NIGERIAN NOTCH

Meanwhile, the Adamawa State Emergency Management Agency (ADSEMA) has said 33 people have died as a result of the flooding witnessed due to release of water from the Lagdo Dam in Cameroon. Muhammed Suleiman, the executive secretary of the agency, gave the figure at stakeholders meeting in Yola yesterday, adding that 1,600 households were displaced, comprising 9,960 individuals Suleiman said 11 camps across four local government areas of Yola-North, Yola-South, Lamurde and Demsa LGAs provide temporary shelter for the victims. The deputy governor, Prof Kaletapwa Farauta, reiterated government’s commitment to address the plight of those affected by the flood.

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has disclosed that over 603 people have died and 1.3 million displaced in 31 states across the country from 2022 to date as a result of flooding caused by climate change. The representative of NiMet, Blessing Aganbi, disclosed this in a presentation on Understanding Climate Change at a one-day training of farmers by Women Environmental Programme Nigeria (WEP) on Actions to Combat Climate Threats (ACCT) held in Makurdi, the Benue State capital. While attributing the inability of farmers to seek ways of adopting and complying to climate change to untimely access to weather and climate change information, Blessing disclosed that during this period under review a whopping $6. 681 billion were recorded as economic losses between June and November. According to her, “to overcome the threat to food security associated with climate change, the Benue State government has to take into cognition agro-climatic information and pass it to citize...

Former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon has denied rumours making the rounds that he died on Monday. The death rumour is currently trending on all social media platforms. But his Personal Media Aide, Adeyeye E. Ajayi said in a terse statement on Monday night that the former military leader is not dead. According to the Ajayi, Gowon said “I am still around and well. I am not in a hurry”. There were speculations in a section of the social media that the General passed on aged 89. However, when contacted by this Newspaper over the telephone, the General refuted the claims stating that he is alive and in good health. Also reacting to the rumours, the Delta State Governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), during the 2023 election, Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi who is said to have close ties with the war hero, described the speculations as the handiwork of mischief makers. Gbagi, a former Minister of State for Education, spoke through his Chief Press Secretary, Orus...

Bigly Oil & Gas Services, over the weekend shed more light on the scope and mode of its operations across the state, as revenue collectors and partners of the Anambra Internal Revenue Service. Giving insight into their operations, the Project Manager, Mr. Chukwuma Nwabuikwu, cleared the air that Bigly Oil & Gas Services is not the only AIRS partner or authorised revenue collector in the state. He hinted that there are other companies in charge of revenue on granite, inter-state buses, stickers and other areas. Mr. Nwabuikwu said, “Bigly Oil & Gas Services is just one firm out of the many partners of AIRS and authorised revenue collectors in Anambra State. We are primarily in charge of revenue on haulage”. “As a responsible partner of the AIRS, before the commencement of our primary task, we recruited, trained our personnel and educated them on the rules of engagement. For instance, no member of our field team is to be found anywhere on official duty without bein...

Valentine Ozigbo, a renowned philanthropist and globally celebrated business leader, has reignited the spirit of a New Nigeria Movement during his impactful address at the 4th Convocation Ceremony held at the Paul University, Ukwu Orji, Awka on Friday, October 6, 2023.  Reflecting on the essence of the New Nigeria Movement in his lecture titled, 'Managing Private Universities in Nigeria, Prospects and Challenges', Ozigbo, a 2021 Anambra Gubernatorial Candidate, said it "wasn't merely a political campaign or a social cause."  Continuing, he stressed that, "It was a clarion call, a passionate plea, a youth-led revolution that captured our nation's spirit and resonated across the globe", while that championing change and nurturing home is a collective responsibility of all Nigerians.  Ozigbo's heartfelt words came at a crucial time, as Nigeria awaits a significant Supreme Court judgment on the contested outcome of the February 2023 Presi...

