Niger Delta Dev’t gets minister, Petroleum ministry adjusted

Published

9 months ago

August 21, 2023

President Bola Tinubu has announced a new minister-designate for Niger Delta Development and directed minor amendments to ministry nomenclature and portfolio allocation.

This is contained in a statement on Sunday by Mr Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, in Abuja.

In the new move, the president approved the redeployment of Abubakar Momoh from the Federal Ministry of Youth to the Federal Ministry of Niger Delta Development.

The Federal Ministry of Youth is to be re-assigned to a minister-designate soon.

The ministers-designate allocated to the Federal Ministries of Transportation, Interior, and Marine & Blue Economy has been reshuffled as follow:

(A) Adegboyega Oyetola is redeployed as the Minister of Marine & Blue Economy

(B) Bunmi Tunji-Ojo is redeployed as the Minister of Interior

Oyetola was earlier assigned to Transportation, Tunji-Ojo to Marine & Blue Economy while Alkali had Interior.

Furthermore, both Ministers of State in the Oil & Gas sector are now domiciled in the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources with the following designations:

(i) Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri is the Minister of State (Oil), Petroleum Resources

(ii) Hon. Ekperipe Ekpo is the Minister of State (Gas), Petroleum Resources

NAN reports that the portfolios of the two ministers are designated as Ministers of State, Gas Resources and Minister of State, Petroleum Resources.

The president also approves the renaming of the Federal Ministry of Environment and Ecological Management as the Federal Ministry of Environment.

That was the portfolio assigned to Kaduna State but no person is yet to be assigned to it.

All new changes take immediate effect.

The ministers-designate are expected to be sworn in on Monday.

Prince Harry visits sick Nigerian soldiers in Kaduna

Published

3 days ago

May 11, 2024

Alero Danjuma

Prince Harry and his team visited the 44 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital in Kaduna to interact with wounded soldiers who are receiving treatment.

The Duke of Sussex is in Nigeria with his wife to champion the Invictus Games, which Harry founded to aid the rehabilitation of wounded and sick servicemembers and veterans.

Nigeria joined the Invictus Community of Nations in 2022 becoming the first African country to join.

Prince Harry’s visit to Kaduna came 68 years after his late grandmother Queen Elizabeth II visited the state during the time of the late Premier of Northern Region Sir Ahmadu Bello.

Senate approves death penalty for drug traffickers

Published

6 days ago

May 9, 2024

Alero Danjuma

Senate on Thursday, May 9, approved the death penalty for those convicted on the charge of drug trafficking in the country.

The punishment prescribed in the extant NDLEA Act is a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

The resolution of the Senate followed its consideration of a report of the Committees on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters and Drugs and Narcotics, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Act (Amendment) Bill, 2024.

The Chairman of the Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights & Legal Matters presented the report during plenary, Senator Mohammed Monguno (APC-Borno North).

The bill, which passed its third reading, aims to update the list of dangerous drugs, strengthen the operations of the NDLEA, review penalties, and empower the establishment of laboratories.

Section 11 of the current act prescribes that “any person who, without lawful authority; imports, manufactures, produces, processes, plants or grows the drugs popularly known as cocaine, LSD, heroin or any other similar drugs shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to be sentenced to imprisonment for life” was amended to reflect a stiffer penalty of death.

Although the report did not recommend a death penalty for the offence, during consideration, Senator Ali Ndume moved that the life sentence should be upgraded to the death penalty.

During a clause-by-clause consideration of the Bill, Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, who presided over the session, put the amendment on the death penalty to a voice vote and ruled that the “ayes” had it.

But Senator Adams Oshiomhole objected to the ruling, saying that the “nays” had it.

He argued that matters of life and death should not be treated hurriedly, but Barau said it was too late, as he failed to call for division immediately after his ruling.

The bill was subsequently read for the third time and passed by the Senate.