Author: Hamza Rufai

THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has vowed to proceed with preparations for its much-anticipated National Elective Convention scheduled for November 15 and 16 in Ibadan, Oyo State, despite a recent court order restraining it from holding the exercise. News Point Nigeria reports that the decision, which underscores growing tension within Nigeria’s main opposition party, came barely 24 hours after a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja barred the PDP and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from conducting or recognising any outcomes from the planned convention. Justice James Omotosho, who presided over the case, ruled that the PDP had allegedly…

THE Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, has approved the posting and appointment of senior officers to key command, staff, and instructional positions across formations, units, and training institutions of the Nigerian Army. This was confirmed in a statement released by the Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Lieutenant Colonel Appolonia Anele sent to News Point Nigeria, shortly after President Bola Tinubu decorated the COAS and other service chiefs with their new ranks on Thursday. Lieutenant Colonel Anele stated that the appointments are a decisive move aimed at reinvigorating leadership, strengthening command structures, and repositioning the Nigerian Army…

SIGNS of reconciliation are emerging in the Senate as Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (PDP, Kogi Central) has formally invited Senate President Godswill Akpabio to a major constituency project commissioning event scheduled for Sunday in Ihima, Kogi State. The invitation, personally signed by Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan and made available to News Point Nigeria, was read out during plenary on Wednesday by the Senate President. The event forms part of activities to mark the lawmaker’s second anniversary in the Senate and will include the unveiling of multiple completed constituency projects across Kogi Central. In the letter, Akpoti-Uduaghan wrote: “In marking my second-year anniversary as…

THE Senate has confirmed Bernard Doro as a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria following a brief screening session that lasted less than 30 minutes. News Point Nigeria reports that Doro, who becomes the third ministerial nominee from Plateau State, used the opportunity to outline his vision for fostering an inclusive humanitarian ecosystem in the country. He promised to create a humanitarian ecosystem that is inclusive, guided by impartiality and independence. Doro told lawmakers during his appearance that he will create synergy between security agencies to better target the individuals affected by crises, which he notes is always a…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has approved the introduction of a 15 per cent ad-valorem import duty on petrol and diesel imports into Nigeria. The initiative is aimed at protecting local refineries and stabilising the downstream market, but it is likely to raise pump prices. In a letter dated October 21, 2025, reported publicly on October 30, 2025 sighted by News Point Nigeria, and addressed to the Federal Inland Revenue Service and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Tinubu directed immediate implementation of the tariff as part of what the government described as a “market-responsive import tariff framework.” The letter,…

THE Senate on Wednesday confirmed President Bola Tinubu’s nominees for the positions of service chiefs. News Point Nigeria reports that those confirmed are Olufemi Oluyede as Chief of Defence Staff, Wahidi Shaibu as Chief of Army staff, Idi Abbas as Chief of Naval staff, and Kelvin Aneke as Chief of Air Staff. The confirmation followed a two-hour closed-door session where senators questioned the nominees on their plans to strengthen national security and reform the armed forces. Earlier, President Tinubu has urged the upper chamber to screen and confirm the nominees. In line with the President’s request, the Senate chamber dedicated…

NEWLY appointed Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Lieutenant General Olufemi Oluyede, has cautioned that Nigeria’s security challenges will continue unless the country greatly improves the way information is handled across all sectors. News Point Nigeria reports that Gen. Oluyede stated this on Wednesday during his screening session before the Senate at the National Assembly, where he reflected on his earlier tenure as Chief of Army Staff (CoAS), describing the role as one of the most demanding responsibilities in national security management. He acknowledged progress made in the fight against terrorism, banditry, oil theft and other threats, but insisted that the…

THE House of Representatives has raised serious security concerns following threats from terrorists to bomb the National Assembly complex in Abuja. News Point Nigeria reports that the Chairman of the House Committee on Internal Security, Hon. Garba Muhammad, disclosed this on Tuesday during a public hearing on a bill seeking to establish a Legislative Security Directorate to bolster protection for lawmakers, workers, and visitors within the nation’s apex legislative institution. Muhammad warned that the National Assembly regarded as the symbol of Nigeria’s democracy has come under increasing security threats, including infiltration by criminal elements posing as visitors. “We have received…

THE Senate will today (Wednesday) subject the newly appointed service chiefs to screening and possible confirmation as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu intensifies efforts to overhaul Nigeria’s security structure and restore public confidence in the Armed Forces. News Point Nigeria reports that the request for the screening was contained in a letter transmitted to the Senate and read during Tuesday’s plenary by Senate President Godswill Akpabio. In the letter, the President appealed for “expeditious consideration,” citing the urgency of strengthening security coordination nationwide. The nominees up for legislative approval include: General Olufemi Oluyede – Chief of Defence Staff Major General Waidi…

THE Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, has debunked reports alleging irregularities and favouritism in recent promotion exercises within the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), insisting that every elevation carried out under his leadership has strictly followed laid-down procedures and merit-based criteria. News Point Nigeria reports that Egbetokun stated this on Monday in Abuja during the decoration ceremony of 19 newly promoted senior officers, including Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Mohammed Dan-Kwara, Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) Nkechi Eze, Force Medical Director, and Commissioner of Police Nandel Gonwalk. Reacting to claims circulating in certain quarters alleging a promotion…

