THE House of Representatives Committee on Basic Education and Examination Bodies, on Monday, chided the management of the West African Examinations Council over widespread irregularities and operational failures that characterised the 2025 Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination. At an investigative hearing at the National Assembly, lawmakers grilled the Head of WAEC, Nigeria, Dr Amos Dangut, over what they described as systemic lapses that had eroded public trust in Nigeria’s examination process. The body faces sharp criticism following widespread reports of irregularities and operational failures during the ongoing examination nationwide. Stakeholders, including parents, students, and education experts, have expressed deep concerns…
Author: Hamza Rufai
THE Minister of State for Works, Mohammed Goroyo, on Monday, declared that the Nigerian government must spend approximately N880 billion for the maintenance of the federal road network across the country. This is just as the Managing Director of the Federal Road Maintenance Agency, Chukwuemeka Abbasi, said that the template for deducting the road user charge from the prices of petrol and diesel has never been implemented by the defunct Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Authority, now the Nigeria Midstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority. The two government officials spoke in Abuja at an investigative hearing of the House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee…
AHEAD of the 2027 general elections, former Minister of Environment, Mohammed Hassan Abdullahi, has made a surprise move by resigning from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). The 57-year-old politician from Nasarawa State was appointed Minister of Environment by former President Muhammadu Buhari in April 2022, following his redeployment from the Ministry of Science and Technology, where he had served as Minister of State. A seasoned public servant, Abdullahi had previously served as Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Nasarawa State, as well as Secretary to the State Government (SSG). He held his ministerial position until May 2023. In…
THE House of Representatives is considering a bill that seeks to impose a seven-year jail term or a N5m fine on anyone found guilty of giving or receiving bribes in workplaces across the country. The bill, sponsored by Paul Nnamchi (Enugu East/Isi-Uzo Federal Constituency) and three others, aims to curb bribery in both public and private workplaces. It is slated for further debate when the House resumes on June 17. Titled ‘A Bill for an Act to Provide Effective Deterrence and Consequences for Bribery in Workplaces,’ the proposed legislation prescribes tough penalties for bribery offences in government agencies, corporations, nongovernmental…
STAFF members of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) and other adhoc officials appointed for the 2025 Hajj are grumbling over unpaid allowances in Saudi Arabia. The officials are worried that almost four weeks after their arrival in the holy land, the commission has not paid them— plunging them into financial uncertainties. The first batch of NAHCON workers left Abuja to Saudi Arabia on May 5, 2025 — four days to the official flag off of 2025 Hajj airlift. Most of the officials who spoke to our reporters complained that some of them cannot feed or cater for other…
THE House of Representatives Committee on Basic Education and Examination Bodies rejected a team from the West African Examinations Council on Friday. The lawmakers said only the Head of WAEC’s National Office can answer questions about problems in the ongoing exams. The committee gave WAEC 24 hours to comply with their order and appear before them. The WAEC team, led by Senior Assistant Registrar, Ambrose Okelezo, said the Head of National Office was busy supervising exam printing and could only come on Monday. Committee Chairman, Oforji Oboku, apologised to parents for the “unpalatable and embarrassing incidents” during the exams. He…
THE House of Representatives Committee on Basic Education and Examination Bodies has given the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) a 24-hour ultimatum to appear before it on Friday (Today), May 30, 2025, to address concerns surrounding the ongoing Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE). Oboku Oforji, chairman of the Committee, issued the ultimatum on Thursday following WAEC’s failure to honour an earlier invitation to appear before the panel. According to Oforji, the Committee had invited WAEC to provide explanations over widespread complaints and irregularities observed during the ongoing examinations. Oforji recalled that the Committee extended an invitation to WAEC on Tuesday,…
THE troops of Operation Hadin Kai have arrested 18 serving soldiers, 15 Policemen for allegedly selling arms to non-state actors. The Staff Officer Grade two OPHK, Major Ademola Owolana, stated this while briefing Defence Correspondents on the activities of the Joint Tax Force North-East operation from 2024 to 2025 in Maiduguri. He said the successes were recorded under Operation Snowball which was launched in August 2024 to counter-ammunition racketeering in the theatre. He said the operation was being conducted across 11 states with suspects arrested in Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Ebonyi, Enugu, Lagos, Plateau, Kaduna, Rivers, Taraba and the Federal Capital…
OVER 24 hours after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directive to unseal properties confiscated due to non-payment of ground rent, the national headquarters of the main opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is still under lock and key. On Monday, officials of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) embarked on mass sealing of properties, triggering outcry. President Bola Tinubu had intervened and ordered unsealing of the defaulting properties. The President had given defaulters 14-day grace to pay the ground rent with a penalty of N2m. He also advised them to regularise all their land titles before the deadline. But when our…
THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors have accused the Federal Government of employing intimidation and exclusion tactics, vowing to resist such measures and remain steadfast in their commitment to good governance. The accusation was made during the 99th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the PDP, held on Tuesday in Abuja. Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, Bala Mohammed, who is also the Governor of Bauchi State, addressed the gathering, highlighting the challenges faced by the party and its members. Governor Mohammed stated that the current administration has created a unique set of circumstances marked by obstacles, subtle provocations, and…
THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has held its caucus meeting at the Bauchi governor’s lodge in Abuja, the nation’s capital. Tuesday’s meeting came after the party adjourned on Monday following its failure to exhaust all the items on its agenda, including issues around the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting. After this, the party will hold its NEC meeting. Although the PDP fixed it for noon, it was later moved to 2 pm at the party’s secretariat annex – the Legacy House. May 27, 2025@OfficialPDPNig 99th National Executive Committee (NEC) Meeting Holds Today at Legacy House, Maitama, Abuja. The 99th National…
THE Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, has announced the withdrawal of the bill aimed at amending the Electoral Act 2022 to make voting mandatory for all eligible Nigerians. Tajudeen disclosed this in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Musa Krishi, and made available to Channels Television on Monday. He said the decision followed extensive consultations with stakeholders, adding, however, that the bill, which he co-sponsored with the member representing Bassa/Jos North Federal Constituency, Daniel Ago, was introduced with the “best of intentions”. “From the outset, the bill was introduced with the best…
THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has postponed its 99th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting amid growing concerns over whether the party’s top decision-making body can take decisive action against former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike. The meeting had been scheduled for tomorrow at the PDP’s National Secretariat in Abuja. However, it was postponed to allow the reconciliation committee led by former Senate President Bukola Saraki to carry out its assignment. A notice tagged “Postponement of the 99th NEC Meeting,” signed by PDP’s National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, stated that a new date would…
PRESIDENTIAL candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, has declared that Northern Nigeria holds the key to solving the nation’s deepest challenges, calling on leaders from the region to take bold steps toward driving national transformation. Speaking at a strategic meeting with Northern political stakeholders under the National Political Consultative Group, Obi described the North not as a problem, but as “Nigeria’s greatest untapped asset.” These were contained in a statement that was signed by the spokesperson of Peter Obi Media Reach (POMR), Ibrahim Umar, and made available to The Guardian on Sunday evening. Addressing a…
THE crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) worsened on Sunday as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, pulled out of all reconciliation agreements previously reached within the opposition party. Wike blamed Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, for the problems rocking PDP, warning that “non-adherence to agreements reached was the bane of the party, and that he was the chief culprit of this anomaly.” In a statement he personally signed, the former Rivers governor accused key party leaders, including Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah, of betrayal, dishonesty, and serial violations of mutual understandings. While tracing the roots…
THE Federal Government has dismissed allegations that recent defections to the All Progressives Congress (APC) were linked to efforts by some politicians to evade prosecution, insisting that ongoing corruption investigations will continue regardless of party affiliation. Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, issued the clarification in a statement released on Friday by his media aide, Kamarudeen Ogundele. Fagbemi responded to comments made by Paul Ibe, spokesperson for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, during a recent television interview. Ibe had alleged that top officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Federal…
THE Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Thursday approved an interim order forfeiting landed and building properties linked to two former Directors of Finance and Accounts at the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Suleiman Bulkwang and Abdullahi Sambo, over an alleged N1.4 billion fraudulent payment probe within the agency involving the two suspects. Justice Obiora Egwatu granted the orders after the legal team of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), led by Ekene Iheanacho, SAN, applied through an ex parte motion for the interim forfeiture order to be granted. “An interim order of this Honourable Court forfeiting to the…
THE 2023 presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Adewole Adebayo, has declared that he will not step down for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in the forthcoming 2027 general elections. Adebayo made this known during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday monitored by News Point Nigeria, while reacting to growing speculations about a possible opposition coalition ahead of the polls. Amid claims that the SDP could be co-opted into a broader alliance to challenge President Bola Tinubu, Adebayo was emphatic in stating that neither he nor Atiku has the power to “use” the party. “I…
IN response to escalating insecurity in Adamawa and across the North-East, the Nigerian Senate has urged the Federal Government to establish a military base in Hong Local Government Area. This call follows a motion moved by Senator Aminu Abbas (PDP-Adamawa) and jointly sponsored by all senators representing the region. The motion, titled “Resurgence of Boko Haram Activities in Hong and Gombi Local Government Areas, Adamawa and other North-East States”, highlights a troubling spike in attacks by the extremist group. The Senate, while commending the efforts of security agencies, stressed the need for additional military reinforcement. “We need a full-fledged military…
THE Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III, has urged the Federal Government to prioritise the completion of the Kashimbila Dam in Taraba State, stating that the project holds the key to resolving Nigeria’s persistent electricity problems. Speaking on Wednesday at the inaugural Taravest Summit in Jalingo, the state capital, the Sultan praised Governor Agbu Kefas for his commitment to improving security and creating an enabling environment for investment. But the Sultan expressed concern over the slow pace of work on the Kashimbila Dam and stressed the need for immediate and total completion. “We need that dam ready at 100…