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Debt profile of each state as presented by the committee on local and foreign debt of te senate 

The Ondo State Police Command has arrested a middle-aged man who appeared to be a lunatic in Akure, the state capital, on Monday with 18 Automated Teller Machine cards of different banks and some cash in his possession. The suspect, who was said to be in his 30s, was arrested in the Ijapo area of the capital city by the residents of the area. They later handed him over to policemen in the Ijapo Police Station, saying they suspected him to be an armed robber disguising like a mad person. According to a source, some residents of the area have been observing him (suspect) roaming around the streets and suspecting him to be using his appearance to deceive the people in the area. On Monday, the source said the suspect was accosted by the residents, but his explanation was not tenable as he was reportedly incoherent while responding to the different questions put to him. He was arrested and handed over to the police. The source said an undisclosed sum of money made up of different de...

Customs operatives attached to the Tin-Can Island port command of the Nigeria Customs Service, (NCS), have intercepted a cache of arms and ammunition allegedly being smuggled into the country by criminally minded importers. The Customs Area Comptroller, (CAC) of the command, Mr. Yusuf Bashar who made this disclosure said that the healthy collaboration amongst security agencies working in the command led to the interception. “Over 980 rounds of live 9mm ammunitions and one Taurus pistol with number THX43606 were part of the items found”, he said. According to DailyTrust, the arms and ammunition were said to have been carefully concealed in a container that was shipped into Nigeria from Europe. One person who claimed to be agent to the owner of the consignment has also been arrested. He is presently helping security operatives to unravel the identities of those behind the illegal importation of arms. Also contained in the seized container were a pair of black boot, a mili...

Today, the 8th Senate directed the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to immediately suspend the February 1st, 2016 tariff hikes, which are estimated to be upwards of 40 per cent. This move is necessary because any increase in cost, without the necessary improvement in service delivery by the power companies is unacceptable. Furthermore, the power distribution companies must work to ensure that every establishment in Nigeria is provided with capabilities for metered billing. Doing this would end the sharp practice of arbitrary billing, which estimates the power consumption of Nigerians in the generation of their monthly bills.

Two pressure groups – the Consumer Advocacy Foundation of Nigeria (COFAN) and the Coalition of Nigerian Consumer Protection Associations – have called on all Nigerians to observe a “no banking day” on March 1st and avoid all forms of banking services nationwide. The call to boycott banking services was made at a press briefing on Monday by the president and founder, CAFON, Sola Salako; and founder, Market Ombudsman, Dr. Ope Banwo, where the groups lamented new charges and stamp duty recently introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) which the groups believed it is illegal. “There should be no visit to the Automated Teller Machines or the banking halls that day,” Salako said. The CAFON founder who also described the new charges as excessive, said, “For many years now, customers of banking services have endured excessive charges, unexplainable fees and unfair contracts that only protect the banks but do not protect the consumers. “Banks debit customers’ accounts at will for ch...

Two pressure groups – the Consumer Advocacy Foundation of Nigeria (COFAN) and the Coalition of Nigerian Consumer Protection Associations – have called on all Nigerians to observe a “no banking day” on March 1st and avoid all forms of banking services nationwide. The call to boycott banking services was made at a press briefing on Monday by the president and founder, CAFON, Sola Salako; and founder, Market Ombudsman, Dr. Ope Banwo, where the groups lamented new charges and stamp duty recently introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) which the groups believed it is illegal. “There should be no visit to the Automated Teller Machines or the banking halls that day,” Salako said. The CAFON founder who also described the new charges as excessive, said, “For many years now, customers of banking services have endured excessive charges, unexplainable fees and unfair contracts that only protect the banks but do not protect the consumers. “Banks debit customers’ accounts at will for ch...

