DONALD OTITO

Nigerian-born cell biologist and researcher, Tobiloba Oni is expected to join Whitehead Institute and launch his independent research career in February 2021. Legit.ng Visit website

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva ***To hand over CNG-powered buses to Labour ***Buhari to flag off autogas scheme, Tuesday By Michael Eboh The Federal Government, Sunday, said at least one million vehicles across the country, would be converted to run on autogas by the end of 2021. In a statement in Abuja, Group General Manager/Special Assistant on Media to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Garba Deen Muhammad, said the conversion would be expedited with the official launch of the National Gas Expansion Programme, NGEP, December 1, by President Muhammadu Buhari. The Minister’s aide explained that the rollout is the culmination of the resolve of the Buhari-led government to deepen domestic usage of natural gas in its various forms. He added that it was also in line with the government’s plan to make gas the first choice source of cheaper and cleaner energy for Nigerians in their personal and industrial endeavours. He further stated that at the ...

Brighton’s German midfielder Pascal Gross scores a penalty in added time past Liverpool’s Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson Becker during the English Premier League football match between Brighton and Hove Albion and Liverpool at the American Express Community Stadium in Brighton, southern England on November 28, 2020. (Photo by NEIL HALL / POOL / AFP)   Liverpool were frustrated by VAR as Pascal Gross’s controversial late penalty rescued a dramatic 1-1 draw for Brighton at the Amex Stadium on Saturday. Jurgen Klopp’s side took the lead through Diogo Jota’s second half strike after Brighton’s Neal Maupay had missed a penalty in the first half. But Liverpool were stunned in stoppage-time when Andrew Robertson’s challenge on Danny Welbeck was ruled a penalty after Stuart Attwell overturned his initial decision. Gross converted from the spot, leaving Klopp sarcastically applauding the officials at the end of a disappointing week for Liverpool after their shock Champions League defeat at ho...

Abike Dabiri-Erewa has celebrated Ogunmola Sowemimo, the first Nigerian female Boeing 787 pilot and the first Nigerian female pilot to fly for Qatar Airways. Legit.ng Visit website

The inspector general of police, Mohammed Adamu, has on Friday, November 27, warned that no forms of EndSARS protest will be condoned again in the country. Legit.ng Visit website

Pix from the summit By Peter Duru Benue youths have asked the old generation of leaders to handover the baton of leadership to the younger generation to enable the young vibrant minds effectively tackle the numerous development challenges facing the state and country at large. In a communique issued at the end of a three day Benue Youths Summits convened by Governor Samuel Ortom to address the issues raised during the recent ENDSARS protests in the state they insisted that the baton change would enable the youths to lead the state into the 4th industrial revolution. The youths who gathered from the 23 Local Government Areas of the state representing different political parties, professional and socio-cultural organisations acknowledged that the past and current leaders of Benue had been the torchbearers of the state. According to them, “the journey has been a tough one, with compounding challenges. The world has entered a new era in which this generation of leaders must assume the role...

   /  1 hour ago BBNaija's Kiddwaya and Erica have embarked on a trip to Sierra Leone together. The billionaire son's mother recently called on kind Nigerians to pray for them. Visit website

By Davies Iheamnachor – Port Harcourt A Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has ordered the Nigeria Police to pay the sum of N50 million as compensation to the family of Daniel Chibuike-Ikeagwuchi popular called Sleek, who was killed by cops in the state. The family of Sleek had pressed enforcement of Fundamental Human Rights against the Nigeria Police, the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Adamu, the State Commissioner of Police, Joseph Mukan, and two other policemen, for killing their son, Sleek. It would be recalled that two operatives of Nigeria Police had killed Sleek around Eleme, Eleme Local Government Area of the state on the 19th of September, 2020, over an unknown reason resulting to protests by the family of the victim and Civil Society Organisations. READ ALSO:  #EndSARS: Ex-Police boss identifies lack of courses on human right, poor remuneration as responsible for police brutality The family had on four grounds prayed the court to declared the killing o...

