Cloned Nigerian Anchor

Author: Doris Israel Ijeoma

  • ‘Open Food Reserve, There Is Hunger In Nigeria’ – Reps Urge FG

    ‘Open Food Reserve, There Is Hunger In Nigeria’ – Reps Urge FG

    The House of Representatives has decried the state of hunger currently in Nigeria, appealing to the Federal Government to promptly unlock the food reserves and allocate grains to impoverished citizens.

    Doing so, the lawmakers believe, will address the prevailing hunger crisis in the country.

    The call was after the approval of a motion of utmost national significance, put forth by the elected representative of Ifo/Ewekoro Federal Constituency in Ogun State, Ibrahim Isiaka.

    Isiaka, taking charge of the discussion, highlighted the challenging nature of the cost of living for Nigerians.

    He expressed his concern over the escalating price of cement, despite having access to all the necessary raw materials for its production.

    He said, “The House resolves to urge the Federal Government and stakeholders to immediately open the food reserves to address the hunger in our country,” the Lawmaker said.

    He also called on the apex government to boost food production and distribution.

  • Yobe State Declares Work-Free Day To Mourn Ex Governor

    Yobe State Declares Work-Free Day To Mourn Ex Governor

    Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni has declared Wednesday, February 7, 2024, as a work-free day.

    The declaration aims to facilitate a three-day prayer session for the late former governor, Sen. Bukar Abba Ibrahim, who passed away in Saudi Arabia on Sunday.

    Governor Buni, emphasizing the significance of this period, urged the state’s residents to utilize the day in offering prayers for the peaceful repose of Sen. Ibrahim’s soul. 

    The three-day prayer sessions are scheduled to take place at the Government House Mosque in Damaturu.

    Yobe State Government has officially taken charge of the funeral and condolence rites, demonstrating a commitment to honoring the memory of the departed leader. 

    Governor Buni, accompanied by government officials and the late governor’s family, has been graciously receiving condolences from well-wishers within and beyond the state at the Government House, Damaturu.

  • EFCC Arrests Pastor for N1.3billion Fake Grants, Money Laundering

    EFCC Arrests Pastor for N1.3billion Fake Grants, Money Laundering

    Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, have arrested the General Overseer of Faith On The Rock Ministry International, Apostle Theophilus Oloche Ebonyi, for defrauding church members and other Nigerians to the tune of N1, 319,040,274.31(One Billion Three Hundred and Nineteen Million, Forty Thousand, Two Hundred and Seventy Four Naira, Thirty One Kobo) by using fake grants from the Ford Foundation.

    Ebonyi was arrested for defrauding his victims, comprising Non Governmental Organisations, NGOs and individuals by advertising an intervention project through his NGO (Theobarth Global Foundation) claiming that the Ford Foundation was offering a grant of $20,000, 000 (Twenty Billion United State Dollars) to assist the less-privileged in the society.

    He allegedly beguiled his victims to subscribe as beneficiaries of the phony grant by asking them to pay for registration forms and clusters. Each subscriber was made to pay N1,800,000 (One Million, Eight Hundred Thousand Naira) only. Through this arrangement, Ebonyi allegedly raked in N1,391,040, 274.31. His subscribers are innocent and unsuspecting Nigerians and NGOs across the country.

    Investigations by the EFCC showed that Ford Foundation had no arrangement, grant, relationship or business with Ebonyi. The Foundation pointedly disclaimed him and his NGO stressing that it had no link whatsoever with them. The Commission has also traced five properties he acquired as proceeds of his criminal dealings.

    Ebonyi is still reportedly reaching his subscribers on some social media platforms to market his spurious grant from Ford Foundation.

    He would be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded.

  • Former Yobe gov, Bukar Ibrahim buried in Saudi Arabia

    Former Yobe gov, Bukar Ibrahim buried in Saudi Arabia

    The remains of former governor of Yobe State, Senator Bukar Abba Ibrahim, have been laid to rest on Monday in Saudi Arabia.

    The funeral ceremony was held at the Grand Mosque, Masjid Al Haram, after the dawn prayers, according to Yusuf Ali, Senior Special Assistant, Communications and Strategy to Governor Mai Mala Buni.

    About 20 deceased were said to have been prayed upon after the dawn prayers at the Grand Mosque.

    The funeral prayers took place twice after the Fajr prayers.

