FORESIGHTNEWS ONLINE

  The Deputy Governor Abia State Rt. Hon. Sir Ude Oko Chukwu has expressed his satisfaction with the contribution of Age Grade system in the development of Nkporo.  This was contained in the State Second Citizen's remarks on 2nd April 2021 while commissioning a roundabout project in Etitiama Nkporo built by Umujimba age grade and donated to the community .  The Deputy Governor who though from the community came to commission the project as the special guest of honour , also used the occasion to reiterate the contribution of Age Grade system in the development of Nkporo.  He used the occasion to appreciate everyone who contributed in whatever capacity to ensure the successful completion of the project noting that it is wrong to look up to the government and be dependent on them for everything even when there is much we can do collectively. According to him " It is funny that Someone or some group of Persons will claim a particular politician built this and that in Nkporo when i

  The state Chairman OUK Movement Abia State Hon. Ndukwe Orji Agu has expressed the readiness of Agbaja as a community and Nkporo as a people to support the future aspiration of Sen. Orji Uzor Kalu for all the laudable project he is executing at the community .  Hon. Ndukwe Orji Agu stated this during an interactive session with Nkporo News & TV Editor Foresight Anya Chibueze who payed him a courtesy visit at his Umuahia residence over the weekend.  According to Hon. Ndukwe Orji Agu who is a respected  community leader in Agbaja" Sen. Orji Uzor Kalu is a leader per excellence. He made severally promises to Nkporo people during the campaign period and gone far with those project "  " Sen. OUK has written his name on the footprint of our community history and development. We will never forget how He remembered us and attracted project which even the state government has failed to execute in our community. "  " I will not want to mention the numerous project N

The Department of Petroleum Resources, Enugu Field Office, on Monday sealed off eight petrol stations in Enugu for dispensing Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) above the government approved pump price. The Head, Operations, Mr. Afam Azuike, disclosed this on Monday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Enugu. Azuike, however, said that three out of the affected petrol stations were later unsealed as they reverted to the government approved price of the product. He said that the sealing off of the defaulting petrol stations followed public outcry over the weekend that petroleum marketers had arbitrarily increased the pump price of petrol. He said that the field office on Monday embarked on ‘an aggressive surveillance’ in Enugu metropolis during which they inspected 29 petrol stations. “We discovered that the major marketers sold between N162 and N175. They complained about the cost of the product at the depot as well as the freight charges from Lagos to Enugu. “We are aware tha

Flutterwave, Africa’s leading payments technology company, today announces a new collaboration with global payment leader PayPal to enable PayPal customers globally to pay African merchants in the continent through Flutterwave’s platform. The collaboration will be instrumental in supporting SMEs and freelancers to overcome the many challenges presented by the highly fragmented and complex payment and banking infrastructure, as well as connecting them with more than 377 million PayPal account holders globally. Traditionally, Africa’s eCommerce ecosystem has lacked suitable payment solutions to meet demand for seamless transactions worldwide, further constraining its contributions to the global digital economy. However, this collaboration eliminates significant barriers that have previously hindered African consumers and businesses from the untapped potential of cross-border eCommerce. Flutterwave has transformed the payments space in Africa by offering flexible, quick and affordable pay

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) have announced the introduction of new charges for customers using the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) services. The 2 regulatory agencies said that customers will pay a flat fee of N6.98 per transaction every time they use USSD services with effect from Tuesday, March 16, 2021. This is the outcome of the meeting between the CBN, NCC, deposit money banks and mobile network operators (MNOs) over a protracted dispute concerning appropriate pricing for the USSD pricing model for financial services which resulted in accumulated debt and a possible withdrawal of USSD services by MNOs. This disclosure is contained in a statement jointly signed by the CBN’s Acting Director, Corporate Communications, Osita Nwanisobi; and Director, Public Affairs, Nigerian Communications Commission, Ikechukwu Adinde on Tuesday. The joint statement stated that the new charges was part of the resolution reached at th

Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State, has expressed concern that despite the long years of oil exploration in the state, there was nothing tangible people of oil-producing communities in the state have to show for it. Ikpeazu, while receiving the Senate and House of Representatives Joint Committee on Petroleum Industry Bill led by Senator Albert Bassey at Government House, Umuahia, said that Abia oil-producing communities have remained peaceful more than other oil-producing communities in the country, stressing that the peaceful disposition of the communities should serve as a model for the compensation of oil-producing communities. The governor lamented that the oil exploration and production companies who do business in Abia do not pay taxes to the state, but rather reside in neighbouring states where they pay their taxes. He said, “Even though the oil companies receive unfettered cooperation from the oil-bearing communities in Abia State, you will not notice one signboard of any co

