BREAKING NEWS

  Following the directive of President Bola Tinubu that all Ministries, Departments and Agencies MDAs should begin the  mandatory procurement of compressed natural gas-powered vehicles, the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative PCNGI has announced a series of activities leading to a nationwide deployment on May 29. Programme Director and Chief Executive of the Initiative, Engr. Michael Oluwagbemi, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja. According to him, President Tinubu will between May 15 and 22 embarked on the virtual commissioning of critical gas supply projects at NNPCL He said; “As part of our commitment to fostering sustainable energy solutions and reducing carbon emissions, PCNGI is embarking on an extensive pre-launch itinerary aimed at engaging stakeholders, showcasing critical gas supply projects, and facilitating the conversion and refueling infrastructure across the nation”. According to him, the PCNGI would engage stakeholders from Oyo, Ogun and Lagos on May 15 whi

  A Federal Capital Territory, FCT, High Court sitting in Maitama has granted former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Godwin Emefiele, a N300 million bail.   This comes following his arraignment on a four-count charge bordering on printing new Naira notes without observing due process. It was earlier reported that Emefiele pleaded not guilty when the charge brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, was read in court today, May 15.   Other conditions attached to the bail include that he should produce two sureties who must each possess titled property within the Maitama area of the FCT. Justice Anenih ordered the defendant to deposit his travel documents with the court, adding that he should not travel outside the country without the permission of the court.   The judge adopted the conditions attached to a similar bail earlier granted Emefiele by Justice Hamza Muazu (another judge of the FCT High Court), before whom he is being tried on anot

  Chinonso Arubayi  Rachel Okonkwo  Laycon Idia Aisien  Toke Makinwa \ Osas Ighodaro Tacha

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attended a reception hosted by the Chief of Defense Staff.   This was after they attended a volleyball game earlier in the day.   During the reception, which held at the Armed Forces Officers Mess & Suites in Abuja, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex received asho oke gifts from Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/CEO of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM).   The couple also danced with Dabiri-Erewa.   The purpose of the visit was to introduce the royal couple to Nigeria's rich socio-cultural heritage and provide an opportunity for the Duchess of Sussex to explore her Nigerian lineage.

  The management of Deeper Life High School have taken to social media to celebrate the exploits of 174 of their students who scored 300 marks and above in this year’s  Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination , UTME. The said students scored between 300 and 362 marks out of possible 400. The feat was disclosed in a Facebook post by the school on Friday, May 10, 2024. “Despite JAMB’s announcement that only around 0.5% of candidates nationwide scored 300 and above in the 2024 UTME, an astounding one hundred and seventy-four (174) students of DLHS exceeded expectations with flying colours by scoring 300 and aboIn another post, the school shared a video with the caption, “Behold the DLHS 2024 UTME heroes and heroines; one hundred and seventy four (174) students who scored 300 and above! Congratulations to the Champions.” According to information from the school’s Facebook page, this year’s highest scorer, Ayeyemi Godsgift Ibukunoluwa, achieved a total score of 362 out of a possible 400

  A Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has barred the Speaker of the state Assembly loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike, and the other 24 lawmakers from parading as members of the  Rivers State House of Assembly . Justice Charles N. Wali gave this order in a case in suit number PHC/1512/CS/2024, filled by Victor Oko Jumbo (Speaker, Rivers State House of Assembly) Sokari Goodboy, Orubienimigha Timothy, members of the Assembly. The suit is against Martin Amaewhule and 24 others, the Governor of Rivers State, the Attorney General of the state, and the Chief Judge of the state. Wali, following the motion  ex parte , and after hearing from Sammie A. Somiari, SAN with B. N. Owunabo, Esq, and others for the claimants/applicants, entered that Amaewhule should stop acting as lawmakers. Recall that Amaewhule and the other 24 of his colleagues had defected from the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, on which they were elected to the  All Progressiv

 

  A Chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Osita Chidoka, has asked President Bola Tinubu to suspend the Lagos-Calabar coastal road project.  Chidoka made this call while speaking in an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today. The former Aviation minister said President Tinubu should suspend the project and subject it to further public conversations.  He said the government should rather improve Nigeria’s inland waterways and build small seaports across the coastal areas to move goods from one coastal city to another by ship.  Chidoka said if he was the President, he would stop the project, considering the controversy it has generated. He said, “Stop it now and subject it to public conversation because the financiers cannot raise finance for this project except if they use budgetary funds to fund it. Nobody can raise finance if they know they had no competitive bidding.” According to him, the award of the contract for the coastal road did not follow due process and t

  Barely 24 hours after the emergence of a factional Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Governor Siminalayi Fubara yesterday paid an unscheduled visit to the House of Assembly quarters located off Aba Road in Port Harcourt. The development comes barely 72 hours after the governor described the Rt. Hon. Martins Amaewhule-led House as non-existent. The Amaewhule-led House has been using the multi-purpose hall of the quarters as their sitting venue following the demolition of a section of the House of Assembly complex located along Moscow Road in Port Harcourt late last year. Speaking to newsmen, Fubara explained that his visit to the residential quarters of the State House of Assembly was to undertake an on-the-spot assessment of condition of the structures for a possible rehabilitation work to restore its status and make it liveable. The governor said: “Is the Assembly quarters not part of my property? Is there anything wrong in going to check how things are going on there?

