached in Lagos on Friday at the 2024 End-of-Year Stakeholders’ dialogue where both sides had frank discussions on ensuring food safety …