    Ibrahim, who governed Yobe State from 1991-1992 and 1999-2007 before serving three terms in the Senate, died on Sunday while receiving medical treatment in Saudi Arabia, at the age of 75.

    Buni expressed deep sorrow over the loss.

    In a statement by the Director General of Press and Media Affairs, Buni spoke of the impact Ibrahim had on the state and its people, describing his passing as a “huge loss.”

    He called on the citizens of Yobe and friends of the state to offer prayers for the eternal repose of the Senator’s soul.

    “The late senator’s death is not only a loss to Yobe but to Nigeria as a whole, as he was a key figure in the country’s political landscape for many years. His tenure as governor and senator was marked by efforts to improve the lives of his constituents and to foster stability and growth in the region”, Buni said.

  • No plan to increase NYSC’ Allowance-FG

    No plan to increase NYSC’ Allowance-FG

    The Federal Government has said it is not certain there will be an increase in the monthly allowance of serving members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

    The Minister of Youth Development, Jamila Bio-Ibrahim, made this known on Sunday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics.

    Bio-Ibrahim said there are no immediate plans to increase the monthly allowance of corps members following the food inflation and increasing cost of living in the nation.

    The minister stated that the government would find innovative ways of ensuring that corps members’ welfare is well taken of.

    She said, “We can’t say for sure, we all understand that resources are dwindling, even oil revenues are not as they used to be but we will find innovative ways of ensuring that corps members’ welfare is taken of. ”

    Recall that former President Muhammadu Buhari, in January 2020, raised allowance for corps members from N19,000 to N33,000, about a year after he signed the new minimum wage bill into law in April 2019.

    Speaking further, the minister said the government has announced a reform of the NYSC scheme and is planning to make it a revenue-generating scheme and agency.

    She said, “When it comes to remuneration and looking totally at the holistic funding of the NYSC, we have announced a reform of the NYSC scheme itself. So, we want the scheme to go beyond that social programme of government to be that revenue-generating scheme and agency.

    “The reforms which transform the NYSC into a revenue-generating agency and prepare the corps members for the job market and to be decently and gainfully employed or to be employers of labour through entrepreneurship and of course, perfect matching into primary assignment and all the support they need in that career path.”

  • FG Says NYSC Will Soon Be Revenue Generating Agency

    FG Says NYSC Will Soon Be Revenue Generating Agency

    The Bola Tinubu-led federal government has unveiled a fresh plan to transform the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) into a revenue-generating agency.

    The Minister of Youth Development, Jamila Bio-Ibrahim, disclosed this during an interview with ChannelsTV on Sunday night.

    Asked if there were immediate plans to increase the monthly allowance of corps members, the minister said the government was working on reforming the NYSC scheme to reflect the present realities of the nation.

    “We all understand that resources are dwindling, even oil revenues are not as they used to be but we will find innovative ways of ensuring that corps members’ welfare is well-taken care of,” she said.

    “When it comes to remuneration and looking totally at the holistic funding of the NYSC, we have announced a reform of the NYSC scheme itself. So, we want the scheme to go beyond that social programme of government to be that revenue-generating scheme and agency.

    “The reforms which transform the NYSC into a revenue-generating agency and prepare the corps members for the job market and to be decently and gainfully employed or to be employers of labour through entrepreneurship and of course, perfect matching into primary assignment and all the support they need in that career path.”

    She noted that corps members were no longer posted to states deemed unsafe in the wake of worsening security conditions in the country.

    “As an immediate intervention of the government and the NYSC as an agency, we have actually stopped posting corps members to the very unsafe states.

    “We have been doing it. We have been doing it in the past. There are states we have not been posting corps members to to ensure their safety,” she added.

    According to her, the security of corps members requires collaboration with other agencies of government.

    “When it comes to security matters, it is a multi-sectoral approach. So, it is not the NYSC alone and the ministry that is involved. We are working with security outlets to ensure corps members are safe,” the minister said.

  • Police Intercepts Vehicle Loaded with Political Thugs in Yobe

    Police Intercepts Vehicle Loaded with Political Thugs in Yobe

    The Yobe State Police Command says, working in collaboration with the Nigerian Army, it has interpreted an 18-seater bus boarded with political thugs in Gashua Local Government Area on mission to arrive at Damaturu to disrupt the electoral process.

    DSP Dungus Abdulkarim, Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Yobe Police Command, Damaturu revealed in a statement made available to Nigerian Anchor in Damaturu.

