Sesan Olufowobi The battle on who gets the governorship ticket of the All Progressives Congress in Lagos State continued on Wednesday with the party leadership mounting pressure on the incumbent Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, to drop his second term bid and endorse his opponent, Babajide Sanwo-Olu. Sanwo-Olu came into reckoning in Lagos politics after he obtained […]

Alexander Okere,  Benin There was pandemonium in Ekpoma town, in the Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State, when no fewer than five persons, said to be students of the Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, were reportedly killed by suspected cult members. PUNCH Metro learnt that the incident occurred during a graduation party in the […]

John Alechenu, Abuja The National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress has reviewed the timetable for the conduct of the party’s 2018 primary elections. Sequel to the review, the party’s primary election will begin with that of the President, which is scheduled to hold on September 25th to be followed four days later by […]

Niran Adedokun nadedokun@gmail.com Thoughts about Nigerian politics would always wear you out. And that is regardless of whether you are thinking about the politicians or the electorate. In the colony of politicians, the import of the calling itself is largely centred on what the political actors would gain, that is power and possibly money. Elsewhere, […]

Experts from within and outside Africa recently converged on Abuja to find the solution to the scourge of illicit flow of money, which, more recent reports say, bleed Nigeria and other African countries of about $100bn annually. ADE ADESOMOJU reports The High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa, chaired by a former President […]

Lionel Messi had said it was time Barcelona won the Champions League again and he played like a man on a mission on Tuesday, scoring a hat-trick in a 4-0 demolition of PSV Eindhoven. It was his eighth treble in the competition, taking him above the record of seven he shared with Cristiano Ronaldo to […]

Armstrong Bakam, Bauchi Joint operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service, Abuja Headquarters and the Federal Operations Unit, Zone D, Bauchi, raided a warehouse in Gombe state and seized drugs worth seven million Naira. The Comptroller, Federal Operations Unit, Zone D, Peters Olugboyega, disclosed this while handing over the drugs to the National Drug Law Enforcement […]

Mr Jimi Agbaje, the 2015 Lagos State governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, on Wednesday ended speculations about his re-run bid, saying he was back in the race. Agbaje made the confirmation via a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria  in Lagos. “It is true that initially I did not want to […]

Harry Kane is not a “machine” and it is only a matter of time before he is back among the goals, according to Tottenham teammate Erik Lamela. The under-fire England striker endured another frustrating game on Tuesday as Spurs slumped to a late 2-1 Champions League defeat at Inter Milan. The England captain has now […]

World No 1 Rafael Nadal out of China tournaments with knee injury Details Later… (AFP)

John Charles, Makurdi The Special Adviser to the Benue State Governor on Media and Information Communications Technology, Mr Tahav Agerzua, on Monday, said Governor Samuel Ortom does not betray people and has immense respect for Senator Barnabas Gemade. Gemade, a former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party and the senator representing Benue North East […]

 Jide Ojo President Muhammadu Buhari campaigned on a three-point agenda in the lead-up to the 2015 general election. He promised to fight insecurity, revamp the economy and tackle corruption. On these, while he may have recorded some baby-step successes, his performance has been anything but sterling.  In all honesty, we cannot in good conscience claim […]

Chisom Ikechukwu In many developing economies, political interference has undermined regulatory independence. Regulatory procedures are expected to be transparent, accountable and predictable. “Without adequate safeguards against the misuse of regulation, investment will be discouraged and prices higher than needed. …Credible, stable regulation is required to achieve the benefits of privatising and liberalising infrastructure”, according to […]

Uche Uwaleke Just a few days ago, the global financial community woke up to the cheering news that the World Bank had launched the first bond instrument built on a blockchain with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. By this development, the USD87m bond becomes the first to be created by the World Bank using distributed […]

Leksn Sote After a long silence, Kemi Adeosun resigned as the Minister of Finance last Friday. Many had expected that she would have provided forthright information to enable the fair-minded to determine her motive, or error of judgment, in obtaining a fake National Youth Service Corps Exemption Certificate on time. Alas, it was delayed. This […]

Qatar Airways on Tuesday posted a net loss of over $69 million in the year to March 2018, blaming the “illegal blockade” against Doha by a Saudi-led bloc of countries. The tiny Gulf emirate’s national airline said the period had been “the most challenging year in its 20-year history.” READ ALSO: Nigerian varsities have become business […]

Femi Makinde, Osogbo President Muhammadu Buhari has called on the electorate in Osun State to vote for the governorship candidate of the All  Progressives Congress in the state, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola on Saturday. He said this in Osogbo on Tuesday while addressing supporters of the APC at the mega rally for the governorship candidate of […]

The Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress has set up a seven-man committee to screen aspirants for the October 4 state assembly primary. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the state Chairman of the party, Alhaji Tunde Balogun, inaugurated the committee on Tuesday at the ACME road secretariat of the party. READ […]

