NIGERIAN NOTCH

The Honorable Minister of State Education, Hon Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba HCN today called on staff, management and Old Students Associations to inculcate the culture of adequately maintaining the school infrastructures. Hon Nwajiuba made this call when he paid a visit to the Federal Government College Azare, Bauchi State.  The Minister who was accompanied by the Director General of the Voice of Nigeria, Osita Okechukwu and Hon Chidi Nwogu decried the absence of a maintenance culture in schools. He described it a waste of resources to keep building new structures when the existing ones haven't and can't be maintained. He therefore tasked them to ensure that the infrastructure of schools in the country are put to good use.

"The beautiful thing about our Governor is that he allows you the freedom to criticize him, the freedom to tell him what you feel and to make suggestions...he knows those that love Imo State like he does...he will receive your criticism in good faith" - Onyeka Onwenu. There were chilling showers of love at the 6th Imo State Stakeholders Meeting when Legendary Music Icon and Songwriter, Onyeka Onwenu trilled the audience with her beautiful song "One Love".  Following her call for one love to keep Imo State together, the song was heralded by a standing ovation and the momentous rendition by all to the timeless tune that has thrilled and inspired many for decades.  In her brief and moving comment, she expressed her knowledge of the fact that His Excellency, Distinguished Senator Hope Uzodimma loved the State and remained dedicated to its development. While spotting the need for more development in the State, the Social Activist acknowledged in unmistakable terms, the m...

...........AS STAKEHOLDERS PASS VOTE OF CONFIDENCE ON STATE GOVERNMENT The Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma has declared that his government has succeeded in restoring democracy in the State. The Governor made the declaration during the State’s 6th stakeholders meeting involving leaders drawn from across the State.  According to the Governor, his government was founded on the democratic principles of open, transparent, accountable, and inclusive governance.  “I am sure that many of us will readily recall that there was once upon a time, when the governance process of Imo State was shrouded in secrecy. Not only did Imo people not know how their State was governed, there was in fact a big wedge between the people and the government. So wide was the wedge that those who attempted to cross it to know what was happening in government got marooned in it. I challenge anyone to produce one single document of the previous administration where it showcased its report card to th...

The amount of articles written against the Governor’s planned naming of sponsors of insecurity in Imo State from a certain political camp is alarming, and one begins to wonder why the panic? I don’t want to believe that this orchestrated and coordinated media attack against the governor of Imo State on the scheduled naming of sponsors of evil in our land by his bitter opponents is a damage control mechanism by guilty conscience to distract the Governor and deceive the gullible minds to believe otherwise.... Truth be told, the insecurity in Imo State is not ordinary but a sponsored one and the question should be, who are those behind it? Why not allow the Governor to name those indicted by security investigation and report? Thereafter, if you are named and you feel that you are named wrongly, you know where to seek redress and even claim damages in billions... Surely, the governor of Imo State, His Excellency, Sen. Hope Uzodinma knows the consequences of naming or indicting anybody wron...

Plot by those believed to be fueling insecurity, particularly kidnapping, banditry, arson and cannibalism  in Imo State ahead of January 4, 2022 Imo Stakeholders meeting got to a head on Monday with false news of the alleged arrest of the security officers attached to Governor Hope Uzodimma.  Governor Uzodimma, it is believed, will  use the Stakeholders meeting to expose the identities of those behind insecurity and other forms of criminality in Imo State. This has prompted Imo citizens to become more curious to discover the identities of those undermining their peace and prosperity. Thus, the current media frenzy by both Rochas Okorocha and Uche Nwosu appears to be strengthening the notion of their culpability. To discredit the government and undermine the peace which the Governor has achieved so far, as was evident in the large number of Imo people who came back home from around the world for Christmas and New Year festivities, the duo have resorted to publishing falseh...

The presidency declared there is no rift between President Muhammadu Buhari and the National Assembly (NASS) over the 2022 budget. The presidency said its reaction was to clear the air on the widely-viewed/reported episode on Friday, December 31, 2021, at the State House during the signing of the 2022 Budget and Finance Bill by President Buhari, specifically on the insertion in the 2022 Appropriation Act, of 6,576 new schemes worth about N37 billion by the National Assembly. Presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, in a statement he issued yesterday, said while it is true that the president expressed disagreement with these and many of the other alterations, including the “reduction in the provisions for many strategic capital projects to introduce ‘Empowerment Projects’,” innumerable lies are being spread about the president being “angry” at, had “blasted” or “lashed out” at the parliament. Shehu said this cannot be farther from the truth. He said as the Senate President Ahmed Lawan said ...

Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong is saddened by the killing of three people at Rafin Bauna, Bassa local government area and subsequently mandated security agencies in the State to “go after the assailants” who attacked and killed the people on Sunday, 2nd January 2022. Governor Lalong who condemned the act, described the attack as “yet another callous attempt by the enemies of peace to begin the new year with violence,” stressing, “the Government will resist such attempts with all resources available to it.” The governor equally warned kidnappers to leave the state as “anyone who is caught and convicted for kidnapping will face the death penalty.” The warning may not be unconnected with the recent spate of incidents which have seen the kidnapping of a traditional ruler, a former local government Chairman, a lecturer with the State University and two other citizens within a space of eight days. Speaking at the Catholic Cathedral at Shendam, the Governor in a statement issued by his ...

