Author: Hamza Rufai

AFTER being granted reprieve by President Bola Tinubu on Monday, several minors, aged between 14 and 17, who were arrested during August’s #EndBadGovernance nationwide protests against hardship in the country, have shared their harrowing experiences while in custody. On Friday, 76 suspects, including 32 minors – who were arrested during the protest – were arraigned by the Inspector-General of Police on 10 counts bordering on treason, intent to destabilise Nigeria and inciting to mutiny by calling on the military to take over the government from President Tinubu, among others. Four of the minors, who looked visibly malnourished, collapsed during court…

THE Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria says the Dangote Petroleum Refinery is inconsiderate for selling petrol at N990/litre, stressing that the company enjoyed massive concessions while accessing foreign exchange during its construction. PETROAN also insisted that imported petrol was cheaper than the N990/litre price of Dangote petrol. Major marketers recently revealed that the landing cost of imported petrol as of October 31, 2024, was N978/litre. On Sunday, the Dangote refinery alleged that PETROAN and the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria were planning to import substandard petroleum products into the country. Reacting to this in a statement…

THE Federal Government has terminated the contract for the Rehabilitation of the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Dual Carriageway, Section I (Abuja-Kaduna) from Julius Berger Construction company. A statement by the Director of Press, Federal Ministry of Works, Mohammed Ahmed made available to News Point Nigeria, Monday, said the decision was made following the failure of the management of Berger to show up for a compliance meeting to fine-tune the contract sum which the government had pegged at N740bn which the company rejected. “It is a sad commentary on the Company that rather than accepting the offer, they tinkered with the Bills of Quantities,…

THERE are palpable fears that the individual ambition of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed and his counterpart in Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, may further snowball the Peoples Democratic Party crisis and scuttle the ongoing reconciliation by the Olagunsoye Oyinlola-led committee. In the past few months, the camp of the party has been divided into factions loyal to Atiku and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, until Mohammed, who is also the chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, indicated an interest in running for the Presidency in 2027. Both men are seen as…

THE House of Representatives Committee on Renewable Energy has invited the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), NASENI Solar Energy Ltd, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Country Representative European Union and other stakeholders to appear over the $2 billion renewable energy grants and investments meant for the development of the renewable energy sector in Nigeria. The panel is conducting an investigative hearing over the investment which it said had not made a commensurate impact on the energy security challenges in the nation. The investigation followed a resolution of the House after the adoption of…

THE Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has commenced moves to drop the charges brought against the 32 minors arraigned before Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja. Hours after the arraignment, the AGF disclosed in a statement late Friday night his interest in taking over the matter from the Inspector General of Police. He noted that there were issues his office would like to review. “There are some issues my office will need to look into regarding the matter to enable me to make an informed decision,” the AGF said.…

OIL marketers, on Friday, revealed that the price of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, produced by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery was between N1,015 and N1,028/litre depending on the quantity being purchased. Based on this, the dealers vowed to import the commodity and sell it below the Dangote refinery price as well as the price being sold by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited. Data released by the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria on Thursday showed that the landing cost of petrol was N978.01/litre as of October 31, 2024. It stated that the landing cost of diesel was N1,069.97/litre,…

THE Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, has taken over the case of the #EndBadGovernance protesters arraigned in the Federal High Court Abuja on Friday. The protesters, 75 in number between the ages of 12 and 15, were charged with 10 counts of terrorism, an attempt to overthrow the government, and alleged mutiny over their participation in the nationwide protest. Their arraignment has since generated backlash at the Federal Government from civil society organisations and oppositions leaders, who condemned the detention and prosecution of minors. They asked the government to quickly look into the matter…

THE National Economic Council (NEC) on Thursday said the floods that ravaged different parts of the country recently affected 34 states and 217 local government areas, resulting in the death of 321 persons. NEC also said 1,374,557 individuals were impacted, with 740,743 people displaced nationwide. Governor of Anambra State Professor Chukwuma Soludo disclosed this while briefing State House Correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja after the NEC meeting presided by Vice President Kashim Shettima. He said the floods also left 2,854 injured and destroyed 281,000 homes and 258,000 acres of farmland. He also said the council directed the Ministry of…

THE Joint Action Committee of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities said the ongoing strike is a long-term battle involving even vice-chancellors, bursars and registrars. On Monday, the JAC of SSANU and NASU embarked on an indefinite strike over its four-month withheld salary. Since then, activities have been grounded in universities across the country. In an interview with journalist on Wednesday, the National President of SSANU, Mr Mohammed Ibrahim, said university executives, including vice-chancellors, bursars, and registrars, did not receive salaries for four months. He said as a result,…

NORTHERN governors have raised concern over the blackout in the region and want the Federal Government and related authorities to fastrack the restoration of power. The Northern Governors’ Forum said this on Monday after a meeting of the union alongside traditional rulers and other stakeholders held in Kaduna. “Forum resolves to call on the Federal Government and relevant Agencies to urgently address the current electricity power blackout affecting most of the Northern States due to vandalization of electricity transmission infrastructure,” the governors said in a communique issued after the meeting. “This matter not only underscores the vulnerability of critical infrastructure…

