The entire students and staffs of the department of Mass Communication department, FUOYE chapter, are currently in deep sadness over the death of a 300level student, OMONIWA DAMILOLA STEPHEN, who reportedly died after a slight illness on Tuesday, 21st of January, 2020. According to our news source, the deceased, who hailed from Kogi State, was said to have been battling with health complications during the 2018/2019 second semester examination. After all efforts made to restore his health condition, he was embraced by the cold hands of death on Tuesday, this week, hence saying goodbye to this sinful world. May his soul rest in perfect peace.

Former governor of Imo state and Senator representing Imo West at the National Assembly, Owelle Rochas Okorocha has appealed to the Hope Uzodinma-led government of Imo state to put the past behind and fully integrate him in the new government, insisting that APC in the state is now a large family. Senator Okorocha made this passionate appeal while addressing the people of Okigwe North recently at Anara central School Field during a mega rally organized for the APC Candidate for the federal constituency’s rerun, Miriam Onuoha coming up on Saturday. The Senator reminisced on the imbroglio which tore the party apart during its state Congresses and national convention. It would be recalled that Owelle Rochas Okorocha in his quest to install his son-in-law, Uche Nwosu as his successor, had moved for the removal of the then state chairman of APC in Imo, Hillary Ekeh and rooted for Uche Nwosu’s loyalist, Dan Nwafor. The crisis later led to the division of the party into two factions ...

Some unknown gunmen on Thursday shot dead, a popular Yoruba herbal manufacturer, Alhaji Fatai Yusuff. Journalists gathered that Yusuff who is also known as Oko Oloyun was shot Thursday afternoon. He was shot on his way to Iseyin in Oyo State from Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. It was gathered that immediately after he was shot, Mr. Yusuff was rushed to the nearest hospital for medical attention. It was, however, revealed that the Otu born promoter of herbal medicine did not survive the gunshot. Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Oyo State Police Command, Mr. Olugbenga Fadeyi, confirmed the incident. Fadeyi said that Yusuff was killed around 4:30 pm on the road while travelling to Iseyin, Oyo State. He added that the Commissioner of Police, Mr Shina Olukolu visited the site of the incident along with some deputy commissioners for an on-the-spot fact-finding mission. Fadeyi spoke further, saying that Olukolu had directed a high-powered manhunt for the hoodlums that...

The draw for the Group Phase of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 took place on Tuesday in Cairo, Egypt, with 40 African countries discovering their fates for the Second Round of the qualifying campaign. The teams representing 40 countries across the CAF region were divided into ten groups of four teams each for the penultimate stage of the continental journey to Qatar. The group details are: Group A:  Algeria, Burkina Faso, Niger, Djibouti Group B:  Tunisia, Zambia, Mauritania, Equatorial Guinea Group C:  Nigeria, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Liberia Group D:  Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Mozambique, Malawi Group E:  Mali, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda Group F:  Egypt, Gabon, Libya, Angola Group G:  Ghana, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia Group H:  Senegal, Congo, Namibia, Togo Group I:  Morocco, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Sudan Group J:  DR Congo, Benin, Madagascar, Tanzania The group phase of the qualifiers will start in October 2020 a...

Super Eagles, Cape Verde, Liberia, and Central African Republic will battle each other in Group C of the Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifiers. " id="primary"> Details later…

* Supreme court affirms Tambuwal as Sokoto governor, strikes out Aliyu’s appeal * Supreme Court affirms Ganduje’s election, dismisses Yusuf’s appeal * Abule-Egba: Sanwo-Olu reacts to NNPC pipeline explosion, reveals next action * 2023: Oshiomhole plotting to be VP, will ‘greatly’ disappoint Tinubu – APC chieftain, Idahosa * EPL: Alan Shearer speaks on Man United finishing top four after 2-0 loss to Liverpool * Transfer: Inter Milan confirms interest in signing Victor Moses * Transfer: PSG tells Cavani to leave for new club * Why I killed my lover, suspected Killer of Jigawa divorcee revealed * Ihedioha: Secondus leads protest against Supreme Court Judgement * PDP Abuja protest ends abruptly as members escape death * Bandits launch counter-attack on villagers after gun duel with police

