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IGR: 36 States, FCT record N986.29bn in 9months By Yinka Kolawole The 36 States of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) recorded Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of N986.29 billion in nine months ending September 2019, representing 16.81 percent year-on-year (YoY) increase when compared with N844.35 billion recorded in the corresponding period in 2018. But on a quarterly basis, IGR for the    36 states and the    FCT    dropped    by 25.12 percent    in the third quarter of 2019 (Q3’19) to N293.80 billion from    N392.38 billion recorded in the second quarter of 2019 (Q2’19), The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) disclosed this yesterday in a report titled, “Internally Generated Revenue at State Level forQ3 2019”. READ ALSO: NIDCOM chief seeks collaboration with ILO to tackle irregular migration NBS stated: “The Q3 2019 states and FCT IGR figure hits N293.80 billion compared to N392.38 billion reco...

Man United’s Marcus Rojo joins Estudiantes on short-term loan Rojo, who was close to joining Everton on the final day of the close-season transfer window, has found opportunities difficult to come by at United this term. The 29-year-old, signed for £16million from Sporting CP in 2014, has now left Old Trafford, returning to Estudiantes – where he started his career – on loan until the end of the campaign. ALSO READ: Van Dijk reflects on Liverpool move and why he no longer studies strikers Able to play at center-back or left-back, Rojo has struggled with injuries during his time at United and made 76 Premier League appearances in total. Estudiantes, who sit 12th in Superliga Argentina, were the first to announce a deal had been struck, posting a video to their official Twitter page along with the caption:  “You always return to the places where you were happy. Because of the sense of belonging, it’s stronger. ALSO READ: Man United fail with Josh King bid as striker sear...

NSCDC arrests man for allegedly operating illegal JAMB centre The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Anambra State command, has arrested one Ezennia Onyeka for  allegedly operating illegal Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) registration centre in Nnewi. The state Commandant of the corps, Mr David Bille, confirmed the arrest in an interview with  Newsmen  in Awka on Friday. READ ALSO:Lassa fever: Borno records 1 death, 3 suspected cases Bille said the suspect was  arrested in Nnewi, following intelligence report that he was registering JAMB candidates at the cost of between N5,000 and N7,000 each. Bille said that many unsuspecting candidates had fallen victim to the fraud at the centre, known as 100 Per Cent Computer Center. He said: “The suspect was charging the unsuspecting candidates above the official N4,700 stipulated by JAMB. “After careful and discrete investigation carried out by men of NSCDC,  it was uncovered that...

Delta kingdom loses 115 years old monarch By Ochuko Akuopha OLEH – ODIO-OLOGBO of Irri Kingdom, Isoko South Local Government Area, Delta State, HRM Joshua Aghagba, Amathovo I, has passed on, aged 115 years. Announcing the monarch’s demise, the kingdom in a statement, said he “passed on peacefully and this was witnessed by all his biological children and members of his immediate family”. The statement signed by the President-General of the Irri Federated Union, Chief Adonis Abuwere and the monarch’s son Prince Joseph Aghagba said the traditional ruler was “a devoted Anglican member all his life.  READ ALSO: Delta LG Chair pays NECO, primary 6 enrolment fees for 220 Students, pupils  ” As the leader and representative of the Amathovo ruling house of Irri kingdom, he completed all his traditional chieftaincy rites. He eventually became the Odio-Ologbo of Irri kingdom with the staff of office presented to him by His Excellency, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa on 30 November, 2017, “Dur...

CORONAVIRUS: NIDO Coordinator urges Nigerians to heed FG, Chinese authorities’ advice Coordinator of Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation, NIDO, in Guandong Province, China, Mr. Festus Mbisiogu, has urged Nigerians to heed the advice of the Federal Government against travelling to China, saying it is in the interest of all. Mbisiogu, who is also the Chairman of Blue Diamond Logistics, extended the same admonition to those in China, urging them to obey the instructions given by the Chinese authorities. READ ALSO:Yoruba indigenes make fresh call on FG to arrest killers of Fasoranti’s daughter In a statement, he explained that heeding the  advice of both countries is key to preventing Coronavirus from spreading to Nigeria. The government had  advised Nigerians to suspend any plans to visit China for now in view of raging case of Coronavirus in the Asian country.  The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, gave the advice in Abuja on Wednesday, while briefing State House ...

