NIGERIA'S minister of state for trade and industry Mariam Katagum has challenged the country's financial institutions to start offering single digit loans to small and medium enterprises in a bid to get the economy diversified.

GOVERNOR Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State has described presidential spokesman Mallam Garba Shehu as an agent provocateur over his recent comments in which he condemned the Southern Governors Forum for banning open grazing.

INDIGENOUS People of Biafra (Ipob) leader Nnamdi Kanu has engaged the services of a US lobbying firm to help win him political support in Washington for his secessionist cause at a whopping cost of $750,000.

SEVERAL English Premier League giants are eyeing up the possibility of buying Super Eagles winger Samuel Chukwueze from Spanish La Liga side Villarreal in the summer by activating his €100m release clause.

GOVERNOR Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State has been honoured with a Covid-19 Response Champion award by the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN) in recognition of his work in combating the spread of the virus.

ALL Progressive Congress (APC) governors from across the southwest geo-political zone have rejected calls for the balkanisation of Nigeria and the creating of an independent Oduduwa Republic as currently being advocated by certain groups.

OFFICIALS of the Kaduna State chapter of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (Macban) have extended an olive branch to the Southern Kaduna People’s Union (Sokapu) asking it to meet up and discuss ways of ending the violence in its domain.

NIGERIAN health officials have declared 89 people persons of interest and has threatened sanctions against them for violating coronavirus protocols after they arrived in the country from abroad and refused to go into quarantine.

ENGLISH Premier league giants Everton have signified an interest in signing Super Eagles target Joshua Zirkzee from Bayern Munich during the forthcoming summer transfer window as part of a drive to bolster its forward line.

NORTHERN Nigerian pressure group the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF) has rubbished calls that President Muhammadu Buhari should replaced the recently deceased chief of army staff Lt General Ibrahim Attahiru with a candidate from the southeast.