The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, says the completion of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway is scheduled for mid-September, years after reconstruction commenced on the ever-busy route. The minister made the statement on Tuesday during a visit to the sites of completed and ongoing Federal Government projects in the Lagos State. Construction work is ongoing on the last stretch of both sides of the expressway after several missed deadlines. The inspection tour started at outer Marina Road, in Victoria Island, a project constructed under the SUKUK financing option by the Federal Government. He then moved to the newly rehabilitated Eko Bridge, then to Ijora Olopa, the Lagoon section of Eko Bridge and Apapa. Umahi was briefed by officials of the ministry and contractors handling different projects on that axis. As of the time of writing, the minister is also expected to inspect the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, the reconstructed Apapa Oshodi expressway, the Deep Sea Ports, and other Federal Gover...

  The National Commission for the Coordination and Control of Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons, NATCOM, says it has concluded arrangement to train and employ a total of seven thousand personnel in each state to address the prevalent problem of illegal weaponry. Under this initiative according to NATCOM, it will join forces with other security agencies to drive its vision. Acting Director-General of NATCOM, Dr. Adejare Adegbenro highlighted this imperative mission in a statement he signed and made available to journalists in Abuja, even as he also emphasized his agency's dedication to this crucial cause. The statement reads: "We are going to employ about 300,000 personnel across the country with a viewing to making our nation a safer place. We won't just employ, they will all undergo effective training. This in itself will also reduce the unemployment rate in the country. We shall join forces with other security agencies in driving our course. "We are alig...

  The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has prepared orientation camp in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, for the first time in 13 years after the exercise was discontinued in 2011 as a result of Boko Haram uprising. Swearing in Batch ‘B’ Stream 2 corps members at a temporal orientation camp in the state capital, NYSC State Coordinator, Mohammed Adamu, credited Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, for facilitating the return of the orientation course to the state. The corps members are camped at the Arabic Teachers College which is serving as a temporary orientation camp amidst tight security by the military, police, civil defence and civilian joint taskforce. The corps members comprising 629 males and 496 females prepare for swearing in. On his part, Zulum expressed delight at the return of the orientation camp in the state, stating that the gesture signified the return of peace and security to the state after years of insurgency. He directed NYSC officials to identify grad...

President Bola Tinubu has pushed the recently appointed ministers to work with him and each other to discharge the motives of the Nigerian people through their work in government. He gave the encouragement during the inauguration of the 45 confirmed ministers-designate on Monday held at the Conference Centre of the State House, Abuja. “We are in this boat, even if it is a vehicle and I am the driver, the entire Nigerians are behind sitting and watching as you and I navigate this vehicle. We must hold each other responsible, we have to do the job to meet the expectations of all Nigerians. “As I said earlier on, you are not a minister of a particular state, colony, region or ethnic nationality, you are a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” President Tinubu said. Also in his speech, the President reminded the newly-sworn Ministers that it is a high honour to be chosen to serve as a minister in the Federal Executive Council and also charged them with teamwork. He added that the g...

  The World Health Organization and US health authorities said Friday they are closely monitoring a new variant of Covid-19, although the potential impact of BA.2.86 is currently unknown. The WHO classified the new variant as one under surveillance “due to the large number (more than 30) of spike gene mutations it carries”, it wrote in a bulletin about the pandemic late Thursday. So far, the variant has only been detected in Israel, Denmark and the United States. The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) confirmed it is also closely monitoring the variant, in a message on the social platform X, formerly known as Twitter. There are only four known sequences of the variant, the WHO has said. “The potential impact of the BA.2.86 mutations are presently unknown and undergoing careful assessment,” the WHO said. The WHO is currently monitoring upwards of 10 variants and their descent lineages. Most countries that had established surveillance systems for the virus have since dismantled ope...

  A Nigerian Air Force MI-171 Helicopter on a casualty evacuation mission crashed on Monday near Chukuba Village in Niger State. A Nigerian air force spokesman confirmed that its Mi-171 helicopter while on a "casualty evacuation mission" crashed on Monday after take-off from Zungeru. The accident happened at about 1pm and the number of persons onboard or their state were unknown as of press time. “The aircraft had departed Zungeru Primary School enroute Kaduna but was later discovered to have crashed near Chukuba Village in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State. Northwest and central Nigeria have for years been threatened   by attackers who assault the villagers, kill and abduct residents for ransom.

  The African Union (AU) said it was holding a meeting on Monday on the situation in Niger following the coup on July 26 that unseated President Mohamed Bazoum. “AU’s Peace & Security Council meets to receive an update on the evolution of the situation in Niger and the efforts to address it,” the pan-African body said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. The meeting was taking place at AU headquarters in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, it said. Those attending include AU Commission chief Moussa Faki Mahamat as well as representatives from Niger and the West African bloc ECOWAS. Last week, Faki expressed “deep concern” at the reported poor conditions of Bazoum’s detention, calling his treatment at the hands of coup leaders “unacceptable.” On Sunday, Niger’s military regime vowed to prosecute the democratically elected Bazoum for “high treason” and slammed ECOWAS for imposing sanctions on the country. Bazoum, 63, and his family have been held at the president’s official ...

England made it into the quarter-finals of the Women’s World Cup when they beat Nigeria 4-2 on penalties in Brisbane on Monday. Despite Nigeria having the better of the chances throughout, the European Champions — reduced to 10 players after 87 minutes — snuck home in front of 50,000 spectators after the match had finished 0-0 at the end of extra time. England held on after playmaker Lauren James received a red card for a needless stamp and will know they have to improve if they want to add the World Cup to their European crown. They will face Colombia or Jamaica on Saturday for a place in the semi-finals. England got off to a terrible start in the penalty shootout when Georgia Stanway fired wide, but Desire Oparanozie couldn’t take advantage and missed with an almost identical effort. Beth England made no mistake, but Nigeria’s Michelle Alozie shot way over top to give England an advantage they never surrendered, sealing the win when Chloe Kelly calmly converted