Nelly's SmartBriefs

Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has stated that the Monday fire outbreak at the Bonny/Nembe/Bille Jetty, off Creek Road in the Old Port Harcourt Township, was unfortunate, and expressed sympathy to those who were personally impacted by the inferno. The governor's assurance was contained in a statement signed by the Senior Special Assistant on Media to the Governor of Rivers State, Boniface Onyedi, in Government House, Port Harcourt, on January 30, 2024. Fubara further expressed his determination to work with the operators of the jetty to streamline measures that will end the occurrence of these annual infernos in the area. The governor gave the assurance through the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Dr. Tammy Danagogo, who represented him with the high-powered delegation that he led to visit the scene of the inferno. "Governor Fubara would have been here himself but was on another  engagement. He has directed us to be here to get a first-hand report fro

Eight teams have so far booked their places in the ongoing 2023 Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals as of Tuesday. Angola were the first to qualify after the Parancas Negras (Black Sable Antelopes) thrashed Namibia on Saturday evening. The attacking-sided team will now face the Super Eagles of Nigeria, believed to be one of the favourites of the competition, after beating the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon. The surprise of the tournament was the Round 16 match between the hosts, Côte d’Ivoire, and the defending champions, Senegal, as the hosts advanced to the last eight, thanks to Frank Kessie’s penalty that kept them in the game to penalty shoot-outs in the Elephant’s favour. Meanwhile, a late Ryan Mendes penalty sealed the win for Cape Verde, sending them through to the quarter-finals for the second time in their history. Cape Verde boss Bubista, who was delighted with his side’s performance, said, “We are carving our path; we know there are many bigger teams than us, but we are tryi

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reduced its forecast for Nigeria’s economic growth to 3 percent in 2024 — down from a 3.1 percent projected in October 2023. This is contained in the Washington-based institution’s World Economic Outlook (WEO) update for January 2024. The outlook, released on Tuesday, is titled, ‘Moderating Inflation and Steady Growth Open Path to Soft Landing’. IMF also projected a 3.1 percent economic growth for Nigeria in 2025. In the outlook, IMF also downgraded its forecast for sub-Saharan Africa from 4 percent to 3.8 percent for 2024. “In sub-Saharan Africa, growth is projected to rise from an estimated 3.3 percent in 2023 to 3.8 percent in 2024 and 4.1 percent in 2025, as the negative effects of earlier weather shocks subside and supply issues gradually improve,” IMF said. “The downward revision for 2024 of 0.2 percentage point from October 2023 mainly reflects a weaker projection for South Africa on account of increasing logistical constraints, includin

Consumers in December 2023 paid as much as N1,362.27 per litre nationwide for kerosine, the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS), has said. This marked a  5.84 per cent increase compared to the N1,287.10 recorded in November 2023. This was contained in the latest report of the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) obtained on Tuesday. On a year-on-year basis, the surge amounted to a 23.33 per cent, climbing from N1,104.61 in December 2022. An in-depth state analysis, however, revealed disparity in prices across the nation. NBS notes, “Abuja led the pack with the highest average price per litre at N1,650.00, closely trailed by Ogun at N1,609.52 and Benue at N1,594.44. “Conversely, Kwara emerged with the lowest price recorded at N917.14, followed by Rivers with N969.70 and Nassarawa with N1,071.43” NBS’ further examination based on geographical zones disclosed that the South-West experienced the highest average retail price per litre of household kerosene, reaching N1,455.21. The North-West

Delta State Governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, has approved the immediate suspension of the Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Omoun Perekebena Perez, over the mismanagement of N280million for Greenhouse project. The N280million was illegally transferred to a private account in three tranches. The illegal transfer violates the Public Procurement Act. Oborevwori also directed the Permanent Secretary, Bennett Ezon-Abode Agamah; the Assistant Director, Agricultural Engineering, Engr. Oki Preowei Yintareke; and the Chief Accountant, Gabriel Idiatacheko to proceed on compulsory leave until further notice. The suspension was contained in a statement issued by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Kingsley Emu, on Wednesday, January 31, 2024. Meanwhile, the governor has constituted a seven-man committee to investigate the claims and perceived infractions related to the management of the scheme by the Delta State Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources. The comm

The Supreme Court on Wednesday, January 31, dismissed the appeal filed by Aishatu Ahmed Binani of the All Progressives Congress (APC), challenging the election of Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa. Delivering judgement, Justice John Okoro held that the suit was lacking in merit. Okoro also held that a resident electoral commissioner lacks powers to announce election results. Justice Okoro declared that the Electoral Act empower the Returning Officer to announce the results of an election, stating that any other person who assumes such role did it illegally. The apex court justices also held that Binani and APC failed to provide credible evidence of non-compliance with the Electoral Law in the conduct of the election and that she won the election.

The United States, on Tuesday, Janury 30, announced it will reimpose sanctions on the oil and gas sector of Venezuela, relaxed under a reconciliation deal, after opponents to President Nicolas Maduro were barred from running against him. The State Department issued a deadline to end a license that allowed U.S. dealings with Venezuela’s key money-making sector, saying Maduro was violating an agreement with the opposition reached in Barbados in October. “Absent progress between Maduro and his representatives and the opposition Unitary Platform, particularly on allowing all presidential candidates to compete in this year’s election, the United States will not renew the license when it expires on April 18, 2024,” State Department spokesman, Matthew Miller, said in a statement. The United States earlier said it was immediately winding down another license that allowed operations by the Venezuelan state-owned gold mining company, Minerven. Miller said: “The United States remains strongly com