The Anambra state Commissioner for Trade, Commerce, Markets and Wealth Creation, Hon. Uchenna Okafor, and the caretaker committee members at Ogbaru main market, are now on warpath over the Commissioner's resolve to conduct election in the market on 25th January next year despite the committee members' insistence that the composition of the electoral committee is illegal and as such should be reconstituted. The Commissioner who made this disclosure through the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Trade and Commerce. Mr. Ike Samuel, also denied allegation of imposition of the chairman of the committee members, Chief Ndubuisi Ochiogu, on the traders on the payment of #10million inducement . He also described as false the aggrieved caretaker committee members' claim that the Commissioner, Chief Ndubuisi Ochiogu and Chief Ogbogu Nwanodu, are now the three-man executive of the market including payment of #1million monthly by Ochiogu as loyalty to Commissioner. Hear him, "It is n...

  The 24-year-old was recently recalled by United from his third loan spell at Aston Villa. Villa boss Steven Gerrard was keen for the player to return to the club. Instead, Tuanzebe will join a Napoli outfit currently third in Serie A and due to face Barcelona next month in the play-off round of the Europa League. Tuanzebe, who has made 45 appearances for Villa but has struggled for playing time under Gerrard, left Bunia in the Democratic Republic of Congo as a child to build a new life in the UK. He joined United aged eight and has made 37 senior appearances for the club since making his first-team debut in 2017.

A Premier League classic, some sensational goals, a red card controversy and two title contenders a little further off the pace - it's fair to say Chelsea and Liverpool's 2-2 draw started the new year with a bang. Not only were there magnificent individual goals from Mohamed Salah and Mateo Kovacic, there was some inspired goalkeeping from Liverpool stand-in Caoimhin Kelleher and Chelsea number one Edouard Mendy as well. And while the return of a single point apiece did little for either side's pursuit of leaders Manchester City, both bosses said it was a spectacle to behold. "A brilliant match of football, everybody not in the stadium missed something," Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel told Sky Sports. "We turned it around, we were close to winning it. To coach in that game was high level - it was on the edge and could have gone either way. A good Sunday afternoon and new year." Liverpool were forced into changes by Covid - not least the absence of manager Ju...

Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State has mourned the death of the former Presidential candidate of the defunct National Republican Convention in the June 12, 1993 election, Alhaji Bashir Othman Tofa, saying his contributions to Nigeria’s democracy remained indelible. In a statement signed by the commissioner for Information, Muhammad Garba, the governor noted the sacrifices of Tofa, who started taking up leadership responsibilities at an early age, when he was elected councillor, in his late 20s. He had remained vibrant and dynamic up till the time of his death. He said as a businessman, trader and philanthropist, Tofa touched the lives of many people, especially the down-trodden, and he expressed the belief that the legacies of the deceased will be approximated for posterity. “The legacy of his political beliefs and triumphs will be important footnotes in the literature of Nigeria’s government and politics for generations yet to come. “He was a great man, a quintessential democrat...

The World Bank has said Nigeria may have one of the highest inflation rates globally in 2022, with increasing prices diminishing the welfare of Nigerian households. According to the World Bank, Nigeria is projected to have one of the highest inflation rates globally and the seventh highest among Sub-Saharan African countries in 2022 “In 2022, Nigeria is expected to have one of the highest inflation rates in the world and the seventh highest in Sub-Saharan Africa,” it said. The bank said this in the November edition of its Nigeria Development Update. According to the global financial institution, high inflation hampers the country’s attempt to achieve economic recovery and erodes the purchasing power of most vulnerable households. The document read in part, “High inflation is frustrating Nigeria’s economic recovery and eroding the purchasing power of the most vulnerable households. In the absence of measures to contain inflation, rising prices will continue to diminish the welfare of Ni...

A man has been arrested after a large fire severely damaged the Houses of Parliament in the South African city of Cape Town. The suspect, who is not a parliamentary employee, will appear in court on Tuesday, facing charges of arson, housebreaking and theft, police said. Firefighters worked for hours to extinguish the blaze. President Cyril Ramaphosa called it a "terrible and devastating event", as he vowed parliament's work would continue. Footage from the scene on Sunday showed a plume of black smoke filling the sky, with huge flames coming out from the roof of the building. Officials say the fire started on the third floor offices and quickly spread to the National Assembly (the parliament's lower house) chamber, reports the BBC's Nomsa Maseko in Cape Town. The parliament is not currently in session because of the holidays, and no-one was injured. However the building is home to thousands of treasures including historic books, photographs and important works of ...

Archbishop Desmond Tutu was the last truly global figure from an era when South Africa taught the world what courage and reconciliation could achieve. The last of an extraordinary generation of moral giants - of men and women who, in the 1980s and 1990s, steered a turbulent, traumatised country away from cruelties of racial apartheid and the cliff-edge of civil war. With Desmond Tutu gone, South Africa finds itself not quite rudderless or leaderless, but fully untethered, at last, from the years of its greatness. The contrast between those times of sacrifice and glory, and today's far shabbier political realities can certainly appear stark. The country Tutu finally leaves behind is a troubled one, gripped by deep economic malaise, by chokingly high unemployment and enduring inequality, and governed by a former liberation party, the African National Congress (ANC), which is at open war with itself. Tutu was too frail to comment on the political violence that erupted in July this yea...