Nelly's SmartBriefs

Stalwarts of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, on Friday, stormed the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Port Harcourt to protest the continued refusal of the electoral umpire from allowing them access to the Certified True Copies (CTC) of documents used at the just concluded elections. They alleged that INEC was deliberately frustrating them from approaching the Election Petitions Tribunal to prove their case, reminding they have just 21 days to file their petitions. The protest was led by the party’s governorship candidate in the March 18 poll, Tonye Cole; his running mate, Dr. Innocent Barikor; the state APC Chairman, Emeka Beke and the State Publicity Secretary, Darlington Nwauju. Speaking with newsmen at the commission’s office, along Aba Road, Port Harcourt, Cole explained that they were there to express their frustrations over the attitude of the state INEC. Cole said, “I am not happy at all. We have come to INEC to express

Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, has paid tribute to the forthrightness, dedication, integrity, and courage of Honourable Justice Adolphus Enebeli, who retired on Friday. Wike said the people of Rivers State are indebted to Justice Enebeli for all the services he rendered to the justice system in the state. Speaking at the special valedictory court session to mark the retirement of Justice Enebeli in Port Harcourt on Friday, Wike described the renowned jurist as a courageous and committed judge. Wike noted that unlike some judges, Justice Enebeli had distinguished himself throughout the 31 years he served in the Rivers State Judiciary as one judge who never turned down cases assigned to him by the Chief Judge of the state. “When somebody is committed to his job and courageous, some of us will always identify with such persons and give them the necessary support. It is not everybody that is committed to his job. It is not everybody that is courageous to do things that most peop

Former Big Brother Naija Season 6 housemates, Adeoluwa Okusaga and Nini Singh, have finally been engaged. This was disclosed via a viral video on Friday, March 31. The two lovers started their relationship in the Big Brother’s ‘Shine ya eyes’ house in 2021. During the reality show, the two were seen together all the time. Saga severally suffered backlashes from social media users over his obsession with Nini during the show.

Grammy award-winning Nigerian singer, Ayodeji Balogun, popularly known as Wizkid, has urged his fans to listen to his fellow musician, David Adeleke, fondly called Davido’s new album, ‘Timeless’. The Afrobeats star said this via a tweet on his verified Twitter account on Friday, March 31. “Y’all go listen to timeless by my brother, Davido,” Wizkid tweeted. Davido released his 17-track album in the early hours of Friday. The famous singer had earlier announced that he would be hosting a special live event in London, New York, and Lagos. It would be recalled that Wizkid, in January 2023, announced that he would embark on a tour with Davido after the tour for his fifth album, ‘More Love, Less Ego‘. “After my MLLE tour!! Davido and I going on tour! Save your coins! I no one hear pim!!” the singer had said. The tour would be the first the two famous singers would have together. Many have considered the two musicians to be rivals in the entertainment industry, the claims denied by the singer

The Court of Appeal, Sokoto Division, has sentenced two Chinese nationals, Meng Wei Kun and Xu Kuai, to six years imprisonment for offences bordering on conspiracy, money laundering, and attempted bribery to the tune of N50million brought against them by the EFCC. The judgement is sequel to EFCC’s appeal brought against the judgement of the Federal High Court Sokoto, which discharged and acquitted the accused persons on all the three count charge. Delivering judgement on Friday, Justice Abubakar Mahmud Talba berated the respondents who tried to frustrate the appeal through manoeuvrings, saying: “Gone are the days of technicalities in law.” He stated that courts must allow cases to be heard on their merits. Justice Talba further explained that the EFCC had proven counts one and two of the three-count charge before the Federal High Court beyond reasonable doubt but agreed with the lower court on count three and accordingly struck it out because a similar charge is pending before the High

In the bid to strengthen public confidence in the media as a credible barometer of public opinion, the Nigerian media will on Monday, inaugurate the nine-member board of the National Media Complaints Commission (NMCC), otherwise known as the National Ombudsman. Members of the commission who are drawn from the media, the bar, the academia, and civil society are Mr. Emeka Izeze, former Managing Director, Guardian Newspapers (chairman); Mr. A. B Mahmoud, SAN, former President of the Nigerian Bar Association; Prof Chinyere Stella Okunna, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academics), Paul University, Awka, Anambra State; Dr. Hussain Abdu, a Development Specialist and  Country Director, Care International (Nigeria); Mr. Lanre Idowu, Editor-in-Chief, Diamond Publications Ltd and Founder, Diamond Awards for Media Excellence (DAME); Mr. Edetaen Ojo, Executive Director, Media Rights Agenda (MRA); Mrs. Dupe Ajayi-Gbadebo, a Journalist, Lawyer and Arbitrator; Mrs. Eugenia Abu, Broadcaster, Author, and Colum

