Author: Hamza Rufai

THE federal government says it has reviewed the feeding allowance of all the inmates serving their respective terms in the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS) across the country by 50 per cent This newspaper reports that the review came on the heels of a recent viral video which showed that inmates complained of poor feeding in one of the correctional centres in Calabar, Cross River State. The Spokesman of the NCoS, Umar Abubakar, disclosed this at the Customs’ headquarters in Abuja on Thursday during a joint press briefing of all security agencies. The briefing, organised by the Strategic Communications Interagency Policy…

THERE is heavy protest in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital as tricycle operators withdraw their services over hike in petrol pump price. The protest which erupted along Maraba-GSS Fate Road saw the commercial tricycle operators block major roads lamenting against general hardship occasioned by high cost of living in the country. Residents who could not access the tricycles resorted to trekking long distances to their destinations. Our correspondent who visited the scene witnessed how police used tear gas to disperse the big group of commuters and tricycle riders. One of the tricycle operators, Taye Dhikhrulahi, said that they are not…

BARDEN Kano and the reinstated district head of Bichi, Alhaji Idris Bayero, is dead. He was the eldest surviving son of a late emir of Kano, Abdullahi Bayero (1926-1953). The 16th Emir of Kano Muhammad Sanusi led funeral prayers for the late Barden Kano at Kofar Kudu palace with dozens of mourners in attendance. Alhaji Idris Bayero was first turbanned Dan Darman Kano and district head of Rimin Gado in 1990 by his elder brother the Late emir Ado Bayero (1963-2014). In 1992, he was promoted to the title of Dan Buram and later Barde and redeployed to Bichi as…

THE National Economic Council (NEC) has given all states until September 9, 2024, to make their positions known on the establishment of State Police. NEC gave the deadline on Wednesday at its meeting chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima. Briefing State House Correspondents shortly after the meeting held at the Council Chamber of the State House Abuja, the Acting Governor of Oyo State, Bayo Lawal, said out of the 36 states, 4 states were yet to make submissions to NEC on their stands. According to Lawal, NEC directed that the four states must make their stance on the issue known…

GUNMEN suspected to be kidnappers have shot dead two mobile policemen and a driver escorting the wife of a Delta State lawmaker, Mrs Christy Uroye, along Jakpan road in Uvwie Local Government area of the state. It was learnt that the incident occurred on Monday, around 7pm. Eyewitnesses said the security personnel and the driver were killed on the spot before the kidnappers took Uroye away. “Unfortunately for the kidnappers, their getaway car had an accident while escaping, which enabled the woman who is the wife of a Delta State House of Assembly Member, Hon. Augustine Uroye, to escape,” an…

THE Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Tuesday demanded an immediate reversal of the hike in fuel price announced by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), saying the hike has worsened the misery of Nigerians. Amid the lingering fuel scarcity in the country, the NNPCL increased the pump price of petrol from ₦568 to ₦855, ₦897 (depending on the location per litre). Condemning the move in a statement, NLC President, Joe Ajaero, accused the Federal Government of betraying labour movement. Ajaero said, “We demand the immediate reversal of the latest increase in the pump of PMS across the country, release…

THE pump prices of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol, may rise above N1,000/litre in filling stations as the cost of the commodity in some private depots has been increased to between N920 and N950/litre. This comes as protesters hit the streets of Abuja on Monday demanding the immediate dismissal of the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited, Mele Kyari, over the lingering fuel scarcity in the country. It was gathered that the NNPC had informed oil marketers about the financial strain regarding the importation of petrol. This raised concerns among dealers, who expressed worry…

THE three leading opposition figures in Nigeria are discussing the possibility of a merger to salvage Nigerians from hunger and widespread insecurity ahead of the 2027 presidential election, a spokesman for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said on Monday. PDP deputy national spokesman Ibrahim Abdullahi stated this on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Monday monitored by News Point Nigeria. He said the three opposition candidates in the last election – PDP’s Atiku Abubakar, Labour Party’s Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) – would put personal interests aside and form a formidable alliance to…

CHINA on Monday rolled out the red carpet for leaders from across Africa, seeking to deepen ties with the resource-rich continent it has furnished with billions in loans for infrastructure and development. Beijing has said this week’s China-Africa forum will be its largest diplomatic event since the Covid-19 pandemic, with more than a dozen leaders and delegations expected. China has sent hundreds of thousands of workers to Africa to build its megaprojects while tapping the continent’s vast natural resources including copper, gold, lithium and rare earth minerals. Its vast loans to the continent have funded infrastructure but also stoked controversy…

IN a significant stride towards addressing Nigeria’s housing deficit, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is set to perform the groundbreaking ceremony for 1,500 units of Renewed Hope houses at Unguwar Rimi, Tofa Local Government Area, Kano State. This initiative marks a major expansion following the commencement of 500 housing units in Lambu, also within Tofa Local Government Area. The Renewed Hope housing scheme is a cornerstone of the Federal Government’s broader urban development strategy, which includes the establishment of model cities across the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. Alongside the upcoming Kano development, similar…

