Cloned Nigerian Anchor

Author: Doris Israel Ijeoma

  • Labour Party Suspends Enugu Youth Leader

    Labour Party Suspends Enugu Youth Leader

    The Labour Party (LP) has suspended the Youth Leader for Obimo/Ikwoka Ward Nsukka Local Government of Enugu State, Onyekachi Philip Ugwu.

    This decision was made after the Ward Executive Committee and party stakeholders passed a vote of no confidence against him.

    A statement released on Wednesday, signed by the Labour Party ward Chairman, Ozor Chigbogu, and Secretary, Sabastine Ugwuoke, confirmed the suspension.

    The party accused Ugwu of engaging in anti-party activities and other suspicious actions that are detrimental to the reputation and values of the Labour Party.

    The letter also instructed Ugwu to hand over all party belongings within the next 48 hours.

    Furthermore, he was warned not to present himself as the Party Youth Leader until the disciplinary committee makes its recommendation.

    Details of the suspension letter read:

    “VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE AND SUSPENSION OF MR UGWU ONYEKACHI PHILIP AS A MEMBER AND YOUTH LEADER OF THE LABOUR PARTY OBIMO IKWOKA WARD

    “This is to communicate you the decision of the Ward Executive Committee and stakeholders of Labour Party in Obimo/Ikwoka on your suspension as a member and Youth Leader in the ward.

    The resolution for your suspension follows after the consideration and deliberation on your engagement in anti-party activities and other suspicious activities that are detrimental to the reputation and values of the party.

    “By this notice, you are required to submit all party items in your custody to the Chairman within the next 48 hours and cease to parade yourself as the Party Youth Leader, pending the recommendation of the disciplinary committee.

    “We expect your full compliance in this matter. If you have any question or concern, please do not hesitate to contact the party leadership.
    Sincerely.”

  • National Assembly Passes Long-Awaited Student Loan Bill

    National Assembly Passes Long-Awaited Student Loan Bill

    The National Assembly, encompassing the Senate and the House of Representatives, has finally passed the much-anticipated student loan bill into law.

    After undergoing rigorous scrutiny with first, second, and third readings in both parliamentary chambers, the bill officially attained legal status on Wednesday.

    The Senate’s approval came following a thorough examination of the committee’s report on tertiary institutions and TETFUND, as presented by Muntari Dandutse, the committee’s chairperson, during a plenary session.

  • Chickenpox Kills Many In Abuja Community

    Chickenpox Kills Many In Abuja Community

    Residents of Wubara, a community in the Jiwa ward of the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), have been thrown into confusion following a recent surge in the outbreak of chickenpox.

    Chickenpox is a disease that is triggered by the varicella-zoster virus.

    It results in the development of a pruritic rash accompanied by tiny blisters filled with fluid. Chickenpox is highly contagious and can easily transmit to individuals who have not previously contracted the illness or received the chickenpox vaccine.

    Confirming the latest surge of the disease during a recent medical outreach in Wubara, the chairman of the council, Christopher Zakka Maikalangu, who was represented by the Supervisory Council for Health, Faoye Tunji, said, “We lament the outbreak of chicken pox recently that befell Wubara and other communities where several households were affected and so many lives were lost. The impact of this calamity has left So many in fear. It is an unfortunate situation, and we pray that it will never repeat again.

    “To us in the council, this outbreak is becoming one too many and a permanent solution is urgently needed to prevent further occurrence. I hereby appeal to our people to maintain a healthy lifestyle by sleeping in well-ventilated houses, be mindful of the heat and bad weather caused by climate change and visit our facilities whenever we have any symptom.’’

    Also reacting to the latest development, the Programme Officer for Disease Control at the Health Unit/Department of AMAC, Dr. Dorothy Ihegazie, emphasized the council’s readiness to provide medical outreach services to the community.

    She highlighted the drugs’ availability at the pharmacy and urged the people to cooperate with the medical professionals present.

    On his part, the Chief of Wubara, Alhaji Ibrahim Dallatu, expressed his satisfaction with the medical outreach program, stating that it would effectively combat any potential diseases within the community.

