GIST OF THE DAY

A former Accountant in the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation, Mr Garba Abdullahi Tahir, has been sentenced by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Friday, to 21 years in prison for stealing pension funds totalling about N26.1 million. Trial Justice Inyang Ekwo found the defendant who was formerly in charge of pension accounts, guilty of a seven-count charge the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, preferred against him. The court said it was satisfied that the anti-graft agency proved its case against the defendant, beyond a reasonable doubt. Consequently, it sentenced the defendant to three years imprisonment on each of the seven counts. Justice Ekwo held that the sentence would run concurrently, starting from April 3. According to the EFCC, the case against the convict was part of billion naira pension fraud it discovered in the Office of the Head of Service of Federation, for which a number of civil servants were investigated over ten years ago and char...

The Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, on Friday, said the current power shift to the Southern region had corrected the rotational presidency being clamoured for. This is as he also thanked Nigerians for supporting the return of power to the Southern part of the country. Wike spoke on Friday when he joined his Oyo State counterpart, Seyi Makinde, to inaugurate the state 5,000,000-litre Aviation Fuel Dispensing Depot at the Ibadan Airport in the Alakia area of the state. “I have told people that those who fight for change, who fight for revolution may not be directed beneficiaries of that fight but today, history has it that all of us now are aware that when power finishes from the south, it will go to the north; when it finishes from the north, it will come to the south. “So, it does not need to be written in the constitution at all before it is implemented. And I thank Nigerians for standing firm to see that this issue materialises.” He also commended Makinde for supporting the deman...

The Director General of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, Mojisola Adeyeye, on Friday, revealed that no single director of the agency had a laptop as at 2017 when she assumed duty officially. Adeyeye said, “It’s worth publicising that we have over 140 vehicles over the last five years that we have purchased to do our work. No director had a laptop when I got to NAFDAC. Laptop is almost like exercise books now. It’s almost like a telephone to the world, so to say communication.” She made this revelation while delivering her speech at the beginning of the South-West zonal media sensitisation workshop on, “Dangers of Bleaching Creams and Regulatory Control, tagged: I’m Black and Proud”. The event was held at the House of Chiefs Hall, Agodi Secretariat in Ibadan, Oyo State. Speaking further, the NAFDAC boss said she never placed any priority on vehicles when she assumed duty because she met about N3.2billion debt on the ground. She said, “I met a debt of N3.2bil...

Barely one week to the governorship and state House of Assembly elections slated for March 11,2023, a former Governor of Plateau State, Jonah Jang, has advised the people not to vote for a governor who will misrule the state for another eight years. He specifically asked the people not to vote for the candidates of the All Progressives Congress and that of the Labour Party having worked together to bring untold hardships and suffering to the people of the state in the past eight years. He also thanked the people voting for candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party in the Senate and House of Representative elections and congratulated the winners of the election. Jang spoke on Friday in a statement he issued in Jos ahead of the governorship and state House Assembly elections. Expressing confidence in the ability of the PDP and its candidates to reverse the ugly past and bring about development to Plateau, the former governor urged the people to vote wisely in the interest of the state. ...

Erik ten Hag says Manchester United are prepared to “suffer” and “sacrifice” at a hostile Anfield as they seek a win against Liverpool that would keep them on the fringes of the Premier League title race. Victory on Sunday would keep alive United’s slim hopes of catching leaders Arsenal while defeat would bolster Liverpool’s hopes of a late push for the top four. “I’m looking forward to it, the ambience, the atmosphere,” said Ten Hag, fresh from winning the League Cup last weekend to end the club’s six-year trophy drought. “It will be great, it will be hostile against us, but we like that. “I know these players, my squad, my team, will be prepared to go there and fight and to go there with confidence. We know it’s going to be difficult, we know we will have to suffer and we will have to sacrifice to get a good result.” Ten Hag’s third-placed team are still chasing four trophies in his first season at Old Trafford, while Liverpool, who fell agonisingly short of an unprecedented quadrupl...

A court in Belarus on Friday sentenced Nobel Prize winner Ales Bialiatski to 10 years in prison, in a case his supporters see as punishment for his human rights work. The Viasna rights group founded by Bialiatski said in a statement that the 60-year-old had been convicted of smuggling and financing “activities that grossly violate public order.” Exiled Belarus opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya on Friday criticised the decision of a court to jail the leading rights defender and Nobel prize winner for 10 years. Tikhanovskaya said on social media that the 60-year-old and two co-defendants had been sentenced in a “fake trial” adding that “we must do everything to fight against this shameful injustice and free them.” The committee that awards the Nobel Peace Prize also on Friday condemned Belarus’s “politically motivated” 10-year jail term against the 2022 award co-winner, rights activist. “The court case and the accusations against him are politically motivated. The verdict shows th...