NO fewer than 40 persons are currently trapped in a building collapse that occurred in the Sabon Lugbe area of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. This newspaper gathered that the incident happened on Saturday ant annout 6:20pm and sympathisers and emergency workers are currently at the scene trying to get under the rubble.  In multiple videos circulated on social media, particularly X, residents are seen attempting to rescue the trapped victims. At the time of filing this report, it was unclear whether emergency services were present at the scene to assist in the rescue efforts. Our correspondent was also unable…

DETAILS have emerged on the reasons behind President Bola Tinubu’s decision to sack five ministers and leave the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, in his cabinet, despite allegations of banditry sponsorship levelled against him. The ministers who were removed from office include Mrs Uju-Ken Ohanenye (Women Affairs), Lola Ade-John (Tourism), Prof. Tahir Mamman, SAN (Education), Dr Jamila Bio Ibrahim (Youth Development), and Abdullahi Gwarzo (Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development). According to the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the decision to dismiss the ministers was influenced by public perception and empirical data…

THE House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has given the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Works a five-day ultimatum to appear before it and answer questions regarding the alleged abandonment of a federal road construction project in Kaduna State, valued at ₦1,461,376,553.75. PAC Chairman, Rep. Bamidele Salam announced the directive after the Permanent Secretary failed to respond to two previous invitations. The committee made the resolution while entertaining issues bothering on non-compliance with financial regulations, the procurement act, and to assess the value for money concerning the project. The road construction contract, which spans 115 kilometer and…

THE Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has commenced work on the faulty Ugwuaji – Apir 330kV Double Circuit transmission line. According to the TCN, it discovered the fault around 5pm in the Igumale area of Benue State. The TCN said the “fault area of the transmission line, which measures about one span, was found to be a snapped 330kV transmission line located in the swampy forest of Igumale.” “Having made the discovery earlier in the evening of today, arrangements are already ongoing to mobilise equipment and materials that would be moved to the site of the incident to enable TCN…

GOMBE State Governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, CON, has been nominated for the prestigious Best Security Conscious State Governor Award by Africa Security Watch, which is an international organization focused on enhancing security awareness and addressing contemporary security challenges across the African continent. The award will be presented to the Governor during the 18th Africa Security Watch Awards & Conference, scheduled to take place from December 10th to 12th, 2024, in Doha, Qatar. The event, organized in partnership with Stellenbosch University, South Africa, is a premier international platform that celebrates outstanding achievements in governance, leadership, security, safety, transport, and environmental sustainability.…

A KANO State High Court on Wednesday, fixed Nov. 20, for hearing in pending applications in the ongoing case of alleged bribery and misappropriation against the National Chairman All Progressive Congress(APC), Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, his wife, Hafsat Ganduje and six others. This newspaper reports that the state government instituted an eight-count charge bordering on bribery allegations, Misappropriation and division of public funds running into billions of Naira against Ganduje and his wife. Others are; Abubakar Bawuro, Umar Abdullahi Umar, Jibrilla Muhammad, Lamash properties Limited, Safari Textiles Limited and Lasage General Enterprises Limited. When the case came up for hearing of…

THE Dangote Petroleum Refinery has received four cargoes of crude oil from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited under the naira-for-crude sale agreement, officials of the refinery and the Federal Government confirmed on Tuesday. It was gathered that the four cargoes of crude were delivered to the refinery within the past three weeks when the government kick-started the sale of crude to local refineries in the local currency. Informed sources about the local crude sale deal told our correspondent that the refinery was still waiting to receive more crude oil cargoes from NNPCL, the organisation managing the country’s hydrocarbon resources.…

Imo, Bauchi, Osun, Taraba Join As Anambra, Adamawa, Ebonyi Withdraw THE Supreme Court, on Tuesday, reserved judgment in the suit filed by 19 states challenging the constitutionality of the laws establishing the EFCC and two others to a date to be communicated to the parties. The plaintiffs, in the suit marked: SC/CV/178/2023 had argued that the Supreme Court, in Dr. Joseph Nwobike Vs Federal Republic of Nigeria, had held that it was a UN Convention against corruption that was reduced into the EFCC Establishment Act and that in enacting this law in 2004, the provision of Section 12 of the…

GOVERNORS elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party have summoned the acting National Chairman of the party, Amb Umar Damagum, the National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu and others to a crucial meeting today (Tuesday). The meeting is coming ahead of the planned National Executive Committee session scheduled for Thursday. At the meeting, the Olagunsoye Oyinlola-led reconciliation committee is expected to brief the party’s National Working Committee on its findings and potential recommendations. Addressing journalists after meeting with the PDP National Assembly caucus in Abuja, Oyinlola disclosed the role he was expected to play at the meeting. He said, “As…