Author: statereporter
Tragedy struck on Tuesday night as Nigeria’s legendary singer and songwriter, Onyeka Onwenu, passed away shortly after performing at a birthday party in Lagos. The music icon, affectionately known as the ‘Elegant Stallion,’ reportedly collapsed at a private function and was later pronounced dead at Reddington Hospital in Victoria Island, Lagos. Sources close to the family confirmed the shocking news to The Guardian. Onwenu was attending the birthday celebration of Mrs Stella Okoli, founder of Emzor Pharmaceuticals when she took to the stage to perform. Eyewitnesses said she returned to her seat after her performance and suddenly slumped. Emergency services…
The Federal Government on Monday said it has started to distribute an additional 10 trucks of 50kg rice to each state to be sold at designated centres at N40,000 This is as the Federal Executive Council, FEC, has insisted that there is no need for the protest as most of the demands put forward by the organizers are being addressed. Already, ahead of the August 1 national protest, President Bola Tinubu has said that he is protesting on behalf of the youth by addressing most of their grievances. Briefing State House correspondents at the end of the Council meeting, the…
Fuel scarcity has continued to plague Nigeria, with many filling stations shut down in several states, including Abuja, Niger, and Nasarawa. Naija News understands that the few stations that are open have long queues of motorists waiting to buy petrol, leading to frustration and gridlock in major cities. In Abuja, several NNPC and Conoil filling stations had long queues, with some motorists waiting for hours to buy fuel. Others, such as Salbas, Gegu Oil, and Eterna, were closed due to lack of product. The situation was similar in Niger State, where many filling stations, including NNPC retail outlets, were shut,…
The Southern Youths Development Forum has urged youths across the country to shun the planned nationwide protest, saying that it is not the solution to Nigeria’s economic challenges. The national president of the forum, Pastor Bassey James, who gave the admonition during a press conference in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom state capital, on Tuesday, July 30, appealed for dialogue rather than protest. James described President Bola Tinubu as a listening and responsive leader who is ready to dialogue with the youths of the country to seek ways to improve the economy, alleviate hardship, and pursue national development. He said: “We…
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has stirred controversy by refusing to acknowledge a formal request from the Take-It-Back (TIB) Movement, a key organizer of the upcoming nationwide protests. State reporters recalls that the Take-It-Back group had written to Wike, seeking permission to use Eagle Square in Abuja from August 1 to 10, 2024, for the demonstrations. The letter, signed by Damilare Adenola, the Director of Mobilisation for TIB in Abuja, emphasized the necessity of having round-the-clock access to the venue during the protests. Despite this, Wike asserted at a town hall meeting with critical FCT…
A northern group, the Arewa Youth Ambassadors, on Monday said there is no going back on the protest against economic hardship tagged #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria slated for August 1 across the country. The group said the current economic crisis and the difficulties facing Nigerians were as a result of harsh and anti-people policies of the President Bola Tinubu-led government just as it called on the President to return fuel subsidy. Addressing a press conference in Abuja on behalf of the group, Comrade Yahaya Abdullahi said failure to develop a clear economic strategy in a nation was a threat to justice. He said…
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has ordered telecommunication operators to immediately reconnect all phone lines that were blocked during the NIN-SIM verification exercise.The NCC gave the directive in a statement on Monday, July 29, 2024. Over the weekend, many telecom subscribers and consumers were unable to access their phone lines because of the inability of many telecom consumers to verify their National Identification Numbers (NINs) with their Subscriber Identification Modules (SIMs). This meant that their numbers were blocked by their telecom service providers in keeping with the laws and policies of the NIN-SIM linkage. Recall the compulsory linkage of NIN…
The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has announced the FG’s suspension of import duties and taxes on essential food items to make basic necessities more affordable for Nigerians and address the prevalent issue of hunger in the nation. In a public address on Monday evening, Adeniyi acknowledged the widespread economic challenges and outlined the government’s commitment to easing the financial burden on its citizens. He acknowledged that global inflation is impacting nations worldwide, including Nigeria, noting that to address this FG, through the NCS is suspending import duties & taxes on essential food items to make them more…
The Governor of Bayelsa state, Senator Douye Diri has reacted to the looming nationwide protest from 1st-10th August by youths, over economic hardship. The governor warned politicians from fielding the youths wrongly against the states development for selfish reasons. Speaking at the State’s 34th Security Council meeting in Government House, Yenagoa, the Governor noted that a particular politician who was eyeing the Governorship seat is beating drums of war and protest despite releasing a contrary statements about protest. “We appeal to the youths of Bayelsa not to travel on that road, not to be sponsored by these failed politicians. And…
President Bola Tinubu has signed the National Minimum Wage Amendment Bill 2024 into law. The President signed the bill midway into the Federal Executive Council meeting on Monday, 29th July, 2024.