President Bola Tinubu has launched the national health
fellows programme, an initiative to revitalise Nigeria’s primary healthcare
system.
Addressing 774 fellows in Abuja on Thursday, Tinubu urged
them to monitor primary healthcare centres across all LGAs, promising
employment after their one-year service. The president hailed the fellows as
“vanguards of a new era”.
The initiative aims to equip young Nigerians with the skills
needed to drive meaningful change in the health sector.
The programme is part of a broader initiative to upgrade
existing primary healthcare centres and construct over 8,800 new ones across
the country.
Akpabio has been embroiled in controversy following a sexual
harassment allegation made by Akpoti-Uduaghan.
On February 28, Akpoti-Uduaghan accused Akpabio of making
sexual advances towards her in his office and residence in Akwa Ibom.
The allegation followed a heated argument between Akpabio and Akpoti-Uduaghan at the upper chamber on February 20 over seating arrangements.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has scheduled
the state governorship election for November 8.
Addressing journalists in Abuja on Thursday at the end of
the party’s national working committee (NWC) meeting, Ajibola Basiru, the APC
national secretary, said the indirect primary was adopted to ensure a more
inclusive and streamlined process.
“At the NWC today, it was formally decided that the mode of
emergence of the candidate for the Anambra governorship election will be
through the indirect primary,” Basiru said.
First Lady Oluremi Tinubu says the senate is taking the necessary to address the sexual harassment allegations by Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, lawmaker representing Kogi central, against Senate president Godswill Akpabio.
On February 20, Akpabio and Akpoti-Uduaghan engaged in a
heated debate on the floor of the upper legislative chamber over a change in
seating arrangements.
Akpoti-Uduaghan later alleged that her trouble in the senate
began after she rejected sexual advances from Akpabio.
She tendered a sexual harassment petition against Akpabio on
the floor of the upper legislative chamber on Wednesday.
In a ruling delivered on Thursday by Ayokunle Faji held, the
court held that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)
successfully established that the funds were proceeds of unlawful activities
and must be forfeited to the federal government.
The EFCC, represented by its counsel Bilkisu Bahri-Bala,
told the court that $1,426,175.14 was found in an account belonging to Donatone
Limited at Titan Trust Bank.
The anti-graft agency said its investigations linked the
funds to fraudulent dealings.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is investigating Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, former minister of women affairs, over allegations of N138 million fraud.
The EFCC alleges that the former minister was involved in
the misappropriation, violation of the procurement process, and diversion of
public funds to the tune of N138,413,253.89 in the course of disbursing the
ministry’s 2023 budget.
A source within the EFCC told TheCable that the former
minister arrived at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja on Thursday at about
11 am and is still being interrogated at the time of this report.
“Investigations by the EFCC showed that funds donated for
the funding of the P-Bat Cares for Women Initiative were diverted for her
self-enrichment. Investigations are still ongoing. She has not been admitted to
administrative bail,” the source said.
A Certified True Copy, CTC, of the Supreme Court judgment on the political crisis in Rivers State has shed light on why the apex court restored the leadership of the State House of Assembly under Martin Amaewhule.
In a 62-page judgment obtained on Thursday by newsmen, the Supreme Court made it clear that there was no iota or shred of evidence to support the claim that 27 members of the House of Assembly had defected from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the All Progressives Congress, APC.
To worsen the situation, the judgment, signed by Justice Emmanuel Agim, revealed that the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, who had raised allegations of defection against the 27 lawmakers, later withdrew the allegations of his own volition at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
By failing to substantiate the defection claims against the Amaewhule-led leadership, the Supreme Court held that, in the eyes of the law, no defection had taken place, and consequently, the status quo in the House of Assembly must remain.
Justice Agim, who endorsed the judgment, specifically stated that there cannot be a House of Assembly except as prescribed by the 1999 Constitution. He added that the Constitution neither envisaged nor supported Governor Fubara’s position of recognising only four members as the legitimate House of Assembly.
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, has finally announced the reopening of the Onitsha Drug Market and other adjoining markets after nearly one month of closure.
The South-East Zonal Director of the agency, Mr Martins Iluyomade, revealed this on Thursday after a meeting between officials of the agency, the Anambra State government, and market union leaders. He stated that business will officially resume in the markets on Friday.
