BENIN—An early morning fire outbreak at the ‘Pipeline Timber Market’ in Benin yesterday destroyed timber and machines worth millions of naira.

Mr. Emeka Nwankpa, a former journalist and development activist is the Chief Media Strategist of the Concerned Professionals’ Congress (CPC), an advocacy team with an inclination to Nigeria’s total development.

MOST ex-militant leaders in Bayelsa State, yesterday, failed to honour the invitation by the state command of the Nigeria Police to attend a meeting over the intelligence report on security threat against the conduct of the re-run election in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area and 101 units across six councils in the state.

THE Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, said, yesterday in Awka, Anambra State that the party would give equal opportunity to all the aspirants for the senatorial seat of Anambra Central during its scheduled primaries to select the party’s candidate for the rerun election.

ABUJA — The insolvency of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, has been brought to the fore, with its inability to fund its obligation to International Oil Companies (IOCs), as it owes its Joint Venture (JV) partners $2.839 billion, about N567.76 billion, between January and November 2015.

Justice Daisy Okocha has finally been sworn in as substantive Chief Judge of Rivers State after serving in acting capacity twice in this administration.

Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People, MOSOP, has issued a 30-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to commence the implementation of the United Nations Environmental Assessment Report on Ogoni, Rivers State.

The Ohanaeze Ndigbo has expressed serious concern at the way hundreds of Igbo are systematically eliminated in Nigeria, including the current violent campaigns by the dreaded Boko Haram Islamist fundamentalists.

AGAINST the backdrop of theface-off between the management and residents of 1004 Estate in Victoria Island, Lagos, the estate’s facility manager, Messrs 1004 Estate Limited has vowed not tolerate any semblance of hostility or thuggery in the highbrow residential estate.

The People Democratic Party, PDP, has appealed to the Supreme Court, challenging the nullification of the election that brought Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State to power.

UDU—A factional leader of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, in Udu, Delta State, has shot a member of the union, Victor Omor, for refusing to purchase a newly introduced non existing ticket of the Delta State Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria, RTEAN, to drivers in the area.

IKEBIRI—IT was a foggy Yuletide for the indigenes of riverside town of Ikebiri, host to Nigerian Agip Oil Company, NAOC and Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, Olodiama clan, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, as the community recorded yet another crude oil spill that polluted rivers and creeks on Christmas Day.

Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State at the weekend inaugurated the first phase of a multi- million Naira housing estate in Ibadan, pledging that his administration would embark on infrastructural revolution in the state.

THE recent call by Honourable Sanni Zorro, the member of the House of Representatives for the Gumel/Maigatari, Sule Tankar/Gagarawa Federal Constituency of Jigawa State for the domestication of the Kampala Convention on Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) is a worthy idea.

FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange Plc has outlined key initiatives that it intends to concentrate on in the course of the year to drive development in the Debt Capital Market (DCM).