A Federal High Court in Abuja, on Tuesday, January 30, dismissed a suit seeking to stop Governor Siminalayi Fubara from re-presenting the N800billion 2024 budget of Rivers State. Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, in a ruling, also set aside the earlier interim order made on January 22, directing parties in the suit to maintain status quo pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit. Justice Abdulmalik held that a similar suit in the matter had already been decided by a sister court on the day the interim order was granted, NAN reports. The judge also held that the plaintiff’s counsel, David Maduka, lost the opportunity that would have afforded him to be heard when he failed to address the court on the propriety of the instant suit in the face of the judgment already delivered in a similar case. Recall that the five-member Rivers House of Assembly led by the then factional Speaker, Rt. Hon. Edison Ehie, had, on December 13, 2023, passed the appropriation bill sent to it by Fuba

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has cleared 10 aspirants, including the Deputy Governor of Edo State, Comrade Philip Shaibu, for the party’s governorship primary election in the state. The PDP National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature, disclosed this to journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, January 30, 2024. The primary election has been slated for February 22, 2024. Abature said the aspirants were presented with the party’s Provisional Clearance Certificate at the PDP National headquarters in Abuja. He listed the aspirants to include Shaibu; the former Chairman of Nigerian Breweries, Asue Ighodalo; a former member of the House of Representatives, Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama; and a former chairman of Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State, Felix Akhabue. Others are the former Chairman of the Edo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Anslem Ojezua; former Rep. Omosede Igbinedion; Arthur Esene; Prof. Martin Uhomoibhi; Umoru Hadizat; and Osaro Onaiwu. Bature said the 11th

The Federal Government is set to ban single-use plastic products (SUPs) and styrofoam in ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs). The Minister of State for Environment, Iziaq Salako, gave the indication in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, during a workshop and capacity building for chemicals and waste handlers, held on Tuesday. The minister, who commending the state government for the initiative, highlighted some of the measures being taken to promote circular economy, which include, strengthening relevant policies and institutional framework, building the capacity of manufacturers and producers to embrace the principle of cleaner production and enforcement of national policies on chemical management. The minister seized the occasion to reiterate the commitment of the Federal Government to the elimination of single-used plastics as he implored government department and offices to comply with the new directive. The second edition of the Chemical Handlers and Users Workshop was at t

The Federal Government on Tuesday, January 30, inaugurated the 37-man Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage. The committee is to recommend a new National Minimum Wage for the country. Vice President Kashim Shettima, who inaugurated the committee at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, charged to them to ensure the timely submission of their recommendations. The Committee chaired by the former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Goni Bukar Aji, is made up of members of the organised labour, the private sector and the federal and state governments. Shettima said the decision to set up the committee is a recognition of the need to ensure a decent living wage and in compliance with the existing National Minimum Wage Act of 2019 which will expire in a few months from now. Membership of the committee cuts across the Federal Government, state government, private sector, and organised labour. Present for the inauguration are some state governors, including Bal

Nigeria on Tuesday, January 30, recorded an improved ranking in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI), moving five places up to rank 145 out of 180 countries assessed. According to the latest corruption index released by Transparency International (TI), the country also gained one point added to its previous 24, ending up scoring 25 out of the 100 maximum points in the 2023 CPI results, apart from moving five places up from its 150th position. Arguably the most widely used global corruption ranking in the world, the CPI measures how corrupt each country’s public sector is perceived to be. It uses a scale of zero to 100, where zero means “highly corrupt” and 100 means very clean”. The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Center (CISLAC) which presented the index in Abuja said Nigeria’s score is below the sub-saharan African average of 33 points. While the index does not show specific incidences of corruption in the country, it indicates the perception of corruption in Nigeria CISLAC point

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has opened its portal for 2024 Batch ‘A’ Stream 1 registration. The scheme made this known via a post on its social media accounts on Monday, January 29, 2024. “Portal is open now. Visit http://nysc.org.ng to register,” it stated. A check on the NYSC’s website revealed that the registration will run from January 29, 2024, to February 4, 2024. Prospective corps members were directed to click on “Fresh Registration” link while registering for the first time. Those who were deployed in previous batches and did not report to camp were to click on “Revalidation link” to revalidate.

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has stated that 8,285 candidates across the country have registered for the 2024 West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for private candidates. The council’s Head of National Office, Dr Amos Dangut, made the disclosure at a press conference in Lagos on Monday, January 29, 2024. Dangut, who insisted that WAEC would not renege on its plans to conduct its first-ever Computer Based Test (CBT) for WASSCE, said the examination would commence on Wednesday, January 31, and end on Saturday, February 17, 2024, in Nigeria. He said: “The conduct of the Computer Based West African Senior School Certificate Examination (CB-WASSCE) for private candidates, 2024 first series, will take place from Wednesday, January 31, and end on Saturday, February 17, in Nigeria. “This will span a period of two weeks and four days and to this end, there is no going back as plans have, therefore, been concluded for this first-ever computer-based examinati

Qatar’s prime minister has said “good progress” was made during a meeting between intelligence officials from Egypt, Israel and the United States over the weekend to discuss a possible deal to secure a truce in the Israel-Hamas war and the release of captives held by Palestinian groups in Gaza. Spy chiefs from the three countries, which have been leading negotiations on agreements to pause fighting since the start of the war on October 7, met over the weekend in the French capital Paris. The sides discussed a potential deal that would include a phased truce that would see women and children released first and humanitarian aid entering the besieged Gaza Strip, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al Thani confirmed on Monday. “We are hoping to relay this proposal to Hamas and to get them to a place where they engage positively and constructively in the process,” the prime minister said during an event hosted by the Atlantic Council in Washington, DC, the US. Qatar’s prime minister