Month: February 2021

THE DAY I CONFRONTED PROFESSOR WOLE SOYINKA, by Ken Ikonne

ADEOLA YUSUF

  One odd evening in July, 2001, my boss and learned Senior colleague in chambers, Amobi Nzelu Esq, did to me what I considered the greatest injustice on earth. He suddenly summoned me to his office on the intercom, and handed me a bulky file. To my utter astonishment, he then thundered: “Ikonne, tomorrow morning, at 9 am, you will go to Oputa Panel. You will cross examine Wole Soyinka, on a petition he filed at the Panel against Doctor Walter Ofonagoro, former Information Minister. Study the file well and…

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University of Ibadan frets, embargoes campus accommodation for students

ADEOLA YUSUF

  “No student will be accommodated on campus,” UI insists, noting the “prevailing circumstances occasioned by the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.” The management of the University of Ibadan (UI) has embargoed accomodation for students at its hostels on campus as a measure against the spread of Coronavirus. The University insisted in a statement obtained by Platforms Africa that it would not accommodate any student on campus when it resumes for the 2020/2021 academic session. The clarification follows the information trending on the social media that the university has…

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Fresh Fuel Price hike Looms as Nigeria mulls 20% Freighting Cost surge

ADEOLA YUSUF

  The Nigerian Government has revealed plans to increase cost of transporting (freighting) Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as petrol by 20 percent. The surge, which will see the price jumping from N7.51 to N9.11 per litre in the pricing template of Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), will, if scaled through, lead to hike in the retail price of the product across the country. The Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF) management Board, Ahmed Bobboi, who stated this, maintained that this development was a measure to…

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How PUNCH Energy Journalist, Okechukwu Nnodim, was kidnapped in Abuja

ADEOLA YUSUF

  Details have emerged on how the energy correspondent with The PUNCH Newspaper in Abuja, Okechukwu Nnodim, was kidnapped by unknown gunmen at his residence in the Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT). A family source, which confirmed the information, declared that the operation was carried out by a four-man gang. “In a commando style, the men scaled the fence of Nnodim’s residence to gain access to him. They have, before this fired several gunshots in the air,” the source said. Nnodim has just rounded up a prayer devotion with his…

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Nigeria probes ExxonMobil Chief’s links to $213m pipeline procurement fraud

ADEOLA YUSUF

The probe of $213 million pipeline procurement fraud is heightened with Judge issuance of arrest warrant for ExxonMobil Nigeria chief A Federal High Court in Abuja has signed off on a warrant to arrest the Managing  Director of United States oil major, ExxonMobil in Nigeria, Richard Laing, over investigation related to the alleged fraudulent creation of procurement orders worth more than $213 million as part of a pipelines project. The warrant is to compel him to appear before anti-graft investigators, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said in a statement…

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Oando Foundation marks 10 years of Impacts

ADEOLA YUSUF

  With its flagship Adopt-A-School Initiative (AASI) and others, the Oando Foundation has demonstrated commitment to actualising every child’s right to quality education. Here are details of impacts the foundation has made in the last decade.   Oando Foundation (referred to as “the Foundation”), an independent charity founded in 2011 to support the Nigerian Government in achieving its Universal Basic Education goals, is pleased to announce the commemoration of its tenth (10th) year anniversary on February 4, 2021. The Foundation was established in 2011 by Oando PLC, Nigeria’s leading indigenous…

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COVID-19: Ghana approves herbs for clinical trials +Herbs’ names in Nigeria

ADEOLA YUSUF

Here are the details of the herbal plant and its local names in Nigeria   The Ghanaian government has approved a herbal medicine, Cryptolepis sanguinolenta, locally known as Nibima, for clinical trials. The plant, which grows freely across sub-Saharan Africa has different local names and it has been used for ages in the treatmentif malaria. In Nigeria it is called Paran pupa (Yoruba), Gangnamau (Hausa) (Osafo et al., 2017) and Akpa-oku (Igbo). C. sanguinolenta is basically responsible for anti- plasmodial activity. The roots of cryptolepis, also known as nibima, kadze, gangamau, Ghanaian…

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Nigeria puts ex-Oil Minister Diezani’s jewellery, Badeh’s Mansion for Sale

ADEOLA YUSUF

  Nigeria is placing assets in 25 locations across the country including jewelries worth millions of dollars from former minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezanu Alison-Madueke, forefeited due to corruption, for sale. The assets, checks by Platforms Africa showed, included mansion seized from former Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Mr. Alex Badeh. The inter-ministerial committee on the disposal of assets forfeited to the federal government, has commenced the process of selling final forfeited assets in 25 locations across the country. Chairman of the committee, Dayo Apata, made this known on…

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Igboho Attacks Ooni, Tinubu, Makinde, Says They Are ‘Fulani Slaves’

ADEOLA YUSUF

  Yoruba warlord, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, has described Enitan Ogunwusi, the Ooni of Ife; Bola Tinubu, APC National Leader, and Seyi Makinde, Oyo State Governor, as ‘Fulani slaves’. Igboho also flayed some Yoruba leaders, including traditional rulers, alleging that have not shown enough support for the struggle to liberate the Yoruba from their ”Fulani oppressors”. Speaking during a virtual town hall meeting monitored by online newspaper, TheCable, Igboho said the Ooni and others are interested in their own gain even though they claim to represent the…

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Kyari: Buhari, only Nigerian President that has never interfered in NNPC

ADEOLA YUSUF

  Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari remains the only president that has never interfered in the operations of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari, who, according to a press release,  declared this in Sokoto, Northwest Nigeria, while delivering the Usmanu Danfodiyo University’s 2021 First Quarter Public Lecture Series, commended President Buhari for giving the Corporation’s Management free-hand to deliver on its mandate. Speaking on the topic, “Navigating Energy Transition and the Imperatives of University-Industry Collaboration,” Kyari added, according to a statement issued…

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