FG Approves Establishment Of 12 Private Universities

 

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the issuance of provisional licences for the establishment of 12 private universities across the country.

Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed disclosed this to State House correspondents at the end of the Council meeting, presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, on Wednesday in Abuja.

He said the affected universities would be located in Kano, Niger, Gombe, Sokoto, Delta, Abia, Anambra and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

He said: “Council approved the memo for the issuance of provisional licences for the establishment of 12 proposed private universities.

“The proposed private universities are Pen Resource University Gombe, Gombe State, Al-Ansar University, Maiduguri, Borno State, Margaret Lawrence I -University, Delta State and Khalifa Ishaku Rabiu University Kano, Kano State.

“Sports University Idumuje Ugboko, Delta State, Bala Ahmed University Kano, Saisa University of Medical Sciences and Technology, Sokoto State, Nigerian-British University Hasa, Abia State and Peter University Acina-Onene, Anambra State as well as Newgate University, Minna, Niger State, European University of Nigeria in Duboyi, Abuja and the North-West University Sokoto. ”

Mohammed said the Minister of State, Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba presented the memo on behalf of the National Universities Commission and it was approved by the cabinet.

According to him, each of the new universities will be mentored by the old universities nearer to them.

He argued that establishment of additional universities for an over 200 million-populated country was necessary if the policy of educating a larger percentage of youngsters was to succeed.

Similarly, FEC gave approval to the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, to revise the estimated total cost of the contract for the extension of the inner southern expressway, from the outer southern expressway to the southern parkway.

Mohammed, who stood in for the Minister of the FCT, said the augmentation was in the sum of N1.4 billion.

He explained that the augmentation would raise the contract sum from over N17 billion to over N18.5 billion, to be completed in 12 months.

The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola also revealed that the Council approved N36.1 billion for the rehabilitation of Keffi-Nasarawa-Toto road in Nasarawa State.

He said: “The Ministry of Works and Housing presented a memorandum to council for a contract for the rehabilitation of 118.9 Keffi-Nasarawa-Toto road in Nasarawa State and the memo was approved for the award of the contract for N36.130 billion.”

The Minister also explained that the new Executive Order 11 signed by President Buhari would help improve the life span of all public buildings.

According to the minister, Nigerians stand to gain a lot from the Executive Order, adding that this was the first time the Nigerian government is making maintenance a matter of national policy. (NAN)

Pregnant Woman Stabs Husband To Death In Oyo Over Plan To Marry 2nd Wife

 

A pregnant woman, Omowunmi Joseph (43), of Odoye area, Alaadorin, Ibadan North Local Government Area of Oyo State, on Monday morning, stabbed her husband, Joseph Nwankwo, to death around 2am while he was asleep.

Our correspondent learnt that earlier a crisis started between the two about two weeks ago when the hsuband told his wife that he wanted to marry a second wife from his home town.

According to our source, after committing the crime, Omowunmi reported herself at the Iyaganku police area command and that the command took her to Yemetu police division, close to the scene of the incident.

Our correspondent who visited the Yemetu police station on Monday morning learnt that the remains of the husband had been deposited in a morgue.

Effort to get the reaction of the police spokesman in the state, Adewale Osifeso, about the incident proved abortive.

BREAKING: Austin Eguavoen Resign As Super Eagles Coach

 

Eguavoen has stepped down as Super Eagles head coach following the failure of Nigeria to qualify for the 2022 World Cup. Eguavoen has sent an official resignation letter to the NFF, according to a report by Brilla FM. The sports radio said Eguavoen will now return to his role as Technical Director of all national teams. The NFF had handed a two-year contract to Eguavoen two days before the first leg of the World Cup play-off against Ghana.

Meanwhile, an official statement by the NFF’s General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi, said the football federation has disengaged the entire Super Eagles’ Technical Crew. According to the statement, the decision is following the failure of the Super Eagles of Nigeria to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Parts of the statement reads; 

“The NFF has in the meantime withdrawn the two-and-half years contract offered the coaches and terminated the appointment of the entire technical crew of the team with immediate effect. A new crew will be announced after a proper review.