The wife of a former president may soon be invited by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to explain her role in the sourcing and disbursement of huge funds spent by the Presidency in the last two weeks before the general elections. The fund, estimated at over a trillion naira, was routed and disbursed through the Amnesty Office to some notable politicians in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Investigators of the disbursement noticed that the release of about 40 per cent of the funds was authorized by the former First Lady. Also under investigation by operatives of the anti-graft agency, is the source of the funds, which has not been established due to the Amnesty office’s boss departure from the country. According to sources, the failure of the former head of the presidential Amnesty Programme to return to the country has slowed down investigations of how the funds were sourced, “because he allegedly disbursed the bulk of the money, which was not part of the ...

Former governor of Abia state and Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) candidate for the March 5 Abia North Senatorial District rerun, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu, has said he would be in pole position to address problems, which gave rise to agitation by pro-Biafra groups such as Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) and Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), if elected into the Senate. Speaking at Igbere, his home town, during the last lap of his campaign tour of Abia North, Kalu said the issue of the pro-Biafra groups was so serious and delicate that it required someone with commanding respect from both divides like him to handle it to the satisfaction of all. He said agitators must have their sentiments over certain things, which he promised to address to the benefit of all if he gets to the Senate. “Agitators, whether they are in MASSOB, IPOB or any other group, have their sentiments and if I get to the Senate, I will establish a proper dialogue between them ...

Is this the cure for cancer? Genetically modified blood turned into 'living drug' in stunning new therapy that hunts down and destroys diseased cells and prevents them from returning - possibly forever!. The ‘extraordinary’ results are ‘unprecedented in medicine’, the world’s biggest science conference heard A revolutionary treatment that could stop cancer from ever coming back is close to becoming widely available, scientists said yesterday. Dubbed a ‘living drug’, it will act in a similar way to a vaccine, by being constantly alert for the disease returning. T-cell immunotherapy hit headlines last year when British baby, Layla Richards became one of the first people in the world to be given the treatment, which is made from the body’s own cells. Now, two landmark studies have revealed the therapy’s stunning potential. One suggests it will last for at least 14 years in the body, raising the tantalising prospect of a permanent cure for cancer. In the other, 94% of ter...

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo awarded the $841m Abuja rail project without engineering design and Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2007, an official of Chinese Civil Engineering and Construction Company (CCECC) told a Senate panel yesterday. CCECC Project Manager, Etim Abak told the Senate Committee on Federal Capital Territory (FCT) during an oversight to the project site. He said the then Minister of FCT, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai signed the contract on behalf of the federal government. Abak said the contract was awarded based on conceptual design while estimates were not properly done. “There was no formal design submitted and rail bridges and crossover bridges were not captured in the contract,” he told the committee.

Music’s biggest night honored the best of the industry at the 58th annual Grammy Awards held on Monday night, February 15, 2016. Taylor Swift got the big win of the night as her “1989” won the Grammy for album of the year. Performances for the night were done by Adele, Kendrick Lamar, Justin Bieber, and The Weekend. Here is a full list of the winners. Best rap album “2014 Forest Hills Drive”: J. Cole “Compton”: Dr. Dre “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late”: Drake “To Pimp A Butterfly”: Kendrick Lamar * “The Pinkprint”: Nicki Minaj Best country album “Montevallo”: Sam Hunt “Pain Killer”: Little Big Town “The Blade”: Ashley Monroe “Pageant Material”: Kacey Musgraves “Traveller”: Chris Stapleton * Song of the year “Alright”: Kendrick Duckworth, Mark Anthony Spears and Pharrell Williams, songwriters (Kendrick Lamar) “Blank Space”: Max Martin, Shellback and Taylor Swift, songwriters (Taylor Swift) “Girl Crush”: Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna and Liz Ros...

The caucus of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says it is screening eight candidates ahead of the party’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting. The NEC meeting is where a National Chairman for the party is expected to be ratified. The National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mr Olisa Metuh, told journalists that the caucus expanded the number of candidates from the initial four submitted by the governors for screening to eight. According to him, the former Governor of Borno State, Mr Alimidu Sheriff and Mr Nuhu Ribadu have joined the race for the party’s national chairmanship.