YellowStone Media International

The Deputy Governor, Economic Policy, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr. Joseph Nnanna, on Tuesday appraised Nigeria's economic trajectory, declaring that the country was in dire need of inclusive growth policies capable of resolving the huge unemployment and under-employment challenges facing the youths. Nnanna, in his remarks at the launch of the Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa in Abuja by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), lamented that the brand of capitalism being practised in Nigeria was not good enough and needed to be redefined to help build inclusive growth. The CBN chief observed that besides the high unemployment rate, majority of the youths were under-employed.  According to him, the nation's economy is expected to record about 2.8 per cent growth in 2019, but expressed regret that such would still not provide the needed inclusive growth with an annual population growth of about 3.2 per cent. Nnanna noted that the major

The Principal of Ede Muslim High School 1 Ede, Osun State, Khalid Adejare Abass, on Tuesday appealed to the law enforcement agents to help stop the trauma and psychological tension he is going through for some days now. Also, the family members of the principal have equally called on the police authorities to stop further unjustifiable arrest of their son, Abass, alleging that the police have politicise the matter . Speaking yesterday from his hospital bed in Ede with journalists, Abass, who was critically ill, lamented how he was being made to travel between Lagos and Abuja during his ten days incarceration as a common criminal. He said the security agents are after his life, adding that they had made up their mind to kill him. According to him, "If anything should happen to me, the police should be held responsible; the brutality of the police was just too much for me to bear.” He remarked that he was talking to people on his si

A female Nigerian detained in Saudi Arabia for alleged drug trafficking,  Zainab Aliyu,  has been released. Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari,  Bashir Ahmed, on new media, made this known on Tuesday. Her release was after President Muhammadu Buhari got involved in the matter following recent facts after Aliyu’s detention for allegedly transporting banned drugs into the oil-rich Arab nation. A statement by presidential Aide, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, in Abuja, said that the President had directed the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami, to immediately act on the case of Zainab, a student of Maitama Sule University, Kano. “President Muhammadu Buhari gave the directive immediately the matter was brought to his attention about two weeks ago. My office has been working with the AGF as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in that regard”, Dabiri-Erewa revealed. The Presidential aide assured that progress was being ma

A total of N617.566 billion was on Tuesday distributed as Federal Allocation for the month of March, 2019 among the three government, comprising the   federal , state   and local governments. A communique issued by the Technical sub -Committee of Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) released at the end of meeting in Abuja, indicated that the Gross statutory revenue received for the reference month was N446.647 billion, which is lower than the N478.434 billion received in the previous month by N31.787 billion. In the same vein, the revenue generated from the Value Added Tax (VAT) was N92.181billion. This is a decrease from the N96.389 billion generated from previous month, with N4.208 billion. There was also N653 million from Exchange Gain, N13.085 billion from Forex Equalization; N55.000 billion from Good & Valuable Consideration as well as N10.000 billion added by NNPC.These therefore, brought the total revenue distributable for the current month to th

The military Special Task Force (STF) in Plateau State has arrested two suspects that threatened to kill the Secretary General of Jama’tu Nasir Islam (JNI), Dr. Khalid Aliyu. The Command has also smashed a group of militia behind series of attacks and killings in Riyom Local Government Area of the state. Parading the suspects before journalists in Jos on Tuesday, Commander of the task force, Major General Augustine Agundu, said the Command received a tasking from the Defence Headquarters that the life of Aliyu was in danger as he was receiving unanimous calls threatening to eliminate him. He added that the Defence Headquarters supported the operation with technical capability to enable the task force   deploy its wide range of human intelligence capabilities since the threat calls were emanating from Jos. “Eventually, on April 20, 2019, the combined efforts eventually led to the arrest of one Mr. Aliyu Fadhad Tijani and Haruna Abdullahi at Paar Hotel alon

The General Secretary of the National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN) and Vice President of the Industrial Global Union, Issa Aremu, has lamented the inadequate number of police personnel in the country. Speaking on Tuesday at a pre-May Day lecture in Kaduna, he noted that inadequate police personnel was one of the factors responsible for the security challenges bedeviling   the country. According to him, police personnel are grossly inadequate considering the population of Nigerians. Aremu noted that countries with less population have more police personnel than Nigeria, stressing that there was need for   more police personnel who should be   properly equipped to be able to stand any criminal activities in the land. He noted for instance that Egypt, with a population eight million people, has 1.5 million police personnel, while Nigeria with a population of about 200 million people,   has only 400,000 police personnel.