The High Court sitting in Jikwoyi, Abuja, has sentenced an internet fraudster, Moses Upkonahusi, to one imprisonment for defrauding an Australian, Adam Murad, $5,576. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) made the disclosure via a statement issued by its spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, on Friday, March 31. Uwujaren noted that the internet fraudster was arrested on May 28, 2022, after Murad petitioned the EFCC, alleging that he fell victim to a cryptocurrency investment fraud scheme that had promised him a huge return on investment but lost a cumulative sum of 0.1108859 BTC estimated to be worth $5,576.05 to the scammer in December 2021. Upkonahusi was later arraigned by the EFCC on a one-count charge bordering on cheating by impersonation. The count read: “That you, Moses Ukponahusi, Male, sometime in December 2021 at Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did cheat by personation when you fraudulently created a fake investment website named https://crytoin

The Presidency has confirmed the resignation of the Minister of State Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva ahead of the All Progressive Congress (APC), governorship primaries in Bayelsa State next month. President Muhammadu Buhari’s Special Assistant on Digital Communications, Bashir Ahmad, in a tweet in his official Twitter handle, confirmed the development after weeks of speculations about the intention of the minister. Ahmad tweeted “Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, and former Bayelsa State Governor, H.E. Timipre Sylva, has resigned his appointment to contest in the next Bayelsa governorship election”. Sylva, had last year, resigned as minister after declaring his intention to contest the Presidential primaries of the APC. But a few days later, he withdrew the letter despite attending a valedictory session with President Buhari alongside other Ministers who contested the primaries.

  Governor Nyesom Wike has terminated the appointment of the Chief Medical Director of Rivers State Hospital Management Board, Dr Kenneth Okagwa. Rivers Commissioner for Health, Dr. Princewill Chike, disclosed this in a statement signed by the press officer of the Ministry of Health, Edna Alete on Friday. The statement directed Dr Kenneth Okagwa to immediately hand over to the next most senior civil servant on the board. It is, however, not clear why Kenneth was stripped of his appointment. Wike had on September 10, 2020, inaugurated a seven-man committee to revitalise some dormant health institutions in the state. The Implementation Committee, chaired by the State Deputy Governor, Dr. Ipalibo Harry Banigo has the State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Prof. Zacchaeus Adangor and the Commissioner for Health, Prof. Princewill Chike as members. Others are ,the Chairman of Rivers State University Teaching Hospital (RSUTH), Dr. J. N. Hart, Chief Medical Director of RSUTH, Dr.

  United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc. has recorded impressive performance across major indices in its audited financial results for the full year ended December 31, 2022. The 2022 financials, filed by the bank at Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGx) on Thursday, March 30 showed that gross earnings rose significantly to N853.2billion from N660.2billion recorded at the end of the 2021 financial year, representing a strong 29.2percent growth. Total assets rose remarkably by 27.2per cent, crossing the N10trillion mark, to close at N10.9trillion in December 2022; up from N8.5trillion in 2021. This figure represents a very significant achievement and milestone in the history of the powerhouse financial institution. In spite of the challenging global economic and business environment, UBA recorded a laudable profit before tax, with a 31.2per cent growth, to clos e the year under review at N200.8billion, rising from N153.01billion recorded at the end of the 2021 financial year. Profit after tax (PAT)

Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike has expressed optmism that the state government, which continues to support the development of strong democratic institutions, will have the best magistrate courts in Nigeria. This is part of ongoing efforts by the Rivers State Government, officials in Port Harcourt say, to provide efficient judicial services. enhance the rule of law, and ease challenges that are faced by court users. Wike, who on Thursday, inspected the extent of work being done at the premises of the magistrates’ court along Moscow Road in the Rivers capital said the project should have been completed in December. But he explained that the delay in completing the  project was caused by some structural amendments that were introduced along the line. The expectation of the government, the governor revealed, is that the external works would be finished by the contractor and the project handed over by the end of April. Wike, a lawyer and life bencher, disclosed that  the interior

  Governments at all levels in Nigeria has been charged to declare a state of emergency on vocational technical education if the country must move away from relying on economically developed nations for its growth. One way out of this dependence on other nations would be through the establishment of at least one vocational college in each local government area in the country.  This was the position of Prof Isaac Ogundu in his inaugural lecture titled “A Slave Does Not Trade in Plantain”, at Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Rumuolumeni, near Port Harcourt on Thursday. Ogundu explained that as a slave cannot make personal decisions on when to sell his wares but relies on the master, so is a nation that is economically dependent and cannot afford the basic needs for its citizens.  He said both were in slavery and needed liberation. He also called for the amendment of the laws establishing the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (Tetfund) and the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) to accommod