FILE: Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma addresses residents of the state in his Easter message at the Government House in Owerri on April 12, 2020.   Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma on Friday said his state requires at least N75 billion to fix erosion sites across the state. Uzodinma made the announcement at a press briefing in Abuja after a closed-door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari. According to the Governor, Imo has 360 erosion sites of which 57 have been studied. Imo is one of the worst-affected states by erosion in Nigeria. At the Friday briefing, Uzodinma also commented on the recent defection of Ebony State Governor, Dave Umahi, to the All Progressives Congress (APC). READ ALSO:  Imo Assembly Speaker Impeached He welcomed Umahi’s entry into the APC and said he has no knowledge of the latter’s rumoured presidential ambition as a factor in the move. Uzodinma urged Nigerians to celebrate the successes of the Buhari administration which, according to him, include...

Top officials and staffers in the Joe Biden's camp are reportedly "pissed off" after being neglected in the allocation of cabinet slots dominated by Obama men. Legit.ng Visit website

A court in Rwanda’s capital, Kigali, has sentenced a former head of President Paul Kagame’s security unit to three years in prison “for stealing a mobile phone”. Tom Byabagamba, who has been stripped of the rank of colonel, was already serving a 15-year prison sentence for disrespecting the national flag, insurrection, and endangering state security. In 2016, a military court handed him a 21-year sentence, which was later commuted on appeal. The court heard that he planned to use the phone to escape from prison. He has maintained that all the charges were trumped-up. READ ALSO:  Enugu student emerges overall best female in Chemistry Competition Following Tuesday’s ruling, he will now serve 18 years in total. Mr Byabagamba told the court he was not the kind of person to steal such an “insignificant object”. He admitted that being caught up in possession of a phone was in violation of prison regulations, but shouldn’t warrant a prison sentence. Mr Byabagamba told the court his troubl...

FIFA, today, released the list of nominees shortlisted for The Best FIFA Football Awards .  The nominees selected by a panel of experts in seven different categories are as follows: The Best FIFA Men’s Player:  Thiago Alcântara (Spain / FC Bayern München / Liverpool FC), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal / Juventus FC), Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium / Manchester City FC), Robert Lewandowski (Poland / FC Bayern München), Sadio Mané (Senegal / Liverpool FC), Kylian Mbappé (France / Paris Saint-Germain), Lionel Messi (Argentina / FC Barcelona), Neymar (Brazil / Paris Saint-Germain), Sergio Ramos (Spain / Real Madrid CF), Mohamed Salah (Egypt / Liverpool FC ), and Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands / Liverpool FC) The Best FIFA Women’s Player:  Lucy Bronze (England / Olympique Lyonnais / Manchester City WFC), Delphine Cascarino (France / Olympique Lyonnais), Caroline Graham Hansen (Norway / FC Barcelona), Pernille Harder (Denmark / VfL Wolfsburg / Chelsea FC Women), Jennifer Hermoso (Spain / ...

Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai. Discloses why APC stepped down restructuring bill in 2018 Says APC still committed to restructuring  Notes opposition elements don’t represent North Advocates for state police, state judicial autonomy It’s game to hoodwink the unwary — Afenifere It’s all part of APC’s lies to Nigerians — Ohanaeze APC govt not honest with Nigerians — PANDEF By Anayo Okoli, South-East, Dapo Akinrefon, Emmanuel Elebeke & Chioma Onuegbu The Kaduna State Governor and Chairman, All Progressives Congress, APC, Restructuring Committee, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, yesterday took a swipe at Northerners opposed to restructuring of the country, saying they were doing so for selfish reasons. He also said the draft bill produced on restructuring by his committee in January 2018 was stepped down for fear of politicization, ahead of the 2019 general elections. However, El-Rufai’s comments drew the ire of Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, and its counterpart in...

