Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has relieved his Chief Press Secretary, Kazie Uko, of his duties.
This announcement was made by the Commissioner for Information, Okey Kanu, shortly after an Executive Council meeting with the Governor, Wednesday evening.
According to Kanu, Kalu Ukoha Kalu will take over as the new Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, effective immediately.
More to follow…
Popular tap-to-earn program Tapswap powered by TON Blockchain has announced that the distribution of tokens to users has been put on hold indefinitely while officials look for the best ways to compensate tap-to-earn users.
Head of Communications, Tapswap, John Robbin, announced this on X space on Wednesday.
Since its February 15, 2024 launch, the app, which required users to continuously tap the icon in the centre of the Telegram Tapswap bot screen to mine coins, has accumulated over 50 million users. Nigerians have been using the app to tap their phone screens in an attempt to make money.
Robbin said: “The token launch was postponed until July 1. The new date will be communicated.
“We will allocate a significant part of the tokens to the community to retain the tappers. We want you all to be part of the tapswap community.
“We need a token airdrop to be a win-win for all of us. We have started communicating with many exchanges and platforms.”
The head of communications said that anybody abusing the system to farm taps and manipulate the game would be banned, with community members doing background checks and asking for the patience of true tappers.
Speaking on the mining processes, he said, “Just open the app and tap on it; that will give you shares. The more you tap and the more upgrades you do, the more shares you will have when we finalize the tokens on it. The more tokens you want to have, the more tapping you have to do.”
On the booster option, which has already ended, the representative said it was not something new, adding: “We have room exponentially faster than we thought, and then to develop the game plan further, we introduced a paid feature to make their capital, but it was not mandated on the users.
“We introduced the limited x2 donation because the new influx of users kept coming in, and we needed them to make something out of it and get a fair allocation at TGE.
“It was a platform that allowed people who joined recently to compete with people who started earlier. It is gone for now, but we are looking forward to using the money we earned from it to improve the game in the future.
“It is all going to our 25 staffers working around the clock to sustain the app. We want to be here for a very long time.”
Seplat Energy Plc, leading indigenous energy company, has concluded the first phase of its training programme for journalists and media practitioners in Nigeria. The first phase of the programme covers thirty-seven (37) energy and judiciary correspondents cum editors.
The Seplat Energy media training programme, which was organised in partnership with Channels Academy, is targeted at building reporting and editing capacity in the media whilst driving innovation and technology progress in the profession.
Beyond core energy and judiciary reporting, the trainees were exposed to the intersections of law and energy, referencing regulatory frameworks, major legal cases, environmental laws, ethical considerations, and media objectivity.
In addition, modules on investigative reporting (techniques, advanced research methods, using public records, interviewing techniques); data Journalism in judicial and energy reporting; analysis of energy sector developments; and collaborative reporting projects with story ideas development, were explored.
Insights on legal challenges in energy reporting (understanding defamation, libel, navigating legal challenges) and the future of energy and law with regards to emerging trends, were provided as the training evaluated future legal challenges and the need to prepare for industry shifts.
In attendance at the training were media professionals from print, electronic and online platforms.
Commenting on the training, the Director, External Affairs and Social Performance, Seplat Energy, Mrs. Chioma Afe, thanked the media professionals, resource persons and Channels Academy for their commitments to the success of the training programme.
Mrs. Afe, who was represented by the Manager, Corporate Communications at Seplat Energy, Mr. Stanley Opara, re-echoed Seplat Energy’s commitment to building capacity in the media and promoting best practice in the industry.
“At Seplat Energy, we see the media as a critical stakeholder; and the best we can do to make the industry develop is to encourage excellence. We believe in value creation and retention for all our stakeholders; and today, we are honoured to be contributing our quota towards the advancement of the media in Nigeria,” he added.
Responding, the media professionals under the aegis of the Association of Energy Correspondents of Nigeria (NAEC) and the National Association of Judicial Correspondents (NAJUC), thanked Seplat Energy for providing the training opportunity and driving excellence in the media space.
The journalists described the programme as timely and well thought out. They, therefore, urged other corporate organisations in the country to emulate Seplat Energy in the quest to grow the Nigerian media industry and boost the needed capacity.
The Federal Government of Nigeria is set to send the first citizen to space.
The Director General, National Space Research and Development Agency, Dr Mathew Adepoju disclosed this at a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday.
The FG signed the Memorandum of Understanding in a collaboration between NASRDA and The Space Exploration and Research Agency.
The DG noted that “This collaboration, which is coming to the country, marks a significant milestone in Nigeria’s 25th anniversary of Space Exploration journey and opens new opportunities for scientific research and technological advancement.”
