Author: Hamza Rufai

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…

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…

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…