By Henry Umoru, Abuja Senator Elisha Ishaku Abbo representing Adamawa North on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP has on Wednesday dumped his party for the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC. Senator Abbo’s defection letter was addressed to the President of the Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan. Lawan who read the letter at Plenary Session Wednesday said that Senator Abbo defected because of what he described as the unprecedented achievements of President Muhammadu Buhari who has paid attention to the welfare of Nigeria citizens more than any other President, Nigeria as a country has ever produced. According to Abbo, he is dumping the PDP with his constituents because of what he termed, mismanagement of PDP in Adamawa State by the Governor, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri that has led to a faction within the party in the State as well as the polarization of the party and interests. ALSO READ:  Selfish Northerners opposing restructuring, says Gov El-Rufai In his remarks, President ...

PHOTO USED TO ILLUSTRATE THE STORY: A patrol boat of the Italian Coast Guards (Guardia Costiera) transports migrants towards the port of Palermo, Sicily. PHOTO: Alessandro FUCARINI / AFP)   At least four people died when a boat carrying about 30 migrants sank off Spain’s Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, emergency services said. Rescuers were searching for more possible victims following the accident off the fishing village of Orzola in the north of Lanzarote island late Tuesday. “A small boat overturned at around 7:30 pm as it was approaching the coast,” a spokeswoman for the emergency services said. She said five of those onboard reached land while 15 others were rescued. “The bodies of two people were found, a search is continuing for others who were on the boat,” she said. READ ALSO:  ‘America Is Back’: Biden Unveils National Security Team The head of emergency and security services in Lanzarote, Enrique Espinosa, said two other bodies were recovered and there wer...

  COVID-19 Vaccine breakthrough: 5 important things to know about Nigeria's Dr Onyema who is globally celebrated (photos) Legit.ng  /  1 hour ago A Nigerian medical doctor, Onyema Ogbuagu, is one of the health professionals that contributed greatly to the success of the effective Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine Visit website

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Nsukka Zone, has condemned the alleged attempt by Prof Charles Eze, the Vice-chancellor of Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), to use the military to conduct examinations in the institution. Some universities under Nsukka Zone include Benue State University (BSU), Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), Federal University, Lokoja, Kogi state university, Anyigba, University of Nigeria Nsukka, and the federal university of Agriculture Makurdi. Dr Igbana Ajir, the Zonal Coordinator,  made the condemnation at the University of Nigeria Nsukka while briefing newsmen shortly after ASUU zonal meeting. Ajir said that inviting of military to force students to write the 2019/2020 first semester examination recently by the VC and school management is not only barbaric but negates the civil university traditions. READ ALSO:  COVID-19: Financial experts urge FG to adopt Balance Sheet approach in public fi...

By Paul Olayemi Uneasy calm now pervades Maka Street in Sapele, Delta State following the reported pollution of a water well in the area allegedly caused by a broken underground pipeline owned by an indigenous oil firm, Seplat Petroleum Development Company. But the company in a recent briefing said though there was no further signs of hydrocarbons in the wells they dug for comparative analysis, “no oil leaks or seepages were traced back to Seplat’s operated facilities,” adding that it is “expediently investigating the root cause of the incident.” A property owner in the locality, Squadron Leader Rolland Mujakperuo (rtd) said his attention was first drawn to the situation in August when residents complained that the water from their wells was oily and black.  “When I came, I noticed the well was not only blackish but when we fetched the water, it was oily and smelt of fuel,” he said. “The water from the wells stinks and for some time now we have not been able to drink from it d...

By Ogaga Ifowodo ‘I F ever America undergoes great revolutions, they will be brought about by the presence of the black race on the soil of the United States; that is to say, they will owe their origin, not to the equality, but to the inequality, of condition.”  So wrote, presciently, Alexis de Tocqueville, a Frenchman, in his seminal  Democracy in America , published in two parts in 1835 and 1840. This was before the American civil war fought over the southern states’ dying wish to perpetuate slavery would lead to Abraham Lincoln’s emancipation declaration. But this insight is not peculiar to the United States of America. I suspect that Tocqueville’s intuition was informed by the objective conditions of the great revolutions that convulsed his native France and its slave colonies, in particular, the Haitian revolution led by the ex-slave Toussaint L’Ouverture and consummated by his protégé Jean-Jacques Dessalines. The Haitian revolution changed the character of the more roman...