Details later…
There has been a fire outbreak at the popular Ado Bayero Shopping Mall.
The fire is said to have started in the early hours of the day.
Reports have it that firefighters are currently working tirelessly to extinguish the flames.
The details of the incident remain limited, as of press time.
Federal High Court Abuja has declined granting bail to suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari and two other senior police officers facing trial for drug-related charges.
Justice Emeka Nwite in a ruling held that the defendants had not brought any evidence in court to warrant the court’s discretion.
The trial judge held that the court must exercise its discretion judiciously and in this case it cannot grant bail to the defendants.
This ruling is coming about three weeks after Kyari was granted temporarily bail for two weeks on passionate grounds, to the tune of N50 million and a surety in like sum to enable him attend to his late mother’s burial rites.
Rivers Governor Siminalayi Fubara has mandated the Auditor General of the State to begin the audit of the accounts of the 23 Local Government Areas for the past three years.
The Nation reports that Fubara on Wednesday swore-in 23 Caretaker Committee Chairmen for the 23 Local Government Councils of the State.
While swearing in the Caretaker Committee Chairmen of the Local Government Areas, the Governor said the measure was to serve as a check for the incoming officials.
He urged the caretaker chairmen not to see themselves as superheroes, but to protect the interests of their people, and demonstrate that the government made the right choice in appointing them.
Details shortly…
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has called on the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency in the state, citing escalating violence and chaos.
Chief Tony Okocha, Caretaker Committee Chairman of the party in Rivers, made the call during a media briefing on Wednesday.
“Rivers State is at war,” Okocha declared.
“Lives have been lost, and the perpetrators are well-known. The Governor and the police seem powerless to stop the mayhem. We urge the Federal Government to act swiftly and declare a state of emergency to tame the violence and restore order.”
The Federal Government has the constitutional power to declare a state of emergency in cases of natural disasters, civil unrest, armed conflict, medical pandemics, epidemics, or other biosecurity risks.
Okocha’s call comes amidst a deepening political crisis in Rivers State, which has seen clashes between rival factions over the expiration of local government council executives.
More to follow…
Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State, on Wednesday, swore in new caretaker chairmen for the 23 local government areas of the state.
The governor inaugurated the new caretaker chairmen hours after the House of Assembly, led by factional Speaker, Victor Jumbo, screened and confirmed the nominees.
Governor Fubara had forwarded the list to the state House of Assembly on Tuesday and the nominees were invited for screening as early as 8 am on Wednesday, according to a statement issued by the Clerk of the House, G.M. Gillis-West.
The nomination came amid a renewed political crisis in the state, as former council chairmen have refused to vacate their offices after their tenure expired .
Leading reporters learnt that the swearing-in took place at the Executive Council Chambers of the Government House in Port Harcourt, the state capital, amid tight security.
The first batch of eleven caretaker chairmen took their oath of office before other batches came in to also take their oath.
The Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) has accused President Bola Tinubu of neglecting the severe hunger issues facing Nigerians.
According to a statement from the organisation’s National Secretary, Peter Ameh, the coalition criticised the President for implementing ineffective policies that had failed to alleviate the crisis, questioning why Nigerians must suffer while government officials enjoy luxury.
The coalition pointed out that the government’s inability to secure farms and farmers had significantly contributed to the hunger crisis.
Ameh argued that the opulent lifestyle of government leaders revealed misplaced priorities and a refusal to act in the public interest.
“The extravagant lifestyle of our leaders is why we are in this mess. Government officials prefer spending on high-cost, low-return projects, like the proposed new private jet for the President, instead of funding initiatives that could genuinely benefit citizens,” Ameh stated.
He highlighted the excessive travel expenses of the President and his Vice, which totalled over N8.64billion in the past three months, despite public pledges to reduce government spending.
Ameh stressed that such wasteful expenditures are a significant factor in Nigeria’s widespread poverty, with approximately 87million Nigerians living below the poverty line.
Ameh also criticised the slow economic growth and stagnant GDP per capita, attributing these issues to a lack of foresight and widespread corruption among public officials.
He questioned Tinubu’s efforts to combat corruption since taking office, suggesting that ineffective leadership and corrupt practices had hindered Nigeria’s development and discouraged foreign investment.
“Nigeria’s 38.9% poverty rate is a result of incompetent leaders who have failed to improve the lives of the masses,” Ameh concluded, while urging the president to focus on the well-being of the suffering populace and take decisive action to address the nation’s pressing challenges.
