PINK REPUBLIC/ MY BLOG IS A STORY MARATHON.

 Wike assumes office in multi-million naira SUV labelled 'FCT-01' The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike's choice of automobile for his first day at work has got many talking. Wike arrived at the FCTA around 1:20 pm Tuesday in an armoured Lexus LX 600 SUV with the plate number ‘FCT – 01’. A search on the official Lexus website puts the price of this SUV starting from $100,115.

 Wagner group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin presumed dead as his private jet crashes Wagner group leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin has been presumed dead after his private jet mysteriously dropped from the sky.  The mercenary chief was listed to be travelling on the private jet which was en route from Moscow to St Petersburg when it crashed on Wednesday, August 23. Footage showed the aircraft spiralling towards the ground, with smoke pouring from the fuselage after it mysteriously started diving towards the ground. Seconds later, snaps of the aftermath showed mangled wreckage in a fiery heap. Russia’s state news agency Tass quoted emergency officials as saying the plane carried three pilots and seven passengers. The authorities said they were investigating the crash, which happened in the Tver region more than 60 miles north of Moscow. Mr Prigozhin, whose private military force Wagner fought alongside Russia’s regular army in Ukraine, mounted a short-lived coup against the Russian governm...

Umahi inspects Abuja-Lokoja road, threatens to sack contractors over shoddy job The minister of works, David Umahi has expressed deep dissatisfaction over the work done on the Abuja-Lokoja road by some contractors. The minister cited the constructed bridge on section 4 of the project, saying it was poorly done, and would not hesitate reviewing the contract of the handling firms. Speaking during the inspection of the Abuja-Lokoja road on Tuesday, Umahi threatened to terminate the contract of any contractor in the project who fails to meet with the expected outcomes, especially with regards to the quality of work done. He stressed that if a contractor fails in one project, the firm’s other projects will be terminated. He further disclosed that he and the team of experts in the ministry of works were exploring technological options to ensure that projects delivered meet the expectations of Nigerians. He said: “Yesterday, I inspected about eight projects on Abuja-Lokoja roads and I was dis...

OGUN BEGINS TRANSFER PROCESS IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS            Ogun State Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology has begun the transfer of learners into Junior Secondary School (JSS2) to Senior Secondary School (SSS2) classes in the Public Secondary Schools for the 2023/2024 academic session on Monday, August 21, 2023.            A release signed by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Abayomi Arigbabu stated that the prospective applicants are to visit Ogun State Education Revitalisation Agenda (OGSERA) platform on https://ogsera.ogunstate.gov.ng for registration with Five Thousand naira (N5,000) only.            The release indicated that there would not be a transfer into the 42 Flagship Secondary Schools, saying applicants are to check available space in other schools of their choice, fill the transfer form appropriately, and make online p...

Police arrests 94 year old man for allegedly defiling a minor The police in Adamawa state have arrested a 94-year-old man identified as Mohammed Abubakar, for allegedly d£filing a 13-year-old minor in Tappare ward, Ganye local government area.  The suspect who has been identified as a herbalist, is said to have been in the habit of deceiving young females by giving them sweet items. The police said on August 12 while the victim was passing by the suspect's house, he called her into the house and took advantage of her by having an unlawful c@rnal knowledge of her.  ‘’Investigation, so far reveals that the suspect while committing the act rubbed some concoction in the form of perfume on the victim. Which made the victim ill after the incident. It was as a result of the illness when questioned by her mother, she opened up to her about what had happened.'' The police said   The incident was reported to the Divisional Police Headquarters Ganye, by the mother of the victim. Co...

𝗜𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗰𝗵𝗮 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗔𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵, 𝗨𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗼 𝗧𝗼 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗸𝗲 𝗖𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲 The people of Isuaniocha Community in Awka North local government area of Anambra State have rejected the newly installed traditional ruler of the community, Igwe Mkpuorah Ngini. Igwe Ngini was last week issued certificate of recognition by Governor Chukwuma Soludo as the traditional ruler of the community. But indigenes of the community in a peaceful protest to the Anambra State government House, Awka on Wednesday said he was not the choice of the community, but an imposition by a few elements in the community. The protesters wielded placards with inscription s such as: Igweship election was conducted under crisis and confusion; We reject Mkpuorah Ngini as traditional ruler; Ngini family cannot dictate for Isuaniocha, Chikodi Anara, Igbakigba leave Isuaniocha alone; Isuaniocha need peace not war; among several others. The protes...