  The   final of the 2024 Europa League could see three Nigerians chasing glory at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin in Ireland come May 22, PUNCH Sports Extra reports. On Thursday (today), Victor Boniface and Nathan Tella will be in action when high-flying German champions Bayer Leverkusen host Roma at BayArena for the second leg of the semi-finals of the Europa League. For the second season running the two clubs are meeting in the semi-finals, but events in the first leg make the new German champions favourites to overturn last year’s result. Leverkusen took a giant stride towards meeting either Marseille or Atalanta in the final by running out 2-0 winners at Stadio Olimpico.With one foot in the Europa League final, Leverkusen will hope to preserve their 48-game unbeaten runs and set a new record for the longest unbeaten streak. Benfica’s longstanding European record – set between December 1963 and February 1965 – has now been matched, so keeping Roma at bay would cement their place in histo

  The Federal and Lagos State Governments through the Renewed Hope Housing initiative is set to provide over 2,000 home units to residents in Ipaja and Ibeju Lekki, as part of efforts at bridging accommodation deficit in Lagos.  Meanwhile, the Lagos Mortgage Board had allocated a total of 4,096 affordable home units through mortgage or rent to own in the past nine years of existence.  Also, the state government through Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority, LASRERA, had recovered the sum of N78, 134,000 and 18 properties on behalf of third parties through mediation process between tenants, land buyers, and fraudulent estate agents, lands vendors and developers. The state government also disclosed plans to commence allocation of some of housing schemes through the ballot process.  The state Commissioner for Housing, Moruf Akinderu-Fatai, made the remarks on Thursday, during the Ministerial Briefing to commemorate the first anniversary of the second term in office of Mr Babajide S

  A Federal High Court in Abuja has granted bail to former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika; his daughter, and two others in the sum of ₦100 million with two sureties. The sureties, according to the court, must have landed properties in Abuja and also responsible citizens. Also, the sureties must depose to an affidavit of means. The court also restricted the defendants from travelling abroad without its permission. Justice Oriji ordered that the defendants be remanded in prison custody if they failed to meet their bail conditions. The allegations Recall that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, in April, took the ex-aviation minister into custody and grilled him for days. The anti-graft agency then slammed six six-count charge on Hadi Sirika, his daughter, and two others. The anti-graft agency accused Sirika of conferring undue advantage on some entities between April 2022 and March 2023 in Abuja. EFCC alleged that Sirika abused his office by awarding N1.3 billion consu

  Iran has warned its adversaries the US and Israel that it could be pushed into building a nuclear weapon if Israel threatens its existence. “We have no decision to build a nuclear bomb but should Iran’s existence be threatened, there will be no choice but to change our military doctrine,” said Kamal Kharrazi, an adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Thursday, May 9 .“In the case of an attack on our nuclear facilities by the Zionist regime, our deterrence will change,” he was reported as saying by Iran’s Student News Network.   Khamenei, who has the final say on Nuclear projects, banned the development of nuclear weapons in a fatwa, or religious edict, in the early 2000s, saying it is “haram”, or forbidden in Islam. But in 2021, Iran’s then-intelligence minister said Western pressure could push the Islamic republic to seek nuclear weapons. Iran is enriching uranium to up to 60 percent purity, whereas weapons-grade uranium is enriched to about 90 percent. If the current

  An Islamic cleric, Ahmed Ojo, has reportedly set fire to his wife’s house in the Egbe Odo area of Isua Ijesa in Ekiti State after she refused to join him in observing a late-night prayer   Speaking in an exclusive interview with the  punch  on Wednesday, May 8, 2024, the wife, Bosede Afolabi, disclosed that the incident happened on April 27 when her husband returned home and requested that they observe a prayer around 11 pm on the said date, a request she declined because she was tired.   Afolabi disclosed that her refusal to participate in the prayer angered her husband, who began causing trouble that prompted her to invite neighbours to appease him.   She further stated that all efforts to make her husband understand that she was tired after a stressful day at work proved futile, and when she realised he was becoming violent, she left the house to sleep at a neighbour’s house   “At about midnight, a girl from our neighbourhood came to knock on the house to inform us that my house w