OKWUDILI CANICE-UNN INFORMANT

  The Senate, on Tuesday, passed a bill seeking to establish 18 Federal University of Medical Sciences and Biomedical Technology across the six geo-political zones in Nigeria. The proposal was approved after the submission of a report by the Senate Committee on Health. According to the Chairman of the Committee, Senator Yahaya Oloriegbe, the establishment of the University in the six zones of the country would address the dearth of admission of students aspiring to study Medicine and Allied Sciences in Nigeria. Announcing this via his twitter handle, Senator Oloriegbe said the two bills were referred to the committee for legislative action and both were approved by the Senate on Tuesday.  “A bill for an act to provide for the Establishment of the Federal University of Medical Sciences and Biomedical Technology in six Geo-political zones and related matters connected therewith 2022 (SB. 678). “The bill seeks to establish 18 Universities of Medical Sciences and Biomedical Techno...

  Over 72.77 million active telecommunication subscribers have been barred from making calls on their SIMs, following a directive from the Federal Government to telecommunication companies. On Monday, the Federal Government ordered telecommunications companies to enforce compliance with its National Identification Number-Subscriber Identity Module policy by restricting outgoing calls on all unlinked lines as the deadline for the verification expired on March 31. This directive was contained in a joint statement signed by the Director of Public Affairs of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Dr Ikechukwu Adinde, and the Head, Corporate Communications at the Nigeria Identity Management Commission, Mr Kayode Adegoke. According to the statement, 125 million SIMs have submitted their NINs for linkage, while over 78 million unique NINs have been issued. It said the deadline for the NIN-SIM linkage had been extended on multiple occasions to allow Nigerians to comply with the policy. It...

 The Governor of Anambra State, Chukwuma Soludo, has asked the Nigerian government to handle the trial of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) with speed or release him from detention. The IPOB leader was granted bail by Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja in April 2017 after Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe and two others agreed to be his sureties with each of them staking N100 million worth of Abuja properties as security for the bail. But in September of that same year, soldiers invaded Kanu’s home in Afara-Ukwu, near Umuahia, the Abia state capital, forcing him to flee the country, first to Israel, and later to the United Kingdom. In June 2021, the IPOB leader was re-arrested in Kenya and extradited to Nigeria to face charges of treason. Speaking during a one-day Peacebuilding and Security Dialogue held in Awka on Saturday, Soludo said an expeditious release of Kanu would cushion the insecurity impasse in the South-East. The governor point...

 The Nigerian Afro beat genre has become a global phenomenon, from the likes of Fela Kuti to new generation Afro beat singers like Wizkid, Burna Boy and Davido. On Tuesday 23 November 2021, the Grammy awards Recording Academy released the Nomination list of the 64th Grammy’s Award, which was set to hold in January 2022. The Academy announced the nominations for each of the 86 categories for the 2022 GRAMMYs Awards show held earlier this year. Five Nigerians were nominated in different categories. Wizkid has two nomination, Burna Boy, Tems, Femi and Made Kuti. Wizkid was nominated alongside fellow Nigerians –Femi Kuti, Burna Boy and Tems for Best Global Music Performance at The Grammys. Also nominated in that same category was Beninese legend, Angelique Kidjo. The Nigerian Afrobeat Star Wizkid also has his ‘Made In Lagos’ album nominated for Best Global Music Album at The Grammys, alongside Femi Kuti and Made Kuti’s Legacy +, Angelique Kidjo’s Mother Nature and Rocky Dawumi’s Voice ...