VOICE OF THE PEOPLE

Category: News

  • Female LP Edo 2024 Guber Aspirant Optimistic – ‘We Can Shake the Table’

    Female LP Edo 2024 Guber Aspirant Optimistic – ‘We Can Shake the Table’

    Dr Loretta Oduware Ogboro-Okor, a female aspirant in the Edo 2024 governorship race, has advocated the involvement of women in partisan politics.

    Loretta, who is seeking the Labour Party ticket to contest for the state’s top job, lamented that a lot of Nigerian women were at the back door during election season.

    According to the aspirant, it is time for women to take their place in politics.

    Oduware Ogboro-Okor, stated this shortly after her public declaration of intention to contest for the Edo 2024 governorship election, on Monday at the LP secretariat in Benin.

  • Nigerians in US Lament, Says ‘with the Way Emefiele is Handled, Someone Wants Him Dead’

    Nigerians in US Lament, Says ‘with the Way Emefiele is Handled, Someone Wants Him Dead’

    The Conference of Nigerian Intellectuals in the United States is raising concerns about human rights abuses in Nigeria, particularly focusing on the continued detention of former Central Bank Governor (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, despite court orders for his release.

    The group, led by Philips Idris, has condemned the Economics and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) actions as illegal and inhumane, emphasizing the wrongful nature of Emefiele’s ongoing detention.

    Idris pointed to a pattern of disregard for the rule of law and the rights of citizens since President Bola Tinubu’s administration took office.

    He cited international human rights law, particularly Article 9 of the United Nations Human Rights, which prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention, to underscore the government’s obligations to protect individual rights.

    He noted that Should the group’s plea fall on deaf ears, they will be staging a peaceful protest in the USA and another by a sister organisation in London next week.

  • Former APC Chieftain Knocks Tinubu, Says He’s Equally Responsible for Buhari’s Failure

    Former APC Chieftain Knocks Tinubu, Says He’s Equally Responsible for Buhari’s Failure

    Former North-West National Vice Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Salihu Lukman, has slammed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for making excuses about the current hardship in the country.

    Lukman, in a statement issued in Abuja on Monday, also faulted those blaming former President Muhammadu Buhari for the current hardship Nigerians are going through.

    You will recall that a few weeks ago, the Ogun state governor, Dapo Abiodun and National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, said President Tinubu inherited a bankrupt country and an almost comatose administration, respectively.

    However, the former Director General of APC Progressive Governors Forum further maintained that instead of blaming Buhari, APC leaders, including Tinubu should take responsibility for the ex-president’s failure and take the needed initiative to improve Nigerians’ lives.

    The APC chieftain urged Tinubu to admit that the current hardship is primarily due to fuel subsidy removal and floating the Naira against other major currencies without proper planning.

    Lukman warned that the APC government cannot ‘Renew the Hope’ of Nigerians by giving excuses.

    He noted that Nigerians voted the APC and President Tinubu in the last general elections very consciously and confident that under the leadership of President Tinubu the challenges facing the country will be addressed.

  • Defence Headquarters Says Bomb Attack in Kaduna Community Targeted at Terrorists

    Defence Headquarters Says Bomb Attack in Kaduna Community Targeted at Terrorists

    The Defence Headquarters says the drone attack on the Ligarma community in the Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State on Sunday was based on information about the untoward activities of terrorists in the area.

    This is contained in a statement by the Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Edward Buba today in Abuja.

    Buba said the Nigerian Army Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) detachment had at about 10pm on Sunday, observed the movement of terrorists at Ligarma, known to be a terrorist-infested area of Kaduna State.

    He said the aerial surveillance captured the movement of groups of persons synonymous with the terrorist tactics and modus operandi.

    Buba explained that the observed advance of the terrorist that was gathered posed a threat to key infrastructure within reach of their activities.

    According to him, the threat was eliminated to prevent the terrorists from unleashing terror on innocent civilians.

    He also revealed that the military continually gives precise instructions to  communities to always alert troops of their activities particularly when such a community is known to be infested with terrorist and their sympathisers.

    He noted that these instructions are intended at enabling the military distinguish between friendly and untoward activities.

    Buba said the armed forces would continue to operate in line with international laws and would also continue its determined and cautious progress in eradicating terrorist from the land.

    He said the terrorists were often disguised as civilians to perpetrate terror as part of their tactics, adding that the military would continue to find innovative solutions to the challenges faced in the conduct of its operations.

