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September 27, 2016      Oyegun and Tinubu John Alechenu, Olusola Fabiyi, Eniola Akinkuotu, Alexander Okere, Godwin Isenyo and Ted Odogwu The call for the removal of the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, by the National Leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has divided the APC’s National Working Committee, The PUNCH learnt on Monday. Tinubu had, in a statement on Sunday, accused the national chairman of allegedly working against the ideals of the APC in the handling of its governorship primary in Ondo State. He had alleged that the National Working Committee of the APC had voted in favour of a fresh primary in Ondo State but Odigie-Oyegun overruled the NWC and submitted the name of Rotimi Akeredolu to the Independent National Electoral Commission as the governorship candidate of the APC. The statement added, “If Tinubu is to choose between John (Odigie-) Oyegun and progress toward a better Nigeria, the choice has already been made.

Home    News    Northern News September 26, 2016      File photo The Katsina Police Command on Saturday said it had arrested four persons for allegedly diverting tonnes of rice meant for Internally Displaced Persons in the North-East geopolitical zone. The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Salisu Agaisa, told newsmen in Katsina that the suspects had claimed to be Customs agents. The Federal Government had directed the Nigeria Customs Service to distribute rice it seized from smugglers to the various IDPs camps. The police spokesman said the suspects were arrested after they offered to sell the commodity to one of the prominent persons in the state. “One of the suspects had called the prominent person, through a mobile phone, saying that they had five trucks of the diverted rice for sale. “Our investigation also shows that the suspects had concluded arrangement to sell a bag of rice to that person at the rate of N12, 500 per bag,’’ he said. Agaisa said the sus

  punchng.com Home   Education September 23, 2016 tweet Folashade Adebayo In a hurry to submit their answer booklets to invigilators, some candidates forget their expo  (materials used for examination malpractice) in the booklets, the West African Examination Council has said.  The council also noted that some other candidates use different answer booklets from its authorised copies. Its Public Relations Officer, Mr. Demianus Ojijeogu, who confirmed this in an interview with our correspondent, however, added that the council had reduced the incidence of impersonation in its examinations through its biometric registration process He said, “We encounter malpractice during the examination and during marking. Some leave the  expo  in the answer booklets. We see that all the time. Others use other answer booklets different from the council’s own. But, we discover these things during marking because the booklets do not have our serial numbers and they are not usually signed by the

Home    News September 23, 2016      tweet Femi Falana Eniola Akinkuotu, Abuja A human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), and a lecturer at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Dr. Lawrence Aderotimi,  have called on members of the Senate to trim their high allowances and curb government spending instead of calling for the sale of national assets to address the economic recession. In a statement on Thursday, Falana said Nigeria had never benefitted from the sale of national assets in the past because they were undervalued and sold to unscrupulous politicians. Falana said, “If the Senate genuinely desires to contribute meaningfully to the debate on the economy, it should, as a matter of urgency, propose a substantial reduction in the jumbo emoluments of federal legislators which are said to be the highest in the world.” He recalled that the official residence of the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives were sold to Senator David Mark and Mr.

Home    Latest News September 23, 2016      Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo Fidelis Soriwei, Eniola Akinkuotu and Ifeoluwa Ogunfuwa The National Economic Council, which comprises Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo and 36 state governors, has endorsed plans by the Federal Government to sell some national assets as part of efforts to address the current economic recession in the country. The Senior Special Assistant to the Vice-President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Laolu Akande, said in a statement that the sale of national assets was one of the recommendations of the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udo Udoma (SAN), during the National Economic Council meeting on Thursday. Other recommendations, he stated, included the diversification of the economy and the use of recovered loot. The statement added that as part of measures to revive the economy, “the President’s Economic Management Team is working on plans to generate immediate larger injection of funds into the econom

Home    Business    Business & Economy September 20, 2016      Oyetunji Abioye A number of Deposit Money Banks in the country will close many of what they described as unprofitable branches as the economic recession continues to bite harder, investigation by our correspondent has shown. It was similarly gathered that most of the banks would lay off hundreds of workers between now and December. The revelation came barely 24 hours after Unity Bank Plc laid off about 300 workers, more than the 220 that was mentioned last week. Diamond Bank Plc, Ecobank and Skye Bank Plc had earlier in the year sacked over 3,000 members of their workforce. It was learnt that following the economic downturn in the country, a number of bank branches could no longer justify their existence as cost analysis had shown that the financial institutions were spending more on salaries and overheads than the income from the branches. Some top bank executives, who confirmed the development to our corre

Home    News September 17, 2016      tweet Refugees' supporters in London Around 20,000 pro-refugee demonstrators took to London streets on Saturday, according to police, to call on Prime Minister Theresa May to do more to tackle the migrant crisis. Protesters marched down the affluent Park Lane and the central thoroughfare Piccadilly carrying an array of colourful placards and shouting slogans including “say it loud, say it clear: refugees are welcome here!” At one point, a group at the front of the protest performed a song and dance routine to Carly Rae Jepsen’s “I Really Like You”, cheered on by fellow protesters. Some carried signs reading “no-one is illegal”, “stop the drowning”, while others chanted “refugees – let them stay…Let’s deport Theresa May!” “I’ve come here today because my kids go to sleep in a safe house every night with full stomachs and I think every child should have that,” mother-of-two Claire-Marie Goggin, 47, told AFP. Volunteer worker Felicity Ro

Home    Latest News September 16, 2016      The National Bureau of Statistics has said the Consumer Price Index which measures inflation increased year-on-year from 17.1 per cent in July to 17.6 per cent in the month of August. Data released by the NBS late in August had showed that the CPI rose by 0.6 percentage points from 16.5 per cent in June to 17.1 per cent in July. The bureau had in its August report attributed the increase to high energy prices which it added impacted negatively on the index. It said despite the fact that the country was in a period of harvest, it had yet to feel the impact as food prices was still on the increase. “In July the Consumer Price Index which measures inflation increased by 17.1 per cent (year-on-year), 0.6 percentage points higher from the rate recorded in June (16.5 per cent),” the report had read in part. “The pace of the increase in the headline index was however weighed upon by a slower increase in three divisions; health, transport a

Home    Latest News September 16, 2016      National Assembly Complex John Alechenu, Abuja Nigeria’s dwindling economy, electoral reforms and the need to expedite action on the passage of critical bills would top the legislative agenda as the National Assembly resumes next Tuesday,  The PUNCH  has learnt. Our correspondent gathered in Abuja, on Thursday, that senators and the members of the House of Representatives were inundated with complaints about the harsh economy during various consultative meetings with their constituents during the break. Apart from the economy, the issue of electoral reforms would also receive the attention of the lawmakers, especially those in the House of Representatives. The Minority Leader of the House, Leo Ogor (PDP, Delta), who was not convinced by the reasons adduced by the Independent National Electoral Commission for the postponement of the Edo State governorship election, said inconclusive elections and issues relating to the electoral proce