The Nsukka Journalists Foundation has raised grave concern over the pervading atmosphere of violence in the Enugu North Zone of Enugu state, ahead of the March 11 governorship and House of Assembly elections in the State. The foundation in a statement issued on Friday, signed by its Public Relations Officer, Emmanuel Ikechukwu, said it was worried that some of the political actors have taken no lesson from the examples laid down by the incumbent governor of Enugu State, Dr Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, who had preached and maintained peace throughout his tenure. Describing as disheartening and regrettable and condemnable the incendiary comments by political actors, particularly contestants in the elections which can best be described as approaching the race with the mindset of “guerillas going to war with enemies.” The foundation said, “With rumours of political actors stockpiling weapons and mobilising thugs from within and outside the state pervading the social media and the gossip mill, the NJF...

Mai Mala Buni, the Yobe State Governor, has slammed former president, Olusegun Obasanjo. He blasted Obasanjo over his recent comment calling for the cancellation of the 2023 presidential and National Assembly elections. Buni said Obasanjo’s statement was capable of inciting violence across the country and undermining the nation’s democracy. The Governor, who stated this during a meeting with traditional rulers, Caretaker chairmen and critical stakeholders at the Government House, also opined that the just concluded presidential and National Assembly elections were the most cleanest, credible and fairest election ever in the history of the country. Governor Buni who was represented at the meeting by his Deputy, Idi Barde Gubana said over the years violence and crisis experienced before, during and after elections were mainly orchestrated by enemies of the country. He tasked the monarchs to sensitize their subjects to disregard any provocative and inciting comments meant to cause divisio...

According to a report by Daily Post, the Cross River chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) failed in its bid to retain two Senate and six House of Representatives seats in the recently concluded National Assembly (NASS) elections. The opposition party in the state lost the Cross River Central and Cross River South to the ruling party, All Progressives Congress (APC), but however beat the sitting Governor, Prof. Ben Ayade to the Northern Senatorial seat. The PDP candidate for the Northern Senatorial District and the incumbent, Sen. Jarigbe Agom-Jarigbe, defeated Ayade, scoring 76,145 votes against Ayade’s 56,595 votes. Similarly, Williams Jonah of the APC clinched the Central seat with 57,354 votes against Ewa Bassey of the PDP who secured 53,463 votes in the polls. For the Central senatorial seat, Asuquo Ekpenyong scored a total of 57,870 votes to beat Labour Party’s Daniel Asuquo who polled 50,760 votes while the PDP candidate, Ekpo Ekon came a distant third with 41,117 votes....

Senator Dino Melaye, a spokesperson for the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Campaign Council, PCC, has slammed Bola Tinubu. Melaye declared that the victory of Tinubu, the president-elect, is temporary and would soon be upturned. In a video broadcast posted on his verified Facebook page, the former federal lawmaker alleged that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, manipulated last Saturday’s presidential and National Assembly elections. According to Dino, elections in strongholds of the PDP where the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar garnered more votes were canceled. He said, “Our nation is bleeding, the sole and spirit of our nation is crying for justice and vengeance. “Professor Mahmood Yakubu stabbed the very sole of Nigeria when he graduated from having inconclusive election in his first tenure. He has graduated to over voting in his second term in office. “In his first term, the PDP and opposition parties were disenfranchised by the concept of inconclu...

The naira has appreciated a little, new reports have shown. The naira, on Thursday, appreciated to N752 per dollar at the parallel section of the foreign exchange (FX) market, popularly called the black market. The figure indicates a N10 or 1.3 percent gain compared to the N766 it traded last week. Speaking to TheCable in the Victoria Island area of Lagos, Bureaux De Change operators (BDCs) said they purchase the greenback at N745/$, make a gain of N7 and then sell at N752/$. The street traders attributed the appreciation of the local currency to low demand for dollars by customers. “No demand since two days before election. Election ended but there is still no demand. People are not buying but dollar is available in the market,” one trader told TheCable. Also, at the investors and exporters (I&E) forex window, the local currency appreciated by 0.14 percent to N461.35/$ on Wednesday, according to data from the FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange – a platform that oversees official foreign...

