Author: statereporter

President Bola Tinubu has approved a monthly stipend of N50,000 for 10,000 Niger Delta youths to mitigate current hardship in the country. President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, announced this during the Niger Delta Sensitisation Conference for ethnic nationalities and youths and women in Port Harcourt on Tuesday. He said the payment would be made under the NDDC Youth Intensive Scheme and would last for an initial 12 months with the possibility of extension. Mr Akpabio emphasised that this move was part of Tinubu’s efforts to address the region’s challenges and urged against participation in the national protest scheduled for…

Few months after granting approval for the establishment of a Women Affairs Secretariat in the Federal Capital Territory Administration FCTA, President Bola Tinubu has approved the creation of another Secretariat to cater for youths. The decision followed a presentation made to him by the FCT Minister, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike who had promised youths in the territory that he would take their requests for such a secretariat to the president. Speaking at a town hall meeting on Monday in Bwari to dissuade the youths of Abuja North from joining the planned nationwide strike slated to commence from August 1, Wike said…

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has announced that there is no official date set for the release of the 2024 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results. Contrary to reports, WAEC stated that the rumored August 5 release date is unofficial and should be disregarded. According to WAEC Communication Officer, Moyosore Adeyegbe, the council is working to ensure the results are released promptly and accurately, but no specific date has been confirmed. Adeyegbe emphasized that results are usually released within 45 days after the last paper, but the exact date will be announced in due course. Students and…

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…