October 30, 2020 – Platformsafrica

NO WAY! Soldiers deny #ENDSARS judicial panel access to military mortuary

October 30, 2020October 30, 2020 Gbenga Adeoti

Soldiers have barred the Lagos judicial panel on #EndSARS from assessing the Mortuary of Military Hospital in Ikoyi The men of the Nigerian Army who are manning the gate of the mortuary stopped the panel, which unannounced, on Friday went to the hospital on investigation into the shooting at Lekki tollgate where 15 protesters were reportedly killed, a report by The Cable read. Ebun Adegoruwa, a member of the panel, who confirmed this, reportedly told soldiers, who stopped them at the gate, that the panel came to the hospital…

NTA Senior Journalist, Tunde Saiki, dies inside Lagos Office + PHOTO

October 30, 2020October 30, 2020 Wonuola Olujobi

A senior journalist with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Mr. Tunde Saiki, is dead. Chairman of Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Lagos Council, Dr. Qasim Akinreti, who confirmed Saiki’s death, noted that the senior journalist died at the Victoria Island, Lagos Office of the Television station on Friday morning. “Dear colleagues, we just lost one of our members in NTA Victorial Island chapel , Mr. Tunde Saiki . “According to the text message from the NTA Chapel chairman, Tunde died in the office this morning and his corpse deposited at…

EKEDC rolls out 100,000 pre-paid Meters, says better days ahead

October 30, 2020October 30, 2020 Damola Oyede

Leading power utility firm in Nigeria, Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC), has rolled out 100,000 pre-paid meters for electricity consumers under its areas of franchise in the first phase of National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP). Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the company, Engineer Adeoye Fadeyibi, who stated this during the flag off of NMMP, declared that with the scheme, “we can begin to say we are on a path to better days ahead.” This is because, according to Fadebiyi, in the “next 18-24 months, Over 6…

Apprehension as Tanzania opposition rejects election result

October 30, 2020October 30, 2020 Aoko Benjamin

Opposition candidate in the Tanzanian Presidential Election, Tundu Lissu, has described election in the country as ‘spitting in the face of democracy.’ Tanzania’s main opposition presidential candidate, Tundu Lissu, on Thursday declared he would not recognise the election result as key seats fell to the governing party in a vote he said was marred by irregularities. Counting was taking place across Tanzania and its semi-autonomous archipelago Zanzibar – which also elects its own president and legislators – where early results showed the opposition losing seats in some traditional strongholds. President…

ExxonMobil slates 14,000 Workers for Mass Sack

October 30, 2020 Efe Wellington

Exxon Mobil Corporation has announced that it would reduce its global workforce by 14,000 being the 15% of the workforce by the end of 2022. The announcement of this unprecedented culling by North America’s biggest oil explorer was made on Thursday, October 19, 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic hits energy demand, prices, and struggles to preserve dividends. . ExxonMobil said on Thursday that it will cut around 1,900 jobs in the United States in its latest attempt to cut costs and protect its balance sheet amid low oil prices and weak global…

How Truck Crushed 21 Nigerian school pupils, others to death

October 30, 2020 Precious Ibekwe

Tears flowed freely in Awgu town, Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu State, Sourh East Nigeria as a truck crushed 21 school pupils to death. Many other children including roadside artisans were also critically injured in the accident. The schoolchildren were crushed to death when an articulated vehicle, a low-bed, ran into a fully-loaded 608 Mercedes Benz bus conveying school children and their teachers. The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), yesterday, confirmed that no fewer than 21 persons lost their lives in the auto crash on the old Enugu–Okigwe…

Nigeria, DisCos begin 6m pre-paid meters’ distribution

October 30, 2020 Damola Oyede

The Nigerian government and electricity distribution companies (DisCos) have begun the new metering scheme which is targetted at 6 million customers. The Government and the organized labour have earlier agreed to provide a tariff relief of N10.20 per kilowatt-hour for Nigerians for the next 3 months and also distribute 6 million meters following the completion of the 2 weeks suspension of electricity tariff. Platforms Africa gathered exclusively that the metering will begin on Friday, October 30, 2020 with a pilot scheme slated to take place at Eko Electricity Distribution…

ExxonMobil embargoes Dividend increase first time in 18 Years

October 30, 2020 Efe Wellington

The United States energy giant is expected to begin jobs, costs’ cutting. ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) has failed to raise its dividends for the first time in 18 years. The oil giant just did what it hasn’t done in 18 years, a report by The Motley read. The company kept its dividend at $0.87 per share, the first time since 2002 it failed to increase the payout during a calendar year. The decision doesn’t put ExxonMobil’s status as a Dividend Aristocrat in jeopardy yet. That’s because its total 2020 dividend payments will still be…

How Nigerian Telecoms Agency raked-in N344.71bn in 5 Years – Danbatta

October 30, 2020 Aliyu Aliyu

The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, has told the House Committee on Telecommunications how the telecoms agency contributed to the revenue drive of the Federal Government by generating and remitting N344.71 billion to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) in the last five years. Danbatta stated this while briefing the Committee members, led by their Chairman, Hon. (Prince) Akeem Adeyemi, during a legislative oversight function on the Commission in Abuja on Wednesday, October 28, 2020. The EVC, who attributed the successes of…