    According to Daily Trust, the medical professionals on-site during the outreach examined more than 1,000 community members and administered necessary medications.

    It was also observed that the medical outreach program offered medications for malaria, typhoid, child immunization, COVID-19 vaccination, poliomyelitis, monkeypox, chickenpox, and various other ailments.

  • Blackout Hits Parts Of Nigeria As Power Stations Collapse

    Blackout Hits Parts Of Nigeria As Power Stations Collapse

    Some residents in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and Kogi State, are currently experiencing power outages due to the collapse of a power station.

    The two areas earlier mentioned are under the coverage of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC).

    On Tuesday, the AEDC informed its customers in Zamani Estate, Abacha Road Mararaba, Ruga Juli and other parts of Abuja that a technical fault on 33kv feeder k6 from AT9 Karu Transmission Station was responsible for the power outage.

    “The management of Abuja Electricity Distribution Plc wishes to notify its esteemed customers that there is currently a technical fault on 33kv feeder k6 from AT9 Karu Transmission Station, managed by the Transmission Company of Nigeria.

    “The areas affected in Abuja are: Zamani Estate, Abacha Road Mararaba, Ruga Juli, Old Karu Road, Glory Estate, and environs,” the Disco said in a statement.

    The AEDC disclosed that the TCN maintenance crew was working to ensure the supply of electricity to these areas was restored soon, regretting any inconvenience caused.

    Earlier, the TCN had announced its maintenance crew would carry out planned maintenance on its TR3 45MVA and TR2 60MVA power transformers in its 132/33kV Okene Transmission Substation.

    The maintenance was scheduled to run from Tuesday to Wednesday, from 10 am to 03pm on each day.

  • FG Releases List Of Those Responsible For Terrorism Financing In Nigeria

    FG Releases List Of Those Responsible For Terrorism Financing In Nigeria

    The Federal Government has released a list of 15 entities, including nine individuals and six Bureau De Change operators and firms, involved in terrorism financing.

    The details of the development were revealed by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and made available on Tuesday night.

    The document, entitled “Designation of Individuals and Entities for March 18, 2024,” disclosed that the Nigeria Sanctions Committee met on March 18, 2024, where specific individuals and entities were recommended for sanction following their involvement in terrorism financing.

    “The Honourable Attorney General of the Federation, with the approval of the President, has thereupon designated the following individuals and entities to be listed on the Nigeria Sanctions List,” the document read in part.

    Among the individuals named on the document is a Kaduna-based publisher, Tukur Mamu, who is currently being tried by the Federal Government for allegedly aiding the terrorists who attacked the Abuja-Kaduna train in March 2022.

    According to the document, Mamu “participated in the financing of terrorism by receiving and delivering ransome payments over the sum of $200,000 US in support of ISWAP terrorists for the release of hostages of the Abuja-Kaduna train attack.”

    The document also said one of the individuals is “the suspected attacker of the St. Francis Catholic Church Owo, Ondo State on June 5, 2022 and the Kuje Correctional Center, Abuja on July 5, 2022.”

    Another was described as “a member of the terrorist group Ansarul Muslimina Fi Biladissudam, the group is associated with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

    “The subject was trained and served under Muktar Belmokhtar, aka One Eyed Out, led Al-Murabtoun Katibat of AQIM in Algeria and Mali.”

    The NFIU said the individual “specialises in designing terrorist clandestine communication code and he is also Improvised Explosive Device expert.

    “The subject was also a gate keeper to ANSARU leader, Mohammed Usman aka Khalid Al-Bamawi. Equally, he was a courier and travel guide to AQIM Katibat in the desert of Algeria and Mali. He is into carpentry. Subject fled Kuje correctional centre on July 5, 2022. He is currently at large.”

    Another was identified as “a senior commander of the Islamic State of West Africa Province Okene.”

    The agency said the individual “came into limelight in 2012 as North Central wing of Boko Haram.

    “The group is suspected of the attacks carried out around Federal Capital Territory and the South West Geographical Zone, including the June 5, 2022 attack on St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State.”

    Another was described as “a financial courier to ISWAP Okene. She is responsible for the disbursement of funds to the widows/wives of the terrorist fighters of the group.”