SCRAPPAGE AND DECENTRALIZATION OF MASS COMMUNICATION IN NIGERIAN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS: AN ADVANTAGE TO EMBRACE OR A BLESSING IN DISGUISE? MY OPINION ESAN FEMI WILLIAMS✍ Taking a close look at Mass Communication disciple which was recently scrapped and decentralized in Nigerian tertiary institutions, Journalism and Media studies seem to be more encompassing than the rest of the decentralized programmes. if I were to make a choice, I'd go for one of the two. But if just two out of the courses prove to be more relevant, in relations to our environment, then, what's the hope of other programmes? I hate Monopoly! One can conveniently explore when there are divers options to tap into. It's more convenient to use the all encompassing mass communication degree to get employed in any field, "especially in a country like ours" ... Liberty of exploration and expression Though, in foreign universities, they do not offer mass communication as a degree. They h...

A HEART FULL OF GRATITUDE🙏🙏🙏 From the dept of my heart, I, ESAN FEMI WILLIAMS, want to sincerely appreciate everyone, who by virtue of the relationship that exist between us, dimmed it fit to wish me well this day.🙏 This year's birthday came as a surprise; being overwhelmed and astonished at the various messages, calls, prayers, gifts and good wishes received from you all😉😉👍 Honestly, I can boldly assert that this is the best birthday have ever witnessed; though, with little or no merriment due to different engagements, but, filled with mind-blowing edifice, encompassing all goodies and great wishes, worth leaving on for the rest of my life🙇 I see it as a great privilege to be among like minds, whose sense of belonging goes beyond mundane things, hence, the need to build a more wholesome and all-encompassing relationship with people, as times and circumstances would permit. I will never take the love showered on me today for granted, as it serves as an evidence o...

Scrappage and decentralization of Mass Communication in Nigerian Tertiary Institutions: An Advantage to Embrace OR A Blessing in Disguise? Kindly drop your observations and comments in our comment box below

Barcelona captain, Lionel Messi, has blamed the “childish mistakes” made by his team-mates, for their 3-2 defeat to Atletico Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup semi-final on Thursday night. Diego Simeone’s men took the lead through Koke. However, Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann scored to give Barca the lead. The Spanish champions saw two goals ruled out by VAR, before Atletico delivered the sucker punch late in the game. Alvaro Morata converted a penalty and Angel Correa sealed the win in the 86th minute. Atletico will now face city rivals Real Madrid, who beat Valencia on Wednesday in the other semi, in the final of the first-ever four-team Super Cup competition. “It is a shame, we played a great game, after so long we felt good again, we were in control, dominated and attacked all the time,” Messi told reporters in Jeddah. “We let it slip through certain mistakes when [Atletico] were already almost dead, in less than 10 minutes they turned round a game that we should h...

West Ham are interested in signing Marouane Fellaini, Sky Sports reports. Hammers boss, David Moyes, is looking to team up with Fellaini at a third different club. The Belgium midfielder was allowed to leave Manchester United after five-and-half years in January, to join Chinese club Shandong Luneng. Fellaini has two years left on his contract in China. However, the Chinese FA are introducing a salary cap, which means the 32-year-old would have to take a 75% pay cut if he stayed beyond the end of his current deal. Moyes has previously coached Fellaini twice, taking him from Everton to Manchester United on Deadline Day 2013 for £27.5m. Fellaini has made 260 Premier League appearances during spells at Everton and United, scoring 27 goals.

