Afrobeat musician Burna Boy has rescheduled his Netherlands performance after facing criticism for postponing it.
The artist was supposed to perform at the GelreDome stadium on Saturday night, but “a number of reasons” prevented him from doing so.
Burna Boy stated in a post on Sunday that the event would occur at the same location on July 23, and that free transportation would be provided on the concert day.
Again, my sincere apologies for ALL the inconveniences caused last night, he stated in part. I am aware that individuals traveled great distances to attend the show and anticipate receiving one.
“I understand and recognise the sacrifices that people made to turn up. People with schedules, jobs and families. I’m heartbroken.
“New Date: 23rd July 2023. Venue: GelreDome Stadium, Arnheim. All ticket holders will have an opportunity to register for different levels of FREE transportation to the venue on show day.”
Just 24 hours after being named the new Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun was presented with his new rank at the State House by Vice President Kashim Shettima.
The National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, the Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum, Hope Uzodinma, the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, and the recently retired IGP, Usman Alkali, were all present at the ceremony, which started at one o’clock.
At Vienna Airport in Austria, customs inspectors discovered no less than 90 reptiles in a passenger’s luggage.
The retail value of the 85 geckos, two snakes, and two scorpions was 47,000 euros (51,400 dollars), according to a report released on Tuesday by the Ministry of Finance.
The 50-year-old had taken a flight from Vienna to Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.
When he attempted to utilize the exit for travelers without goods to declare, he was stopped.
According to the ministry, the personnel were shocked to see an initially uncontrollable number of reptiles in three cargo boxes.
The animals, some of whom were already obviously ill, were given over to Schönbrunn Zoo and none of them were thought to be protected species.
He said none of the animals were useful to him as he intend feed the gecko to his snakes.
Stakeholders and education professionals have praised President Bola Tinubu’s approval of the immediate dissolution of all boards and councils of all Federal Government parastatals and corporations.
While they stated that the action was a timely positive decision, they also called on the inclusion of all Governing Councils of Federal Universities around the country.
Some analysts stated that the Universities Councils should not be included in the exception clause derived from the Third Schedule, Part 1, Section 153 (i) of the 1999 Federal Republic of Nigeria Constitution as amended.
Although in the past there may have been pressure from other groups to exclude university councils which must be vacated.
Dr. Abednego Silverstone, an educational researcher, argued that a relevant provision in the Act establishing the Councils, also supports the idea of sacking them, in an event they are ” found to be incompetent and corrupt “.
Silverstone urged the President to remain resolute and intentional in addressing the obvious challenges affecting university system and standard of education in Nigeria.
Investigation had shown that due to political patronage, many unqualified persons were appointed into the governing Council of most of the Federal Universities.
It was also revealed that many of the Councils members were going outside their mandate, and were interfering with day-to-day running of Universities, thereby hampering progress with inordinate conflicting interests.
An insider source, who pleaded anonymity, called on the President to sack the Councils and reconstitute them, appointing only those with proven track record and can add value to the system.
The source disclosed that most of the members in many Universities Councils, have not made any significant contributions towards the growth of education, simply because they are hugely bereft of relevant knowledge.
The source added, that if the President is interested in proffering lasting solutions to the problems of education in Nigeria, he should beam his searchlight on the governing council, as most have become springboard for corruption.
” Many of the people appointed into the Governing Councils of most Universities, do not have requisite knowledge and technical expertise to contribute meaningfully to the development of the systems.
” Great majority of them, were political errand boys, who were simply emplaced in the positions as reward from their political benefactors.
” The President should start sanitising the education sector from the Councils. He should appoint only technocrats with high pedigree and people that have cognate experience and can help the system to grow, “
An American rapper, Milton Powell popularly known as Big Pokey, has died at the age of 48 after he collapsed while performing in Texas.The rapper on Saturday fell while performing at a show in Beaumont, Texas, according to DailyMail on Sunday.Pokey’s manager shared a statement on behalf of the family, saying that they are waiting for autopsy results. He said, “It is with deep sadness that we share the news of the passing of our beloved Milton ‘Big Pokey’ Powell.“Big Pokey passed away on June 18, 2023. He was well-loved by his family, his friends, and his loyal fans. “In the coming days, we will release information about his celebration of life and how the public can pay their respects. “We ask that you respect his family and their privacy during this difficult time. ‘Big Pokey will forever be ‘The Hardest Pit in the Litter’.”
The wife of the late singer Sound Sultan, Farida Fasasi, has remembered her husband on Father’s day. She posted a photo of her husband on Instagram, appreciating him for the love and care he showed the family while he was alive.Her words, “Aboo Thank you for all you’ve done on Earth and what you continue to do in Heaven. Men like you deserve to be honoured on special days like these. Happy father’s day baby we miss you.”It would be recalled that Sound Sultan died of throat cancer on Sunday, July 11, 2021 in the US and he was buried there according to Islamic rites.
The former Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, has said that only a guilty suspect will be afraid of visiting the anti-graft agency.
Bawa revealed this in an interview with newsmen on Monday.
He noted that one need not be scared of him or the agency when invited as it was an issue of power and that power belonged to the system.
According to him: “We are just doing our job and don’t want people to panic or fear, and feel free to come to the EFCC with all sense of belonging.