“We thank the coaches and team officials for their service to the nation and wish them success in their future endeavours,” said NFF General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi.

5 killed in Israel terror attack, with shooter neutralized

 

A gunman killed at least five people in an attack in the Israeli city of Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv, on Tuesday, paramedics said.

A video broadcast on Israeli TV showed a man in black with an assault rifle walking around the ultra-Orthodox Jewish town.

Witnesses said he shot at balconies, people on the street and a car. Ambulance spokesperson Zaki Heller said that the "terrorist was liquidated." It was not immediately clear who shot him.

Israeli newspaper Haaretz cited police who said the assailant was a 26-year-old Palestinian from the West Bank. They added that he had been arrested in 2013 and served a six-month sentence.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett convened an emergency meeting with top security officials on Tuesday.

The attack comes after the so-called Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the killing of two people in the Israeli city of Hadera on Sunday. Just last week a man killed four people in a stabbing spree in the Negev desert.

The Times of Israel reported that the total of 11 victims killed in the recent attacks constitute the the highest number of people killed in such a period within the country since the suicide bombing of a bus in 2006 killed 11 people.

Earlier on Tuesday, police carried out raids on at least 12 Arab-Israeli homes. The assailants in the previous two attacks were both Arab Israeli citizens. Before the raids, Bennett called the rise in violence a "new situation."

Who is behind the attacks?

It was not yet clear who was responsible for Tuesday's shooting, but IS claimed responsibility for the two previous incidents. The death toll over the past few days marks a recent high point for terrorist attacks.

Israeli officials said the Islamic holy month of Ramadan was set to begin on Saturday evening.

In 2021, tensions following the attempted eviction of a Palestinian family from a Jerusalem neighborhood sparked clashes with police, which eventually spilled over into an 11-day war that left 243 Palestinians dead and 12 people in Israel.

Sunday's attack also coincided with a regional summit held in Israel, which saw representatives from several Arab states that recently normalized relations with the country come together.

Face Masks Now Optional, COVID-19 Restrictions To Go Soon – FG

 

The Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 has said the use of face masks in public places is now optional, while the decision on the final relaxation of measures will be taken after Easter.

The Head of the Technical Secretariat, who also doubles as the Secretary of the PSC on COVID-19, Dr Muktar Muhammed, disclosed this in an interview with The PUNCH in Abuja.

Countries across the world have started relaxing COVID-19 measures.

Recently, Ghana, a West African country, announced that the use of face masks was no longer mandatory.

Nigeria has continued to witness a drop in the number of daily COVID-19 cases.

The PSC also announced that it would stop demanding proof of PCR tests from fully vaccinated travellers.

Muhammed stated, “We are easing up restrictions, but it’s important we do so responsibly.

“Last week, we suspended the limit placed on public gatherings, curfews and other social measures.

“The use of face masks in open spaces is now discretionary.

“We shall not hesitate to remove all mandates once the disease is no longer of public health consequence. We are aware that cases are rising in the Western Pacific and Eastern Europe. The US just mandated a fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine for adults older than 50. We fear a reversal of the pandemic situation, where largely unvaccinated poor countries will be made to bear the burden, because the West has developed very high immunity through large scale vaccination.

“Our biggest fear now is the upcoming Easter holidays. If we are able to cross and the cases continue to go down with no significant increase in hospitalisation and death, then certainly, we will lower down our level of alertness and relax most of the measures.

“We are working with data and algorithms to determine our line of action. Everything depends on what happens next. We learn from other countries, but we don’t have to necessarily copy what they are doing. Every country should evaluate its risk and take responsibility.”

Meanwhile, data from the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency has revealed that a total of 12,139,797 persons have been fully vaccinated in Nigeria, while 18,942,020 persons have been partially vaccinated.

The NPHCDA announced that Moderna, Astrazeneca, Pfizer and the Johnson and Johnson brands of COVID-19 vaccines were available for individuals willing to be vaccinated.