Headlines

The Benue State Commissioner of Information, Culture and Tourism, Matthew Abo, has been abducted by gunmen from his residence in Zaki-Biam, Ukum Local Government Area of the state on Sunday night.

According to reports, the commissioner was sworn in as a member of the Benue State Executive Council on August 29th, 2023. He hails from Ukum local government area which has been a major flashpoint of criminal activities.

Witnesses said the commissioner was abducted by gunmen who rode on four motorcycles to his house in Zaki-Biam. The gunmen ordered everyone, including his wife and children to lie face down, after which they took him away to an unknown destination on one of the motorcycles.

The Chief Press Secretary to the state Governor, Hyacinth Alia, Kula Tersoo, confirmed the incident, saying that, “Unfortunately, he (commissioner) was kidnapped in his country home in Ukum LGA, around 8pm on, Sunday, September 24, 2023.

“He was in his home with his family, children and his people when the armed men came in. They forced him to a bike.

“We received the unfortunate development and His Excellency, Governor Hyacinth Alia has already directed and detailed the security operatives to ensure his safe release from the kidnappers den.”

The federal government has expressed its commitment to boost and generate 20,000 megawatts of electricity by 2026 and 60,000MW by 2060.

Speaking in Osogbo on Friday, September 22, the Minister of Power, Bayo Adelabu disclosed that the short and long term plans of the ministry towards increasing power generation, transmission and distribution in Nigeria.

During his visit to the National Control Centre of the Transmission Company of Nigeria, Adelabu projected that Nigeria would be able to generate a minimum of sixty thousand megawatt of power by 2060.

He said, “Like I told you, it’s an aspiration for Nigeria to have minimum of 60,000 megawatts of power by 2060; that is 60 gigawatts. And 2030 is the medium term objective of achieving 30,000 megawatts of power.

“But like I mentioned in one of the programmes I attended, in as much as we are on course in achieving this, given the experiences of other countries who are even able to achieve over 100,000 megawatts within 40 to 50 years, this is not an ambitious target for Nigeria, we can easily achieve it.

“We have target for transmission capacity, we have target for distribution capacity and we have target for power generation capacity. By 2026, we should be able to achieve 20,000 megawatts of electricity”.

He added that two more power substations would come up in the next few months, courtesy of the presidential power initiative of the Federal Government.

Adelabu also warned that any employee found sabotaging the efforts of government in the power sector would be made to face the music.

He equally revealed that a panel has been set up to investigate what caused the recent inferno at the power substation of the TCN in Birnin Kebbi.

The West African Examinations Council has said it is set to introduce the Computer Based Test mode in the administration of its examinations are at an advanced stage.

In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Saturday in Lagos, the Head of National Office, Mr Patrick Areghan, gave the hint

Speaking against the backdrop of notable achievements and advancements of the council under his watch, as he prepared to bow out of office on Oct. 1.

He would be bowing out after completing his three-year tenure.

Areghan said that introducing the CBT mode of administrating some of the council’s examinations had been part of his vision for the body.

”We have already started something in terms of CBT examination. We have gone far with our planning and all of that, even in the sub-region, the registrar to the council is also doing something.

“But this is not as easy as some people will think. This is because we ask ourselves, how do we conduct CBT for practicals and essay papers?

“We can only readily do that in the case of objective questions. But so many people will not see it from that angle. They argue that some others are doing it, so why can’t WAEC do the same?

“Now, no one even talks about energy; how many schools are exposed to computer literacy? How many have computer facilities and how many have electricity to run these things?

“Even where you have all these things on the ground, how do you handle the issue of theory and practical papers? So, these are the issues, but that is what I want the council to do very shortly.

“We should be able to conduct CBT examinations, even if it means starting with the objective questions,” he said.

The outgoing WAEC boss noted that already, the council had concluded introducing the administration of its examination using the CBT platform under his watch, in no distant time, starting with the objective questions and later theory and practicals.

“But you can still be sure that not all schools will be ready. Maybe we can have a segregated market. Those who cannot afford the CBT will go for the pencil and paper mode.