Popular Nigerian actress, Chidiebere Aneke has stated that she is not under any form of pressure to give birth to a child at age 36. While speaking about her career, love life, and plans to have children in a recent interview, actress Chidiebere Aneke stated the people she associates herself with do not put pressure on her to get married or give birth to a child. “I have never been under pressure to have a child. I have also never heard that some women get pressurised to have children, unmarried. It depends on the people one associate with anyway,” she said. Speaking about her love life and her current partner she is dating, actress Chidiebere Aneke described him as an honest person with a good conscience. She however emphasized that one of the difficult things actresses go through is finding true love. Chidiebere Aneke said: “The qualities I desire in my partner are honesty and a good conscience. If a person has a good conscience, they won’t hurt their partners. It is not accurate to ...

Veteran Nollywood actress, Uche Jombo has raised alarm over the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission’s decision to declare Bola Tinubu as winner of the 2023 presidential election despite massive rigging and electoral violence. The actress expressed shock that despite video and picture evidence of alleged fraud and electoral malpractices across the country, the electoral umpire went on with the process. There have been calls for the cancellation of the 2023 presidential election over an alleged wide range of rigging and suppression of the true will of the people by governors and politicians across the country. However, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Mahmood Yakubu, in the early hours of Wednesday declared the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Tinubu, winner of the polls. Yakubu said that Tinubu polled a total of 8,794,726 to defeat his closest rivals and candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party, PD...

A male Twitter user has lamented about his wife’s habit of leaving diapers in plates. The man who seems fed up sought advice from Twitter users on how to approach the situation. He added that he would not want to come across as offensive, hence the cry for help. diaper He also added that many men out there go through this but no one speaks about it. See Post Below; “How do you approach your wife without offending her to stop this repeating nonsense behavior? A lot of men face this kind of behavior from their wives but no one is talking about it. “

A Nigerian clergyman, Rev. Dr. Wisdom Asefole and his wife, Ufuoma, have been blessed with a set of triplets, three girls, after 23 years of waiting. Rev. Asefole is the General-Overseer of the Chariot of God’s Fire and Deliverance Ministry in Ofor-Udu, Delta State, Friends and members of the church took to Facebook on Thursday, March 2, 2023, to share the testimony and celebrated the new parents. Blessing Ugbede, wrote: “After 23 years of waiting faithfully and patiently for these, bundle of blessings finally the wait is over they’ve arrived isn’t God faithful? My friends join me bless the name of the lord for My Pastor and his beautiful wife.” “Na we day pray , but na God day run am. Big congratulations to my papa and mama Wisdom Asefole Ufuoma Asefole. After 23 years of waiting, triplets is d reward. BOUNCING 3 BABY GIRLS,” – Apostle Praise Akpokiniovo, wrote.

Popular Ghanaian actress, Juliet Ibrahim turned a year older today. To celebrate her special day, she shared hot bikini photos of herself on Instagram to the delight of her fans. Captioning the photos, the actress who is currently on vacation in Mexico wrote; ”Today is a great day cause it’s my birthday! #forever35 #birthdaygirl #piscesqueen #atoasttolife” See Photos Below;

Popular Nigerian actress, Eniola Badmus has taken to Instagram to share a cryptic message. She stated that she walked away from someone because the person was busy finding faults in her. She Wrote; “I walked away because you were busy finding faults in me while I was overlooking yours”.

Nigerians have lashed out at Nollywood actor, Deyemi Okanlawon after he wrote an open letter to the Eti-Osa Labour party’s candidate, Thaddeus Attah after he won the election held last Saturday, February 25. Thaddeus beat popular entertainer, Bankole Wellington aka BankyW to clinch the seat. Some Nigerians were shocked at the outcome of the results as many believed Banky W who would win. However, the results came and Thaddeus who is in the same party as Peter Obi, won the election. In an open letter posted on his page today, actor Deyemi Okanlawon congratulated Thaddeus for winning the election, He however pointed out that he voted for Banky W and believes that Banky W would have been the best candidate for the job. He went on to state that prior to his victory at the polls, many people did not know Thaddeus or his antecedents. Deyemi extended an invitation to Thaddeus to join him for a live session this weekend where he will address concerns him and other residents have about the...

