NIGERIAN NOTCH

For the first time after the presidential primaries and selection of running mate which resulted in a crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, the presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar; and Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, met, yesterday, to hammer out solutions to the logjam. The duo, Vanguard gathered, held their long awaited, face-to-face meeting behind closed doors at the private residence of Professor Jerry Gana, a member of the party’s Board of Trustees, BoT, and pledged to resolve their differences within seven days.  The meeting held on a day Atiku named Senator Dino Melaye and Daniel Bwala as his campaign spokesmen with the PDP National Chairman, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, boasting that the party will win the 2023 polls on account of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, and President Muhammadu Buhari’s alleged failures. A top ranking member of the party leadership told Vanguard that the meeting was held in a very cordial atmosphere with both men exchanging banter

  According to reports released to newsmen by family sources Balogun, who became IGP in March 2002, died on Thursday night. He was born on August 8, 1947 at Ila-Orangun in Osun State, Tafa Balogun, was the 21st Inspector-General of Police. He was a member of cadet Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Course 3. Having worked in various Police commands throughout the federation, and earning his promotions as at when due, Tafa, was at a time, the Principal Staff Officer (PSO) to former Inspector-General of Police, Muhammadu Gambo, Deputy Commission of Police Edo State, the pioneer Commissioner of Police in Delta State. He was also CP in Rivers and Abia states. Tafa, a fellow of the premier highest military institution in Nigeria, the National War College, later became the Assistant Inspector General of Police A.I.G Zone One, Kano, from where he was named the 21st IGP of Police on March 6, 2002.

The National Broadcasting Commission has imposed a fine of N5 million on Trust Television Network Trust TV. The Federal Government had on Thursday vowed to punish the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and Daily Trust over what it called the unprofessional airing of different documentaries that glorified and capable of fuelling terrorism in Nigeria, This was disclosed in a statement signed by NBC Director General, Balarabe Shehu Illela. The  Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, had said that the Federal Government has taken note of ‘’the unprofessional documentary by the BBC, Africa Eye, where interviews were granted to bandit warlords and terror gangs, thereby promoting terror in the country’’. His words: “All I can say is that there is a regulatory body regulating broadcasting which is the Nigeria Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and they are also aware of these two incidents. “They are looking at which part of the Broadcasting Code that has been violated by bot

Amid last minute rush to register for the Permanent Voters Card (PVC), registrants in Owerri have appealed to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to further extend the exercise by two weeks to enable them participate in the 2023 general elections. The registrants, who thronged the various registration centres in their hundreds to beat Sunday deadline, said the many Nigerians could be disenfranchised if the registration was not extended.  This reporter, who monitored the exercise on Saturday in Owerri, reports that there was massive turn out of people at the INEC head office, Ikeduru and Assumpta Catholic church in a last minute move to register. A registrant, Mr Hygenus Udeagu, who said he came to change his PVC to a new polling unit, expressed worry that he had not been able to achieve his aim since arriving INEC office at 7:00 a.m. “I don’t know why it is taking too long; I have been moving from one point to another without achieving anything. “They don’t have enough

The Imo state government has described as distasteful and cheap blackmail the claim by Innoson Motors that it is owing the company N2.5b being cost of the vehicles it supplied to it some months ago, insisting that the company's claim are half truths ,intended to impugn on the integrity of the state government for ulterior motives. Reacting to a threat by the company that it is filling a lawsuit to recover" over N2.5B debt owed' it by the state government, the  Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Hon Declan Emelumba deplored the manner the company is going about the recovery of the so called debt. The Commissioner said the truth is that the government bought vehicles worth over N5b from Innoson motors and has so far paid them  N3.5b.  According to him, contrary to the claim of Innoson Motors, the said N2.5b is actually the balance due from the original value of the purchase. He regretted that Innoson motors,  for reasons best known to them,  decided to hide this fact