THE Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sued the leadership of the National Assembly members for fixing what it described as the running cost of lawmakers. Joined in the suit were the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas. The group claimed the duo failed to end “the unlawful practice by the National Assembly of fixing its allowances and running costs, and the failure to account for the monthly running costs paid to members.” Disclosing this in a statement on Friday, SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, said the suit was filed last Friday…

A FEDERAL High Court in Abuja has summoned the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Head of the Legal Services Department of the apex bank to appear before it with specific documents on Monday, September 2, the new date fixed for the continuation of the trial in the money laundering case brought against Binance Holdings Limited and its executives. At the previous court sitting, the presiding judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, had adjourned the matter to October 11, but the defence counsel had approached the court for a date change, which the court granted by bringing the trial…

DETAINED nationwide protesters have faulted the court order that permitted their arrest and detention as they the federal government has no right to detain them, especially being one of the biggest beneficiaries of protests and dissents. The protesters, in a suit number marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1233/2024, challenged the August 22, 2024, Federal high court order issued by Justice Emeka Nwite that permitted the Inspector General of police to remand them for 60 days pending the conclusion of the investigation. The applicants, Opaluwa Eleojo and 48 others, in a motion on notice filed on August 26 and obtained by our correspondent on Saturday,…

AMID prolonged delays in the appointment of ambassadors to oversee Nigeria’s diplomatic missions, the Federal Government disbursed an approximate sum of N14bn to no fewer than 16 foreign missions in July 2024, findings by this newspaper have revealed. Nigeria has 109 missions: 76 embassies, 22 high commissions, and 11 consulates globally. Recall that on September 2, 2023, President Bola Tinubu recalled all career and non-career ambassadors operating the country’s diplomatic missions, embassies, and consulates globally. The envoys, which include 41 non-career ambassadors and 42 career ambassadors, were directed to return to the country on or before October 31 by Tinubu,…

THE Nigeria Police Force has again invited the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero. Also invited along with Ajaero is the Secretary General of the union, Emmanuel Ugboaja. The invitation letter is dated August 28, 2024, a day before Ajaero honoured the earlier invitation at the Force Headquarters Abuja. The letter signed by CP Rufus Alajide for Deputy Inspector General of Police, Force Intelligence Department, said the latest invitation is in furtherance of investigation into alleged “criminal intimidation, malicious damage to properties and conducts likely to cause breach of public peace”. The invitation seen by Channels Television…

THE Chairman of BUA Cement, AbdulSamad Rabiu, yesterday, said cement dealers frustrated his company’s plan to sell cement at N3,500 per bag last year. Speaking at the 8th Annual General Meeting of the company in Abuja, Rabiu also said that while his company sold over a million tons of cement to dealers at N3, 500, per bag, with the intention that they would pass the benefits to end-users, the dealers sold a bag of cement to consumers at between N7000 and N8,000. He said the company had to abandon the policy as its intervention was not to subsidise dealers. According…

A FEDERAL High Court Sitting in Abuja has struck out a suit instituted against the #Endbadgovernance protesters, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), the Inspector General of Police (IGP), the Department Of State Services (DSS), and the Chiefs of Army and Defence Staff. The suit filed by 17 Nigerians against the last nationwide protests was dismissed by the court for want of diligent prosecution. Justice Peter Lifu terminated the suit on Thursday following the absence of the 17 plaintiffs and 26 defendants in court and without legal representation from the two parties. Although the suit was fixed for hearing,…

THE Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has given one month moratorium to traders and other market stakeholders involved in exploitative pricing to crash the prices of goods. The newly appointed Executive Vice Chairman of the FCCPC, Mr Tunji Bello, said this at a one-day stakeholders’ engagement on exploitative pricing on Thursday in Abuja. According to Bello, the Commission will begin enforcement after the moratorium. He said the meeting was to address the growing trend of unreasonable pricing of consumer goods and services and the unwholesome practice of market associations. Bello gave a description of the Commission’s finding that…

THE Executive Director of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Nonye Ayeni, has put the nation’s total exports for the first half of 2024 at 2.7 billion dollars, showing an increase of 2.6 per cent of the total value of exports compared to the first half of 2023. Ayeni, who gave the breakdown at a meeting in Abuja, on Wednesday, explained that 211 products were exported during the period. She said that the top products exported during the period under review include cocoa, beans, urea and sesame. Top three export destinations for Nigeria, according to Ayeni, include Malaysia, Netherlands and…

THE Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, has appointed a new female Force Secretary to promote inclusivity within the police force. The Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday, saying the move is part of efforts to entrench gender representation in the Nigeria Police Force. He said the newly appointed Force Secretary is Assistant Inspector-General (AIG) Rhoda Adetutu Olofu, a seasoned police officer with an impressive track record. “Her new appointment comes as part of the IGP’s vision of enhancing the NPF’s efficiency and the recent gender policy changes aimed at increasing the representation…