Ethiopia’s Oromia regional state police on Tuesday said 269 individuals were arrested in connection with a deadly attack on civilians and property damage on the outskirt of Addis Ababa. However, 23 people have been confirmed dead while 886 others have left their homes as the attack drove residents to flee and seek refuge in schools […]

Britain’s main anti-Brexit party ramped up calls Tuesday for a second referendum — but time could be running out as Britain approaches the last six months before leaving the EU. “Brexit is not inevitable. It can and must be stopped,” Vince Cable, leader of the centrist Liberal Democrats, told his party’s conference in Brighton on […]

Ade Adesomoju, Abuja The Federal Government has transferred its 21 per cent shares in the Nigeria Security Printing and Minting Company to the Central Bank of Nigeria. Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo who is the Chairman of the National Council on Privatisation, on Tuesday witnessed the signing of the transfer instrument which was co-signed by the CBN […]

Olusola Fabiyi, Abuja The Peoples Democratic Party Board of Trustees panel set up to discuss the possibility of having a consensus presidential candidate among the aspirants will meet with them  (the aspirants) and also screen them on Thursday, The PUNCH has learnt. The 12-man panel, which is headed by Senator Walid Jibrin, is expected to […]

HBO’s record-breaking fantasy epic “Game of Thrones” stormed back onto the Emmys stage on Monday, winning the coveted best drama series prize on a night full of surprises, including an on-air marriage proposal that stunned the audience. The other big story of the gala, television’s answer to the Oscars, was the huge success of eight […]

Here is a list of the winners in key categories for the 70th Emmy Awards, which were handed out in Los Angeles: OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES: “Game of Thrones” OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES: “The Marvelous Mrs Maisel” BEST LEAD ACTOR, DRAMA: Matthew Rhys, “The Americans” READ ALSO: Akindele, RMD, Silva, others to star in ‘Chief Daddy’ BEST LEAD ACTRESS, DRAMA: […]

Ade Adesomoju, Abuja The Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Adamu Abdu-Kafarati, has barred judges of the court from granting ex parte orders in political cases. He also said on Monday that he had given a deadline of October ending to judges to conclude political cases with likely effect on candidates in the […]

Azuka Onwuka On May 13, 1981, Mehmet Ali Ağca shot Pope John Paul II four times at St Peter’s Square, Vatican City. Doctors battled to save the life of the Pope. Eventually, they succeeded. Following the attack, Pope John Paul II asked people to “pray for my brother (Ağca) … whom I have sincerely forgiven.” […]

John Alechenu, Sam Awoyinfa and Peter Dada The President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki; a former Governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa and an ex-Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu,  on Monday, differed on the performance of President Muhammadu Buhari. Ribadu, in an interview with journalists in Abuja, […]

Akeem Lasisi lasisienglish@gmail.com Many of us like the word, ‘hyperbole’, despite the fact that not all of us are poets. We use it regularly because it helps us to amplify or polish the messages we are passing across. The fact is that, naturally, human beings like to overstate facts. So, we find a good instrument […]

Chukwudi Akasike, Port Harcourt THE lawmaker representing Rivers South East in the National Assembly, Senator Magnus Abe, has declared that nobody can deny him the right to contest for the governorship position of Rivers State. Abe, who made this declaration during an interactive session with the coalition of youths in Port Harcourt on Monday, said […]

Oludayo Tade Nigerian politicians are boringly copy-cat in their attempt to present their personal ambitions as driven by the collective desire of the masses that need them as the ‘messiah’ to rescue the nation or their states from present quagmires. But a historical analysis of the approaches adopted by the non-creative political actors shows a […]

Everest Amaefule, Abuja The Federal Government says no mining company is allowed to begin operation in any part of the country without obtaining a community development agreement from the host community. A member of the Mineral Resources and Environmental Management Committee, Mr Osseini Ukwenya, said this at a sensitisation meeting between miners and host communities […]

Tunde Ajaja The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry says as part of efforts to make registration for the forthcoming 2018 Lagos International Trade Fair convenient and stress-free, it has introduced online registration for exhibitors to eliminate the rowdiness associated with allocation of spaces on the day the fair commences. It also said exhibitors would […]

 Feyisayo Popoola the equities market of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, on Monday, reversed some of the gains it recorded last Friday. The market capitalisation of listed equities dropped by N46bn at the close of trading on the floor of the Exchange to N11.756tn. It rose to N11.802tn on Friday from N11.690tn on Thursday. Sell-offs in […]

Notore Chemical Industries Plc has appointed Mr Ohis Ohiwerei as its new executive director, following the retirement of Mr Femi Agbaje. The company said in a statement that Agbaje’s retirement would take effect from September 30, 3018. It said Agbaje, who joined the organisation in January 2007, had served as a member of the Board […]

Stanbic IBTC Capital, Vetiva Capital Management Limited and PZ Cussons Plc emerged winners at the Nigerian Stock Exchange Corporate Challenge. The annual 5km race challenge, themed, ‘e-Race Cancer’, was held in Lagos on Saturday, with the purpose of raising funds and creating awareness on the fight against cancer. The NSE, in a statement on Monday, […]