No fewer than 101 foreigners have been executed so far in Saudi Arabia this year. An AFP tally, indicates a sharp increase that a rights group said was unprecedented. The latest execution, on Saturday in the southwestern region of Najran, was of a Yemeni national convicted of smuggling drugs into the Gulf kingdom, the official Saudi Press Agency reported. That brought to 101 the number of foreigners executed so far in 2024, according to the tally, which is compiled from state media reports. This is almost triple the figures for 2023 and 2022, when Saudi authorities put to death 34…
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By Tony Obiechina, Abuja The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has alerted members of the public on the activities of fraudsters purporting to be in receipt of award letters of contracts related to construction works and special financial interventions on behalf of the Bank. This is contained in a statement signed by Mrs Hakama Sidi Ali Director of Corporate Communications and made available on Monday. The statement reads “We wish to clarify that this is false. These individuals are solely motivated by the desire to defraud unsuspecting Nigerians. Any such assertions are fraudulent and should be disregarded. “The Bank hereby…
By Tony Obiechina, Abuja President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has commended the Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises(BPE), Mr. Ayodeji Ariyo Gbeleyi, for his dedicated service to the country and acknowledged his significant contributions in attracting Foreign Direct Investment(FDIs) to Nigeria. In a congratulatory message marking the BPE, DG’s 60th birthday, the president commended Gbeleyi for “his unwavering commitment to reform at various levels—private sector, subnational, and national” resulting in the DG’s leadership in modernising public institutions vital to the nation’s progress. Tinubu noted that as the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Gbeleyi plays a pivotal…
Hannatu Musawa, Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, has congratulated Nigeria’s Chidinma Adetshina on her outstanding achievement as the first runner-up of the 2024 Miss Universe pageant. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the minister conveyed her congratulatory message in a statement on Monday in Abuja. The grand finale of the 2024 Miss Universe was held on Sunday at the Arena CDMX in Mexico City, with Adetshina finishing second while Miss Denmark, Victoria Theilvig, clinched the highly coveted crown. The first runner-up, who is the highest ranked African contestant of the competition, was also crowned Miss Universe…
Let me start by congratulating former President Olusegun Obasanjo the Balogun Owu kingdom. Going through the Bible, I came across men like Daniel called the greatly beloved of God (Daniel 10:11); Abraham, a friend of God (James 2:23); David, a man after God’s heart (Acts 13:22); Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo is another personality that is known to be a beneficiary of God’s benevolence. The former Head of state/President came from a Nigerian village Ibogun-Olaogun, Ifo, Ogun State, Nigeria, to the pinnacle of power on the continent. Obasanjo was Nigeria’s military head of state between 1976 and 1979 and…
In a recent display of his characteristic self-importance, former President Olusegun Obasanjo once again took to the public stage to bestow his unsolicited wisdom on leadership and governance in Nigeria. From his lofty perch, he blamed those who served after his tenure for the nation’s myriad challenges. Unfortunately, the former leader’s habit of casting aspersions on every subsequent administration has devolved into a recurring pastime, overshadowing the expectation of an elder statesman to join a constructive dialogue on attaining national progress. In his latest critique of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, whom he pejoratively called ‘Baba Go Slow’ and…
Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa and the governorship candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has been declared winner of the election held in the state on Saturday, November 16, 2024. The incumbent governor won in all the 18 local government areas of the state by a wide margin. The opposition, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Agboola Ajayi, came second in the election. The Returning Officer for the election Olayemi Akinwumi, who is also the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University, Lokoja, Kogi State, said Aiyedatiwa polled a total of 366,781 votes to defeat the PDP’s Ajayi,…
The national grid collapsed three times last month and twice this month. This year, it has collapsed at least 11 times. This underscores our long-standing struggle to have a consistent power supply, even if not for the whole nation, at least for those fortunate enough to have access to the few megawatts produced by the so-called “Giant of Africa.” While last week, Niger Republic was able to add no fewer than 18 megawatts to its national grid in just four months, Nigeria, with an installed capacity of 16,348MW, achieved only 5,313 megawatts as of September this year. Our travails with…
Tolani adjusted her glasses and began: “You see, in 1989, I won the war against Nigeria. It had been a long war of real emotional anguish, tears, and broken dreams. The war deflated the balloon of my hope in Nigeria and, sad to say, black Africa. Each day, I woke up to confront the reality of being a black man in a forgotten continent of squalor and waste. Each day, it dawned on me that looter-rulers in black Africa had no vision. They had no plan to create opportunities for their fellow citizens. Each day, I had to fight the…
By Harry Awurumibe, Editor, Abuja Bureau Two late goals by forwards Peace Emem Essien (90+5′) and Mary Mamudu 90+11′ helped Edo Queens beat Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa 2-1 which was enough to qualify the club for the semi-final of the 4th edition of the CAF Women’s Champions League (CAFWCL). The defending champions (Mamelodi Sundowns) who scored first in the 24′ courtesy of Melinda Kgadiete goal were heading to a historic win as at courtesy but it was not to be as Edo Queens staged a late come back in the extra time to score two late goals within a…