The federal government says it is still working on the recovery of additional looted assets within the region of £100 million, linked to James Ibori, former governor of Delta state. Abubakar Malami, attorney-general of the federation, stated this when he featured on a Channels Television programme on Tuesday.   When asked about the recovery of other looted funds abroad, Malami said the federal government is still pursuing additional components linked to Ibori and Sani Abacha, former head of state. Malami noted that the federal government has only succeeded in recovering £4.2 million from around £100 million traced to the former governor.   “The quantum of the amount involved was within the region of £100 million. It is out of it that we succeeded in the recovery of £4.2 million. We are still pursuing additional sums within the estimated region of £100 million. That would be a function of conviction, as I stated earlier, and subsequent recovery process,” he said. “There is still another

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has observed the increasing number of messages published in the print media by groups and individuals, congratulating Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa on his well-deserved appointment as the Executive Chairman of the Commission. While the open exhibition of affection and solidarity may be salutary in our cultural milieu, and indeed appreciated, it is however inauspicious at this point in time and gradually turning into a distraction. Mr. Bawa is assuming the leadership of the EFCC at a time of great challenge and he desires to hit the ground running. What he needs from well-wishers and indeed all Nigerians, is support and prayers, and more importantly, credible information that will further the work of the Commission. He therefore appeals to all his admirers and well-wishers who might have the intention of demonstrating their love and support for him through paid newspaper advertisement to desist, and instead channel such resources to more worth

Reno Omokri Ex President Good-luck Jonathan's media aid said Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, does not have the charisma to run as Jonathan’s mate in the 2023 presidential election. Even as much as the Ex- President has no intention to run for president in 2023. He also said Jonathan has no plan to dump the People Democratic Party for the All Progressives Congress. This revelation came on Wednesday while Omokri  was featuring on a PUNCH Online interview programme, The Roundtable. Considering political permutations and re-alignments amongst members of the PDP and the APC ahead of the 2023 general elections. where there are reports that El-Rufai, who would end his second term as Kaduna State governor in 2023, would be running with Jonathan.  It will interest you to note that Good-luck Jonathan, of the PDP, was Nigeria’s president between 2010 and 2015 before loosing when his re-election bid to incumbent President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), of the APC. Buhari later

The United States of America has congratulated Nigeria on the emergence Dr. Ngozi  Okonjo Iweala as the Director General of the World Trade Organization  and on the appointment of new service Chief. This came through The  Secretary of State Anthony Blinken who in his congratulatory message said the appointment of new service chiefs to help “bring new approaches to combat terrorism in the northeast and provide national security throughout the country.” is a welcome development.  This is just as he reiterated the US’ support for Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the new Director-General of the World Trade Organisation, WTO. According to a press release made available to Foresight News and attributed to Spokesperson Ned Price, unbehalf of Blinken, in a phone conversation with Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama, emphasised the importance that the United States places on “our relationship with Nigeria.” “Acknowledging the threats that violent extremists pose to Nigerian and regional security, he wel

Former Aviation Minister Femi Fani Kayode has dismissed claims of defecting to the All Progressives Congress, APC. According to Fani-Kayode leaving the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, was never an option to be considered worst more when the target is APC.  This submission came during his meeting with members of the PDP National Working Committee, NWC, led by the party’s National Chairman, Uche Secondus in his residence in Abuja. In his words “We had a very extensive and fruitful meeting and I want to state here and now that, whatever issues there may have been, have been resolved. We are moving forward as one. I never left the PDP, I am in PDP and I am proud to be here. “Whatever the case may be, what is happening in the country now, the best thing for us to do is to build bridges across party lines, across regional, ethnic and religious lines. This is the only way we can be glad to have a country we can call our own.” Recall that it was reported that  Fani-Kayode had met Governor Yahay

