NIGERIAN NOTCH

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), today Apirl 23rd Friday, issued Sir Frank Ibezim with Certificate of Return, which has inturn brought an end to the prolonged political battle of sorts in Okigwe zone on who represents Imo North Senatorial District in the Ninth Senate.The Supreme Court, on Friday, April 16, affirmed Ibezim as the authentic candidate of the APC, the winning party in the December 5, by-election last year. Sir Frank Ibezim and others have in the past months engaged in fierce legal battle with Sen. Ifeanyi Araraume on who takes the vacated seat at the Red Chamber by the late Sen. Ben Uwajimogu. In what some pundits call frustration, the ruling of the apex court, did not debar Sen Araraume and his lawyers, who in a letter to INEC insisted that the former lawmaker should be issued certificate of return.  Ibezim’s ascension to the Red Chamber was saddled with loads of obstacles, with trumped up charges of certificate forgery. However, pundits say that ...

~ visit school to ascertain extent of damage The minister of state for education Hon Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba has visited the Federal Government College, Keffi, Nasarawa State, over the fire outbreak which recked the school today at the wee hours of  the morning.  In swift reaction about the ugly incident, the minister after the Federal Executive Council meeting, went to see things for himself first hand.  After inspecting the level of damage done, he inquired about the welfare of the students, calling on the principal to ensure that he did all within his ability to make sure that the children are safe. He was accompanied by the Director, Basic and Secondary Education,  Hajia Binta AbdulKadir. Hon Nwajiuba, however  thanked God for sparing the lives of the students, in furtherance to his message at the #FinanceSafeSchool conference yesterday. Recall, the Honorable minister yesterday  called for an upscaling of security in structures in schools to avert more dev...

Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, Minister of Science and Technology, says forming a Joint Committee between Nigeria and the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea will enhance Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) between both countries. The minister said this when Amb. Jon Tong, Ambassador of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea to Nigeria, paid him a courtesy visit on Tuesday in Abuja. He noted that with the joint committee, the bilateral relationship between the two countries would further be strengthened. Onu said that Nigeria was working hard to ensure that the economy would no longer be dependent on commodities but on knowledge, driven by  innovation. Accordingly, he said this will enable the nation to tap into its vast resources by deploying science, technology and innovation to convert the resources into products and services. He said the application of STI would  help strengthen the nation’s economy and the fight against poverty. “ President Muhammadu  Buhari is committed...

The Federal Government’s meeting with the Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), and the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN), has been postponed. The Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige, said this while addressing newsmen after members of the unions staged a workout from the meeting, slated for 3:00 p.m., on Tuesday in Abuja. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the meeting between the Federal Government and the unions was called at the instance of the minister, following the industrial action embarked upon by the unions. Ngige said the meeting was suspended to enable the Federal Government’s negotiating team harmonise all issues from the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), reached at separate meetings with stakeholders. “There is no point rushing to have a meeting that will be fruitless. “The Judiciary, the governors’ forum, and even the Presidency are involved in this negotiation because the meeting held yesterday was at the Office of the Chi...

The honorable minister of state for education, Hon. Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba has re- stated Federal Goverment commiment at ensuring that there is safety in the schools all over Nigeria, especially in the crisis ravaged areas of the North. He made this assertion today at the #FinancingSafeSchools conference at Transcorp Hilton Abuja where he said that Nigeria must examine safety in schools in the context of the socio-political environment to ensure the safety of students in the country. He however stressed that in a bid to ensure safety of it's students, that his ministry has merged some schools while others have been closed to forestall attendant danger to children in those areas. He stressed that the summit was to find a lasting solution to the insecurity in the country and once the ravaged areas are safe, the children or students can return back to school he maintained. The Conference had in attendance, the Honorable Minister for Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social D...

The Chadian Army, on Tuesday, announced the 37-year-old son, of the late President, Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, as the new leader of the country. The late President’s son is a four-star general of the Chadian Army. Idriss Deby died while visiting troops on the front line of a fight against northern rebels, an army spokesman said on Tuesday, the day after Deby was declared the winner of a sixth term in office.   Deby, 68, “has just breathed his last defending the sovereign nation on the battlefield” over the weekend, army spokesman General Azem Bermandoa Agouna said in a statement read out on state television.   Deby’s campaign said on Monday that he was headed to the frontlines to join troops battling “terrorists”. According to AFP, rebels based across the northern frontier in Libya attacked a border post on election day and then advanced hundreds of kilometres south across the desert. Deby came to power in a rebellion in 1990 and was, until his death, one of Africa’s longest-se...

~ As Non Indigenes pledge to support his aspiration to govern Anambra Senator Dr Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah, the Senator representing Anambra South Senatorial District yesterday officially declared his intention to run for the November 6th gubernatorial election in Anambra state under the platform of Young Progressives Party (YPP) at his home town Nnewi North with a mammoth crowd numbering over 300,000. The event which took place at St Andrews Anglican Church DCC Nnewi North saw in attendance the creme le creme of Young Progressives Party (YPP) with the national leadership of the party in attendance. While declaring his intention to become the next governor of Anambra state, Senator Dr Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah thanked Ndi Anambra & Ndi Nnewi his home town for the support they have given this far and prayed that he will not fail in the responsibility of ensuring that he brings to an end the long bad leadership style that has always drawn Anambra state backwards. Senator Ubah further stated th...