Amazon tops $1trillion valuation on strong results Amazon.com is back in fashion with investors. Concern about the cost of Amazon’s one-day delivery pledge lingered after a busy holiday period, holding the stock back while shares of rivals including Microsoft, Google and Apple all rallied. That abruptly changed on Thursday when Amazon reported results that crushed Wall Street estimates. CEO Jeff Bezos added to the enthusiasm by revealing the company has 150 million Prime subscribers who pay monthly or annual fees for shipping discounts and other perks, up from 100 million about two years ago. The stock surged 10% in extended trading.  ALSO READ: Senate probes NNPC over $396m spent on refineries’ maintenance The largest US e-commerce company has ramped up spending in several key parts of its business. In e-commerce, it’s rolling out one-day delivery to fight Walmart and other retailers. The Amazon Web Services cloud business is building new data centres and hiring engineer...

Reinhard Bonnke’s Crusade: Christian leaders condemn killing of CAN chair in Adamawa By Jimitota Onoyume WARRI: AHEAD of a major crusade to be organized by late Evangelist  Reinhard Bonnke’s Christ for All Nation in Warri, Delta state church leaders in the oil-rich city have condemned the brutal murder of Rev Lawan Andimi of  Christian Association of Nigeria  CAN in Adamawa state by suspected Boko Haram insurgents . Flanked by leaders of the church in Warri, Chairman Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, PFN, Delta state, Bishop Kingsley Enakirerhi urged the federal government to take the security of lives, particularly Christians in the north seriously. On the crusade billed to commence February 13 to 16 at Urhobo College, Bishop Enakirerhi said it was the wish of the German Christian Evangelist before his death that his Christ for All Nation holds a crusade in Warri, adding that the successor of Bonnke, Evangelist Daniel Kolenda will lead other churc...

Kwara police launch manhunt for ATM thieves The Kwara Police Command has launched a manhunt for suspected thieves said to be behind acts of vandalism on Automated Teller Machines (ATM) in Ilorin. The Police Public Relation Officer(PPRO) in the command, Dsp Ajayi Okasanmi, made this known in a statement in Ilorin on Friday. The statement quoted the state Commissioner of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, as vowing to stop the perpetrators of the act. READ ALSO:Bus conductor allegedly punches police officer, attacks NURTW official He appealed to public spirited individuals to volunteer information that could lead to the arrest of the hoodlums. The commissioner, according to the statement, said a report was received on Thursday that two machines were vandalised by hoodlums and an undisclosed amount of money carted away after setting the machines ablaze.  “Members of the public are advised to go about their lawful endeavours without any fear, while the business community is to be rest assu...

Two people in UK test positive for coronavirus British health officials said Friday two people had tested positive for the novel coronavirus, in the country’s first confirmed cases since the deadly outbreak emerged in China and began to spread globally this month. “We can confirm that two patients in England, who are members of the same family, have tested positive for coronavirus,” Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer for England, said in a statement. “The patients are receiving specialist NHS care, and we are using tried and tested infection control procedures to prevent further spread of the virus,” he added, referring to the National Health Service. Whitty said the state-funded NHS was “extremely well-prepared” and officials were “working rapidly to identify any contacts the patients had, to prevent further spread”.  “We have been preparing for UK cases of novel coronavirus and we have robust infection control measures in place to respond immediately,” he added. READ AL...

Mark Zuckerberg says he doesn’t need Facebook to be liked Mark Zuckerberg used to want everyone to like Facebook Inc. Now, he doesn’t care anymore. Zuckerberg, Facebook’s CEO, warned that this year he will take strong, controversial positions on issues facing his company. He is making the change after being told that for the last decade, Facebook didn’t communicate its plans clearly because its management was too worried about offending people. ALSO READ: Amazon tops $1trillion valuation on strong results “This led to some positive but shallow sentiment towards us, and then towards the company,” Zuckerberg said on an earnings call on Wednesday. “And my goal for this next decade isn’t to be liked, but to be understood. Because in order to be trusted, people need to know what you stand for.” Over the last decade, Facebook has invested heavily in monitoring whether the company and its executive team were liked and respected, or considered innovative.  It was an exercise ...