The government of Abia State ably led by Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu has directed security agencies in the state  to begin enforcement of anti-open grazing law in Abia put in place since 2018. Dr. Ikpeazu gave the directive yesterday at Michael Ọkpara Auditorium, Umuahia the state capital, while flagging-off the Statewide sensitization workshop against criminal activities in Abia communities with a beleif that enforcing the law will help reduce the unprovoked attacks against farmers by herdsmen. The Governor who was represented by his Deputy, Rt. Hon. Ude Oko Chukwu also requested the cooperation of other stakeholders to ensure the government fights and wins the war against criminality in the state. The Governor who went further to also called on the people  to always avail useful information and intelligence to Traditional Rulers, security agencies and government authorities, arguing that “the era of not knowing who to report to has gone.” while  assuring the people of government commitment to

  Atleast 5 State Governor's elected under the platform of the People's Democratic Party are said to be on the verge of leaving the party and moving over to the ruling All Progressive Congress.. This development according to analyst who spoke to Foresight News has thrown the  leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party into panic since consulting has gone far between the All Progressives Congress and the Governor's involved. Among the PDP Governor's Set to be joining the APC are  Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State, Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State and his Cross River State counterpart, Governor Ben Ayade.  The negotiations are being handled by the Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni, who is also the Chairman of the APC Caretaker Committee; and Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State. An impeccable source within the APC told Foresight News correspondence that Governor Ifeanyi Uguwanyi of Enugu State was also being targeted by the APC but had declined their advance

The Abia State government has reiterated it's commitment towards returning Aba back as the economic capital in the South East and Nigeria in general .  The declaration came through the Abia State Commissioner for Information, Chief Okiyi Kalu while reacting to the state’s emergence as the third most-preferred investment destination in Nigeria pointing out that the achievement came as a result of the deliberate policies of the state government tailored towards economic recovery. It will interest you to note that the recent release by the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS) placed Abia in ranking as the third state with the highest foreign capital inflow among the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory for the year 2020. According to the NBS release, Lagos had the highest inflow at $8.3 billion, followed by Abuja with $1.3 billion while Abia came third with $56 million. The information commissioner therefore said the feat was recorded because trade and commerce occupy a central p

Lt. Col Yusuf Dodo, the new Aide-de-Camp to the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Monday resumed duty at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. According to a press release from Femi Adesina,  Yusuf Dodo took over from Col. Mohammed Abubakar who has been with the President since inception of his regime in 2015. Abubakar is proceeding to Santiago, Chile for a five-month Strategic and Defence Course from March 8. The course is a prerequisite for his next promotion to the rank of Brigadier-General. Dodo, who was the Academy Adjutant of the Nigerian Defence Academy, was appointed Buhari’s new ADC last month and has since been understudying Abubakar. Abubakar, accompanied by his wife and daughter, formally handed over to the new ADC at a brief ceremony on Monday. An ADC is one of the prominent security officials in the “inner ring” of the Presidency. Others in that category are the Chief Security Office and the Chief Personal Security Officer among others.

THE All Progressives Congress has said the fracas between Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma and his predecessor, Senator Rochas Okorocha, will soon be over Senator John Akpanudoedehe who is the National Secretary of the APC Caretaker /Extra-Ordinary National Convention Planning Committee said this in a telephone interview with Foresight News yesterday Monday in Abuja. According to him  “The fracas between the two senior members of our great party will soon be over. Governors have intervened. And as a party, we are confident that the governors will talk to one another and resolve the issues. What is left now, is for us to manage the peace.” Earlier, several pro-APC groups organised a peaceful protest in Abuja, to appeal to the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), and the Governor, Mai Mala Buni-led Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, to intervene and end the war of attrition between the two senior party leaders. The battle of wits between Uzodinma and Ok

A former governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, says his successor, Governor Hope Uzodinma has Abandoned governance and now chasing shadows which likely will result to the failure of his administration to fulfill her promises to IMO people. Senator Okorocha stated this while addressing his supporters and party members at Spibat mansion in Owerri, the state capital, Okorocha, who now represents Imo West at the Senate, said that Uzodinma had left governance and “is now pursuing shadows”. Okorocha recounted what happened at the Royal Spring Palm Estate, Owerri, alleging that Uzodinma sent over 1,000 thugs to attack him and his aides. Okorocha in his words said “The way Governor Hope Uzodinma is going, he may not end well as governor. Insecurity is ravaging all. Over ten houses were burnt in Oguta yesterday. He knows what he is doing. He wants everybody to fear him. Instead of him to face governance and pay salaries and secure the state, he is busy chasing shadows of violence.” The Senato