THE Council of Ulama of Yelwa in Shendam local government area of Plateau State has denounced the tagging of two law-abiding young tailors of the town as members of the Islamic State in West African Province (ISWAP) terrorist organisation. The headquarters of Operation Safe Haven in Plateau State, had on Saturday, 12th April, 2025 issued a press release in which it declared that its operatives had arrested members of ISWAP, neutralised a bandit and also recovered some arms. In the release signed by Samson Nantip Zahkom, its Media Information Officer, a Major, it publicised photos of 25-year-old Abdulkadir Dalhatu and…
Author: Hamza Rufai
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GOVERNORS elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are set to meet in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, today (Monday) in a high-stakes meeting aimed at addressing key issues threatening the unity and future of the opposition party. Credible sources told The PUNCH on Sunday that the emergency meeting, convened under the PDP Governors’ Forum, will address the controversy surrounding the reinstatement of the party’s National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court, in a ruling delivered on March 21, 2025, invalidated previous lower court decisions that briefly installed Sunday Udeh-Okoye in the…
FORMER Vice President Atiku Abubakar, on Friday, embarked on what he called a post-Sallah visit to the immediate-past President Muhammadu Buhari at the latter’s residence in Kaduna. The opposition leader was accompanied on the visit by the immediate-past governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai; a former governor of Benue State, Senator Gabriel Suswam; former Governor Muhammad Jibrilla Bindow of Adamawa State; former Governor Achike Udenwa of Imo State, and former governor of Sokoto State, Senator Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, among others. Atiku, who took to his verified social media handles to disclose the visit, described it as a “wonderful time” with…
THE Federal Government says its naira-for-crude initiative with local refineries is not a temporary measure but a “key policy directive designed to support sustainable local refining”. The government also said the initiative is back in effect and will continue immediately, overruling the decision of the NNPCL under its former boss Mele Kyari which tenured the initiative. The Minister of Finance Wale Edun at a meeting with representatives of the Dangote Refinery on Tuesday said the naira-for-crude is still in effect. In a post on its official X handle on Wednesday, the Ministry of Finance said the Technical Sub-Committee on the…
THE Federal Government Has ordered all illegal miners to leave Zamfara state or face the wrath of the law. The govt futher stressed that mining activities in the state remain suspended pending the release of standard operating procedures (SOPs) to guide the resumption of exploration. The development followed reports of a recent lead poisoning in the Bugundu Local Council of the state. Reacting to the incident, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, noted that the ongoing ban on mining, imposed six years ago, should have prevented such incidents. Alake said the outbreak was evidence that traditional and…
A LONGLIST of notable politicians including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and ex-presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) Peter Obi are in talks to join the Social Democratic Party (SDP). This is according to the SDP presidential candidate in the 2023 election Adewole Adebayo. Adebayo said Atiku and Obi’s men are in talks for their principals to team up with the SDP, which recently welcomed a former Kaduna State governor and chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (SDP) into its fold. “People are joining my party, and we are welcoming them. You can see how active I am…
THE Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has expressed sadness over the recent frightening attacks by terror groups on defenseless communities in Plateau State, which resulted in the tragic deaths of several people, including children. The forum calls on the federal government to be constitutionally responsible for the protection of the lives and properties of citizens. It said this will ensure that such renewed attacks and killings on the Plateau and other communities in the Northern region and other parts of the country are stopped immediately. In a statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary of the ACF, Tukur Muhammad-Baba, it asked…
THE Minister of Education, Olatunji Alausa, has pushed for the extension of the national service scheme from one to two years. The minister stated this on Saturday when the Director General of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, paid him a courtesy visit in his office in Abuja. Alausa said the duration of the scheme can be extended with the expansion of NYSC Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development Training programme content for corps members. “You have done so well as an organization. Let NYSC give people more opportunity to become job creators that will meet the needs…
THE Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has announced the appointment of a new eight-man Senior Management Team. The recent announcement followed the appointment of the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) and Board of Directors. Disclosing this in a statement on Friday, NNPCL Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye, said the appointments all take immediate effect. “Following the appointment of the Group Chief Executive Officer and Board of Directors, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has announced the appointment of a new 8-man Senior Management Team on Friday,” he stated. “The team which will be headed by the…
DR HAKEEM Baba-Ahmed, the political adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has resigned, this newspaper reliably learnt. Impeccable sources in the presidency confirmed yesterday that the former spokesman of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) tendered his resignation about two weeks ago. The sources said Dr. Baba-Ahmed did not provide details of the reasons for his decision, only stating that it was on personal grounds. However, as of the time of filing this report, it was unclear whether the presidency had accepted his resignation. Baba-Ahmed was appointed Special Adviser on Political Matters in the Office of Vice President Kashim Shettima in…