A group, Concerned Anambra Citizens, CAC, has frowned at the ugly developments happening in the revenue generating sector of the state, where intimidation, frame-up  and sheer propaganda have come to the fore  in order to frustrate the efforts of Bigly Oil and Gas Services, one of the frontline Revenue Partners of the government. The past couple of days have been challenging for the Bigly revenue collection team, following orchestrated intimidation, by a team led by Mr. Christian Madubuko, who has been employing all illegitimate means of restraining the activities of the Bigly Oil and Gas team, authorised by the state government as Revenue Partners in a letter signed by Greg Ezeilo, the Chairman /CEO of the Anambra Internal Revenue Service, AIRS on September 1, 2023. In a statement signed by the group’s President, Obi Mbamalu, it alleged that Christian Madubuko, who is an insider at the AIRS in order to protect the interest of the company he is fronting for, has be...

—Says Sam Daddy It’s Only Using ₦4.3B FG Intervention Funds On Ekemele To Buy Supporters.  The governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in Imo state for the November 11 governorship election in the state, Sen. Athan Achonu has mocked the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Sen. Samuel Anyanwu (Sam Daddy) over their recent claims that 4385 members of Labour Party and Obidents have defected to the PDP to support the party’s governorship ambition. Reacting to the claims Sen. Achonu who confided to his aide on campaign matters said that the fair skinned former Senator and his party the PDP have taken their jokes to a different laughable dimension as he insisted that no member of the Obidents movement and labour party ever joined Sen. Anyanwu and PDP on their governorship ambition which he described as a joke. He said that no genuine Obident or LP member can defect to the PDP as he noted that the few people who are less than 100 people were those imported...

The President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, CON has expressed shock and sadness over the death of Alhaji Tijani Adeyemi, who was the Senate Correspondent of Tribune Newspapers. In a statement issued on Thursday, October 5, 2023, through his Special Adviser, Media and Publicity, Hon Eseme Eyiboh, the Senate President lamented that Adeyemi’s death had robbed the nation of one of the richest handlers of the institution memory of the National Assembly. Quoting from a letter to the widow, Alhaja Mamunat Adeyemi, he said: “Though your husband and I were not particularly close, but my information is that he was a very peaceable and gentle in all his dealings. “To his colleagues, he was a very diligent journalist whose assiduous dedication to duty made him one of the most established journalists in the National Assembly. “I am informed that he qualifies to be so described as the doyen of the National Assembly Press Corp, having covered the Fourth National Assembly from a...

The Enugu Electricity Distribution Company PLC (EEDC), in keeping with its customer education and safety awareness initiative, today visited Government Secondary School, Enugu. The visit is in continuation of its activities for this year’s Customer Service Week (CSW). During the visit, the students and their teachers were educated on the electricity value chain, the dynamics of electricity distribution, and their role as customers in ensuring that the sector is sustainable. The Head, Customer Service, EEDC, Mrs. Ijeoma Ogudebe, who led the team on the visit said that their choice of targeting schools is basically to catch the students at their early formative stage and consciously instill in them important information that they need to know about electricity and its usage. She affirmed that most of the challenges being experienced in the electricity sector today can be attributed to ignorance and lack of knowledge. The Head, Health Safety & Environment, EEDC, Dr. Franci...

The kidnapped Benue State Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism,  Mathew Abo, regained his freedom on Thursday. Governor Hyacinth Alia, in a statement on Thursday by his Chief Press Secretary, Kula Tersoo, said the commissioner had reunited with his family. Abo was abducted on September 24 by gunmen who invaded his house in Zaki-Biam. “We can confirm that the Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism,  Hon. Matthew Abo, has regained freedom. He has since reunited with his family in Sankera, Ukum Local Government where he was abducted. “No ransom or any other monetary exchanges were involved in securing his release. Rather, his release was as a result of intense pressure on the criminals from the gallant security operatives who were acting on the directives of Gov. Hyacinth Alia, who had earlier given marching orders to them to ensure Mr Abo’s release,” the statement said. Alia warned criminals operating within the state to leave for good, insist...