President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the gunmen attack on a community in Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State, on Wednesday, 8th January, 2020. Buhari, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in Abuja on Thursday, ordered security agencies to prevent further attacks on innocent communities. The President expressed shock over the attack which led to killing of 12 lives in Plateau state. The statement read in part: “President Buhari is in contact with the Gov. Simon Lalong of Plateau as well as the military, police and other security agencies in the state to ascertain details of what happened and what can be done to forestall a future occurrence. “Buhari expressed shock and grieve over the incident and urged security agencies in the state to increase vigilance to stop further attacks on innocent citizens.” Journalists reports that Plateau Police Command, confirmed that gunmen, suspected to be herdsmen, killed 12 per...

Disagreement persists between the Federal Government and University lecturers over the enrolment in the Integrated Payroll and Personnel and Information System (IPPIS). On Thursday, government official appeal to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to back down on it opposition to the IPPIS. But the union declined. It was during the union visit to President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa. However, Minister for Finance Zainab Ahmed, said 96,090 out of the 137,016 academic and non-academic staff members of the universities have been enrolled in the IPPIS. A statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, quoted the minister as urging the ASUU leadership to encourage the remaining 40,926 members to comply with the process. President Muhammadu Buhari at the meeting promised that his administration will reposition the education sector. The ASUU delegation was led by its National Chairman Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi....

President Muhammau Buhari has approved the reconstitution of the board of Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). Ademola Seriki is now the board Chairman with effect from January 7. Seriki, a Lagos indigene, served as Minister of State for Interior under the Jonathan administration. The development was contained in a statement Thursday night by Ibrahim Haruna, Deputy Director, Press in the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment. It noted that the Minister, Adeniyi Adebayo, made the announcement while presenting appointment letter to new CAC Registrar-General, Garba Abubakar. According to the statement, the minister said that the reconstitution of the board had put to rest the lingering leadership tussle facing the CAC. He urged all directors and staff of the commission to give the new Registrar-General maximum support and cooperation to move the commission forward. Also, the Minister of State, Mariam Katagum, while congratulating the new Registrar-General, also apprecia...

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to immediately release former Kaduna lawmaker, Shehu Sani. DAILY POST reports that Operatives of EFCC on Thursday reportedly invaded the Abuja residence of Senator Shehu Sani over alleged extortion. It was gathered that the EFCC officials stormed the apartment in Wuse, Abuja at about 3:30pm on Wednesday to look for incriminating evidence against the former Kaduna senator. This is following arrest of Sani last week for alleged extortion of $20,000 from the owner of ASD Motors. The government critic, who represented Kaduna central senatorial district between 2015 and 2019, allegedly collected money from Sani Dauda, owner of ASD Motors, promising to pass it on to Ibrahim Magu, acting chairman of the anti-graft agency. Reacting, in a post on its official Twitter page, SERAP called on EFCC to charge Sani with a recognizable criminal offence rather than pr...

The National Universities Commission, NUC, has phased out Mass Communication Degree in Nigeria institutions. With the development, there will be no more Mass Communication as a degree programme in universities in Nigeria. The NUC said it has unbundled Mass Communication into seven separate degree programmes to meet present demand and this takes effect from 2020 admissions into Nigerian universities. In a chat with journalists in Abuja on Thursday, NUC’s Executive Secretary, Prof. Abubakar Rasheed, said Mass Communication has been unbundled into Media Studies, Public Relations Studies, Cinematography, among others. The seven new Programmes/Departments, to be domiciled in a Faculty / School / College of Communication and Media Studies are Journalism & Media Studies, Public Relations, Advertising, Broadcasting, Film & Multi-Media Studies, Development Communication Studies, Information & Media Studies.

Heavily armed assailants attacked a military base in Niger on Thursday, killing 25 people and leading to the death of 63 “terrorists” in an area where 71 people died in a previous jihadist attack. The raid near to the volatile frontier with Mali occurred in Chinegodar at 01:00 pm (12H00 GMT), defence spokesman Colonel Souleymane Gazobi said on television.