FORMER Jigawa State Governor and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Sule Lamido, has threatened to take legal action against the party if he is not granted access to purchase the nomination form to contest for the position of National Chairman ahead of the party’s national convention scheduled for November 15 and 16 in Ibadan, Oyo State. News Point Nigeria reports that Lamido, who spoke with journalists at the PDP National Secretariat, Wadata Plaza, Abuja, on Monday, said his attempt to obtain the form was frustrated despite arriving at the secretariat with supporters to make the purchase. According to…

TENSIONS have emerged within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over the endorsement of former Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, Tanimu Turaki (SAN), as consensus candidate for the position of National Chairman ahead of the party’s National Convention slated for November 15 and 16 in Ibadan, Oyo State. The selection, which was announced after a meeting of northern stakeholders chaired by governors and prominent party leaders, has been rejected by political camps loyal to former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, and former Rivers State Governor and current FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike. The development has reopened old factional fault lines…

NASARAWA State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, has said that former President Muhammadu Buhari was surrounded by politicians who praised him excessively while he was in power but turned against him immediately after he left office. The governor said he personally witnessed how such individuals shifted their loyalty and public commentary depending on what political climate suited them at the time. News Point Nigeria reports that Governor Sule made the remarks in Abuja on Saturday while speaking at the 2nd Raymond Dokpesi Diamond Lecture, organised by the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR). According to him, serving in public office has exposed…

THE quest to address long-standing complaints of political imbalance in Nigeria’s federal structure gained momentum on Saturday, as the Joint Constitution Review Committee of the National Assembly approved the creation of an additional state in the South-East geopolitical zone. News Point Nigeria reports that the decision, reached unanimously during the committee’s two-day retreat in Lagos, is aimed at ensuring fairness and parity among the country’s six geopolitical zones. Currently, the South-East is the only region with **five states; Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo—**while other regions have six, except the North-West which has seven. The review session, chaired by the…

THE Ahmadu Bello University, ABU, Zaria, has dismissed as false a social media video alleging that the institution was involved in developing a Nuclear Weapon for Nigeria. Auwalu Umar, Director Public Affairs Directorate of the university disclosed this in a statement issued to News Point Nigeria on Saturday in Zaria. The director described the viral AI-generated video as misleading, aimed at misinforming the public about Nigeria’s peaceful nuclear energy programme. He said the video falsely claimed that Nigerian scientists in the 1980s secretly enriched weapons-grade uranium in Kaduna and that ABU researchers obtained centrifugal equipment from the AQ Khan network…

THE National Assembly has commenced deliberations on far-reaching constitutional amendments that could see the creation of 55 new states and 278 additional local government areas across the country. News Point Nigeria reports that Deputy Senate President Senator Barau Jibrin (APC, Kano North) stated this on Friday at the two-day joint retreat of the Senate and House of Representatives’ Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution in Lagos. Jibrin, reaffirmed the legislature’s commitment to delivering “people-centred and timely” amendments to the constitution, according to a statement by his spokesman, Ismail Mudashir. The Deputy Senate President, who also chairs the Senate…

FORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo has revealed that he once rejected a proposal recommending former Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, as his preferred successor when he was exiting office in 2007. News Point Nigeria reports that Obasanjo made the disclosure on Friday in Abeokuta, Ogun State, while speaking at the second edition of the annual Ajibosin Platform Symposium with the theme “Importance of Leadership in Governance.” El-Rufai served under Obasanjo’s administration as Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and later as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) between 2003 and 2007. The former president, who eventually endorsed…

THE Federal Government has expressed deep concern over the alarming rate of school dropouts across the country, revealing that about 24 million pupils who enrolled in primary schools failed to advance to senior secondary level. News Point Nigeria reportss that Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja during a ministerial roundtable on zero-rated data and devices for Nigerian teachers. He said data from the digitised Nigeria Education Management Information System (NEMIS) platform showed that out of 30 million pupils captured from 21 states, only six million progressed to senior secondary school. According to him, statistics…

THE House of Representatives has passed for second reading a bill seeking to amend the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act, 2004, in a move aimed at limiting presidential control over the leadership of the anti-graft agency and strengthening its institutional independence. News Point Nigeria repots that the bill, sponsored by Hon. Yusuf Gagdi, representing Pankshin/Kanke/Kanam Federal Constituency of Plateau State, was taken for consideration during Thursday’s plenary session presided over by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu. If passed into law, the amendment will alter key provisions of the EFCC Act to ensure greater operational autonomy for the Commission, insulate…

THE Social Democratic Party (SDP) has suspended its National Chairman, Shehu Gabam, over alleged financial misconduct and misappropriation of party funds. Gabam was suspended alongside the SDP National Auditor, Nnadi Clarkson, and National Youth Leader, Chukwuma Uchechukwu. SDP announced the suspension in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Araba Aiyenigba made available to News Point Nigeria, saying it followed a resolution at the SDP National Working Committee (NWC) meeting held on Thursday, 23 October 2025 at the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja. The party wrote: “The National Working Committee (NWC) of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), on June 24,…