NATIONAL VIBES

- Standard Chartered – N2.4bn; Stanbic IBTC – N1.8bn; Citibank – N1.2bn and Diamond Bank – N0.25 bn - Orders MTN to refund $8bn  By admin                                                                                                        The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says it has imposed heavy sanctions totaling N5.87 billion on four banks under its regulatory purview and asked same to refund the sum of $8,134,312,397.63 for what it described as ‘flagrant violation of extant laws and regulations of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, including the Foreign Exchange (Monitoring and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1995 of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Foreign Exchange Manual, 2006’.       ...

... Grand Finale show holds Sunday By admin About $12,000 is to be spent by government of Cross River State to hunt for young men and women with rare talent in the area of music, arts and craft. The aim is to assist talented youths in the state exploit their God given talents. The Cross River State Commissioner for Tourism, Eric Anderson disclosed this while briefing journalists in Calabar on plans for the grand finale event scheduled for Sunday, September 2, 2018. He said the governor, will lead other guests to the main bowl of the Cultural Center, Calabar to witness the rare rich display of talents and wits by Cross Riverians. Mr Anderson who gave a breakdown of cash to be won in the competition stated that winner of the star prize will go home with a cash amount of $5,000; second prize, $4000; and the third prize winner will take home $3,000, to boost their trade adding that the purpose of the competition is to boost entrepreneurship among the young men and women who ...

Posted by Admin                                                               The immediate past Executive Secretary of National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO) and present Coordinator, Post Graduate Programme, Department of Theatre and Cultural Studies, Nasarawa State University, Professor Barclays Foubiri Ayakoroma, has advocated for an improved reading culture in the Nigerian society. Professor Ayakoroma made this call in a keynote lecture he presented during a special event, “The Sit Out with Literary Minds”, a programme packaged by 1402BookLounge, which took place at Trendy Event Centre, Yenagoa Bayelsa State, on Thursday, 23rd August, 2018. Speaking on the theme: “The Power IN the Book… The Power OF the Book”, Professor Ayakoroma, an accomplished theatre director, playwright, film and cultural management sch...

PRESS RELEASE FOUR POINTS BY SHERATON HOTEL, IKOT EKPENE: WHO IS LYING? The attention of Akwa Ibom State Government has been drawn to publications in the Nation and Sun newspapers of Saturday, August 25, 2018 where the All Progressive Congress (APC) alleged that the Four Points by Sheraton Hotel, Ikot Ekpene was over 98% completed as at the time Senator Godswill Akpabio vacated office in 2015. Ordinarily, the State Government would have ignored such spurious claims as it has never been our intention to join issues in the media but to focus on “Project Akwa Ibom”. However, it has become necessary for the public to know who is telling a lie and we feel obligated to state as follows. 1. That immediate past Governor commissioned the Four Points by Sheraton Hotel, Ikot Ekpene without a signed Franchise agreement and full complement of requisite furniture and fittings. 2. 95% of the total contract sum was approved and disbursed by the immediate past Governor as building and...

By Innocent Imoh                                                             The Katsina State Governor, Rt. Hon Aminu Bello Masari says his administration has in the last 3 years recruited over 1,100 medical personnel across the state health care provision facilities in the state. Katsina Media and Publicity reports that the Governor disclosed this while in an exclusive interview with news men, at the Muhammadu Buhari House, the seat of Katsina State Government. Masari lamented over the dilapidated state of the  health sector they inherited adding that almost all the secondary health facilities across the state have been remodeled and upgraded to match the 21st century health provision needs. According to him "our administration inherited a decayed and absent health infrastructures, but now through our restoration ag...

…Thanks Nigerians For The Outpour Of Condolences                     By admin As the People's Democratic Party (PDP) commences sale of nomination forms for the 2019 general elections, Bayelsa State Governor, the Honourable Henry Seriake Dickson has called on all aspirants seeking nominations into offices on the platform of the PDP to shun bitterness, violence and rancour and go about their consultations and campaigns with decorum! A press statement signed by the Governor's Chief Press Secretary, Francis Ottah Agbo quoted the governor, as having made the remarks on Wednesday in Toru-Orua, when he received some eminent Bayelsans on a condolence visit over the passing of his mother, Mrs. GoldCoast Dickson.  Dickson said the PDP in Bayelsa State has never been associated with violence and called on politicians to always play by the rules of the party! The Governor also appealed to aspirants to approach ...