“It’s just about finding out the facts and what happened. Just come and explain, so why are you scared or afraid? To me, it’s a sign that you are guilty as suspected not guilty as charged.”
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has denied issuing fuel importation permit to Dangote Group.Speaking to State House Correspondents at the Presidential Villa, the Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Engr. Farouk Ahmed, explained that the authority issued fuel importation permit to six companies to bring in the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) in July of which Dangote Group isn’t part of it.Ahmed explained that contrary to reports in some quarters that Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) issued fuel importation permits to only three companies, he said that NNPC has no mandate to issue such permit.Engr. Ahmed said that the notion that NNPC issued a fuel importation permit to anyone is not true.He went further to clarify that although six companies have been approved for July, more 23 applications have been received and are currently being processed for subsequent approvals. “As of this morning, for the month of July, we at least received and cleared six companies that have expressed interest and have vessels offshore that they needed to fix for delivery in July.”We also have about 23 other companies that have expressed interest to import, and these applications are coming. As we speak now, they keep coming and we keep evaluating all of that.”So the good thing is that we actually have a lot of interest in companies wanting to import Premium Motor Spirit, which means that NNPC burden will be reduced because as we get more and more companies coming in NNPC might decide to also slow down in line with the provision of the law which FCCPC states that in order to avoid any monopoly no company should go more than 40%.”So in line with that, however, prior before that happens, NNPC of course being the sort of last resort, has over 30 days sufficiency of premium motor spirt currently, as of today.”Almost 14 days of the 30 is on now, which means we have about 14 to 15 days sufficiency across the country.”There are several companies that applied for fuel importation permit. So you can apply for importation to get access to the port. And by the way, we are open to all those who are interested in importing. “We have guidelines which are not very stringent because we’re trying to encourage importation. There are six companies who said they want to import fuel in July. Of course, all the others may import in December in November, or anytime but those who expressed interest to bring in fuel in July there were six of them as of this morning. “The beauty of it is that there are interests which means that they have been able to have access to foreign exchange in order to import.”Now, as we go along, of course, we’ll be briefing you on the progress or the achievements so far, but the important thing is that NNPC has 30 days fuel sufficiency, so we do not anticipate any gap in supply or in distribution.”
The Group Chief Executive Officer NNPC Limited, Mr. Mele Kyari, has pledged the commitment of the company to the Federal Government’s plan for net zero carbon emission in the country by year 2060.
He stated this when the US Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Energy Resources, Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt visited the company in Abuja yesterday, said Nigeria was shifting a lot of attention towards gas development and production as it was cleaner fuel than oil.
He, however, commended the US government for supporting the country in the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, he said the support has pushed the country towards enhancing gas development and penetration in the country.
“We are a very populous country and 70 percent of our population is below 30, and with the enormous under supply of energy, this is the perfect time for the United States to support us through technology deployment and finance, as we make effort towards the decarbonisation of our operations”.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Ambassador Gabriel Aduda described the US as a strong partner of Nigeria in its quest to move towards a greener energy with its energy transition agenda.
He said Nigeria was ready to collaborate with the international community to ensure a safer world and cleaner energy for the globe.
On his part, Ambassador Pyatt expressed the commitment of the US President, Joe Biden, to partner with African countries and companies to foster safer and cleaner energy for the world.
He pointed out that the world is facing two active disruptions in transformation of energy systems, “one is the transition itself. The rapid shift towards sustainable sources of power, and the emergence of technologies that allow us to reduce the carbon intensity of the energy sources. The other factor is Russia which has had a huge impact in the global energy market having marginalized itself through its actions in Ukraine and the sanctions that followed”.
He said President Bola Tinubu has made a very strong start in reforming the country, pledging to help in the creation of the US-Nigeria Strategic Energy Dialogue, to bring together officials of the governments of both countries on refining the energy pathway.
The meeting was attended by the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Engr. Gbenga Komolafe, the Chief Executive, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Engr. Farouk Ahmed and other top management staff of NNPC Limited.
In order to fulfill his constitutional obligations and serve the general welfare, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has authorised the immediate dissolution of the governing boards of all federal government parastatals, agencies, institutions, and government-owned businesses.
Boards, Commissions, and Councils mentioned in the Third Schedule, Part 1, Section 153(i), of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, are unaffected by the dissolution.
The Chief Executive Officers of the Parastatals, Agencies, Institutions, and Government-Owned Companies are directed to refer matters requiring the attention of their Boards to the President through the Permanent Secretaries of their respective organizations until new boards are formed in light of this development.
In view of this development and until such a time new boards are constituted, the Chief Executive Officers of the Parastatals, Agencies, Institutions, and Government-Owned Companies are directed to refer matters requiring the attention of their Boards to the President, through the Permanent Secretaries of their respective supervisory Ministries and Offices.
Permanent Secretaries are directed, also, to route such correspondences to Mr President through the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. Consequently, all Ministries, Departments and Agencies are to ensure compliance to the provision of this directive which took effect from Friday 16th June, 2023.
Permanent Secretaries are particularly directed to inform the Chief Executive Officers of the affected Agencies under the supervision of their respective Ministries/Offices for immediate compliance.