    According to the document, another of the individuals “in 2015, transferred N60m to terrorism convicts.”

    He was also said to have “received a sum of N189m between 2016 and 2018.”

    The same person is said to “own entities and business reported in the UAE court judgment as facilitating the transfer of terrorist funds from Dubai to Nigeria.”

    Another individual was said to have “received a total of N57m from between 2014 and 2017.”

    Another was said to have “had a total inflow of N61.4 bn and a total outflow of N51.7bn from his accounts.”

  • Zenith Bank Appoints First Female GMD/CEO

    Zenith Bank Appoints First Female GMD/CEO

    Zenith Bank has named Adaora Umeoji as its first female Group Managing Director/Chief Executive. 

    Her appointment, subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria, takes effect from June 1, 2024, according to the bank.

    “She takes over from Dr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu, whose five-year term expires on May 31, 2024, after a very successful tenure. Dame (Dr.) Adaora Umeoji is the first female GMD/CEO since the inception of the bank, and her appointment is consistent with the bank’s executive transition tradition, succession plan, and strategy of grooming leaders from within,” Zenith Bank said in a Tuesday statement.

    Before her latest appointment, Umeoji had been serving as the bank’s Deputy Managing Director since October 28, 2016. She has about 30 years of cognate banking experience with 26 of them spent working with Zenith Bank.

    “She is an alumnus of the prestigious Harvard Business School where she attended the Advanced Management Program (AMP) and an alumnus of Columbia Business School with a Certificate in the Global Banking Program,” the bank statement further read.

    “She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from the University of Jos, a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting, and a First-Class Honours in Law from Baze University, Abuja. She holds a Master of Laws from the University of Salford, United Kingdom, a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Calabar, and also has a doctorate in business administration from Apollos University, USA.”

  • Popular Nollywood producer, Andy Best is dead

    Popular Nollywood producer, Andy Best is dead

    Nollywood producer, Ikechukwu Nnadi, popularly known as Andy Best, is reportedly dead.

    Nnadi, who was said to be battling with a prolonged ailment, was confirmed dead at a private clinic in Owerri, the Imo State capital, on Tuesday.

    Confirming the death of the movie producer, the convener of the Best of Nollywood awards, Mr Seun Oloketuyi, wrote in an Instagram post that Nnadi is late.

    “Andy Best, a top Nollywood producer and marketer, is dead.

    “He died in an Owerri hospital today,” he wrote.

    Until his death, he was the Chief Executive Officer of Andy Best Production and was behind the production of famous movies, including Lion of Africa, White Poison, My Father’s Cup, and many more.

    He hailed from Isiala Mbano Local Government Area of Imo State.

    Meanwhile, his remains have been deposited at the Aladinma Mortuary in Owerri.

  • Sowore Apologizes To Nigerian Army, Gives Reason 

    Sowore Apologizes To Nigerian Army, Gives Reason 

    Activist and former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has apologised to the Nigerian Army (NA) for posting a video purportedly showing Okuama community in Ughelli South local government area of Delta State under military attack following the killing of 16 Army personnel of the 181 Amphibious Battalion in the State last Thursday.

    The viral videos show some houses on fire and was allegedly blamed on the Army as a reprisal attack on the community where the Commanding Officer of the Army Battalion, three other senior officers and 12 soldiers were ambushed and killed by suspected youths of the community.

    But, Sowore, who just returned to his family in the United States of America last week after about five years of being on trial in Nigeria for alleged terrorism, said he had discovered that the video was false as it depicts a different event that happened in the neighbouring Bayelsa State and not Delta State.

    Taking to his X handle (formerly Twitter) on Monday night, Sowore, who said he had since deleted the misleading videos, however, insisted that the Nigerian Army desist from further reprisal attacks against innocent civilians in Okuama and any other settlement in the Niger Delta region even as he called for impartial investigation into the killing of the Army personnel said to be on a mediatory and peace mission in the Okuama community.

    Sowore wrote: “I deleted my earlier videos that showed a burning village in the Niger Delta region that was purportedly from reprisal attacks against Okuama community by the Nigerian Army @HQNigeriaArmy upon new evidence that this was from an old different incident in Nembe, Bayelsa state.