  • NLC Meets to Work Out Living Wages

    NLC Meets to Work Out Living Wages

    The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC convened in Abuja to engage in discussions aimed at determining a living wage that aligns with the prevailing cost of living ahead of the anticipated resumption of talks between the Federal Government and organized labour regarding the new Minimum Wage.

    This came as the NLC had vowed not to be deterred by the recent assault on workers and their leaders in Imo State.

    The congress stated that such incidents posed a grave threat to freedom of association and collective bargaining, as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended and the ILO Conventions 87 and 98 on Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining.

    These were contained in the NLC President Joe Ajaero’s welcome address at the Opening Session of the NLC 2023 Harmattan School in Abuja.

    Ajaero, represented by the Congress Deputy President, Benjamin Anthony, said: “In the face of adversity and brutality encountered while advocating for the rights of workers to earn their legitimate income and benefits, the NLC resolve remains unwavering.

     

     

     

     

  • Spotify to Sack 17% Staff Members

    Spotify to Sack 17% Staff Members

    Music streaming giant Spotify said today it would reduce the number of its employees by around 17% in a bid to cut costs amid “dramatically” slower economic growth.

    Spotify in October posted a rare quarterly operating profit of 32 million euros, compared to a loss of 228 million for the same period a year earlier, on the back of 26% growth in active users for the third quarter.

    Chief executive Daniel Ek wrote in a letter to employees that for many, a reduction of this size will feel surprisingly large given the recent positive earnings report and spotify’s performance.

    He said that in 2020 and 2021, the company “took advantage of the opportunity presented by lower-cost capital and invested significantly in team expansion, content enhancement, marketing and new verticals.”

    Spotify has invested heavily since its launch to fuel growth with expansions into new markets and, in later years, exclusive content such as podcasts.

    It has invested over one billion dollars into podcasts alone.

    In 2017, the company had around 3,000 staff members, more than tripling the figure to around 9,800 at the end of 2022.

    Despite its success in the online music market, the company has never posted a full-year net profit and only occasionally quarterly profits.

  • Governor Sanwo-Olu Slams Developers on Incessant Building Collapse

    Governor Sanwo-Olu Slams Developers on Incessant Building Collapse

    The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has blamed real estate practitioners not building according to the property laws of the state for the menace of building collapse in Lagos.

    Governor Sanwo-Olu stated this during a real estate summit jointly organised by the Lagos Business School and the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers, recently.

    The governor, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Abimbola Salu-Hundeyin, said Lagos was forging ahead to find lasting solutions to the state’s housing concerns.

    The Governor said there would be more than 30 million people living in Lagos by 2035, adding that this would present a challenge of providing affordable housing for the teeming population, given the limited land mass of the state.

    He emphasized the need for thegovernment to continuously advocate, monitor and enforce where necessary, the extant regulations and standards become necessary with the application of innovation and quality control strategies and technologies.”

  • Nigeria’s Food Insecurity Rises 133% as Poverty Deepens

    Nigeria’s Food Insecurity Rises 133% as Poverty Deepens

    The number of Nigerians facing food insecurity has increased by 133 percent in three years as poverty deepens in Africa’s most populous country.

    The figure surged from 63.8 million people between 2014 -2016 to 148.7 million people between 2020 to 2022, according to the 2023 State of Global Food and Nutrition Security, and it is likely to worsen in recent years owing to the significant increase in prices of food items.

    Attaining food security in Nigeria has become a struggle in the face of various challenges including insecurity, flood, farmer/herders clash, climate change, and poor funding among others.

    This is despite billions of naira spent by the Nigerian government and yearly interventions from international donor agencies, to shore up food production in the country.

    Ntiedo Ekott an Abuja-based agriculture analyst noted that food insecurity in Nigeria remains an issue that requires urgent attention both from the government and private sector.

    Ekott noted that the worsening insecurity, climate change, and impact of fuel subsidy removal have continued to affect the capacity of farmers to produce adequate foods to meet the demands of Nigerians, hence the increased importation of food items.

    He urged the government to urgently address the worsening state of insecurity in the country, noting that the activities of bandits and kidnapping have continued to deter investments in the sector.

    Food inflation, which makes up the bulk of Nigeria’s inflation basket, has increasingly quickened to 31.5 percent in October from 30.64 percent in September, amplifying a cost of living crisis in the country.

    Nigeria currently has 133 million multidimensionally poor people, representing 63 percent of the nation’s total population of 211 million individuals, according to the 2022 Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
    Uchenna Daniel of Green Grain Nigeria Company said that poor implementation of government policies is a major contributor to all agricultural problems in the country.