Category: Top Stories

Again, Emirates Extends Suspension Of Flights To Nigeria

JUSTINA EMMANUEL OKPARA

The Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) flag carrier, Emirates, has further extended suspension of its flights to Nigeria till September 5, fueling uncertainty on resumption of travels between the two countries. The extension of flight cessation is coming despite the decision by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to open its borders to welcome fully vaccinated tourists from all countries. Flights between both countries have been halted since March this year following diplomatic spat fueled by the COVID-19 protocols. Since then, efforts to reinstate the flights have not yielded results as…

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FCMB, Mercy Corps to uplift farmers, vulnerable in North East

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About 500,000 farmers and vulnerable people in Nigeria’s North-East zone can now access farming friendly and demand-driven financial services.  It is the result of First City Monument Bank’s (FCMB) partnership with Mercy Corps, a frontline international aid organisation.  A bold and landmark intervention, the partnership supported by USAID-funded Feed the Future Nigeria Rural Resilience Activity, will deliver funding and capacity-building support to smallholder farmers and vulnerable people living in the conflict-affected states of Adamawa, Borno, Gombe and Yobe. The Feed the Future Nigeria Rural Resilience Activity aims to facilitate and…

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Power: NERC faults report on ECR suspension

Dorothy Ewa

Following reports making the rounds that the Eligible Customer Regulation (ECR) has been suspended, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) said that it was not true and that at no time had the commission issued a directive for discontinuation of service to any customer. In a statement made available to journalists yesterday, the commission said that its attention was drawn to the report in both electronic and print media that the ECR issued by the commission in 2018 had been suspended. The ECR was designed to provide a very simple process…

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H1: Zenith Bank posts N117bn pre-tax profit

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Zenith Bank Plc has announced its audited results for half-year ended 30 June 2021, recording positive growth across key financial metrics despite a challenging macroeconomic environment exacerbated by COVID 19. According to the financial results presented to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), the Group recorded a growth in profit before tax of three per cent from N114 billion reported in H1’20 to N117 billion in H1’21. The Group also recorded a nine per cent growth in non-interest income from N116 billion in June 2020 to N127 billion in June 2021. Overall, the…

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Pope Francis saddened by ‘brutal attack’ which killed Catholic nuns in South Sudan

JUSTINA EMMANUEL OKPARA

Pope Francis has sent his condolences after a violent attack on a group of Catholic religious sisters and others in South Sudan left five dead on Monday. “His Holiness Pope Francis was deeply saddened to learn of the brutal attack on a group of Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus,” the Aug. 17 message said. A road ambush along a highway in South Sudan Aug. 16 resulted in the deaths of five people, including Catholic nuns, Sr. Mary Daniel Abud and Sr. Regina Roba. The two were among a…

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Twitter ban: Buhari’s move to Indian app, Koo, attracts more Hausa/Fulani muslims

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The Federal Government is consolidating on its actions against the microblogging site, Twitter, by moving its social media engagements to the Indian app, Koo.   A check on the platform, which shares similarities with Twitter, revealed that top government officials, including President Mohammadu Buhari, have opened accounts and are sharing government information on Koo, which is still less popular among Nigerians.   President Buhari ‘@muhammaubuhari’, who had 4.1 million followers on Twitter before it was banned has so far garnered 16,746 followers on Koo at the time of filing this…

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*”Fulanization” of the North by the South*

Farooq A Kperogi

Fears of “Fulani domination” have endured since Nigeria’s founding but, more than ever before, there is now an insanely unhealthy obsession with the Fulani in Nigeria’s South. The Fulani are not just routinely reviled with genocidal rhetorical venom, all manner of devious, supernormal political power is ascribed to them. In the service of the reigning monomania about the Fulani, Northern Muslims, irrespective of their ethnicity, are now labeled “Fulani.” It’s worse if they are also beneficiaries of “juicy” political appointments in the Buhari regime. Former Chief of Army Staff Tukur…

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Woman, 37, gives birth to 10 babies

Olabisi Daniel

South African woman, Gosiame Sithole, has broken the Guinness World Record as she gives birth to 10 babies, says reports. Sithole, 37, gave birth to seven boys and three girls on Monday, breaking the world record once held by a Malian woman, Halima Cisse, who gave birth to nine children in Morocco last month. She already has six-year-old twins, making her a mother to twelve children from two deliveries.   READ ALSO: Woman gives birth to twins with different fathers + DNA details 25-year old Poor Woman Gives Birth to Nine…

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WARNING: Don’t remove your pubic hairs, gynaecologist urges women

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A gynaecologist has warned against waxing or shaving pubic hairs because it can cause “microscopic trauma” that can lead to infections. Dr Jen Gunter, the author of The Vagina Bible, has urged women. While the purpose of pubic hair is somewhat of a mystery, going “au naturel” is necessary to protect the skin by acting as a barrier against the outside world. Getting a Brazilian may also reduce sexual pleasure, with pubic hair being connected to nerve endings that might help arousal, Dr Gunter added. Pubic hair “grooming” has almost…

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IMF: Naira overvalued at official market

JUSTINA OKPARA

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said the naira was overvalued by 18.5 per cent at the official market. The Fund called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to establish a more transparent and market-based exchange rate policy to instil confidence in the market. The advice was contained on IMF Article IV Consultation with Nigeria, released yesterday. The naira exchanges at N379 to a dollar at the official market, data from the CBN website showed. The IMF Executive Board, which visited Nigeria, released its findings on Nigeria’s economy to…

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