The Director-General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Sanni Aliyu, says no fewer than 1.1million persons living with HIV/AIDS are currently on treatment in Nigeria. He said this at a briefing to recount the activities of the Nigeria AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey (NAIIS) on Thursday…

The Western Marine Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Lagos, said on Thursday that it had seized contraband valued at N81 million in the last one month. Benjamin Binga, the new Comptroller of Customs, Western Marine Command, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos. Mr…

The Maternal and New Child Health (MNCH2), a UK-DFID funded programme, has claimed that Nigeria loses about 700 Nigerian children daily as a result of different preventable health challenges. Ashiru Hamza, the Advocacy and Accountability Advisor of the organisation, disclosed this while presenting the evidence at an Editorial Roundtable meeting…

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has predicted chances of scattered thunderstorms and rainfall over most parts of the country on Friday. NiMet’s Weather Outlook by its Central Forecast Office on Thursday, predicted thunderstorms and rains over Yola, Jalingo and Mambilla Plateau during the morning with partly cloudy to cloudy morning.…

The federal government has released about N1.05 billion to settle outstanding claims and entitlements of 408 staff and retirees of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN). The Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) Alex Okoh, said on Thursday in Abuja that the payments were approved by…

Okoi Obono-Obla, Chairman, Special Presidential Investigation Panel on the Recovery of Public Property, has denied reports that he was under pressure to resign, saying the “purported report is false, baseless and wicked”. He said on Thursday in Lagos that the matter in question that necessitated the report was in court.…

The federal government has assured the organised Labour that the Tripartite Committee on the National Minimum Wage would conclude its negotiation before the expiration of the 14-day ultimatum. Ama Pepple, Chairman, Tripartite Committee on the new National Minimum Wage gave the assurance while speaking with journalists on Thursday in Abuja.…

Four members of Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), popularly called Shiites, have been arrested for attacking the police during a procession at Muchiya, Sabongari, Zaria, Kaduna State on Thursday. The Kaduna State Police Command Spokesperson, Yakubu Sabo, a deputy superintendent of police, confirmed the arrest in a telephone interview with…

Rwandan authorities have discovered the bodies of 5,400 victims of the 1994 genocide, the executive secretary of Genocide Survivors Organisation Ibuka said on Thursday. The executive secretary, Naphtal Ahishakiye, added that the bodies were exhumed from 26 mass graves in the Masaka and Kicukiro districts of the capital, Kigali. “A…

The Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) has released the report of investment profile of 45.74 billion dollars for 42 projects in nine states and the Federal Capital Territory in the first half of 2018. The report made available on the commission’s website on Thursday noted that the report was presented…

Half of those living in poverty around the world are under 18 years of age, according to UN data released on Thursday. The UN said that the data was based on a multidimensional poverty index compiled by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative…

Trading activities on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) closed on Thursday on a positive growth, with Lafarge Wapco leading the gainers’ table for the day. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the crucial market indicators appreciated marginally by 0.33 per cent growth. Specifically, the market capitalisation inched N39…

Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State and Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Heineken Lokpobiri, have expressed divergent views on the debts owed by the state. The minister had alleged that the Dickson led administration had incurred the N800 billion domestic and $216 million external from 2012 till…

The Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property has secured a warrant of arrest against embattled Delta senator, Peter Nwaoboshi, for alleged conspiracy, diversion of public funds and official corruption. A Wuse Zone 2 Magistrates’ Court, Abuja, issued the warrant dated September 18 and signed by Akanni…

A Lagos Division of the Federal High Court Thursday sentenced a businessman, Jones Biyere, to 15 years in prison for forging foreign cheques. Mohammed Idris, the judge, found the convict guilty on each of the 13 counts brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and subsequently…

A Public Health Scientist, Suzanne Bell on Thursday said the abortion rate by women of reproductive age in Nigeria has risen between 1.8 and 2.7 million. Mrs Bell, who made the disclosure at a dissemination exercise of the Performance Monitoring and Accountability 2020 (PMA 2020) in Abuja, said that the…

Tonye Cole, an All Progressives Congress (APC) gubernatorial aspirant in Rivers, says restoring peace and unity to the state would be his administration’s top priority if given the mandate in 2019. Mr Cole, one of the four aspirants on the APC platform, made the assertion in an interview with the…

A Federal High Court in Lagos on Thursday said it would on Friday hear the defence of a former governor of Abia State, Orji Kalu, in the case of N3. 2 billion fraud preferred against him. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting Mr Kalu together with his…

The Statistician General of the Federation, Yemi Kale, says the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) will commence the Nigeria Living Standard Survey (NLSS) from September 27. Mr Kale disclosed this at a sensitisation workshop on NLSS in Keffi. He said: “Work is going to start next week; for us to…

A bank robbery that occurred in Igede Ekiti, headquarters of Irepodun/Ifelodun local government area of Ekiti State, late on Wednesday claimed two lives, while others sustained varying degrees of injury. The state police command which confirmed the incident on Thursday added that the command had beefed up security in and…

The chairman, Oyo State Board of Internal Revenue, Bicci Alli, has said the closure of Obasanjo farms in Ibadan was not politically motivated as being speculated. The board chairman said this in Ibadan on Thursday while reacting to the closure of the business of a former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, in…

Yakubu Dati, the Plateau Commissioner for Information and Communication, has said that Gov. Simon Lalong is not planning to defect to Peoples Democraric Party (PDP). Mr Dati in a statement on Thursday in Jos said that Mr Lalong has never at any point contemplated leaving the All Progressives Congress (APC).…

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), says it has sacked six of its officers for corruption and official misconduct. NAPTIP’s head of press and public relations unit, Stella Nezan, disclosed this in a statement in Abuja on Thursday. Mrs Nezan explained that the offences committed…

Nigeria moved one place from 49th position to 48th in the FIFA/Coca-Cola world ranking as Belgium and France share the top spot for the first time in the table’s 25-year history. According to the rankings posted on the FIFA official website on Thursday, the Super Eagles amassed 1415 points to…

Amaju Pinnick has been re-elected the president of the Nigeria Football Federation for another four-year term having emerged tops in Thursday’s poll in Katsina. Pinnick secured in a landslide victory at the Congress in Katsina, winning 34 of the 44 votes cast. Pinnick’s victory is historic as it is the…