SIX months after assuming duties as legal officers, 40 young lawyers in Cross River State, are yet to be included in the payroll of the state, following instructions from the state governor, Prof. Ben Ayade, that their payment be suspended.

Stalwarts of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, from the South-South geopolitical zone have berated the Bayelsa State governor, Mr Seriake Dickson, over his comment on former President Goodluck Jonathan.

The member representing Warri Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Mr. Daniel Reyenieju, has advised those thinking that the reported recent increment in the budgetary allocation to the Amnesty Programme in the Niger Delta was all that was needed to arrest the multi-dimensional crises afflicting the region, to have a rethink.

THE Federal Government has been advised to deploy more resources towards funding of road projects, adding that huge investments in building industry is the quickest solution to getting the country out of the current economic recession.

Government College Ughelli, Old Boys Association, Lagos Branch, has elected a new executive committee to run the affairs of the branch for the next two years.

The University of Dundee’s School of Medicine has been announced as the best university in Scotland by the Guardian University Guide and included in the United Kingdom’s top five places to study medicine every year since 2011.

The Lagos State Government said it has terminated the earlier contract with investors for the proposed N844 billion Fourth Mainland Bridge project and is presently considering various proposals from foreign investors from the United States of America and Britain, in order to accelerate commencement of the project.

ENUGU—No fewer than 150 members of Chief Ralph Uwazuruike-led Biafra Independent Movement, BIM, were, yesterday, arrested by the police across states in the South-East and some parts of South-South.

Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State, yesterday, signed into law, the bill prescribing death sentence for kidnapping, and the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment bill, prescribing five-year jail term for violators or an option of N1 million or both.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday injected $205 million into the foreign exchange market even as the naira depreciated to N379 per dollar in the parallel market.

The Federal Government has fixed interest rate on unpaid taxes at 5 per cent above the Central Bank of Nigeria’s, CBN, Monetary Policy Rate, MPR, for 2017. CBN’s current MPR is at 14 per cent.

Nigerian Aviation Handling Company, NAHCO Plc’s operations were yesterday temporarily grounded by its workers and unions in the Nigerian aviation industry over welfare issues. The workers led by their unions, staged a rally at the headquarters of the company for about three hours, which temporarily grounded activities at the company.

A defence witness, Philip Akolo, orderly to former Gov. Jolly Nyame of Taraba State, told an FCT High Court, Gudu, yesterday, that he signed only allowances on behalf of the former governor while he was in office.

THIS Saturday May 27, the drums will roll out in Lagos, Kano, Ilorin, Port-Harcourt and in some other states capitals, to mark the 50 years anniversary of the creation of states by General Dan Yuma Yakubu Gowon(82).

Nearly three weeks after the presidential panel that probed the huge cash hauled from a private apartment in Ikoyi, Lagos, submitted its findings, the Presidency may have come under immense pressure not to slam punitive measures against the embattled Director-General of National Intelligence Agency, Ayo Oke, over his role in the episode, Vanguard learned last night.