Areghan said aside from the introduction of the CBT, he would also like to see all the operations of the council fully digitalised shortly.

He noted that almost every section of the council had been digitalised under his watch.

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Barr. Nyesom Wike has revoked Peter Obi Katampe plot. Obi’s plot of land is among the 165 plots revoked by Wike most recently on grounds that the allottees are yet to develop them.

Recall that Wike has announced the revocation of 167 plots of land in some highbrow districts of the nation’s capital, Abuja.

Some of the areas worse hit are Maitama, Gudu, Wuye which had the highest revocation, 41; Katampe, Katampe Extension, Wuse 2, Jabi, Utako, Idu Industrial zone, and Asokoro which had the second highest revocation, 39.

In a notice issued Thursday night in Abuja, the administration said the plots were revoked due to the refusal or failure of their allottees to develop them.

“The Federal Capital Territory Administration FCTA hereby informs the general public that the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory has, in the exercise of the powers conferred on him under Section 28(5)(a) & (b) of the Land Use Act 1978, revoked the underlisted plots with names and titles as reflected in our records for continued contravention of the terms of development of the Right of Occupancy to wit non-development”, the administration said in the notice signed by the Permanent Secretary, Mr Olusade Adesola.

According to Vanguard Newspaper, some of the plots revoked in Maitama district A05 had names like Liyel Imoke, Musa Aboki Egu, Hassan Hadejia and Ishaya Baba.

In Jabi, some of the plots revoked had allottees such as Sam Nda-Isaiah, and Donubari Josephine Kogbara, while Katampe district had Peter Gregory Obi, BUA international among others.

In other areas, this revoked had names as Julius Berger Nigeria, Honeywell Construction, Uffot Joseph Ekaette, Shittu Mohammed, Udoma Udo Udoma, Kanu Agabi, Niki Niki Tobi, Ishaku Bello, and others.

Wike had on assumption of office vowed to restore the master plan of the territory and revoke plots that had not been developed or those whose ground rents have not been paid for years.

He had consequently given a two-week grace to allottees to pay their ground rents or risk revocation of their allocations.

The embattled deputy governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu, has begged his principal, Governor Godwin Obakeki, for forgiveness.

Shaibu made the plea in an interview with journalists currently ongoing in his Benin City residence on Thursday.

He asked Obaseki to forgive and forget.

Shaibu made the public apology after Obaseki sent him out of Edo Government House.

The governor relocated Shaibu’s office from the Government House to a building along Dennis Osadebe Avenue.

Obaseki, in a new humiliation move, also directed the reallocation of Shaibu’s office.

The Governor directed the Secretary to the Edo State Government, Osarodion Ogie, to reallocate Shaibu’s office for use as the secretariat of the annual summit of the state government, Alaghodaro.

The commercial motorcycle riders, popularly called okada, in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, on Thursday embarked on a strike over the alleged theft of a passenger’s manhood.

The state Chairman of the Okada Riders Association, Mallam Umar Muhammed, who disclosed this while speaking with newsmen, said they have decided to embark on the strike due to the allegations.

According to him, many members have been attacked innocently by passengers unable to pay fares only to turn around and accuse them of stealing manhoods.

He said that passengers picked by their riders raised the alarm of missing manhoods when they got to their destination, leading to the beating of okada riders.

Some of the passengers when they don’t have money to pay, they raise alarm that their manhood is missing so that they will not pay. Instead of them to take the issue to the police, they will take laws into there hands and beat up the commercial rider. Later, the people say that there manhood has returned back to his body,” he said.

He, therefore, called on security agencies and the state government to look into the issue to avoid any problem that could lead to civil unrest in the state.

LEADING REPORTERS had reported that in the last week in Kogi State, some suspected ritualists were arrested, especially within Lokoja for allegedly stealing male organs from their victims.

To calm the tense situation, the Kogi State Police Command, through its Public Relations Officer, SP William Ovye Aya, issued a statement on Wednesday night appealing to the general public to remain calm, adding that anyone caught disturbing the public peace will be prosecuted.