Arsenal are set to allow at least three youngsters leave on loan in the coming days, the UK Mirror reports. Eddie Nketiah, Emith Smith Rowe and Tyreece John-Jules will leave the Emirates to gain experience elsewhere. Nketiah, 20, was recalled from Leeds this month, for lack of playing time. Bristol City missed out on Nketiah in the summer, but remain keen on taking him until the end of the season. Sheffield Wednesday and Nottingham Forest are interested in the striker. Smith Rowe has also been in discussions with interested parties over a temporary switch. The winger impressed whilst on loan at RB Leipzig last season and is attracting further attention from the Bundesliga. John-Jules is the third player hoping to gain first-team experience away from the Emirates, after signing a new contract in summer.

Nigerians and other foreign nationals resident in South Africa’s Keimoes and Upington areas of Northern Cape Province were on Thursday morning given 12 hours to vacate by the indigenes. The President of Nigeria Union in South Africa, Mr Adetola Olubajo, made the disclosure in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lagos. Olubajo said the development was as a result of an ugly incident that took place on Wednesday, Jan. 8, between a Police Officer and a Nigerian. He said that a Nigerian man, an Abakaliki indigene of Ebonyi, allegedly stabbed to death a Police Officer, Constable Nico Visagie, during a disagreement at 5 a.m. Olubajo said that the details of the disagreement was still not very clear as the major witness was also stabbed multiple times and was still in critical condition at the hospital. “After the horrific incident, the community members of Keimoes and environs went on rampage burning and destroying properties belonging to ...

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday, in Abuja, said Federal Government will give more attention to improving personnel and infrastructure of universities to produce quality graduates, assuring that education will, henceforth, be a top priority in development goals of the country. President Buhari, who received leadership of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) led by Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi at the State House, said effective and efficient operations of universities will go a long way in improving the economy, especially with focus on science and technology. The President urged members of ASUU to assist the Federal Government in realising the target of improved education and credible certificates by complying with ongoing verification and validation of human resources in the universities, which will guarantee optimum output. “The future of the country depends on quality education and our certificates must be credible to inspire confidence,’’ he said. President Buhari sa...

The Governing Council of Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, on Thursday announced the reinstatement of 363 workers. The Head of the Directorate of Information and Corporate Affairs of the university, Mr Bode Olofinmuagun, confirmed the recall in a statement in Ado Ekiti. He explained that the recall was sequel to the successful appeals lodged by those concerned to the Governing Council. According to him, the decision to recall some of the disengaged staff was reached at the council’s special meeting which took place on January 7. He said the recently concluded staff audit which led to the disengagement exercise, however, exposed some as over-aged while others had fake certificates. “Some falsified their ages, some were illegally recruited and many were indeed ghost workers who never showed up for the exercise,” he said. The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Edward Olanipekun, was quoted as saying that “the reinstatement of some staff is a vindication of the fact that the e...

A meeting between the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), and the national leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities has just ended at the State House in Abuja. ASUU’s President, Prof Biodun Ogunyemi, led national officers of the union to the meeting, which started at 3pm. But, the unionists did not address State House Correspondents after the meeting ended. The agenda was said to be the Integrated Personnel and Information System, which the Federal Government directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies to join. However, ASUU has consistently opposed the policy, which the government claimed saved up to N250billion as of October 2019. At the meeting, ASUU reportedly presented its position on the issue to Buhari. The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige and the Minister of Finance Budget National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, also attended the meeting.

The National Hospital Abuja, on Thursday, discharged the conjoined twin girls, who were successfully separated after several surgeries. The Chief Medical Director of the Hospital, Dr Jaf Mommoh, said in Abuja that the twins were conjoined at the chest and abdomen. Journalists reports that the conjoined twins were referred from Federal Medical Centre, Keffi, Nasarawa State, to the hospital on August 13, 2018. Mommoh said the twins had been on admission at the hospital for more than 16 months for care and several diagnostic procedures for a detailed diagnosis in preparation for the surgery. He said the programme was meant to celebrate the team that carried out the surgery for their hard work. Mommoh said the programme was also an avenue to raise fund for the parents to enable the twins to have a better life with healthy living. He said the separation was more successful than the previous six the hospital carried out. He said the hospital management decided to ...