Month: January 2021

MTN, Glo, Etisalat harvest 47.8m NINs from Nigerians

Dawood Rabiu

  So far, a total of 47.8 million National Identification Numbers (NINs) have been collected by the MTN, Glo, and other mobile operators. This data was rolled out by the Technical Implementation Committee under the Ministerial Task Force at a meeting to review the ongoing NIN-SIM linkage exercise. At an average of three to four SIMs per subscriber, this means many millions will be linked up before the deadline in February 2021. Reacting to the report, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, expressed satisfaction…

Read More

Four burnt to death, 12 Injured as Tanker exploded in Abeokuta

Gbenga Adeoti

  A fully loaded 33,000 litres fuel tanker on Tuesday emptied parts of its content on the road and spontaneously exploded in Kuto area of Abeokuta, Ogun state, Southwest Nigeria, burning four people to death while several others sustained different degrees of injuries. Properties worth millions of naira including five vehicles and two motorcycles were, according to checks by Platforms Africa, not also spared in the incident. The ill-fated tanker, according to eye witness account, caught fire at the popular IBB Boulevard, Kuto-Oke-Ilewo, at about 8am, where headquarters of some…

Read More

Non-Smokers, non-Vegetarians at higher risk of contracting COVID-19 – Study

Aliyu Aliyu

  New research puctures earlier studies, which claimed that smokers are at higher risk of developing severe symptoms of Covid-19.   A new nationwide survey carried out by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) revealed that vegetarians and smokers are at lesser risk of contracting coronavirus due to low seropositivity. The survey was conducted across Indian CSIR’s nearly 40 institutes. It further noted people with blood type ‘O’ are less vulnerable to the virus. While ‘B’ and ‘AB’ are at an elevated risk of contracting Covid-19. For the…

Read More

WhatsApp puts “Policy on hold” as backlash shatters subscribers’ strength

Precious Ibekwe

  WhatsApp has reassured users about privacy at the Facebook-owned messaging service as people flocked to rivals Telegram and Signal following a tweak to its terms. There was “a lot of misinformation” about an update to terms of service regarding an option to use WhatsApp to message businesses, Facebook executive Adam Mosseri, who heads Instagram, said in a tweet. WhatsApp’s new terms sparked criticism, as users outside Europe who do not accept the new conditions before February 8 will be cut off from the messaging app. WhatsApp that has been…

Read More

Uganda on red alert, switches on internet after days of shutdown

Aoko Benjamin

  Uganda has declared that it remained on red alert as it switched on the internet after it had shut it down on January 13. Spokesman for the East African country, Ofwono Opondo, who declared this in an interview, gave reason for the shutting down of internet during the elections. The model was adopted, according to him, “fearing that it (the internet) would be used to spread messages of hate and violence amid the country’s general elections held on Jan. 14.” He told Xinhua by telephone that the internet had…

Read More

Nigeria’s Oil Ministry Spent N98.4m to print PIB awareness leaflets -Senate

Efe Wellington

  The Nigeria’s ministry of Petroleum Resources spent a whooping N98.4 million for the printing of leaflets used for Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) awareness. The Senate Committee on Public Account, which declared this, also kicked against the violation of due process by the Ministry in the award of the contract. Also, the Committee, chaired by Senator Mathew Urhoghide, discovered how N39 million was paid into two accounts for project monitoring within Abuja. The Committee relied on the 2015 Auditor General Report, which exposed mismanagement of public funds by the Ministry…

Read More

Pirates attacked, kidnapped 130 West Africa Seafarers in 1 Year- Report

Dawood Rabiu

  Kidnappings by pirates in the Gulf of Guinea hit a record in 2020. This surge came with well-armed and violent gangs defying regional navies and marauding further out to sea, a report from the International Maritime Bureau has said. Pirates in the West African region kidnapped 130 seafarers in 22 separate incidents, accounting for all but five of those seized worldwide last year. The previous record, in 2019, was 121. The IMB’s annual piracy report said that overall armed robbery and piracy incidents rose to 195 last year, up…

Read More

NNPC Oil Exports Receipt surges 16.28% to $120.49m in September

Efe Wellington

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has raked in a total export receipt for crude oil and gas valued at $120.49 million for the month of September 2020. A press release by the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the Corporation, Dr. Kennie Obateru, stated that the figure is contained in the September 2020 edition of the NNPC Monthly Financial and Operations Report (MFOR). The $120.49 million crude oil and gas export receipt is a 16.28 per cent improvement on the $100.88 million posted in August…

Read More

How FUTA Deputy Registrar was Ambushed, Assasinated + PHOTOS

Gbenga Adeoti

The Federal University of Technology Akure, FUTA, had officially given graphical details of how one of its Deputy Registrars, Dr Amos Arijesuyo, Head, Guidance & Counseling Unit, Students Affairs Division, was ambushed and shot by yet to be identified assailants on Saturday January 16, 2021. Arijesuyo was a Senior Pastor with the CAC, Glory of God. Deputy director, corporate communications, FUTA, Adegbenro Adebanjo, who stated this in a statement made available to Platforms Africa, maintained that Dr. Arijesuyo died of injuries from the gunshots wound he suffered when his private…

Read More

Why I rejected Fela’s proposal but married a Yoruba Muslim – Onyeka Onwenu

Precious Ibekwe

  “Fela wanted to marry me, and I was flattered but here is why I rejected his marriage proposal but later got married to a Yoruba Muslim” Onyeka Onwenu Veteran Nigerian singer, Onyeka Onwenu has revealed that music legend, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti approached her for marriage in the eighties. Onyeka who revealed this in her new autobiography, titled My Father’s Daughter, however, said she rejected Fela’s proposal during her visit to his club because of his other wives, adding that she settled for a Yoruba Muslim. According to her, she is…

Read More