Burundi Approves Life Pension For Ex-Presidents Amid Poverty Burundi lawmakers on Tuesday adopted legislation offering a golden parachute to outgoing presidents, including a luxury villa and a one-off sum equivalent to more than half a million dollars. The move comes four months ahead of May 20 elections for which President Pierre Nkurunziza has said he will not run. In 2015, his campaign for a third term plunged the country into violence and led to an enduring political crisis. The new law states that at the end of the mandate, the president will receive “a luxury villa built with public funds in the location of his choice within five years, as well as a one-off allocation of one billion Burundian francs” ($530,000, 480,000 euros). This amount is a fortune in Burundi where more than 65 per cent live in poverty and where 50 per cent of the country is food-insecure, according to the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP). The legislation, adopted with 98 votes for and two agains...

Angolan Policeman Jailed 16 Years For Shooting Street Vendor An Angolan court on Friday sentenced a policeman to 16 years in jail for gunning down a street vendor who refused to be evicted. Juliana Kafriq, 38, was shot dead in March last year after she resisted a police raid on an informal market in the capital Luanda. The mother-of-three’s killer, police officer Goncalo Sakala Ganga, was found guilty by Luanda’s provincial court and handed a hefty prison term. Security officials are rarely prosecuted in Angola, where the justice system is accused of being sluggish and mired in corruption. “The defendant is sentenced to 16 years in prison for voluntary homicide and fined five million kwanza (around $10,000),” judge Nelson Cabangange announced on Friday. Ganga will also have to pay 50,000 kwanzas ($100) as compensation to the victim’s family, Cabangange added. The 36-year-old police officer claimed he was shooting in the air and did not intend to “kill someone”. Defen...

15 On Trial For Stealing Luxury Watches Belonging To Morocco’s King Fifteen people went on trial in the Moroccan capital on Friday over the theft of dozens of luxury watches belonging to King Mohammed VI. Defence lawyers said the suspects, arrested at the end of last year, were also charged in a Rabat court of forming “a criminal gang”. The main suspect is a 46-year-old who worked as a cleaning woman in a royal household and has allegedly confessed to the robberies, while the others have denied involvement. The woman, who is alleged to have stolen 36 watches, had many of them melted down and sold on to gold merchants. The 14 others in court, all men, are gold traders or intermediaries who said they had no knowledge of the robberies. Forbes magazine in 2014 classified the 56-year-old monarch as one of the world’s richest men with wealth estimated at more than $2.5 billion. He has a taste for luxury cars, paintings and watches, and was shown in an Instagram post in Septe...

Guinea Set To Vote Over New Constitution Despite Protests Guinea’s President Alpha Conde is set to hold a constitutional referendum next month, government sources said, despite protests led by an opposition alliance fearful that the poll is a ploy to enable him to stay in office. The announcement of a referendum date is likely to further heighten tensions in the West African nation of 13 million people, most of whom live in poverty despite considerable mineral resources. On Thursday, three people were killed in clashes with security forces in the opposition stronghold of Labe, the city’s mayor said. At least 26 civilians and one gendarme have died in protests to date, according to an AFP tally. The referendum may be held simultaneously with parliamentary elections on February 16, a source close to the president’s office told AFP Thursday, asking not to be named. The cabinet asked the 81-year-old Conde “to fix an appropriate date for holding the referendum”, the ...

Ugandan Climate Activist Calls Out Media Racism After Being Cropped Out Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate has called out racism in the media after she was cropped out of a photo featuring white activists including Greta Thunberg, Loukina Tille, Luisa Neubauer and Isabelle Axelsson. Nakate made the comment in a video on social media which went viral and sparked discussions around representation in the climate change movement. “We don’t deserve this. Africa is the least emitter of carbons, but we are the most affected by the climate crisis,” Nakate said. “You erasing our voices won’t change anything. You erasing our stories won’t change anything.” The group of activists had given a news conference in Davos on Friday when Nakate was then cropped out of a published version by the Associated Press, a US news agency. The AP’s director of photography, David Ake, told Buzzfeed UK that, under tight deadline, the photographer “cropped it purely on composition grounds”. “He t...

