Author: Drum Africa Correspondent
Members of Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), University of Medical Sciences Teaching Hospital (UNIMEDTH), Ondo town chapter, have begun indefinite strike over alleged poor condition of service. The doctors were said to have protested on Monday after management of the hospital refused to accede to their demands. They demanded a stop to illegal deductions from their salaries, check on huge payment of taxes, non-payment of hazard allowance, among others. President of UNIMEDTH ARD, Dr Olaogbe Kehinde, said the workload was too much for doctors in the hospital. He said many doctors had resigned, while others left without prior notification due…
President Bola Tinubu, early this morning, assured Nigerians that all their sacrifices in the last over 19 months that he took over power and in the months ahead, would not be in vain. In his New Year message, the president, who promised to continue to serve the people diligently and wholeheartedly, also listed some of his achievements in the year that just ended, despite the challenges his government faced. However, setting agenda for the New Year, the president who listed some of the plans in the offing, intended to make 2025 a much better year, urged the citizens, too, to…
Civil rights activist and politician Senator Shehu Sani has urged Nigerians and the government at all levels to appreciate and honour the freedom fighters who defended the country. While speaking with Newsmen on Monday, Sani made the call when he visited the tombs of six deposed Emirs in Lokoja, who refused to bow down to British colonialists. Sani, who was accompanied by his colleague, Comrade Suleiman Ahmed, admonished Nigerians and the government at all levels to appreciate freedom fighters who defended the country. “Today, I am on the visit to the tombs of the Emirs from Northern Nigerians who were…
The former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, on Monday, slammed Reno Omokri, the former aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, over comments accusing him of being frustrated for not being appointed a minister by President Bola Tinubu. El-Rufai described Omokri as “a political mercenary retained by any paying person or government.” He also referenced a past case of alleged identity theft, where an American woman accused Omokri of using her son’s name, Wendell Simlin, in an attempt to link the former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Lamido Sanusi, to the terrorist group Boko Haram. Omokri had tweeted on Sunday, “Nasir…
Deputy Speaker of House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu has launched a five hundred million naira grant for 8,400 businesses and families selected from each 400 political Wards in Bende Federal constituency of Abia State. The grants according to the Deputy Speaker is to support businesses and families in Bende as well as to support businesses growth and families towards eradication of poverty, hunger and unemployment. Kalu who stated this at his country home in Bende on Sunday during a town hall meeting with indigenes of Bende Federal constituency, said that the payments of the funds would commence on December 30,…
Jimmy Carter, the oldest living president of the United States, has died at the age of 100. Carter, who was president between 1977 and 1981, died on Sunday at his home in Plains, Georgia, according to The Carter Center. “Our founder, former US President Jimmy Carter, passed away this afternoon in Plains, Georgia,” the organisation, which Carter founded a year after leaving the White House, said in a post on X. The death was first reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. No cause of death was immediately given, although Carter had spent almost two years under hospice care at his home…
The political crisis enveloping Rivers State shows no sign of letting off as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has accused former Rivers State Governor, Peter Odili, of siding with Governor Siminalayi Fubara against him instead of playing a fatherly role in resolving the issues. Wike made this known in Port Harcourt on Sunday during a thanksgiving service for the speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martin Amaewhule. The thanksgiving service was held at the Church of the Holy Spirit Anglican Church, Port Harcourt in honour of Amaewhule. In attendance were top politicians from…
The Nigerian Communications Commission has dismissed claims of a telecommunications tariff hike allegedly set to take effect in January 2025. The Commission described the reports as false and unfounded, urging subscribers to disregard the misinformation. A senior NCC official, speaking on Sunday, emphasised that the regulatory body operates under a transparent framework guided by the Nigerian Communications Act. According to the official, this framework requires stakeholder consultations and strict adherence to due process before any tariff adjustments are approved. These rumours are baseless and misleading. The NCC is committed to protecting consumers and ensuring that any potential tariff changes are…
The Federal Government on Sunday expressed sympathy to the government and people of South Korea following the tragic crash of Jeju Air Flight 2216. The crash occurred on Sunday, December 29, 2024, when the Boeing 737-800, returning from Bangkok, Thailand, attempted to land at Muan International Airport in southern South Korea. The plane skidded off the runway and collided with a wall, resulting in a fiery explosion. Out of the 181 passengers and crew on board, 179 lost their lives, leaving only two survivors. In a statement issued by the Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Abuja, Kimiebi…
Former Governor of Rivers State, Peter Odili, has commended Governor Siminalayi Fubara for navigating through political challenges in the past 12 months and more since the crisis broke out in October 2023. Odili noted that Governor Fubara’s struggles were not driven by personal interest but were aimed at safeguarding the collective good of Rivers State, emphasizing that the fight is to ensure that the state cannot be reduced to anyone’s personal property. “The battle he fought was not for himself or his family but in the interest of our dear state,” Odili stated. “It was an existential fight for the…