Avarine

By Emem Idio, Yenagoa The Governor of Bayelsa State Senator Douye Diri has been commended for his unquenchable love and commitment for sports development generally, and for endowing a tournament in his name with the hosting of the maiden edition of the Gov. Douye Diri National Scrabble Championship in Yenagoa. The 1st Gov. Douye Diri National Scrabble Championship which began last Friday ended in Yenagoa, the State capital on Sunday on a note high and was graced by the Bayelsa State Governor Senator Douye Diri, represented by his Deputy, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, the President of the Nigeria Scrabble Federation, Mallam Sulaiman Gora, as well as the former NSF President, Mr. Toke Aka. The championship which was held at the Golden Tulip Resort in Yenagoa the Bayelsa State capital drew nearly 300 persons who registered and participated in five categories namely, Masters, Intermediate, Veterans, Opens, and the Students, who were drawn from secondary schools in the state. ALSO REA...

The Chief of Army Staff, Maj.-Gen. Faruk Yahaya, says the military has achieved commendable successes in its counter-insurgency operations due to he renewed and enhanced inter-agency collaboration between services and security agencies. Yahaya made this at the opening of an Inter-agency Seminar, organised by the Army War College Nigeria (AWCN) for its Course 5 participants, on Monday in Abuja. The theme of the seminar is “Effective Coordination of Security Agencies Towards Improved Internal Security of Nigeria”. Represented by the Chief of Civil Mikitary Affairs (Army), Maj.-Gen. Anthony Omizoje, the COAS, said that all the existing security threats were surmountable through effective collaboration between security agencies. He said that such a collaborative structure would ensure and facilitate seamless modulation of all government agencies in the ongoing efforts to secure the country. The COAS said that the current threats presented a unique character requiring interagency effo...

By Timi Olubiyi The number of small businesses keeps growing in the formal and informal sectors of the Nigerian economy due to the role of small businesses as the live-wire of any economy and the backbone of  major  developed economies the world over. Though Nigeria rely majorly on oil and revenues derived from it, from context observation the economy is largely supported by small businesses covering almost all spheres of activities within the country, ranging from nano, kiosk and micro businesses most importantly. A visible reference usually includes the vulcanisers, corner shop owners, single retail marketers, repairers, painters, business center operators, restaurants, market women and men in the various open markets, among others; and the formal operations such as the law firms, accounting firms, consulting, fintech and real estate companies, and so on in the country. The small business economic activities in Nigeria play an unrecognised but important role all across t...

By Idowu Bankole Former governor of Ekiti Mr Ayodele Fayose has today berated President Muhammadu Buhari over the gruesome killing of ex-political adviser to erstwhile President Goodluck Jonathan, Alhaji Ahmed Gulak in Owerri, Imo state. Gulak was killed in the early hours of Sunday shortly after he left his hotel and was said to heading to the Sam Mbakwe airport to connect with a flight back to his destination. Recall Vanguard had reported that the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, had issued a sit-at-home order to honour Biafran soldiers and civilians killed during the civil war of 1966. Also Read: REACTIONS: ‘killing of Gulak in Owerri portends great danger’ Reports also have it that the Imo state police command had confirmed the incident and insisted that late Gulak had failed to inform the police he was leaving for the airport before the sad incident occurred Reacting, however to the murder of Gulak, ex-Ekiti Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose in a week on his social media handl...

Gov Ugwuanyi of Enugu state By Dennis Agbo Major Stakeholders in the Aninri Local Government Area of Enugu State have described the achievements of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi in the past six years as enduring and impactful to the lives of the people. They made the observation at a town Hall Meeting organised by the Enugu West Patriotic League Aninri Local Government Area Chapter, at Aninri Council headquarters Ndeabor. In a communique at the end of the meeting, the people stated that the area has benefited immensely from governor Ugwuanyi’s administration like they never did in the previous administrations. One of them and a former Commissioner in the state, Dr Charles Ajah who read the communique, noted that the Vote of Confidence on the Governor was on the grounds of his numerous achievements in human capital and infrastructural developments, peace and security and all-inclusive leadership from which he said Aninri people are major beneficiaries. country. Also Read: Rivers C...

…Suspected herders kill 4 villagers in Enugu …Gunmen shoot, stab bizman to death in Ibadan …Pregnant woman killed in Nasarawa …12 killed, many missing in Benue communities By  Peter Duru,  Peter Okutu, Ikechukwu Odu, Ola Ajayi & David Odama FIFTY four Nigerians were reportedly killed by suspected herdsmen and gunmen in different attacks carried out in Ebonyi, Benue, Enugu, Nasarawa and Oyo states, but police denied reported killings in Ebonyi state. The suspected herdsmen, yesterday, attacked Odoke, Ndiobasi and Obakotara communities in Ebonyi Local Government Area of the state where no fewer than 30 Ebonyi indigenes were killed. The affected communities share a boundary with Ado Local Government Area in Benue State. A resident in the area, Uchenna Okpokwu, said the herdsmen invaded his community with guns and machetes around 3 am, yesterday. “They came into Ndiobasi village and started slaughtering people. After slaughtering them, they entered Odoke, from there ...

Leah Sharibu By Prisca Sam-Duru For four years now, little Leah Sharibu has been missing in her schools’ Children’s Day celebration. Not only that she has been transformed against her will into a teenage mother of two as we heard in the news, but she has also been forcefully converted to Islam by her captors. Friday, 14th May 2021, was the 18th birthday of the ambassador of Christ- Leah Sharibu. No one will be surprised if she didn’t even remember her special day due to obvious reasons. But as the world marked the 2021 Children’s Day last Thursday 27th May, we remembered Leah and every other child both those who have fallen and those still in captivity, hoping and praying that one day, they will reunite with their families and friends. Leah’s story is not just a modern-day Christian martyr narrative, but also, that of modern-day slavery. Young Leah is just one out of thousands of black Africans, mostly Christians who have been enslaved by terrorists and trafficked in Libya, Suda...