APC rakes in N720m from 16 Ondo gov aspirants

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Following the Wednesday deadline for the sales of Expression of Interest and Nomination forms,

the ruling All Progressives Congress has raised N720m from 16 governorship aspirants jostling for the party ticket in Ondo State ahead of the April 20 primary election.

The sales, which started on March 27, ended on Wednesday.

The ruling party has pegged the Expression of Interest form at N10m, while the Momination Form went for N40m.

However, female aspirants and persons with disabilities were given concession to only procure the Expression of Interest form while the Nomination form was free for them.

Release Kanu, other agitators, Igbo group urges FG

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A call has gone to the Federal Government to, as a matter of necessity; approve the unconditional release of all pro-Biafra activists

and other Nigerians incarcerated for self-determination agitations in fulfillment of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s promised commitment to a free society.

The group under the aegis of Concerned Igbo Citizens Council made the call in a statement signed by its interim National Coordinator,

and interim National Secretary, Comrade Ukachukwu Obioha and Mazi James Okorie respectively, and made available to newsmen in Owerri, the Imo State capital.

Positing that the unconditional release of Sunday Igboho, a pro-Odua Republic agitator and Omoyele Sowore is commendable,

CICC insisted that the same gesture must be extended to Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and all other Nigerians currently detained for similar activities.

CICC maintained that the continued detention of Kanu and hundreds of Igbo youths over Indigenous People of Biafra activities while their Yoruba counterparts have been granted reprieve by the present administration gives “an unsavory ethnic and sectional coloration” to Federal Government’s action.

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Student Loan: FG plans pilot scheme for public institutions

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The Nigerian Education Loan Fund, on Wednesday, said it would begin a pilot phase of the student loan scheme with applicants from public tertiary institutions.

This includes students of federal and state universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.

It also expects President Bola Tinubu to soon appoint a chairperson, a Managing Director and two Executive Directors as part of its executive management team.

The spokesperson for the Fund, Mr Nasir Ayitogo, affirmed this to our correspondent on Wednesday,

citing the provisions of the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill, 2024, which Tinubu signed into law, on the same day.

Economic hardship: Foundation feeds Abia community children

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In response to the alarming rise in children’s hunger rate across the globe and to cushion the effects of the current economic hardship in Nigeria, a charity organization, Harrison Goodness Foundation,

on Easter Monday, fed about 100 Otampa community children with sumptuous and nutritious meals.

Speaking in Amaogudu Hall in Otampa autonomous community, Isuikwuato Local Government Area of Abia State, HGF Nigeria Coordinator, Mr. Nelson Aghogu,

appreciated the Secretary General of the Foundation, Dr. Mrs Gloria Harrison, for the initiative, identifying nutritious meals as a means by which a child’s cognitive function can be enhanced.

He said the Foundation observed that children who lack access to adequate nutrition face numerous challenges in their cognitive and physical development, and this also impact negatively on their academic performance.

Aghogu pointed out that HGF do not only strive to make lasting impact on lives of children and families in need,

but believes strongly that no child should ever have to go to bed hungry and is dedicated also to creating a society where every child has access to nutritious food and the opportunity to thrive,

an initiative which the Foundation has been doing through its scholarship scheme over the years.