Railway Bridge Under Construction Collapses In India,Many Feared Dead  At least 26 people have been killed and more feared missing after a railway bridge under construction collapsed in north-eastern India, officials said. The incident occurred near the town of Sairang, in the state of Mizoram. Up to 40 workers were at the site when part of the bridge collapsed, according to local media reports. The cause of the incident is not yet clear and the railway authority has opened an investigation. Three people have so far been rescued. According to the Prime Minister Narenda Modi in a statement, "All possible assistance will be given to those affected," He said.  The government will pay some 200,000 rupees (£1,900; $2,400) to the next of kin of those killed, it added. Mizoram Home Minister Lalchamliana also sympathised with the families of the victims  "Words cannot express the depth of sorrow and sympathy for the families affected by this tragic event,"  The Khamrang-Si...

India has become the first country in the world to successfully land a spacecraft on the south pole of the moon.  The Chandrayaan-3 mission was declared a success on Wednesday, August 23, after the Vikram lander touched down at the South Pole of the moon by 1.34pm. The mission’s Vikram lander travelled at about 1.68km per second, and fired its engines to successfully align the probe vertically to the Moon’s surface. Until now, no other country has achieved a soft landing on the Moon’s south pole, which is known to contain traces of water ice in its shadowed craters. This is India's third Chandrayaan mission. Both Chandrayaan-1 in 2008 and Chandrayaan-2 earlier in 2019 failed to successfully land. The successful space journey sparked celebrations around India, including in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru, where space scientists watching the landing erupted in cheers and applause. After a failed attempt in 2019, India now joins the United States, the Soviet Union, and China in ...

12 suspected internet fraudsters have been arrested for allegedly burying a newborn baby alive at Andoni waterfront in Eagle Island, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Wednesday morning, August 23, 2023.  The arrest followed credible information received by the vigilante from residents who saw a group of boys conducting incantation and digging the ground by the waterfront. Chairman of PLGA Security Watch, Victor Ohaji, disclosed the incident to newsmen. He said on getting the information, he alerted the Azikiwe Police Division in Diobi, Port Harcourt and the officials of the state neighborhood Agency. “Thereafter, I immediately mobilised my men, but on getting to the spot where we were told the suspects were by the waterfront, the ‘yahoo’ boys’ had left,” he said.  Ohaji, however, said on closer observation, it was discovered that the suspected ‘yahoo’ boys’ buried something at the waterfront. The CSO of Eagle Island said he directed his men to dig the ground, where they found th...

RAILWAY VANDALISM: NSCDC ARRESTS 13 SUSPECTS, IMPOUNDS RAILINGS SLEEPERS WORTH 800MILLION The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has arrested 13 suspected railway vandals with large quantities of long rails and sleepers worth N800 million Naira. The suspects were paraded alongside five trucks conveying the large quantities of vandalised rails and sleepers at the NSCDC Headquarters, Abuja on Tuesday. The NSCDC National Public Relations, Babawale Afolabi, during the parade said that the suspects were arrested by the Commandant General’s Special Intelligence Squad (CGs SIS). Afolabi said that the arrests took place around Manchock area of Kaura LGA, Zonkwa area in Zango Kataf LGA, and Kaffanchan area in Jama'a LGA of Kaduna State. “The 13 suspects and 5 trucks impounded have been taken into custody for profiling and further investigation and prosecution. “The 13 suspects are still being interrogated and cross examined after which other accomplices will be arrested and ch...

First womb transplant carried out in UK The first womb transplant has been carried out by surgeons on a woman in the United Kingdom. The woman’s sister was the living womb donor. According to The Guardian on Wednesday, the unidentified 34-year-old married recipient from England underwent a nine-hour transplant procedure. The married woman was born with a rare condition, meaning her original womb was underdeveloped. She received a donor womb from her 40-year-old sister, who already had two children of her own.  Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser syndrome, which is a rare ¬congenital reproductive disorder that affects one in 5,000 women. Sufferers of this syndrome have an underdeveloped vagina and/or missing womb. The co-lead surgeon Isabel Quiroga, a consultant surgeon at the Oxford Transplant Centre, part of Oxford University hospitals, said she was “thrilled” and “extremely proud” the surgery had been a success. The recipient, who lives in England and asked not to be named, received h...