VICE President Kashim Shettima has departed Abuja for Dakar, Senegal, where he will represent President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the West African nation’s 65th Independence Anniversary celebrations. Senegal marks its Independence Day on April 4 each year, commemorating its liberation from French colonial rule in 1960. The annual celebration is a significant event featuring national parades, cultural displays, and ceremonies highlighting the country’s achievements and unity. A statement issued on Thursday by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications, Office of the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha, said Shettima’s participation followed an official invitation from Senegalese President, Bassirou…
THE Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, declared on Thursday that he would sign the condolence registers of all persons who wished him dead. He spoke in reaction to a series of speculations that he collapsed last Friday in Abuja at a meeting and was rushed to France and died afterwards. But briefing journalists after inspecting projects in Abuja, Wike said the death wishes were calculated to distract him from the work he was doing in the FCT. According to the minister, the wicked speculation was initiated by his political detractors after the allegations made against the suspended governor of…
THE Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, threatened to withdraw all oil blocks from owners that have failed to develop them. This is against the backdrop of the Federal Government calling on international oil companies operating in Nigeria to ramp up investment in the country’s oil and gas sector, emphasising that the current administration has provided every necessary incentive to ensure seamless and profitable operations. With the Federal Government setting a production target of 2.06 million barrels per day in 2025, Lokpobiri said the government will begin implementing the “drill or drop” provisions of the Petroleum Industry…
THE Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has expressed concern over the rising cases of Cerebrospinal Meningitis in the country. NCDC warned that its peak season runs from November to May. As of March 26, 2025, 807 suspected cases and 74 deaths have been reported across 22 states and the Federal Capital Territory. NCDC Director-General, Dr. Jide Idris, disclosed this in an interview on Monday in Abuja. Idris said the agency has activated emergency response measures, particularly in Kebbi, Katsina, and Sokoto—the worst-hit states. “We are in the peak meningitis season, and the risk of transmission is high due…
MALI, Burkina Faso and Niger have announced a new 0.5% levy on imported goods from Nigeria and other Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) member-nations. The development comes as they seek to fund a new three-state union after leaving the larger regional economic bloc, they said in a statement. According to an official statement by the trio, the levy was agreed on Friday and will take effect immediately. It will affect all goods imported from outside the three countries but will not include humanitarian aid, the statement said. It will “finance the activities” of the bloc, it said, without…
MORE condemnation yesterday trailed last Thursday killing of 16 travelling hunters by vigilance group members in Uromi, Edo State. Various northern groups, state governments, lawmakers, among others, in separate statements frowned at the incident which they described as barbaric and cowardly. The victims were reportedly returning home from Rivers State to celebrate the end of Ramadan and Eid Kabir with their families when they were attacked. The Northern Elders Forum (NEF), yesterday, described the killings as “barbaric, extra-judicial, and cowardly,” calling for urgent action to address the situation. The spokesperson, Professor Abubakar Jika Jiddere, in a statement said: “The North…
THE House of Representatives has advanced a bill seeking to amend the 1999 Constitution to make the Court of Appeal the final arbiter on governorship election petitions in Nigeria. If passed, the bill will remove the Supreme Court from the appeal process in governorship disputes. The proposed legislation titled, “A Bill for an Act to Alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to Make the Court of Appeal the Final Appeal Court in Governorship, National and State Houses of Assembly Election is sponsored by Nnamdi Ezechi, member representing Ndokwa East/Ndokwa West/Ukwuani. The bill was read for a…
THE National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), His Excellency, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, deeply commiserates with the Governor of Katsina State, Malam Dikko Umar Radda, over the passing of his mother Hajiya Safarau’ Umar Baribari. Ganduje in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary Edwin Olofu, said her demise has left a profound void in the hearts of family, friends, and the people of Katsina State. Dr. Ganduje extends his condolences to Governor Radda, the bereaved family, and the entire people of Katsina State during this difficult time. He acknowledges the invaluable contributions of the deceased and…
BY the release of over 4,082 inmates, the Federal Government will be saving more than N1 billion yearly and decongesting correctional centres across the country. Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who disclosed this during the yearly Ministerial Press Briefing in Abuja, yesterday, revealed that President Bola Tinubu has approved an increase in the feeding allowances of inmates. This was as his Information and National Orientation counterpart, Mohammed Idris, said the President “is fully committed to protecting the constitutional rights of all Nigerians.” Tunji-Ojo also said Tinubu equally approved the relocation of 29 correctional centres within residential areas due to urban development.…
LIKE the House of Representatives, the Senate has approved President Bola Tinubu’s proclamation of a state of emergency in Rivers State, invoking its constitutional powers under the amended 1999 Constitution. The approval grants President Tinubu the authority to enforce emergency measures while mandating a review of the situation at any time, but no later than six months. Per the Constitution, the National Assembly has also imposed a joint committee of both chambers, to oversee the administration of affairs in Rivers State during the emergency period. Additionally, the Senate has resolved to establish a mediation committee consisting of eminent Nigerians to…