  The leading opposition party in Nigeria, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has made a swift u-turn on the suspension of key chieftains alleged to have been involved in anti-party activities and misconduct barely hours after the rash decision was taken by the sacked national chairman, Dr Iyorchia Ayu.  A statement signed by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Hon. Debo Ologunagba, Thursday, said the decision was taken at an emergency National Working Committee (NWC) review meeting. The statement titled, 'PDP NWC Reviews Decision on Ortom, Shema, Anyim, Others', read in full: "The National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at its meeting today, Thursday, March 30, 2023 extensively discussed recent developments in the party. "The NWC recognized the imperativeness of a total reconciliation among party leaders and critical stakeholders for a more cohesive party in the overall interest of our teeming members and Nigerians in general. &qu

  Shell Report on Payments to governments has indicated that the Federal Government of Nigeria was paid a total sum of $4,521,134,915 in 2022. This amount is made up of the money paid as production entitlement, taxes, royalties, and fees in  2022. The disclosure was part of Shell’s reports on Sustainability, Climate & Energy Transition, Lobbying and Payments to Governments that were published on Tuesday. A breakdown of the amount showed that the company through its local companies in the country, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo) paid $3,035,996 as Production entitlement, Taxes $711, 850,070, Royalties  $691, 648,502 – and  Fees  $81,639,634, all amounting to $4,521,134,915. Further analysis of the payment also showed that money realised through Production Sharing Contract (PSC) —  (OPL212/OML118, OPL219/OML135), as production entitlement to the government was $539,313,819, taxes -278,348,859, royalties – $480,5

  The United States Government has restated that democracy is the single most powerful tool for unleashing human potential and delivering sustainable development to the people.  The US  Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, said this at the Washington Convention Centre, Washington, DC, Thursday, in his closing remarks at the Summit for Democracy.   The remarks read in full: "It is my honor now to actually close out the summit, and I want to start by thanking everyone – all the heads of state and representatives from more than a hundred countries, leaders of subnational governments, partners from civil society and the private sector – for joining us, for taking part in the second Summit for Democracy. "And I was really pleased to see as I was coming in Senator Menendez, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was heading out. Other members of Congress who participated, we’re grateful for that participation. "And a special thank you to our summit co-hosts –

The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, on Thursday, March 30, 2023 called major oil producing companies in Nigeria to consider the introduction of advance cargo declaration on crude export as a measure to discourage the theft of Nigerian crude oil. The EFCC boss, who spoke while members of the Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS) of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), on a courtesy visit to the commission, expressed optimism that advance cargo declaration of crude export with unique tracking not will deter the theft of Nigerian crude at the export terminals but discourage off takers who would be unwilling to accept such cargoes. “We need to have an advance Cargo declaration on our crude oil export, because we found out that there is theft even at the terminals, unfortunately, IOCs like yours resisted that there is nothing like that, it is impossible to happen.  "But I believe we have conducted a case here at t

 

The Osun State Government, through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and with support from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC), has launched its HIV Treatment Surge initiative, Friday, March 31, 2023, in Osogbo, the state capital. Speaking at the launch event, U.S. CDC Country Director, Mary Boyd, emphasized that surge efforts in health facilities and with communities were not business as usual for the state’s HIV programme, but rather intensified and innovative approaches and partnerships to increase the number of people living with HIV on antiretroviral treatment.  She said, “a lot of hard work will be needed to reach the UNAIDS 95-95-95 goal (having 95percent of people living with HIV know their status, 95percent of those people on antiretrovirals (ART), and 95percent of those on ART reaching viral suppression), but with the support of the Government of Osun, communities, and partners, I have no doubt this surge will propel the state to

Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike has announced the expansion of the ultramodern abattoir being constructed in Mgbuosimini community, Rumueme will now include an open spaced market and a motor park. Wike made the announcement on Thursday , when he visited the project site to inspect the progress of work done on the world class abattoir designed with the capacity to slaughter 400 cattle, 1500 goats and sheep in one day. The Rivers State governor, who spoke to some residents who thronged out to herald his arrival and waited until he was done with his inspection tour, appealed to them to continue to give the contractor the needed support so that the project could be completed on schedule. "We are almost finishing the slaughter house and then we are building a market on this side. And we have to commission it before I leave office. So, that is what I want to tell all of you. "We want to start the park and the market immediately and that will create jobs for us. And I will