Ace Fuji singer, Wasiu Ayinde Marshall aka Kwam1, turned 66 yesterday. His wife, Emmanuella took to her Instagram page to shower sweet words on her man to celebrate him on his special day. She Wrote; ”Come celebrate my crown @kingwasiuayindemarshal with me at 66 years yet looking cute like a tender baby♥️♥️♥️♥️💎 Happy birthday my inestimable husband Thank you for being my very own cheerleader, my rock and my friend. You are everything that is right and good in my life. To everyone else in this world, you may be just a man, but to me, you are the world. Happy birthday to my dear husband, the man who deserves but the best and to whom I wish nothing but endless joy and happiness AdeoriOKINmi🙏🏻🤍🕺🎂👑”

A former governor of Ekiti state, Ayodele Fayose has clarified reports about dumping the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, after the party lost the 2023 presidential polls to the ruling APC. The politician said he would never join the APC but that the February 25th presidential polls were free and fair. Reports in the media had quoted Fayose as saying he is resigning from PDP and partisan politics. Making clarifications, Fayose in a statement made available to Vanguard, said he only stepped aside from PDP but not quitting the party, saying, “I am not a member of the APC and will never be a member of the party” Fayose noted that it is important to speak the truth at all times without being affiliated with any political party. “I am still a bonafide member of the PDP. I only said I stepped aside because I need to speak the truth to power without the fear of my view being tainted by party colouration. Resigning from a political party has a procedure and the same will be followed if I strong...

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has called for help on behalf of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu who is still in custody of the DSS. IPOB said there is an urgent need to rush its detained leader Nnamdi Kanu to a specialist hospital where he can be given proper treatment for his deteriorating health. Raising the alarm in a statement on Friday, the IPOB Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, noted that Kanu’s deteriorating heart needs urgent medical attention. He claimed Kanu, who was rushed to what he described as an ill-equiped DSS clinic for medical emergency in Abuja on Monday February 27, 2023, needs his personal physician to take care of him. He said rushing him to DSS clinic is cosmetic and may cause more harm to his health. The statement reads in parts: “The attention of the global movement and family of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has been drawn to the continued deteriorating health of our Leader Mazi Nnamdi Okwuchukwu Kanu who was rushed to an ill-equiped DSS c...

Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El Rufai has stated that no future President of CBN Governor can overturn the decision of the Supreme Court on the old naira notes. El-Rufai stated this while speaking with news men after the judgement of the apex court on the old naira note on Friday. He said, “The policy of currency confiscation where you deposit money in the bank and the bank chooses not to give you is illegal and shall end forthwith, so Nigerians can go to the bank and collect whatever they have deposited and get on with their lives. “It’s not a rebellion, it’s a reform to make Nigeria better. And with this judgement, no future president or Governor of the Central Bank can come and announce a policy that ambushes the lives and livelihood of Nigerian people anymore,” he said. Recall that the Supreme Court, on Friday, nullified the ban on use of the old N200, N500 and N1000 banknotes as legal tenders. The apex court, in a unanimous decision by a seven-member panel of Justices, held that t...

The Supreme Court has invalidated the new naira design policy initiated by the Federal Government on the grounds that it was not done with due consultation and in line with constitutional provisions. Following, the apex court ordered that the old naira notes shall continue to be used side by side with the new naira notes till December 31, 2023. The court held that the three months timeline was also not in tune with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Act and as such unconstitutional. Besides, the apex court argued that president Buhari usurped the powers of the CBN when he issued the directive banning the old naira notes of N1,000, N500 and N200 notes from February 10, 2023. Delivering judgement, the court considered the defendants’ argument that the court lacks jurisdiction to decide on the case. Justice Agim stated that the act of the president and government of Nigeria is an act of the federation. The court held that the dispute is between the states and the government of the federation a...

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has said his regime remained committed to winning the war against terrorism and other forms of insecurity. He added that his regime would stop at nothing to ensure citizens have a new Nigeria free from insecurity before bowing out of office. The president spoke at the unveiling of locally produced 700 Ashok Leyland troops carrying vehicles in Abuja on Friday. He, however, commended the military’s efforts at ensuring peace and stability in the country, promising that he would ensure their labour won’t go unrewarded. Buhari said, “As a country, we are proud since the first seven years, we have been able to revitalise our armed forces for the protection of the Nigeria’s territorial integrity that was once violated by Boko Haram insurgency and other forms of criminality in the country. “I commend the armed forces for their support and role played during the presidential and National Assembly elections. I want to assure you all, that yo...