By Innocent Imoh                                                                     A civil rights organisation under the aegis of Coalition for Nigeria Movement (CMN), on Wednesday warned President Muhammadu Buhari to cancel any reciprocal visit by President Donald Trump of United States that might have been planned or suggested in connection with his visit to US in April. According to the organisation, the advice became necessary because the safety of US President could no longer be guaranteed in Nigeria following the diplomatic gaffe in which Trump said, he never wanted to meet someone so lifeless again, ostensibly after an April 2018 meeting with Buhari in Washington. The National Secretary of CMN, Rev. Samson Onwu, in a statement issued in Jos, also said Trump was envious of Buhari and his exploits i...

By Admin                                                                 The Katsina State Head of Civil Service, Alh. Idris Tune, has reiterated the commitment of the State Permanent Secretaries in ensuring a continued effort in putting in their best for the success of government policies and programs across the state. Katsina Media and Publicity reports that Tune disclosed this while leading the State Permanent Secretaries to the State Governor, Rt. Hon. Aminu Bello Masari to pay sallah homage at the Muhammadu Buhari House, the seat of Katsina State Government earlier in the week. He expressed his gratitude to the Governor for giving the civil servants a level playing ground for optimal production, assuring that the loyalty of the permanent secretaries will continue to be guaranteed to the present administration in t...

By Innocent Imoh                                                       Governor of Bayelsa State, Honourable Seriake Dickson on Tuesday expressed concern over the prevalence of cancer scourge in the state and the Niger Delta as a whole. Governor Dickson made the remark when members of the Delta Ijaw Political Assembly (DIPA) led by the Delta State Deputy Governor, Evangelist Kingsley Otuaro paid him a condolence visit on the death of his mother, Mrs Goldcoast Dickson in Toru Orua, Sagbama Local Government. A press release by the Bayelsa Governor's Chief Press Secretary, Francis Ottah Agbo, quoted Governor Dickson as noting that, the pandemic was traceable to decades of exploration activities of multi-national oil companies operating in the Niger Delta region. According to the Governor, "My mum died of lung cancer. Unlike other families who h...

- threatens to drag AGF before ICC, UN By Innocent Imoh A human interest organisation, Save Humanity Advocacy Centre (SHAC), has expressed concern over the failure of the Federal Government to designate the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) (popularly known as Shiites) as a terrorist organization. The group was particularly worried that the government failed to act despite repeated demands from stakeholders. According to SHAC, the bias on the part of the government has placed IMN in a position of power to attempt re-write history. The Executive Director of SHAC, Dr. Paul Gyado, told Journalist on Monday in Jos, that based on its orgy of violence and bloodshed, “the Federal Government should ban activities of IMN nationwide.” SHAC also threatened to drag the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), before the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the United Nations Security Council as an accomplice in any crime committed by IMN should it fail t...

By Admin                                                             The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Bayelsa has asked the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to be mindful of some of its utterances, especially against the person of the Deputy Governor, Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John Jonah (rtd). Deputy Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Toby Ebikedimie in a statement on Tuesday said the APC's claim that the Deputy Governor was biased in handling the recent crisis in Brass Local Government Area is not only disrespectful but an attempt to impugn on the integrity of the Bayelsa number two man. Ebikedimie said the APC in its usual style of picking on members of the Restoration Government for sadistic reasons have chosen the Deputy Governor this time, but warned the party not to go beyond this point. He sta...

....says Mrs. Dickson cancer centre ready soon By Innocent Imoh                                             Preparations are in top gear for the launching of three organisations linked to Governor Henry Seriake Dickson of Plateau State, the State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, has said. The humanitarian organisations are Henry Seriake Dickson Foundation, Cancer Centre and Henry Seriake Dickson Institute. The Commissioner stated this in Toru-Orua, Sagbama Local Government Area of Bayelsa State while fielding questions from journalists on the plans by Dickson to float the three institutions. The governor had announced his intention to establish the three institutions during  condolence visits on him by friends n the death of his mother and matriarch of the Dickson family, Mrs. Goldcoast Dickson. Iworiso-Markson said having...