The Managing Director and CEO of Imo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission Chief Charles Orie has taken delivery of transformers for onward installation in communities in the Oil Producing Areas of Imo State.  This is in fulfillment of the promise made by The Imo State Governor, His Excellency, Senator Hope Uzodimma that the lingering electricity issues confronting the Oil Producing Communities will become a thing of the past. According to the  MD/CEO of Imo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission Chief Charles Orie, Governor Uzodimma had instructed that transformers and the rest of the lightening  equipment be distributed directly to communities and installed. The Governor further directed that all faulty transformers in various communities be replaced for the benefit of the Oil Producing Communities and Imo people at large. Recall that 41 million Naira  electricity bill backlog accumulated since 2011 for the three Local Government Areas of Ohaji/Egbema, Oguta and

Nwajiuba's principal assignment of educating Nigerians is at the root of the complex election suit he is now canvassing. Many people were taken aback when the PMB came to council and asked all ministers interested in politics to follow the Nwajiuba example and resign. These ministers read the same Nigerian statutes as Nwajiuba but understood it differently. The many issues Nwajiuba is now asking the court to adjudge are basically constitutional questions. A lot of commentaries have been noted since Punch broke the stale news of a matter filed on the 17th of June (barely 10 days after the APC 8th June convention) by 2 NGOs, in which Nwajiuba and 29 others were defendants. Court records show that Nwajiuba only applied to join the suit as a 2nd plaintiff, when 26 of the defendants were struck off on the 6th of July. Many of these commentaries appear to disclose an uninformed mindset. All the questions Nwajiuba is asking are very generic... whether statutory delegates can be sent ou

The Presidency has frowned at the threats by some opposition members of the Senate to begin impeachment proceedings against President Muhammadu Buhari over nation’s security challenges. Some Senators from opposition political parties, including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) were reported to have expressed frustration over the nation’s security problems, giving the president a six-week deadline to address the issue or face impeachment proceedings. However, Malam Garba Shehu, the President’s spokesman, in a statement on Wednesday night described the impeachment attempt as ridiculous. The statement read in part: ”The performative and babyish antics of those senators staging a walk out notwithstanding, Senate President Ahmad Lawan’s refusal on Wednesday to entertain the ridiculous motion to impeach our President was quite appropriate and correct. ”Rather than making a mockery out of voters by trying to imitate what they see in

The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) on Wednesday said seven ships that had arrived the ports were waiting to berth with petroleum products and others. NPA, in its ”Daily Shipping Position”, listed the products waiting to berth as: bulk gypsum, bulk fertilizer, petrol and container. It said that another 17 ships at the ports were discharging bulk wheat, frozen fish, general cargo, steel products, container, bulk sugar, base oil, petrol and bulk urea. Meanwhile, 23 other ships also laden with petroleum products, food items and other goods were expected from July 27 to Aug. 5. The authority said that the ships were expected to arrive at the Lagos Port Complex. It indicated that the ships contain general cargo, bulk salt, bulk gypsum, bulk sugar, bulk urea, container, frozen fish, bulk wheat, bulk steam coal, petrol and automobile gasoline.  (NAN)

MORE than 18,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported globally from 78 countries, with the majority in Europe, and 98 per cent of cases outside Africa have been reported in men who have sex with men, the  World Health Organizatio n has said. The UN health agency declared monkeypox a global health emergency on Saturday, after more than 14,000 cases were reported across 71 Member States, from all six WHO regions. WHO Director-General  Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus  on Wednesday urged men who have sex with men to consider reducing the numbers of new sex partners and swapping contact details with any new partners. “This is an outbreak that can be stopped. The best way to do that is to reduce the risk of exposure. That means making safe choices for yourself and others,” Tedros said during a news conference in Geneva, Switzerland. Six countries reported their first cases two weeks ago. While the trend in some countries has declined, others are increasing and countries with less acc

THE Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) took its two-day protest in support of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to the National Assembly on Wednesday. Members from affiliates of the NLC gathered in thousands in front of the National Assembly complex, with scores carrying placards urging the Federal Government to resolve the impasse with ASUU and other striking university workers in the country. Leaders of major civil society organisations, including the Country Director, Actionaid, Ene Obi, joined the workers in the protest. A former senator who represented Kaduna Central in the 8th Senate, Shehu Sani, was also at the protest. Addressing the gathering, the NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, said the government should not allow ASUU’s five-month-old strike to continue. He threatened that should the government fail to meet ASUU’s demands within a short time, the NLC would proceed on a nationwide strike.   “If there is no intervention, no urgency, the issue remains the way i