The Peoples Democratic Party in Benue State has vowed to contest the results of last Saturday’s election at the presidential Election Petition Tribunal and the National Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal. The ruling party in the state which had gone to the presidential and National Assembly elections lost the two senatorial and 10 Federal House of Representatives seats to the All Progressive Congress. Addressing journalists at the party secretariat located along Otukpo Road, Makurdi, on Friday, the acting chairman of PDP in the state, Isaac Teryila said that the party was going to challenge the results of some local government areas due to what he described as breaches of extant laws. Though the local government areas where the party plans to challenge results were not stated, Teryila said, “PDP in Benue State rejects the outcome of both the Presidential and National Assembly elections held in certain local government areas of Benue State on February 25, 2023, for the reason of the b...

Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, Dr Jean Nassar, has said that lifestyle and environmental factors such as poor diet, smoking and pollution are having severe impacts on fertility. Nassar, with specialisation in In-Vitro Fertilisation, said in recent years, the rate of infertility has increased drastically not only in Nigeria but worldwide. According to the World Health Organisation, infertility is a disease of the male or female reproductive system defined by the failure to achieve a pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sexual intercourse. Speaking in an interview with PUNCH HealthWise, the gynaecologist who is the Head of the IVF unit at St. Georges Hospital University Medical Center in Lebanon, stated that though infertility rates might be increasing, there are however, many effective treatments available depending on the cause of infertility. The fertility specialist explained, “There are several factors that may contribute to this increase including de...

The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance in Enugu State for the March 11, 2023 elections, Frank Nweke Jnr, has alleges that the Peoples Democratic Party recruited some staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission to rig the polls. Nweke Jnr, a former Minister of Information, who made the allegation at a press conference in Enugu, on Friday, said that the INEC officials and ad hoc staff had been detailed to bypass the use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System during the election in order to rig the outcome. He further claimed that thugs had been mobilised to cause mayhem and generally disrupt the governorship and House of Assembly elections in the state with a view to dispersing voters at polling units in order to have opportunity to rig the elections, subvert the will of the people to achieve victory at all costs. Nweke said, “Since suffering massive losses across the state on February 25, 2023, the PDP has held a series of meetings at various loc...

Former South African president and Head of Commonwealth Observer Mission to Nigeria, Dr. Thabo Mbeki, has urged the president-elect, Bola Tinubu, not to forget the African continent when he assumes office. Mbeki spoke on Thursday when he visited the president-elect in his Abuja residence on the completion of the Commonwealth Observer Mission, according to a statement by Tinubu’s Media Aide, Tunde Rahman, on Friday. Mbeki, who noted that the election was fair and credible, asked Tinubu to make the entire African continent his compass when he takes over the reins of government. “Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa with a big economy. Whatever happens here sets the pace for the rest of Africa. “We need a strong Nigerian presidency that will also focus on the African region,” he said. “Your opponent will be looking for the smallest thing to throw stones. That is the way of democracy,” he added. Responding, the president-elect assured the former South African president of his com...

The death toll of Lassa fever in Nigeria so far this year has risen to 104, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. In its week eight Lassa fever situation report, the NCDC said there had been a total of 636 confirmed cases recorded from 22 and 88 local government areas since the beginning of the year. A total of 2,978 suspected cases were recorded from January to February 26, 2023. With the current death toll, the public health institution noted that the case-fatality ratio of the outbreak stood at 16.4 per cent. It added that the predominant age group affected in the country was 21 to 30 years, with the male-to-female ratio for confirmed cases being 10:9. According to the World Health Organisation, Lassa fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic illness caused by the Lassa virus, a member of the arenavirus family of viruses. Humans usually become infected with the Lassa virus through exposure to food or household items contaminated with the urine or faeces of in...

The Social Democratic party has called on the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, to unite the county through a government of national unity and fast-track a process of national reconciliation. The party also submitted that notwithstanding the obvious challenges that were associated with the election and the concerns expressed by aggrieved stakeholders, the party stood by the outcome of the electoral process. The National Chairman of the party, Shehu Gabam, disclosed this on Thursday at a press briefing held at the party’s headquarters in Abuja while congratulating Tinubu for winning the keenly contested presidential election. He also lauded the party’s presidential candidate, Adewole Adebayo, for his impressive outing in the election. He said, “We call on the President-elect to take deliberate practical steps in uniting the country, to bring the country together through a government of national unity; to fix our obvious national cracks, address the failings, heal the land and fast-track the...