VOICE OF THE PEOPLE

Category: News

  • Federal Govt Takes Over Completed 2nd Niger Bridge

    Federal Govt Takes Over Completed 2nd Niger Bridge

    The Federal Government has taken delivery of the completed 2nd Niger Bridge and stressing the need for prompt supervision of road projects.

    The Minister of Works, David Umahi, received the handover of the completed 2nd Niger Bridge project and ancillary facilities from the contractor that handled the project, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc on Sunday at the 2nd Niger Bridge toll station.

    In a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Minister, Barr. Orji Uchenna, he restated the government’s commitment to the delivery of enduring road infrastructure that will conform with the world’s best standard.

    He expressed satisfaction with the work done and which project circle was completed under the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

    He further thanked the immediate past administration of President Muhammadu Buhari for doing a lot to bring the project to fruition.

    Speaking further, he expressed his thanks to his predecessor, Babatunde Fashola, who was the Minister of Works that handled the project.

    Umahi added that in line with the innovations of President Tinubu on road infrastructure, his Ministry would work to ensure the installation of solar powered light on the length of the completed project and ensure that the two interchanges of the bridges are completed.

    He said he would also acquire more land through the state government to have service stations and ensure security on the road through the installation of CCTV cameras.

  • Magnitude 5.1 Quake Hits Sea South of Istanbul

    Magnitude 5.1 Quake Hits Sea South of Istanbul

    A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck just south of Istanbul on Monday, rattling parts of Turkey’s largest city but causing no immediate injuries or damage.

    The earthquake’s epicentre was in the Marmara Sea’s Gemlik Bay, which lies about 60 kilometres (35 miles) south of Istanbul, near the city of Bursa, according to the AFAD emergencies service.

    Turkey’s most populated city is situated near the North Anatolian Fault, one of the most active in the world.

    A 7.6-magnitude earthquake with an epicentre on the city’s eastern outskirts killed more than 17,000 people in 1999.

    The number of Istanbulites has roughly doubled since then, to 16 million people.

    Two major earthquakes claimed the lives of more than 50,000 people in southeastern Turkey in February, damaging or destroying tens of thousands of buildings across several cities.

  • Gunmen Kidnap Abuja Landlords, Demand N20m Ransom

    Gunmen Kidnap Abuja Landlords, Demand N20m Ransom

    In a tragic development, Gunmen on Sunday kidnapped two landlords in the Asokoro extension area of the Federal Capital Territory.

    The gunmen are demanding N20m ransom to release the victims.

    VOP News gathered that armed men pointed a gun at one of the landlords in the area whom they used to gain access to a victim.

    A resident of the area explained that the other victim was making his way into his house when he was whisked away by the armed men.

    The source noted that the kidnappers had reached out to the families and demanded N20m to release the landlords.

    The Asokoro Commander of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria, Mohammed Seidu, confirmed the incident,  adding that efforts are ongoing with the police to rescue the victims.

  • UNICAL Increases Tuition Fees by 100%

    UNICAL Increases Tuition Fees by 100%

    The management of the University of Calabar has announced an increase in the university’s tuition fees for undergraduates by over 100 per cent.

    The announcement was contained in a statement made available to newsmen in Calabar today.

    In a statement, the institution’s spokesman, Mr Effiong Eyo, said the upward review of the fees was taken at an emergency meeting of the university’s Senate on Friday.

    The release disclosed that the implementation of the upward review will take effect in the 2022–2023 and 2023–2024 academic sessions.

    The management noted that the increment was necessitated by the current economic realities and the need to maintain the academic standard which the university was known for

  • NAF Jet Allegedly Bomb Villagers During Maulud Celebration

    NAF Jet Allegedly Bomb Villagers During Maulud Celebration

    A bomb allegedly dropped by a Nigerian Air Force jet during a Maulud celebration at Tudun Biri, a community within the Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State has reportedly killed many villagers.

    As of the time of filing this report, the details of the incident remain sketchy.

    However, reports have it that about thirty people lost their lives in the incident that happened on Sunday, around 9:00 pm.

    Residents of the affected community who spoke with Journalists revealed that the bomb struck while the villagers gathered to commemorate Maulud in the village.

    The Commissioner of the State Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, while speaking on the incident did not provide a casualty figure.

    He, however, stated that the government would address the media in a press conference at the Government House.

    The Nigerian Air Force has also yet to speak on the incident as of press

  • Benue APC Raises Alarm Over Plot to Protest Against Tinubu, Akpabio, Others

    Benue APC Raises Alarm Over Plot to Protest Against Tinubu, Akpabio, Others

    The Benue State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has alleged a plot to protest against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume and the state party chairman, Autin Agada.

    A statement by the APC Publicity Secretary, Daniel Ihomun disclosed the party has uncovered plans by agents of the state government to sponsor a protest against President Tinubu to thwart the stoppage of funds to local governments with undemocratic structures in Benue and other states in the country.

    Ihomun said the alleged protest portends grave danger to the unity of the State and the party, calling on security agencies in the State to be on alert.

    He also urged Governor Hyacinth Alia to monitor the activities of unscrupulous elements around his government who are using his name to perpetrate acts capable of plunging the State into anarchy.

  • PDP, Labour Party Ask Presidency to Come Clean on COP28 Delegation

    PDP, Labour Party Ask Presidency to Come Clean on COP28 Delegation

    The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP has knocked President Bola Tinubu over what it termed “over-bloated delegation of about 1,411 individuals to the Conference of the Parties (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates”.

    Reports earlier emerged that the President was accompanied by 1,411 Nigerians to the UAE event.

    The report had triggered anger across the country as Nigerians accused the All Progressives Congress, APC-led Federal Government of being insensitive to the plight of Nigerians.

    Reacting, PDP in a statement issued on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba held that the development further validated insinuation that “the Tinubu-led APC administration is wasteful, frivolous and reckless in the application of the scarce resources of the nation, especially at a time Nigerians are yearning for prudent management of resources to achieve the desired infrastructural regeneration, job creation and revamping of the economy”.

    The main opposition party questioned why a country “whose citizens are dying daily from inability to purchase necessities would be willing to fritter its resources and scarce foreign exchange in such a manner.”

    According to the PDP, Tinubu’s action of conveying number of individuals to the event, only “points to the fact that this administration is not interested in the good of the generality of our citizens but for a select few positioned to fleece the nation’s resources”.

    The party challenged the Presidency to “come clean by making public the names of the official delegation sponsored by the Federal Government to the conference”, stressing that the relevance of such individuals to the conference and the total cost of such sponsorship on the nation should be revealed.

     

  • Niger, Burkina Faso Pull Out From G5 Sahel

    Niger, Burkina Faso Pull Out From G5 Sahel

    The transitional government of Burkina Faso and the Republic of Niger have announced their withdrawal from the G5 Sahel.

    The two parties made their decision known in a joint statement dated Friday, December 1, 2023.

    Before the latest development, the G5 Sahel is an institutional framework for the coordination of regional cooperation in development policies and security matters in West Africa.

    The body consists of five Sahel countries including Burkina Faso,Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger.

    In the statement, however, today, Niger and Burkina Faso said they have observed that after nearly nine years of existence, the organization is struggling to achieve its objectives.

    They asserted that the body has lost its course and the legitimate ambitions of the States to make the G5 Sahel space a zone of security and development, are thwarted by institutional heaviness, heaviness of another age that finishes convincing them that the path of independence and dignity on which they are today engaged, is contrary to participation in the G5