    “I apologise for the wrong video. However, I insist that the Nigerian Army @HQNigeriaArmy desist from further reprisal attacks against innocent civilians in Okuama and any other settlement in the Niger Delta region, I call for an impartial investigation to unravel the real culprits involved in killing of Nigerian soldiers in Okuama. The Nigerian Armed forces must refrain from further reprisal attacks againt villages in the area. #RevolutionNow.”

  • Students Loan Repayment: NANS Proposes Five Years plan

    Students Loan Repayment: NANS Proposes Five Years plan

    Nigeria student’s body, the National Association of Nigerian Students, has urged the federal government to extend the repayment plan for the proposed students loan to five years after post-NYSC instead of the initial two years post-NYSC plan.

    The body maintained that less than 10 per cent of graduates get absorbed into the labour market within two years post-NYSC, adding that it becomes unrealistic to expect beneficiaries of the loan scheme to begin repayment two years after the completion of the National Youth Service Corps.

    NANS President Lucky Emonele, made the proposal on Monday at a public hearing on the repeal and re-enactment of 2024 Students Loans Access to Higher Education Bill 2024 in Abuja. 

    Whioe commending President Bola Tinubu for responding to the request of NANS, by including its leadership as representatives of the students on the loan board, Emonele also commended the decision to repeal the Act to address grey areas that could hinder the success of the student loan scheme.

    According to him, the proposed repayment period of two years post-NYSC for the loan was not realistic, saying that less than 10 per cent of Nigerian graduates get absorbed into the labour force upon completion of their NYSC.

    The NANS President, therefore, proposed a minimum of five years repayment duration, given the challenges of unemployment after graduation.

    While calling for the provision of study grants for Nigerian students in the Act seeking to establish the Nigeria Education Loan Fund, Emonele also appealed that the provision of a loan scheme should not be a further reason for an arbitrary increment of school fees by the management of tertiary institutions.

    He, therefore, urged the National Assembly to pass a resolution that prohibits public tertiary institutions from increasing school fees in the next 10 years, saying it was the only way to sustain the act when enacted.

    According to him, there is also a need to make provision for grants for students to enable them to complete or further their studies.

    This, he said, would encourage more students to enroll in school and alleviate the burden that may be placed on the loans.

    “If the Federal Government, through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, could earmark N683bn for public tertiary institutions in 2024, without requesting for payback from beneficiary institutions, Nigerian students should not be treated any differently.”

    The public hearing was organised by the Senate Committee on Education and TETFUND and the House of Representatives Committee on Student Loan, Scholarship, and Higher Education Financing.

    In his words, the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, commended President Bola Tinubu for his passion and commitment to the education sector, stating that the President does not want any child of school age to be out of school, given his passion for education.

    The minister said the public hearing would provide an opportunity to make further input to improve the bill for the good of Nigerian students.

  • Veteran actor, Amaechi Muonagor Seeks financial support for kidney transplant 

    Veteran actor, Amaechi Muonagor Seeks financial support for kidney transplant 

    Veteran Nollywood actor, Amaechi Muonagor has called on Nigerians to assist him financially to carry out a kidney transplant in India.

    In a video circulating on social media, the popular actor was seen laying on a bed, pleading for help.

    His Nollywood colleague Kingsley Orji, who was seated next to him, made an appeal on his behalf.

    Orji revealed that Amaechi Muonagor left the teaching hospital some days ago due to financial constraints.

    He stated that the illness had affected his speech and urged fans and well-wishers to contribute for a transplant surgery.

    “It has not been easy. He has been in this condition for months now. He wants to go for a kidney transplant. What we want is for you to help us for him to travel to India,” Orji said.

    “He just came back from the ICU in Nnewi teaching hospital a couple of days ago. He was responding to treatment but not very well.

    “We decided to bring him home because there was no money but it is not advisable. He barely talks well. Please, he needs your help.”

    Recall in November 2023, Amaechi Muonagor had cried out for help after revealing that he was battling paralysis which has affected half of his first leg.