Author: Citynews

LAGOS – A World Bank report has in­dicated that COVID-related school closures risk pushing an additional 72 million pri­mary school-aged children into learning poverty. According to the two fresh reports by the World Bank, the implications are that affected children will be unable to read and understand a simple text by age 10 as it outlined a new vision for learning and the in­vestments and policies, includ­ing on education technology, that countries can implement today to realize this vision. The global organization said the pandemic is amplify­ing the global learning crisis that already existed, saying it could increase the percent­age of…

Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday granted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s request for more time to produce a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke, to face her money laundering charges. The judge had on July 24, 2020, issued criminal summons against the ex-minster to appear in court to face trial. But Diezani, who is believed to have left the country for the United Kingdom shortly after leaving office in May 2015, had refused to heed to the summons. Due to the ex-minister’s failure to honour the summons, the EFCC on…

Samuel Ortom The Benue State Government says it has lost the sum of 400 million naira to loan defaulters since it assumed office in 2015. Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom who disclosed while flagging off a 500 million naira agricultural value chain development loan scheme in Makurdi the State capital warned against defaulting. He explained that Benue as Food Basket of the Nation must live up to its reputation, stressing that every country in the world excels by utilizing its areas of competitive and comparative advantage. Governor Ortom stated that the need to diversify Nigeria’s economy away from oil makes…

The Nigerian Army has urged religious leaders to produce appropriate narratives that would counter the terrorists’ ideologies towards discouraging young people from accepting extremist ideologies. The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, made the call at Second Nigerian Army Spiritual Warfare Seminar organised by the Chaplain and Islamic Directorates on Thursday in Abuja. The theme of the seminar is “Insecurity in Nigeria: Repositioning Authentic Religious Narratives in the Information Spectrum”. Buratai, who was represented by the Chief of Policy and Plans (Army), Lt.-Gen. Lamidi Adeosun, said the Seminar was aimed at evolving narratives to defeat the ideologies of religious-based…

A former Commissioner for Information and State Orientation and Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Chief Abia Onyike, has defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Onyike, was a staunch PDP member and Director of Media and Publicity, Divine Mandate Campaign Organisation, Governor David Umahi’s campaign council in 2015, but left for the APC following irreconcilable differences between him and Governor Umahi, before 2019 general elections. But Governor Umahi, last month, left the PDP to join Onyike in the APC. In a statement titled, “Why I am going back to the PDP”, and signed by Onyike and made available…

Warri- Delta State Governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, has identified vaccination and clean environment as factors necessary in checking the outbreak of yellow fever. Okowa made this known on Thursday at the flag-off of preventive yellow fever mass vaccination campaign in Delta at the Events Centre, Asaba. He said that the objective of the vaccination was to increase population immunity (herd immunity) to yellow fever thereby reducing the risk of transmission of the disease in communities. He stated that poor community and environmental hygiene) practices were risk factors for the yellow fever disease. According to him, the fight against it and other…

Former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton are volunteering to get their COVID-19 vaccines on camera to promote public confidence in the vaccine’s safety once the US Food and Drug Administration authorizes one. The three most recent former presidents hope an awareness campaign to promote confidence in its safety and effectiveness would be a powerful message as American public health officials try to convince the public to take the vaccine. Freddy Ford, Bush’s chief of staff, told CNN that the 43rd President had reached out to Dr. Anthony Fauci — the director of the National Institute of…

Mikel Arteta says Arsenal are planning for the January transfer window and they will be prepared for what he expects to be an ‘unpredictable’ market. The Gunners were active in the summer, signing Gabriel Magalhaes and Thomas Partey in big money deals and also snapping up Willian on a free transfer from Chelsea, but Arteta knows he needs to add more to his squad, especially in the attacking midfield area, with Red Bull Salzburg star Dominik Szoboszlai a player of genuine interest. The January market is set to be a difficult one, however, with clubs across the globe still massively…

Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC has leveraged technology in organising the 2020 edition of Together4ALimb, the flagship Corporate Social Investment (CSI) initiative of Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC. The event held virtually in compliance with the social distancing guidelines provided by the Government, due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. Together4ALimb was introduced to create awareness about the plight of children living with limb loss. The financial institution organises a series of activities, culminating in a walk by the employees of the institution, members of the beneficiaries’ family and other well-wishers. Through this initiative, Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC has given hope…

ABAKALIKI – A 20-year-old girl, Chinenye (surname withheld) has accused one Emeka Chukwuani, 39-year-old man, of raping her, biting her private part and ear, while trying to overpower her to commit the act. The victim, Newsjaunts gathered, was on her way home alongside her younger sister at about 8.30 am on Saturday, when the rapist accosted them and snatched her phone along Onwe Road and ran into a recreational centre in Fatilami Park, Abakaliki. Chinenye, who said she ran after the rapist in a bid to recover her phone, revealed that she was subdued and raped inside the Park. Narrating her…