Author: Hamza Rufai

VICE President Kashim Shettima on Saturday represented President Bola Tinubu at the inauguration of Brice Nguema as President of Gabon President. The inauguration ceremony, which held at the Stade de l’Amitié sino-gabonaise in Libreville, Gabon, saw military parades, marchpast and display of Gabon’s rich cultural heritage. Vice President Shettima, was joined on the short trip by Chairman, House Committee on Police Affairs, Hon Usman Bello Kumo and the Special Adviser to the President on General Duties (Office of the Vice President), Aliyu Modibbo. Other African Leaders who attended the event were President Teodoro Nguema of Equatorial Guinea, Paul Kagame of…

THE House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions has summoned the Governor of Zamfara State, Dauda Lawal, and his counterpart in Benue State, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, over the crisis in the State Houses of Assembly. Also summoned were the leadership of both legislative houses. They are to appear before the lawmakers on Thursday, May 8, to explain why the functions of the Houses of Assembly should not be taken over by the House of Representatives. This is sequel to a petition written by a civil rights organisation, Guardians of Democracy and Rule of Law, urging the House to take…

THE Forum of Former ANPP stakeholders has disowned an alleged fake ANPP renuion meeting led by one of it’s members. In a statement signed by the Forum’s National Coordinator, Dr Umar D Duhu and National Secretary, Chief Livinus Agala Opuakpa made available to News Point Nigeria, Friday, the forum Pledges its support to the government of President Bola Tinubu and Vice President, Kashim Shettima. According to the statement, the initiative, spearheaded by an individual whose intentions and ulterior motives, seeks to subvert, ridicule and bring to disrepute the current APC Government and its Leadership. “The concept behind this meeting is…

A FORMER Special Adviser on Political Matters to President Bola Tinubu, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, says he does not regret working with the President but would not accept the opportunity to return if offered again. Baba-Ahmed, who was appointed in 2023 to serve under the office of Vice President Kashim Shettima as a Special Adviser on political matters, resigned from his position in April. Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday monitored by News Point Nigeria, Baba-Ahmed said he stepped down because the Tinubu administration lacked the zeal to fix Nigeria. Baba-Ahmed said he has no regrets about working with Tinubu.…

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called for the retirement age of all civil servants to be increased to 65 years or 40 years of service, aligning with current provisions for teachers, health workers, and judges. The demand was made by NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, during the 2025 Workers’ Day celebration at Eagle Square, Abuja. Ajaero also raised concerns about the shrinking civic space in Nigeria, warning that citizens and workers are increasingly unable to express themselves freely due to heightened security crackdowns on peaceful protests. Speaking a day before, at the Pre-May Day Lecture themed “Reclaiming the Civic…

THE National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has resolved to initiate legal proceedings against the Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, and other key stakeholders who recently defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC). The party’s leadership, after a marathon six-hour closed-door meeting at its national secretariat in Abuja on Tuesday, directed the PDP National Legal Adviser to commence the process of reclaiming what it termed the party’s stolen mandate in Delta State. In a communiqué released following the meeting, the party directed its national legal adviser to initiate a legal process to reclaim its mandate from…

NASIR el-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna state, says, “Kano is critical of any serious political formation because of its consistently high voter turnout”. The former leader of Kaduna said this while he visited the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, at his palace on Monday. El-Rufai recently quit the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to join the Social Democratic Party (SDP). He believes Nigeria urgently needs a better political option to solve its major problems. “Kano is critical to any serious political formation because of its consistently high voter turnout,” he said. After switching to the SDP, El-Rufai felt…

THE House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee has directed the Federal Ministry of Transportation to recover and remit N33,563,469.10 to the Federal Government treasury after it was discovered that the funds were spent on unauthorised foreign travel. The directive was issued on Monday during the committee’s hearing Chaired by Representative Bamidele Salam on the 2021 Auditor-General’s report. The audit revealed that three officials from the ministry were paid a total of $3,000 in contingency allowances for trips to Kenya, South Africa, Morocco, Greece and France without the necessary approvals or documentation showing how the funds were utilised. This action forms…

GUNMEN have reportedly kidnapped commuters travelling in two vehicles along Eleyin village, Isanlu-Isin, Isin Local Government Area of Kwara State. The attack is coming in the wake of a similar incident near Obbo-Aiyegunle in Ekiti Local Government of the state last week involving seven travellers heading for Offa from Abuja. The latest incident, it was gathered, occurred around 5:45 pm on Friday, when the fully armed kidnappers blocked the highway, stopped two private vehicles and forcefully matched the occupants into the forest. The present location of the victims said to be travelling inside Honda and Toyota vehicles were still unknown…

DELTA Governor Sheriff Oborevwori on Wednesday, April 23, officially dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Over the years, several Governors have defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) while still in office. Here are seven sitting Governors who defected from PDP to APC: 1. Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta State) Sheriff Oborevwori shocked many by dumping the PDP for the APC on Wednesday. His defection marks a significant political shift in Delta, a core PDP state since 1999. 2. Dave Umahi (Ebonyi State) Umahi defected to APC in…