Terrorists Kill 15 Gendarmes In Mali Military Camp Fifteen members of Mali’s security forces died in a jihadist assault on Sunday at a camp in the center of the country, military and local sources said. “At least 15 Malian military were killed Sunday in the Sokolo military camp during an attack by terrorists,” a Malian military source told AFP. A local lawmaker said all those killed were gendarmes, or paramilitary police officers, adding that he saw “two other bodies outside the camp.” “The terrorists arrived on motorcycles,” said the official, who asked not to be named for security reasons. “They were well-armed. They entered the Sokolo camp. They took away a lot of material”, he said, adding that other officers were able to leave the camp. “It was complete chaos,” said a local humanitarian source who managed to enter the camp after the suspected jihadists had left. “In the camp, we counted 15 military bodies. All the military material had been taken. It looked like t...

Burundi’s Ruling Party Picks Presidential Candidate Burundi’s ruling party said Sunday that party leader General Evariste Ndayishimiye would stand as its candidate in a presidential election in May. Ndayishimiye is an ally of current President Pierre Nkurunziza who will not seek a new mandate after his controversial election to a third term in 2015 plunged the country into crisis. “Gen Evariste Ndayishimiye chosen to represent the CNDD-FDD at the 2020 presidential election,” the party tweeted during an extraordinary congress at which Nkurunziza was present. Nkurunziza’s tenure has been marked by allegations of grave rights abuses and a crackdown on political freedoms. Constitutional changes would have allowed him to stay in office until 2034, but he said in 2018 that he would not stand for re-election again. Ahead of Sunday’s congress, Nkurunziza had announced “the beginning of a new page in the history of Burundi and the CNDD-FDD party”. The violent aftermath of the l...

Three Dead As Gambians Protest Against President Barrow Three people died on Sunday in the Gambian capital Banjul during a demonstration calling for President Adama Barrow who wants to extend his term to step down, a hospital director said. Police fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters who responded by throwing stones, according to an AFP correspondent at the scene. “I can confirm that there have been three dead,” said Kebba Manneh, director of the Serrekunda hospital where victims were taken. He told reporters that people brought to the hospital had been treated for gas inhalation, and said some were still under observation. Tension has been building in The Gambia over Barrow’s decision to stay in office for five years — reversing an initial pledge to step down after three. Red Cross sources said 28 people had been taken to Serrekunda hospital on Sunday. Opposition activists added that police had arrested scores of people, including Abdu Njie, leader of the...

Five Killed In Jihadist Attack In Cameroon Five people were killed in an overnight attack by jihadists in the Lake Chad region of northern Cameroon, sources said on Wednesday. “Five civilians were killed by Boko Haram in Blaram,” a village in the Blangoua district of Cameroon’s Far North region, a local official said. The toll was confirmed to AFP by an army officer in the region. Based in neighbouring Nigeria, Boko Haram has stepped up attacks in the vast Lake Chad region where the borders of Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria converge. Cameroon says the group has carried out nearly 13,000 attacks on its territory since 2014, with the loss of “several thousand” lives. The insurgency has forced more than 250,000 people to flee their homes and triggered an influx of 60,000 people from Nigeria.

36 Killed As Suspected Militia Attack Villages In DR Congo Thirty-six people have been killed in a suspected militia attack in the eastern DR Congo region of Beni, where hundreds have died in violence since November, a local official said Wednesday. Congolese troops have been carrying out a military operation on an armed group in the east of the country — long plagued by various militias — and militiamen have responded with a series of massacres against civilians. “They were all hacked to death. This brings (the toll) to 36 bodies,” local Beni governor Donat Kibwana told AFP, updating casualties from Tuesday’s attack. Officials had earlier reported 15 fatalities. Two people with skull fractures caused by machetes have been admitted to the hospital in Oicha for surgery, an AFP reporter there said. The main attack took place late Tuesday in Manzingi, a village 20 kilometres (12 miles) northwest from Oicha, while a pastor was also killed in nearby Eringeti. According to a...

24 Killed In Fresh DR Congo Attack Up to 24 people were killed on Thursday in a fresh attack in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s east attributed to the Allied Democratic Forces militia, taking the number of civilians killed this week to over 60, officials and a monitor said. Twenty-four bodies were found at four sites near Oicha in the volatile Beni region, the area’s top administrator Donat Kibwana said. The Kivu Security Tracker, a joint project of the Congo Research Group and Human Rights Watch put the toll at 19. DR Congo troops have been carrying out a military operation on the ADF, which originated in Uganda but now active in DRC’s east — long plagued by various militias. Militiamen have responded with a series of massacres against civilians with gruesome attacks involving machetes. The ADF, blamed for the deaths of more than a thousand civilians in Beni since October 2014, began as an Islamist-rooted rebel group in Uganda that opposed Ugandan President Yower...