Soludo’s development plans: Anambra people urged to pay tax By Daniel Obagha The Acting Director and Head of Department (HOD), Direct assessment tax at Anambra State Internal Revenue Service (AIRS), Mr Herbert Ofomata, has urged people living in the state to always pay their tax to support the development plans of Gov. Chukwuma Soludo. Ofomata made this call while speaking with news men in his office at AIRS headquarters, Revenue House, Awka. ‘‘Tax is the revenue that the government is using to construct roads, build schools and provide social amenities. Every community in Anambra State gets 20 million Naira every year in what is called choose your project initiative to make sure that everybody benefits from the tax . ‘‘Look at the huge amount our Governor, Soludo, spent in providing security for all the people living in Anambra. He has hired 5000 teachers within his 100 days in office. Look at the renovations that are going on in various hospitals in the state. So we are appealing to ...

In continuation of the Iyana Ipaja Bus Terminal Project, the Lagos State Government has announced a traffic diversion at the Alagba ramp inwards Lagos Abeokuta Expressway from Thursday, 24th August, 2023 for a duration of 18 weeks. The alternative routes that would be available for Motorists during the construction period are as follows: I. Motorists inbound Lagos/Abeokuta Expressway from the Iyana ipaja bridge will be diverted to Alagba intersection to link the slip road on the left side of the Alagba roundabout to access Lagos Abeokuta Expressway. II: Heavy vehicles from Egbeda/Alagutan inbound Agege or Abule-Egba will be diverted to the Lagos-bound slip road from Ecobank Roundabout to make a U-turn at Iyana Dopemu to continue their journeys. ADVISORY Motorists are implored to be patient as the closure of the ramp is temporary and part of the traffic management plans to enhance mobility and ensure safety. E-signed Engr. Abdulhafiz Toriola Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transportati...

  JAMB Stops Universities from Selling POST UTME Forms August 23, 2023 The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has stopped Universities from Selling POST UTME Forms, saying all Admissions into Universities and Polytechnic must be processed via JAMB only. “All applications of admissions to First Degree, National Diploma, National Innovation Diploma and the Nigeria Certificate in Education into Full-Time, Distance Learning, Part-Time, Outreach, Sandwich, etc., must be processed ONLY through the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB)” “No Institution should advertise or sell “application forms” for admissions into the programmes” “Institutions should advertise candidates to apply to them through Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB). Duplication of application forms is NOT allowed” Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and the three (3) Regulatory Agencies: (National Universities Commission (NUC), National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) and Nati...

CP orders arrest of police inspector for slapping motorist in Imo The Imo state police commissioner, Muhammed Barde, has ordered immediate arrest of a police Inspector seen in a viral video slapping a motorist along the road in the state. The incident which happened in Owerri, the state capital, had elicited reactions from Nigerians, describing it as inhumane act melted out to the victim. While responding to a call for the arrest of the erring cop, Barde ordered the immediate arrest of the officer. In a statement issued by the public relations officer (PPRO) in the state, ASP Henry Okoye, on Wednesday, the CP condemned the unprofessional behaviour of the police personnel. He ordered that the officer be identified and arrested immediately, saying that the officer’s act was unacceptable. The statement read: ”The attention of Imo State Police Command has been drawn to a viral video with a caption; ”Nigeria Police can Never be Your Friend Especially the Ones in Owerri”, where a Police Ins...

Gov. Zulum Celebrates Return of Peace as NYSC Opens Orientation Camp Maiduguri After 12 Years Of Closure. ~Borno Chief Judge administered the Oath of allegiance to Corps Members. Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum attend the NYSC Orientation Camp swearing in of Corp members posted to Borno state at the temporary NYSC Orientation Camp Arabic Teacher college Maiduguri. The NYSC state coordinator in his remarks thank the Executive Governor of Borno state and the stakeholders for efforts put in place and working with the NYSC management to see NYSC Orientation Camp resume in Borno state after the 12 Years of the closure now the orientation camp has been Reopened for activities this is indeed shows that peace has gradually return to Borno state. He charged the Prospective Corp members to be diligent in their PPA to serve their father Land. Gov. Zulum in his address Thanked Almighty Allah for witnessing this remarkable day of Reopening of the NYSC Orientation Camp in Borno state after 12 years of cl...