Month: September 2020

Marketers demand cheaper, cleaner alternatives to petrol, diesel as Nigeria battles deregulation fallout

ADEOLA YUSUF

  There must be cheaper and cleaner alternatives to petrol and diesel made available to the public especially now that full deregulation of the Nigerian Petroleum downstream sector commenced, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) has said. The group also added that Nigeria could develop into the refining hub for West and Central Africa becoming a net exporter of refined products following Federal Government’s new policies on alternative energy, total deregulation, liberalization of the petroleum downstream sector and the coming on stream of new modular refineries. The association, in…

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Egypt begins hunting for African Cup of Nations Gold Trophy Stolen Since 2013

ADEOLA YUSUF

The sports ministry said Wednesday it has referred a probe into a missing African Cup of Nations trophy which Egypt has possessed since 2010 to the prosecutor general after a string of explosive allegations. “The ministry of youth and sports has referred the file of the loss of some important silverware from the warehouses of the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) to the prosecutor general,” it said in a brief statement on its Facebook page. The investigation was launched last week when celebrated ex-national goalkeeper Ahmed Shobair said the EFA found…

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Nigeria’s 16,000 Striking Doctors, others received N20bn COVID-19 Allowances before strike, Says Minister

ADEOLA YUSUF

The 16,000 doctors who have started a strike in Nigeria have, together with other health workers, being paid up to N20 billion COVID-19 inducement allowances, country’s Junior Health minister, Olorunnimbe Mamora, has declared. Mamora who said this on a Channels Television‘s programme, Sunrise Daily, monitored by Platforms Africa in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, however did not give the full breakdown of the payment. It would be recalled that about 16,000 doctors in the West African biggest economy have downed tool over the government’s inability to meet their demands including insurance package, payment…

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Strange illness strikes Oxford COVID-19 vaccine Volunteer, Clinical trial paused

ADEOLA YUSUF

  A volounteer for Clinical trials of one of the most advanced experimental Covid-19 vaccines, which is being developed by pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and Oxford University, has developed a strange and unexplained illness leading to a forceful “pause” of the trial. A spokesperson for the AstraZeneca vaccine said in a statement Tuesday that “we voluntarily paused vaccination to allow a review of safety data by an independent committee. “This is a routine action which has to happen whenever there is a potentially unexplained illness in one of the trials, while…

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Drums of War in Kenya as President Kenyatta, Deputy’s allies fight dirty

ADEOLA YUSUF

  Kenya Opposition party leader Raila Odinga speaks after a meeting with Maa community leaders from Kajiado at his Capitol Hill office on August 8, 2020, alleging plans by elements in the country’s politics of dragging Kenya to the fourth civil war in the last 28 years. Allies of Deputy President William Ruto have gone personal with President Uhuru Kenyatta and his family with Opposition chief Raila Odinga warning of a “plot” by some politicians to take Kenya to war. Uhuru’s cousin Beth Mugo linked Ruto to the attacks by…

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ExxonMobil Slates Thousands Staff for Sack, Faces $48bn Revenues’ Shorfall

ADEOLA YUSUF

   10 % of ExxonMobil’s staff to go as oil multi-national slips from top U.S. firms’ index first time in 92 years The United States (U.S) oil supermajor with strong footprints in Africa and across the World, ExconMobil Corporation, will sack 10 per cent of its workforce as it suffered a downgrade from top U.S. firms after 92 years. Reuters, which stated this in a report, added that the gale of mass disengagement which will blow across the U.S staff strength of the multinational, will affect thousands of staff. The…

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FCMB, Customer In N5bn Legal Battle + Link to Ngeria’s Suspended EFCC Chairman, Magu

ADEOLA YUSUF

A customer of First Monument Bank Plc (FCMB)  who is the General Overseer, Divine Hand of God Prophetic Ministry, Prophet Emmanuel Omale, has sued the Bank Plc for N5 billion. Omale, who claims to be the spiritual guide of the suspended acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Magu, said FCMB falsely reported to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit that N570m was paid into his church account, thereby, leading to accusations that the money was used in purchasing a house in Dubai for Magu. The suit marked…

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Why Nigerian new Lawyers’ Parents, Friends barred From Attending Sept 15 Call To Bar

ADEOLA YUSUF

  The Nigerian Body of Benchers has given reasons for restraining parents, guardians and well-wishers of new lawyers also known as bar aspirants from attending the call-to-bar ceremony scheduled to hold at the Eagle Square, Abuja on September 15. Before this restraint, the Body of Benchers which regulates the admission of successful law students into the legal profession used to give each aspiring lawyers the privilege of inviting two persons to attend the Call to Bar ceremony. However, the body, in a notice issued on Tuesday, September 8, 2020 stated…

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Nigeria’s N10.4trn fuel subsidy spending can build, equip 38 units World Class 500-bed hospitals – Checks

ADEOLA YUSUF

The Nigerian Government has spent a whooping N10.413 trillion on fuel subsidy between 2006 and 2019, a period of 14 years, an amount less than what it required to construct and fully equip 38 units of 500-bed World Class Hospitals, checks by Platforms Africa has revealed. The country’s Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who said this at a media briefing in Abuja, country’s administrative capital, maintained that the quantum of fund spent subsidising petroleum products during that period translated to an average of N743.8 billion per annum.…

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Union Bank staff arraigned over alleged N80m fraud + Why EFCC wanted him Jailed

ADEOLA YUSUF

The Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has arraigned Kola Oduwole, an employee of Union Bank, for an alleged fraud involving the sum of N80 million. Oduwole was brought before Justice Musa Danladi of the Katsina State High Court by the Kano Zonal Office of the EFCC on six counts bordering on forgery and fraud. Oduwole was alleged to have forged signatures of the Relationship Manager of the bank on three fixed deposit certificates, presented same to some customers and subsequently got customers to deposit their funds…

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