The Board Chairman of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Dr. Muhammed Mahmoud, and his daughter were on Tuesday released by their abductors. Mahmoud, his daughter and several other travellers were abducted last Monday on the Kaduna-Abuja expressway when suspected bandits open fire at them. The UBEC boss’ driver was said to have been killed during the incident. There has been no information about other commuters who were abducted by the bandits. Mahmood's freedom was confirmed in a telephone interview by Hussaini Danladi, a relation, who said they were freed from captivity at about noon yesterday. Danladi, however, did not say whether a ransom was paid before their release. The kidnappers seemed to have taken over the Kaduna-Abuja expressway which has been deserted by travellers following the deadly activities of the criminals-kidnapping, armed robbery among others Despite the massive deployment of security of personnel on t

  As part of efforts to honour individuals and institutions providing humanitarian aid as well as facilitating the establishment of peace in Nigeria, the Negotiation and Conflict Management Group (NCMG) has called on Nigerians to nominate persons or entities which have distinguished themselves in this regard for the 2019 NCMG Peace Award. It said the annual award billed to hold on November 11, 2019, will seek high flyers who have assisted in preventing recurrence of violence by addressing causes of conflict and creating visible long lasting solutions, especially in conflict-prone and unrest areas in Nigeria. In a statement made available to the media Tuesday, the Founder of NCMG International, Kehinde Aina, said the awards would consider several categories, including NCMG Justice Builder, NCMG Institutional Peace Builder, NCMG Youth Innovator for Peace, and NCMG Community Peace builder Award, adding that those who meet the set criteria will be honoured

  There are indications that the Bayelsa State Government may have requested the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to consider effecting a change in the November 2 date scheduled for the governorship election in the state. Aside the political leadership in the state, other stakeholders like the clergies were said to have disagreed with the date for the poll because it is a Thanksgiving public holiday. It was further gathered that the stakeholders were unhappy over the seeming lack of consultation by the electoral body before fixing the date. The day is regarded as a remarkable one in the calendar of the state with public institutions closed and churches of all denominations will converge on the 15,000 capacity state-owned Ecumenical Centre, while other religions are encouraged to go to their places of worship annually as a mark of respect for God. When the state Governor, Seriake Dickson, took over in 2012, the bill declaring November 2 as a

Three suspected members of a robbery/ kidnap gang, who allegedly abducted and murdered two Bureau de Change (BDC) operators last month at the Ikorodu area of Lagos State, have been arrested by operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the state Police Command. The victims, Alhaji Yakubu Musa and Alhaji Hassan Umoru, had gone for a monetary transaction with the gang on March 14, 2019, unknown to them that they were embarking on a trip to their death. The gang members were said to have taken them to an abandoned building at the Odogunyan area of Ikorodu, where they were bound and shot dead. This was after they had paid N1.6 million ransom into an account provided by the gang to secure their release. The state Commissioner of Police, Zubairu Muazu, was said to have directed SARS to investigate the matter after the duo was reported missing. However, during investigation and subsequent arrest of three of the gang members, Oluwa

The main opposition party in Nigeria, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Monday raised the alarm over alleged replacements of servers in all states of the country by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in what it referred as a desperate bid to obliterate the actual results transmitted from the polling centres across the nation in the February 23 Presidential election. Describing the development as “completely reprehensible,” the party maintained that the move has exposed the culpability of the electoral umpire in the manipulation and rigging of the 2019 presidential election.  In a statement by PDP spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, the party accused the commission of doing the bidding of the ruling party APC “after they realised that the servers have information of Atiku Abubakar’s victory at the election.” The statement further read: “Our party also has details of how the INEC leadership and the Presidency agents procured and detailed computer experts t