    According to him “On 3rd February 2024 at about 0700hrs Military Checkpoint intercepted the bus while conveying thugs to Damaturu Metropolitan Council to cause mayhem in the electoral process but made their Waterloo, the police took them into custody for a district investigation and subsequent prosecution.

    The following are some of the suspects arrested: Abu Bakar Garba Bololo, aged 25, Habu Mato, aged 35, Suleman Musa, aged 50, Yusuf Danjuma, aged 33, Abdullahi Haruna, aged 45. Others are Zanab Mohammed, aged 25 of Unguwan Lawan and Rachael Bitrus, aged 23 and seven other syndicate members of Jakusko and Gashua LGA”.

    “The suspects claimed they were recruited to serve as agents of one of the opposition parties.

    Meanwhile, the investigation is swift to unravel the criminal implications of the matter”.

    “In this regard, the Commissioner of police in the state, Garba Ahmed, reiterated the commitment of the Police and sister Security Agencies to ensure the security and safety of the electorate and relative peace enjoyed in the State. 

    “However, calls on the good members of the public to remain resolute and shun violence, thuggery as security is firm to act on any untoward deviation”.

  • Enugu Rerun-Election: Labour Party Calls For Cancellation

    Enugu Rerun-Election: Labour Party Calls For Cancellation

    The Labour Party, LP, has described the House of Representatives re-run election in Igbo-Eze/Udenu federal constituency, Enugu State, as a sham and called for a total cancellation of the exercise.

    The national secretary of the party, Umar Farouk, who led its monitoring team to polling stations involved in the by-elections on Saturday, told journalists that due process was not followed.

    He said that accreditation was compromised, result sheets were hijacked, and BVAS machines were disregarded while voters were not allowed to exercise their right to vote.

    The LP national secretary, who addressed the press in the company of the party’s House of Representatives candidate, Dennis Agbo, called on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to immediately cancel elections in areas where illegalities have been reported.

    In his comments, Dennis Agbo also called for the immediate and total cancellation of the supplementary election. He accused the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, of using the local government vigilante to intimidate LP supporters.

    Agbo said LP members were chased away from polling booths by the local vigilantes and further alleged that INEC officials took instructions from PDP officials and allowed voting to take place in private houses.

  • Macky Sall Postpones Senegal Presidential Election

    Macky Sall Postpones Senegal Presidential Election

    Macky Sall, president of Senegal, has announced a postponement of the February 25 presidential election. 

    Sall made the announcement on Saturday during a national broadcast wherein he also called for dialogue with stakeholders.

    “I will initiate an open national dialogue to bring together the conditions for a free, transparent and inclusive election in a peaceful and reconciled Senegal,” Sall said.

    Sall has been president of Senegal since 2012 and recently announced that he would not be seeking a third term.

    The Senegalese 2021 constitution only allows a president to serve for five years and is limited to two terms.

    The president, who had previously hinted at a third term as granted by the constitutional council, recently decided to step down and announced Amadou Ba, prime minister, as his preferred successor.

    He reiterated on Saturday that he would not be seeking a third term.

    “As for me, my solemn commitment not to run for the presidential election remains unchanged,” Sall said.

    Some civil society organisations had expressed concerns on issues relating to the electoral process.

  • Lagos by-election: Fashola inexplicably absent at polling unit

    Lagos by-election: Fashola inexplicably absent at polling unit

    A former governor of Lagos State, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN), was inexplicably absent at his polling unit, to vote for his party’s (APC) candidate for the Surulere 1 House of Representatives.

    Fashola, who was expected at the polling unit with the wife, Mrs Abimbola Fashola, was not seen throughout the election.

    Journalists, who waited for the former Minister of Power, Works and Housing, from 8.a.m. when the election started, left for other places after hours of waiting, while some stayed till the end on the possibility of him coming.

    One of the party members who pleaded anonymity said that the former governor was actually expected to come around to exercise his franchise.

    ”We actually expected him but along the line it was clear that he will not be coming again. I heard that he is not in town,” the party member said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that voting for the Surulere Federal Constituency 1 in Polling Unit 002, at State Junior Grammar School (Special), Itolo Street, Eric Moore, Surulere, started at 8.00 a.m, as INEC agents arrived on time to set up the unit.

    The unit, which is the venue where Fashola was expected to cast his vote, saw voters trickling in.

    The unit which had 750 registered voters, recorded only 45 voters who came to exercise their franchise.