THE National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Ajibola Basiru, has dismissed claims that the ruling party is steering Nigeria towards a one-party system. The party’s secretary made the remarks on Wednesday’s edition of Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he defended the APC’s political activities and dismissed suggestions of state-backed intimidation of opposition parties. Earlier on Wednesday, Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, his deputy, Monday Onyeme, and former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress, along with commissioners and key stakeholders in the state. When asked whether he was concerned by…

THE Management of Air Peace has announced the suspension of all flight operations nationwide following the industrial action by staff of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet). The suspension, according to the airline, is due to the unavailability of QNH (hazardous weather) report required for safe landings. The announcement of the suspension is contained in a notice by the Head of Corporate Communication of Air Peace, Dr. Ejike Ndiulo. The notice posted on the official X handle of the airline @flyairpeace reads: “Due to the ongoing NiMet strike and the unavailability of QNH (hazardous weather) reports required for safe landings, Air…

THE Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, has ordered the withdrawal of mobile police officers from VIPs. In a statement on Tuesday, the spokesman of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), Muyiwa Adejobi, said the move is part of the reorganisation of the Police Mobile Force (PMF). “He expressed concern over the diversion of PMF personnel to non-core roles, including escort and guard duties for private individuals and VIPs, a trend which has undermined the unit’s effectiveness,” the statement read. “To address this, the IGP has announced a series of measures including the immediate withdrawal of PMF personnel from unauthorized deployments,…

VICE President Kashim Shettima has summoned the Chairman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) Prof. Abdullahi Saleh Usman and board members of the commission for a meeting today at the Vice President’s Conference Room. A letter of invitation sighted by this newspaper, and signed by Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Office of the Vice President, Sen. Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia, revealed that the meeting slated for today was to brief the Vice President on preparation for the 2055 Hajj and outstanding issues. The invitation read, “I have been directed to instruct you to attend a meeting with…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu will return to Nigeria today from his work visit to France, London, the Presidency has said. The President’s spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed this in a post on his X handle on Monday. Tinubu left Nigeria on April 2, 2025, for Paris, France, on a short work visit. According to the Presidency, Tinubu used the retreat to review the progress of ongoing reforms and engage in strategic planning ahead of his administration’s second anniversary. The President’s latest trip had been faulted by major opposition leaders who criticised him for being away despite the rising insecurity in the country,…

OPERATIVES of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted a shipment of cocaine concealed 20 sets of religious books going to Saudi Arabia. This was contained in a statement on Sunday by the spokesman of NDLEA, Femi Babafemi. According to him, the cocaine consignment consisting of 20 parcels with a total weight of 500grams and buried in the pages of the religious books was uncovered at a courier company in Lagos on Tuesday 15th April 2025 when NDLEA officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) were searching through export cargos going to Saudi Arabia at…

FORMER Vice President Atiku Abubakar has fired back at Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors who rejected coalition or merger with any other political party. “Indeed, the Coalition Train has left the station and would have multiple stops to bring on board Nigerians of all shades” Atiku wrote on his X handle yesterday. This comment is an indication that the former Presidential candidate and his political party have parted ways in the build-up to the 2027 elections. He also gave a hint of likely dumping the PDP to realize his bid to contest the election. He said: “Whatever vehicle that will…

AT least 15 million Nigerians are at risk of flood disasters in 2025, Vice President Kashim Shettima has disclosed. He made the disclosure at the commencement of a one-day Validation Workshop on the Anticipatory Action Framework for Nigeria held at the National Counter Terrorism Centre in the Office of the National Security Adviser Abuja on Wednesday. The Vice President, however, said the Federal Government is taking a proactive approach as against a reactive approach to forestall the disaster. He emphasized the need for collaboration among all the agencies of government at the states and Federal Government level to tackle floods…

THE Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has shared ₦1.578 trillion among the Federal Government, states and local governments for the month of March. This is according to a communiqué issued by FAAC and made available by the Director, Press and Public Relations, Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Bawa Mokwa, on Saturday. According to the communiqué, the total revenue of ₦1.578 trillion comprised statutory revenue of ₦931.325 billion and Value Added Tax revenue of ₦593.750 billion. It also comprised Electronic Money Transfer Levy revenue of ₦24.971 billion and Exchange Difference revenue of ₦28.711 billion. FAAC said that a total…

THE Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, has inaugurated an ad-hoc committee to legislate in place of the suspended Rivers State House of Assembly. The event holding at the National Assembly Complex, Abuja is being attended by members designates drawed from the six geo-political zones. Addressing the 21-man committee, Speaker Abbas reminded the panel that its mandate is non-partisan, a call to legislate to ensure good governance, peace, and prosperity of the oil-rich state. He said, “Your task is to oversee Rivers State following Mr President’s emergency proclamation.You must not be partisan or biased.” Present at the event…