Accountability

Commissioner for Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives, Dr. Lola Akande gave the warning at the maiden matriculation of the Lagos State Cooperative College’s first diploma programme held at the Johnson Agiri campus of the school in Agege, Lagos.

Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike on Wednesday donated N500 million to support the Sokoto State Government in rebuilding the Sokoto Central Market ravaged by fire on Tuesday morning.

President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly used his clemency authority as a political tool rather than an act of mercy, issued a final wave of pardons and commutations on his last night in office, delivering relief for a mix of beneficiaries that included former strategist Stephen Bannon, Republican Party and Trump fundraiser Elliott Broidy, and former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, found guilty in 2013 of corruption charges.

The remarks on the Senate floor came as the Kentucky Republican and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., worked to hash out details on Trump’s impending impeachment trial. Trump was impeached in the Democrat-led House last week in a 232-197 vote, with 10 Republicans voting in favor of impeachment.

The 36 state governors in Nigeria will hold a virtual meeting on January 20 to discuss issues relating to the second wave of COVID-19.

Media Rights Agenda (MRA) Monday announced the launch of its project to combat impunity for attacks against journalists, warning that those who unjustifiably threaten or undermine the safety or security, freedom and wellbeing of media professionals in Nigeria should expect to be met with robust legal challenges.

Greece’s president praised Olympic sailing champion Sofia Bekatorou for dissolving “a conspiracy of silence” by reporting a historic allegation of sexual assault by a sports official.

As Nigerian and Nigerians grapple with economic recession and second wave of COVID-19 pandemic, Civil Society Organisations, CSOs, Monday, disagreed and condemned the alleged move by the Federal Government to sell public assets to implement 2021 budget.

He said that Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta, heading NGF Committee charged with the responsibility of liaising between the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 and the forum, would brief the meeting on COVID-19 vaccines and the way forward.

The Nigerian Governors Forum on Monday said it will meet on Wednesday to chart a way out of the second wave of the pandemic as schools reopen across the country.

The Senate has taken a swipe at the Ministry of Petroleum Resources over the payment of N98.4 million for the printing of leaflets for the awareness campaign programme for the Petroleum Industrial Bill without due process.

Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra has suspended the planned sale of some assets of the state, amongst them Commissioners quarters, located within the Agu-Awka axis near Government House, Awka.

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged the Senate President Dr Ahmad Lawan, and Speaker of House of Representatives Mr Femi Gbajabiamila to “urgently review the 2021 appropriation legislation to stop the government of President Muhammadu Buhari from selling public properties to fund the 2021 budget, and to identify areas in the budget to cut such as salaries and allowances for members and the Presidency to make sayings to address the growing level of deficit and borrowing.”

The first batch of COVID-19 vaccines to be received by Nigeria will be administered to Nigerians at no cost (free of charges) and in four phases, an official has said.

Ahead of the January 25 nationwide member registration and re-validation exercise of the All Progressives Congress, former Governor of Abia State and Chief Whip of the Senate, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, has commended the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress “under the able and dynamic leadership” of Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State for the aggressive membership drive for the party.

The outgoing Republican chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee asked the chief executives of major U.S. tech firms Apple Inc, Facebook Inc, Amazon.com Inc, Alphabet Inc and Twitter to answer detailed questions about decisions to restrict or permanently ban accounts of conservative users and other steps to restrict content or platforms.

A US Capitol Police officer on duty during Wednesday's coup attempt by Trump supporters died by suicide on Saturday, his family has announced.

No fewer than 96 companies from Nigeria and overseas have indicated interest in undertaking the rehabilitation of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s (NNPC) downstream infrastructure.