Author: Emmanuel Leke

The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Kenneth Minimah, on Saturday said the Nigerian Army would tame the Boko Haram terrorists and restore peace to the North East region of the country. The Army Chief made the commitment at the passing out parade of Direct Short Service Commission Course 22/2015, held at the Nigeria Army School of Infantry, Jaji, Kaduna State. Minimah said the insurgents “have been seriously degraded” and pledged that the army would not relent until it ensures peace and stability in the region. Minimah challenged the new officers to be prepared to join the war “to crush…

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The Central Bank of Nigeria has defended its decision to stop the use of foreign exchange for the importation of certain goods. This was contained in a statement signed by the CBN Director of Corporate Communications, Ibrahim Mu’azu, in Abuja on Friday. The statement, which was made available to the News Agency of Nigeria, said the CBN took the decision because it was important and the right thing to do. The statement, which was in reply to The Economist Magazine’s article of July 4, titled: “Toothpick Alert,” sought to further explain the CBN’s policy of restricted importation. The article ignored…

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The National Youth Service Corps on Thursday said that 63 corps members in Lagos State would be given punishments ranging from extension to repeat of service for not being on ground. Cyril Akhanemhe, its state Coordinator, gave the figure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria at the low-key passing-out parade of 2014 Batch ‘B’ corps members in Lagos. Akhanemhe said 5,971 corps members had successfully completed their service and would receive their discharge certificate. He said 12 corps members absconded from their places of primary assignment, while 51 would receive extension of service. He said: “The 63…

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The trial of a set of bank officials involved in the N8 billion Central Bank of Nigeria mutilated currency scam was again stalled on Wednesday over a defence counsel’s failure to serve his written address. Justice Olayinka Faji of the Federal High Court, Ibadan, Oyo State adjourned sitting till July 10 when counsel to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), and Olalekan Ojo could not agree on whether the address had been served and received. The trial judge said it was obvious that proceeding could not go on until all the parties in the case were served…

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The President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, on Tuesday promised there would be no delay in the confirmation of ministerial nominees once the list is sent to the legislature by President Muhammadu Buhari. Saraki said this when he received the French Ambassador to Nigeria, Denys Gaver, who paid him a courtesy visit in his office. He said it was to ensure that the suspension of plenary does not disturb serious government business like the screening of ministers that he has continued to reiterate the fact that the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly will resume plenary when there…

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The Deputy Senate Leader, Senator Bala Ibn Na’Allah, on Tuesday told the leadership of All Progressives Congress to leave the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, alone instead of calling for his removal. Since the emergence of Ekweremadu, the national leadership of the APC had been calling for his removal because of his party affiliation. He is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party. However, Na’Allah, while speaking with newsmen, warned that external influence from the APC would worsen the ongoing leadership tussle in the National Assembly rather than solve it. He said the issue at hand in the 8th Senate…

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The National Aeronautics and Space Administration suffered a big loss on Sunday when the launch of a SpaceX supply mission to the International Space Station ended in an explosion. Report on Monday from Los Angeles said it destroyed an unmanned Dragon Spacecraft and the Falcon 9 rocket propelling it. George Diller, spokesman for National Aeronautics and Space Administration, said the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched at 10:21am after liftoff, the launch vehicle failed. Diller said: “The SpaceX Commercial Resupply Services 7 (CRS-7) mission took off right on time from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. “But shortly afterwards, video…

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The crisis in the eighth National Assembly has been traced to the coming together of various interests to form the All Progressives Congress. And the honeymoon for the strange bed fellows is now over. Former Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN), said this on Mondau. Ndoma-Egba said now that the party has formed the government at the centre, “the centre can no longer hold because all the groups and interests within the APC are now battling for power”. To him, the terminal date of the honeymoon of the ruling party has come. Ndoma-Egba, the Principal Partner of Ndoma-Egba Ebri &…

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The President of the Senate, Senator Bukola Saraki, on Monday debunked the allegation that oil barons and cabals were behind his emergence as the leader of the Senate. A former Governor of Osun State, Chef Bisi Akande, had alleged that oil barons and cabals had positioned themselves to frustrate President Muhammed Buhari’s anti-corruption war. Saraki, in a statement, said he will be the last person to be so sponsored by the oil barons or cabals because in the 7th Senate he led his colleagues in exposing the rot in oil subsidy. He was also a part of the committee…

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During plenary on Wednesday, Senator Kabiru Marafa, the spokesman of Unity Forum, the group of senators loyal to Senator Ahmad Lawan, raised a point of order where he observed that the election of Ekweremadu on June 9 as Deputy President of the Senate was in breach of the Senate standing rules

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The senators said Saraki, being the senator that facilitated the 7th Senate probe on the mismanagement of oil subsidy in 2012 through a motion moved to that effect in October 2011 on the floor of the Senate, upon which billion Naira worth of scam were unravelled, would be the last person to be sponsored in anyway by oil barons for the position of Senate president

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