Togolese protest against President Faure again in Lagos Togolese resident in Lagos have continued to protest against what they called injustice and subjugation of the masses by President Faure who recently influenced the amendment of their constitution so that he can run for a fourth term in office. The Togolese are calling for the end of  persecution of peaceful people. The protests are on now at the ECOWAS Secretariat in Lagos This is the third time they would be demonstrating in Lagos within 10 months

Imo defectors to lose their seats, says PDP chieftain A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr Ben Ozirim, says lawmakers who defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Imo House of Assembly, would lose their seats. Ozirim, former PDP Publicity Secretary in the state, said this in an interview with  Newsmen on Thursday in Owerri. READ ALSO: Obaseki goes tough on EPM members, says Oshiomhole risks expulsion from APC Eight PDP lawmakers, including the Speaker, Mr Collins Chiji, defected to APC on Tuesday. According to him, the seats being occupied by the defected lawmakers belong to PDP not individuals. Ozirim said that the PDP must move to reclaim its seats, in line with the provisions of the Constitution. He explained that a lawmaker could only defect to another party if there was division or crisis in the party. “There is no division or crisis in PDP; we will approach the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to declare their seats vacant,” he ...

Hours after Abaribe carpets Buhari, #BuhariResignNow, #BuhariMustGo trend on social media By Nwafor Sunday Barely twenty four hours, the senator representing Abia South constituency in the National Assembly, Enyinnaya Abaribe, criticized President Muhammadu Buhari’s modus operandi, some Nigerians have taken to the micro-blogging site, (Twitter), to throw their weights behind Abaribe who courageously asked Buhari to resign. With the hash tag #BuhariResignNow, #BuhariMustGo, #ResignBuhari and BuhariResign, some Nigerians joined the outspoken Senator, saying that Mr President has exhausted his plans and therefore can no longer secure the country from bandits, boko haram, herdsmen and other insecurity issues affecting the growth and development of the country. Abaribe who was irked by the level of incessant killings and unfortunate deaths of youths, pregnant women and children in the country, yesterday, furiously asked Buhari to resign from his office and allow someone who is capable o...

Navy seizes 2,053 bags of rice smuggled into Akwa Ibom By Chioma Onuegbu – Uyo The Nigerian Navy, Forward Operating Base, FOB, Ibaka, in Mbo local government area of Akwa Ibom State, has arrested 13 suspects and seized 2,053 bags of rice they smuggled into the state. The Commanding Officer, FOB, Captain Peter Yilme disclosed this while handing over the suspects and 50kg bags of rice to the Deputy Superintendent of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Garba Hassan. Yilme who was represented by the Base Operations Officer, Lieutenant Commander Kabiru Yusuf, said the suspects were arrested on 26th and 29th January 2020 at respectively at the Unyenge Creek area in Mbo local government area, during a routine patrol by Navy gunboats. He expressed worries over the unrelenting drive of the smugglers, noting that the recent arrests were made just three days after 5 suspects and 98 bags of rice were handed over to the NCS. ALSO READ: Navy seizes 3,378 bags of smuggled rice in Akwa Ibom He reassur...

NIRSAL tasks NEXIM, other financial institutions on financing …as NEXIM forum enters day 2 By Festus Ahon AS the 3-Day NEXIM Bank, South-South Enlightenment and Engagement Forum holding in Asaba enters day, the Managing Director of Nigeria Incentives-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending, NIRSAL, Mr Aliyu Abdulhameed, yesterday urged NEXIM Bank and other financial institutions to ensure they provide financing to all the various segments of the production value chain to encourage and promote MSME”s in the country. Addressing participants at the forum, Abdulhameed said the major challenge with the MSME’s, particularly the agriculture sector was that participating farmers were scattered and not in clusters to make for easy financing. Also read: BoA staff threatens to embark on indefinite strike over delayed promotion Saying that NIRSAL has identified 19 agricultural commodities that farmers could engage in and form Geo- cooperative by acquiring enough hectares to enable th...