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, on Monday tasked the judicial arm of government to be up-to-date with the current happenings in the Nigerian oil and gas industry. The minister, while speaking at a two-day workshop organised by the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) for Judges in collaboration with the National Judicial Institute (NJI) in Abuja, noted that the workshop represented the federal government's commitment to further assist the judicial arm of government in building capacity and enhancing its competence for an effective and efficient administration of justice as regards the oil and gas sector. Kachikwu, represented by the Director of Legal Services, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Mr. Muhammed Saidu, stated that the Nigerian oil and gas industry is a dynamic one, such that the exploration, production and contraction processes are complex and rapidly changing hence "the need for your lordship to

The lone Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) member in the Lagos State House of Assembly, Dipo Olorunrinu,   has defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC). Olorunrinu, who represented Amuwo-Odofin constituency I, lost his re-election bid to Mojisola Alli-Macaulay, APC candidate, in March 9 state assembly election with just 278 votes. He, however, vowed not to challenge the result at the election tribunal. The lawmaker informed the house of his defection on Monday at the plenary through a letter titled: “Letter of Defection from PDP to APC,” and addressed to Mudashiru Obasa, the speaker. The letter was read by Azeez Sanni, the clerk of the assembly. “I have been a young progressive-minded person and I have decided to realign with the APC based on moving trend and party to reckon with taking Lagos State to the next level,” the letter read in part. “I will like to appreciate Mr Speaker for his continuous act of service to my constituency. This explains the

Peace seems to be on its way to Rivers State as the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state on Monday announced its acceptance of the olive branch extended to members of the opposition by the state Governor, Nyesom Wike. APC disclosed that it had accepted to work with the governor for the overall interest of the state. Addressing a press conference in Port Harcourt on Monday on behalf of elected and appointed members of APC in Rivers State, the senator representing Rivers East Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Senator Andrew Uchendu, said the party believes the governor was sincere in his offer even though they were yet to see evidence of the olive branch. Uchendu said: "On April 17, 2019, the world woke up to a live broadcast by His Excellency, Nyesom Ezebunwo Wike, CON, Governor, Rivers State in which he extended his hand of fellowship to Rivers people, including all political parties which have been engaged in the struggle for power t

  The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Taraba State University chapter, has accused the state government of insincerity and lack of commitment to end the ongoing strike embarked upon by the union. Addressing a press conference on the institution's campus on Monday, Chairman of the chapter, Dr. Samuel Shikaa, told journalists that the union is disappointed by the failure of the government to take concrete steps towards meeting its demands which have been lingering since 2014. The strike, according to the chairman, was necessitated by the failure of the state government to honour the agreement it entered with the union in March 2018 for it to suspend the strike it embarked upon in February 2018 contrary to the propaganda being peddled that the strike was due to the deductions in their January and February salaries. In the Memorandum of Action (MoA) signed on behalf of the state government by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Antho

Larry King is in the ICU after suffering a heart attack last Thursday,  TMZ  reports. The pioneering talk show host, 85, reportedly went into cardiac arrest and had a heart attack last Thursday, April 25, while getting ready to go to the hospital to check himself in for an angiogram, because he had been having trouble breathing.  TMZ  reports that he was then rushed to a local Los Angeles hospital by ambulance, where he underwent an angioplasty. Several stents were inserted into his heart. The outlet adds that King has been in the cardiac intensive care unit and will likely be released on Monday, April 29. The former CNN personality had suffered heart attacks on two previous occasions, including one over 30 years ago in 1987. TMZ reports that the he'd been experiencing breathing problems for the past six months, but he hadn't been formally diagnosed with any conditions. King last appeared at a public event in February. CULLED FROM YAHOO

  …Says daily consumption of fuel about 40m litres Former General Secretary of Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), Hon. Joseph Akinlaja, on Monday said since there is no appropriation for petroleum subsidy in the National Assembly, lawmakers have no information on how much Nigeria is spending on it. Worried that Nigeria and some other countries still subsidising fuel for domestic consumption have spent about $5.2 trillion globally from 2015 till date on the policy, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) President, Christine Lagarde, had said at the recent World Bank/IMF Spring Meeting in Washington DC, United States, that subsidy removal would help boost revenue and improve local infrastructure development. But when fielding questions from journalists on the advice, particularly on how much the country is expending on fuel subsidy, Akinlaja, who is t