Other markets, including the plumbing materials market, timber market, surgical materials market, and science laboratory materials market, among others, were affected early last month when the agency shut them down in its fight against illicit drugs.
Iluyomade, who addressed government officials and market leaders before announcing the reopening, said:
Senator Natasha Akpabio-Uduaghan has reacted to her six months suspension by the Senate amid her sexual harassment allegation against the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.
The Senate Committee on Ethics,
Privileges, and Public Petitions, had earlier recommended her suspension and
also advocated that her salary and security details will be withdrawn during
the period of her suspension.
The recommendations were
subsequently put to voice votes and the lawmakers unanimously agreed that the
Senator representing Kogi Central be suspended for six months.
However, while the lawmakers were
still voting on the recommendations, Senator Natasha told her colleagues that
the injustice against her would not be sustained.
A mild drama unfolded outside the courtroom on Thursday as Eezee Tee, a former manager to gospel singer Mercy Chinwo, suddenly ran out of the premises while journalists were attempting to capture him.
The scene occurred after Alexander Owoeye, a judge of the
federal high court in Lagos, adjourned Eezee Tee’s arraignment to May 14 due to
ongoing administrative processes.
As the music executive emerged from the courtroom,
journalists had positioned themselves to record videos and take snapshots of
him.
However, Eezee Tee took to his heels and ran out of the
court, with the media personnel in hot pursuit, trying to capture his dramatic
exit.
The Senate has suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan for
six months amid the sexual harassment allegation she made against the Senate
President, Godswill Akpabio.
The decision, made on Thursday, March 6, 2024, came after a
recommendation from the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public
Petitions.
As part of the suspension, Akpoti-Uduaghan’s salary and
security details would be withdrawn, and she would be barred from accessing the
National Assembly premises.
Her office would also be locked, and her legislative aides
would not receive their salaries during this period. The Senate further ruled
out reconsidering her suspension until the six-month term ends or she submits a
formal apology.
President Bola Tinubu has approved a subsidy on kidney
dialysis for Nigerians, reducing the cost for Nigerians from N50,000 to
N12,000.
The subsidy is being implemented across the six geopolitical
zones at some federal medical institutions.
Participating institutions include the Federal Medical
Centre (FMC) Ebute-Metta Lagos, the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Jabi, Abuja,
the University College Hospital (UCH) Ibadan, the Federal Medical Centre (FMC)
Owerri, and the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) Maiduguri.
Others are the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Abeokuta, Lagos
State University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) Lagos, the Federal Medical Centre
(FMC) Azare, University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) Benin, and University
of Calabar Teaching (UCTH) Calabar.
Chelsea left-back, Marc Cucurella has stated that Enzo Maresca’s side need to be confident to have a chance of winning the UEFA Europa Conference League.
The Spain international believes Chelsea should go into every game with confidence and trust in their ability.
Speaking to the media ahead of their Round of 16 first leg clash with Copenhagen on Thursday, Cucurella said (via SI), “For sure. Chelsea are a top club. We have top players with skills and ability.
“We need to feel we can win the competition, believe we are ready and can do it. We go with all we have to win it.
President Donald Trump of the United States is planning to revoke temporary legal status for some 240,000 Ukrainians who fled their country due to the Russia conflict.
The move, expected as soon as April, would be a stunning reversal of the welcome Ukrainians received under President Joe Biden’s administration.
The planned rollback of protections for Ukrainians was reportedly underway before Trump publicly feuded with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week.
It is part of a broader Trump administration effort to strip legal status from more than 1.8 million migrants allowed to enter the US under temporary humanitarian parole programs launched under the Biden administration.
The Senate on Thursday advised Kogi Central senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan to respect and obey the rules and orders of the legislative institution.
Rising on Order 55(1), the Chief Whip of the Senate, Mohammed Monguno pointed out that “it is the Rules and Order of the Senate that when the Senate President is being ushered into the chamber by the Sergeant-at-arms, all senators must stand up”.
The chief whip regretted that Natasha disrespected the Rules and Order of the Senate on Wednesday and Thursday by refusing to stand up like other senators, as required, when Akpabio entered the chamber.