Author: statereporter
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, has withdrawn the counter subversion bill. The bill prescribes a 10-year jail term, N5 million fine or both for those who refuse to recite the national anthem and pledge. The decision, announced in a press statement issued by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Speaker, Musa Krishi, on Wednesday was said to have come after extensive consultations with various stakeholders and a careful assessment of the nation’s current circumstances. The statement read, “In response to the voices and concerns of the people, the Speaker of the House of…
A rights advocating organization, The Take It Back Movement, has announced its intention to initiate a new nationwide protest in response to the recently proposed legislation concerning the national anthem. This threat is coming days following the conclusion of the #EndBadGovernance protests organized by the same group. It is worth noting that the House of Representatives is currently considering a bill that would impose penalties on Nigerians who fail to recite the national anthem. Sponsored by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, the proposed legislation seeks to enforce a fine of ₦5 million or a prison sentence of up to 10 years, or…
Mikel Obi Says He, Drogba Are Working To Bring Victor Osimhen To Chelsea. Former Super Eagles captain John Mikel Obi has revealed that he and Didier Drogba are actively involved in persuading Victor Osimhen to consider a move to Chelsea from Napoli. Victor Osimhen currently has a €130 million release clause in his contract with Napoli and it is highly anticipated that he will depart from the Italian club this summer. Reports suggest that the 25-year-old has attracted interest from Chelsea, with a potential deal involving Romelu Lukaku moving to Napoli. Mikel Obi has expressed his belief that Osimhen’s playing…
President Tinubu will meet with the Equatorial Guinean President at the Presidential Villa on arrival, where meetings will be held between the two leaders and agreements, particularly on oil and gas and security, signed. Accompanying President Tinubu on this trip are the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, and other members of his cabinet, who will participate in signing agreements and exploring opportunities to enhance bilateral relations between Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea.
A former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, has slammed the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, and the National Assembly over the Counter Subversion Bill 2024, which aims to impose stringent penalties on Nigerians who fail to recite the national anthem. State reporters informed that according to the bill sponsored by Abbas, anyone found guilty of refusing to recite the national anthem shall be fined N5 million, face a 10-year prison sentence, or both. Reacting via her X handle, Ezekwesili described the proposed legislation as a silly flight of fancy that further reveals how unserious and irrelevant the…
The Kano State Police Command has arrested two suspects involved in the theft of the Bachirawa Police Station sign post in the Ungogo LGA of the state. The spokesperson for the state police command, SP Abdullahi Kiyawa, revealed this on Facebook on Wednesday, August 14, 2024 adding that the suspects were arrested with the help of residents in the area. His message written in Hausa, translated to English, read, “The person who stole Bachirawa Police Station (sign post) and the person who collected it are working hand-in-hand. Residents of the neighbourhood have brought up a new sign post. We are…
The X (Twitter) handle of the EFCC has vanished from the frontline social media platform. Multiple checks on Wednesday showed the organisation’s handle with its 2.2 million followers was no longer accessible. “This account doesn’t exist” was the page’s message instead EFCC’s chief spokesman, confirmed that the handle, @officialEFCC, has been down for 3 days. He attributed the issue to a network problem and noted that the agency’s ICT department is working to resolve it. “Our ICT department is working on it. They have been on it for almost 3 days now,” Mr Oyewale told The Gazette on Wednesday night.“We…
The Federal Government and state governors have agreed to delay the implementation of financial autonomy for Local Governments until October. This decision was made due to concerns about salary payments and the overall functioning of these local councils. However, as of July 2024, Local Governments were still not receiving their funds directly. At a meeting of the Federation Allocation Account Committee (FAAC), where funds were distributed to all levels of government, the Local Governments’ share of N337.019 billion was not paid into their accounts as directed by the Supreme Court. In reaction, the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON)…
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has released the sum of N50 billion to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) from recovered assets to support the student loan scheme. The anti-graft agency announced this in a press statement on Tuesday, following a visit by NELFUND’s head, Akinwunmi Sawyerr, to the EFCC headquarters. According to the statement, the chairman of EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, lauded the student loan programme, describing it as a policy issue to tackle corruption. Olukoyede also mentioned that the inability of many parents to fund the education of their children had always been a predisposing factor of…
Revelation by Reuben Abati, Aide to Former President Goodluck Jonathan. People tend to be alarmed when the Nigerian Presidency takes certain decisions. They don’t think the decision makes sense. Sometimes, they wonder if something has not gone wrong with the thinking process at that highest level of the country. I have heard people insist that there is some form of witchcraft at work in the country’s seat of government. I am ordinarily not a superstitious person, but working in the Villa, I eventually became convinced that there must be something supernatural about power and closeness to it. I’ll start with…