Posts by akintunde:
Fact-checkers meet in Capetown, share strategies to fight fake news
With fake news becoming a global threat to effective circulation of accurate news, Factcheckers from around the world will hold the global fact checking conference at the University of Cape Town’s New Lecture Theatre, from June 19-21. The annual summit, which started in London in 2014, is an opportunity for…
Inside the broken schools in Nasarawa where pupils sit on floor to learn
Nasarawa, in North-Central Nigeria, has one of the highest rates of out-of-school children in Nigeria. Africa's most populous country currently has 13.2 million out-of-school children, the highest rate anywhere on earth, according to the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF). The rate -- about 47 per cent -- means…
Despite years of funding, Nasarawa schools still in poor shape (1)
An examination of public schools in Nasarawa State has shown some of the facilities to be unsuitable for learning despite the huge amount of money the state says it has spent in the sector in recent years. Fifteen schools examined by PREMIUM TIMES were in a poor state, posing risks…
Premium Times Director selected for prestigious Reagan Fascell fellowship
The Programme Director at the Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ), Joshua Olufemi, has departed for the United States to participate in this year’s Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellowship Programme of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). Mr Olufemi, who also doubles as the Knowledge and Innovation Lead for PREMIUM TIMES…
Buhari set to win Nigeria’s presidential election
With official results in from 33 states and the Federal Capital Territory, President Muhammadu Buhari is leading in the presidential election with over three million votes. The results showed that Mr Buhari has so far garnered about 13,563,977 votes to clearly move ahead of the candidate of the Peoples Democratic…
SPECIAL REPORT: Nigeria’s four seasons of lavishness with N15.46 trillion Excess Crude Fund
In the last fifteen years, the Nigerian government has spent at least $107.4 billion (the equivalent of N15.46 trillion) from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) under the administrations of Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Musa Yar Adua, Goodluck Jonathan and incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari. A Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ)…
In South-West, more water, road projects are abandoned despite billions of naira spent (2)
In the second part of this investigation, Akintunde Babatunde reveals how billions of naira worth of water projects awarded between 2012 and 2016 for over N5 billion as part of capital projects in the South West (Osun, Oyo and Ogun states) have failed to materialise or are in bad shape…
How federal projects initiated by Saraki are abandoned, poorly implemented (2)
For residents of Abata Karuma in Ilorin East, Kwara State, life with erosion has been a hell they contend with daily. A gully which stretches for metres has not only claimed the only motorable road in the community but has already eaten into the foundation of their houses. “They will…
FACT-CHECK: Verifying President Muhammadu Buhari’s claims in 2019 budget speech
Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari, on Wednesday, December 19, presented the 2019 budget to a joint session of the National Assembly. In his speech, he made a number of claims and quoted statistics, while reviewing economic developments over the past three and a half years. Most of the figures claimed are…
SPECIAL REPORT: South West’s multi-billion naira water projects abandoned, leaving residents stranded (1)
Billions of naira worth of water projects in Osun and Ogun states have failed to materialise or are in bad shape after being abandoned or poorly excuted, an investigation by UDEME, an accountability project of the Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism, has shown. The projects were awarded between 2012…
SPECIAL REPORT: Kwara residents groan as projects nominated by Saraki abandoned, poorly implemented
Many accidents have occurred on the Ero Omo Kilanko community road but that of July 15 is still fresh on the minds of residents of the area. It was night, and rains had flooded the newly constructed road. Before the Toyota mini bus could manoeuvre to avoid the ravaging water…
SPECIAL REPORT: Inside abandoned, poorly executed N6.6bn constituency projects in Ekiti
Although about N6.6 billion was allocated for 160 projects between 2015 and 2018 in various communities in the three senatorial districts and six federal constituencies in Ekiti State by lawmakers, PREMIUM TIMES and UDEME reports the poor execution of these projects and abandonment of others. After a series of budgetary…
How National Assembly mismanaged billions of Naira through illegal expenditures, fraud – Audit Report
About N3.5 billion was misappropriated in 2016 by the management of the National Assembly, an audit report has revealed. The monies were siphoned through various schemes such as failure to retire advances, financial documentation irregularities, excess payment for goods, controversial purchases and diversion of funds. These findings were contained in…