By Admin                                                           Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has declared that  no official of the  Rivers State Government will appear before EFCC over her politically-motivated investigations until the commission approaches the Court of Appeal to set aside the 2007 Judgment barring the commission from investigating the state. In a statement on Sunday, Special Assistant to the Rivers State Governor on Electronic Media, Simeon Nwakaudu quoted Governor Wike as describing the alleged action of the EFCC as a "political witch-hunt". The governor declared: "We are  not afraid of their probe and they have no power to probe  us. "No government official will appear before the EFCC until they set aside the court judgment of Rivers State Government against them in 2007. We c...

…Challenges Presidency, APC To Debate on Good Governance By Admin                                                             The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says it has thoroughly reviewed the President Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) administration and submits that it has irredeemably failed in every sector of our national life. This and more were contained in a press release signed by Hon. Kola Ologbondiyan, National Publicity Secretary of the party.                    "The PDP notes that available data, both locally and internationally, confirm that the Buhari administration has failed woefully in all its promises and claims, particularly on fight against corruption, economy, security, democracy as well as national unity and cohesion. The party obser...

By Admin                                                               The father of the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Bayelsa State, and Paramount Ruler of Ijigban Kingdom, HRH, King Christopher Onumah Agbo has commiserated with Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State and his family over the passing of the Matriarch of the Dickson family,  Mrs GoldCoast Dickson, popularly called Mama Gogo.  He prayed God to grant the soul of mama eternal repose and give the family the fortitude to bear the loss. He urged the Governor to cry no more for Mama Gogo has passed to eternal glory, noting that it is better for a son to bury his mother than for the reverse. The Monarch assured the Governor of the continuous support and prayers of his family before,  during and after the burial. The monarch once more used...

By Simeon Nwakaudu That a man is a house-boy to an embattled Oga does not mean that he should be entitled to his own facts.   It was Scot of then Manchester Guardian who explained in 1921 that "comment is free, but facts are sacred. Dakuku Peterside is free to jump from one radio station to another to spend funds illegally acquired from the the Rivers State Ministry of Works and NIMASA, but he cannot create his own facts in the process. Facts are sacred. They are known to all. In Rivers State, the fact is clear. Governor Wike has worked. He has performed, transformed the Rivers landscape and made it the destination of choice.  Everything that is within the purview of the State Government has been handled with expertise, accountability and utmost integrity. It is a fact that Governor Wike is Nigeria's best performing governor.  I challenge Dakuku to point at any other governor in Nigeria for a head-to-head peer review.  We are not talking about shou...

 By Pat PA Okon                                                        The Special Liaison to Senate President on State Matters, Earl Osaro Onaiwu, has described as shocking and anti-Semitic statements credited to Senator Godswill Akpabio that in 2019, the All Progressives Congress will take Akwa Ibom in the manner fascist ruler, Adolf Hitler, took Poland.                                                                   In a statement over the weekend in Abuja, Onaiwu said that gloating over such a tragedy shows the level of desperation and insensitivity of the APC, urging the people of Akwa Ibom state to be vigilant before their liberties are taken away.     ...

By Innocent Imoh                                                                             Governor of Katsina State, Rt. Hon. Aminu Bello Masari has called on all eligible people of Katsina State who are yet to register and own a Parmanent Voters Card (PVC), to utilise the remaining seven days of the Continious Voter Registration (CVR) exercise, and get that done. Katsina Media and Publicity reports that Masari made this call  during the event of Hauwan Bariki at Saidu Barda House, Katsina State Old Government House. The Governor who also lamented not just on the failure of the eligible person's enrolment but the rate at which people  come out to cast their votes added " ...until we register, come out en masse' and vote for the continuty of APC; only then Nigeria's development...

By Innocent Imoh                                                             The Governor of Bayelsa State, the Hourable Henry Seriake Dickson, has called on Nigerians to carry out medical tests for early detection of cancer. Governor Dickson urged Bayelsans and indeed Nigerians to exploit the opportunity of the Bayelsa Diagnostic Centre established by his administration to test for cancer. The Governor made the comment while speaking at a special state thanksgiving service held for the repose of the soul of his late mother, Mrs. Goldcoast Dickson at the Palace of Melchizedek in Toru Orua on Sunday. He said that while it was important for men over the age of 40 to test for prostrate cancer, their female counterparts should go for breast cancer screening. The Governor said that he would devote attention to the campaign agai...

-Onaiwu urges Edo and Delta Traditional Rulers, Religious Leaders                                                                          By Innocent Imoh                                                                                                                                                                                          ...