FACT-CHECK: How accurate is Osinbajo’s claim on Nigeria’s debt profile
The Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, on Saturday, October 27, said Nigeria's debt was $73 billion, a $10 billion increase from $63 billion the present administration inherited in 2015. He made the disclosure in Ibadan on Saturday during the 9th Public Lecture of Sigma Club at the International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan. THE CLAIM “In 2010 our debt…
Manchester United Vs Juventus (LIVE UPDATES): Ronaldo, Pogba face former clubs
Two top players, Paul Pogba and Cristiano Ronaldo, will literally be seeking the downfall of their former clubs tonight. Manchester United playing host to Juventus at Old Trafford in one of the Match Day 3 games of the UEFA Champions League and the star attractions are indeed Pogba and Ronaldo.…
How Nigerian agency mismanaged N1.3 billion on abandoned projects, ‘non-existent’ vehicles, others – Audit Report
The management of Lower Niger River Basin Development Authority (LNRBDA) failed to provide credible evidence of financial expenses amounting to N1.3 billion, an audit report shows. The monies were used to buy 'non-existent' vehicles, pay for uncompleted and abandoned projected and spent on other controversial purchases. This was contained in the 2016…
Ooni of Ife reveals new wife, Naomi Oluwaseyi
The Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has revealed his new wife. She is Naomi Oluwaseyi. The monarch who is quite active on social media made the surprise announcement on Instagram on Thursday night. “I waited patiently upon the Almighty the King of kings, he eventually did it in the midst…
FACT-CHECK: How true is Osinbajo’s claim that Nigerian govt spent N1.7 trillion on capital projects
The Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, on Monday said the federal government has spent N1.7 trillion on capital projects in two budget years. He made this claim while addressing participants at the 9th Presidential Quarterly Business Forum held at the State House Banquet Hall in Abuja. The vice president said infrastructure development was crucial in…
Despite controversies, constituency projects gulp N200bn in three years
At least N200 billion has been 'injected' into various Nigerian communities in the past three years to implement 6399 'constituency projects' proposed by federal lawmakers, an investigation by the Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism [PTCIJ] under its UDEME project has revealed. After three months of rigorous field reporting, budgetary…
Auditor-General reveals Nigerian agency ‘notorious’ for disregarding accountability issues
The Auditor-General of the Federation, Anthony Ayine, has berated the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) for its notoriety in disregarding issues bordering on accountability. The condemnation was contained in the recently released annual report of the Auditor-General for the Federation on the accounts of Nigerian agencies for the…
Oyo forum, UK varsity train 60 budding Nigerian entrepreneurs
Oyo Global Forum, OGF, a Nigerian grassroots organisation, has partnered with the Centre for Enterprise Innovation, CEI, at the De Montfort University, the United Kingdom, to provide a platform, tagged Enterprise Bootcamp, to improve the entrepreneurial competencies of over 60 young Nigerians. The programme which was implemented in Oyo between…
How Nigerian agency mismanaged N1.3 billion on ghost contracts, poorly executed projects, others – Audit Report
A Nigerian agency mismanaged N1.3 billion by making payments without evidence of such, overpaying for some (abandoned) projects, and not getting value for money on many others, an audit report shows. About N1.33 billion was mismanaged by the Ogun Osun River Basin Development Agency (OORBDA) in 2016, according to the…
Despite receiving N700bn in 2017, power, agriculture, other ministries hide details of expenditure
The ministries of power, works and housing; education, health, agriculture, and water resources received over N700 billion from N1.58 trillion released by the Federal government for capital projects in the 2017 budget but have failed to make the spending details public. The Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, announced recently that…
PTCIJ to honour outstanding Nigerian campus journalists
Outstanding student journalists from across Nigerian universities are to be honoured in Abuja. The award ceremony is being organised by the Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ). In a statement, the organisers said the ceremony will be held on June 28. "This signifies the end of the pilot phase…
Oyo State House of Assembly speaker is dead
The Speaker, Oyo State House of Assembly, Micheal Adeyemo, is dead. A member of the Oyo state house of assembly confirmed this to PREMIUM TIMES Friday morning. The cause of his death is yet to be ascertained. His body has reportedly been taken to the mortuary. Micheal Adeyemo was born…