Author: Hamza Rufai

THE Academic Staff Union of Universities has joined the ongoing strike by the organised labour comprising Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress. This is coming after the Federal Government failed to meet the unions’ minimum wage demand. In a statement addressed to the branch chairpersons and zonal coordinators of ASUU on Monday, the association’s President, Emmanuel Osodeke, directed lecturers in universities across the country to join the strike as an affiliate of the congress. The statement read, “The NLC has declared an indefinite strike action beginning from Monday, 3rd June, 2024, as a result of the failure of Government…

THE Kogi State Government has announced the rescue of the remaining eight kidnapped students of Confluence University of Science and Technology, Osara. Our correspondent gathered that the students were rescued in a forest in Kwara State in an operation carried out in collaboration with the government of the state. The state Commissioner for Information, Kingsley Fanwo, in a statement on Sunday, said that the state governor has directed full support towards the recovery of the students and their parents, while modalities are being put in place to make the state safer for all. The statement read, “The government of Kogi…

THE Federal Government has pleaded with Organised Labour to reconsider its decision to embark on an indefinite strike from Monday, June 3, 2024, in protest against the government’s refusal to raise the proposed minimum wage from N60,000. The interest of the masses should be the top priority of Organised Labour, the Federal Government stressed. The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Idris Mohammed, disclosed this in an with newsmen. While describing the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress as partners in Project Nigeria, Mohammed noted that industrial action was not the solution to the ongoing negotiation for a…

THE Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) has given over 23 government establishments, including the Nigeria Army, Nigeria Air Force, Police Headquarters, Niger State Government, ministries, departments and agencies of government (MDAs) a three-day notice to pay up their debts or risk disconnection. The electricity firm, which covers the Federal Capital Territory and some adjoining states, said this in a statement made available to News Point Nigeria, Saturday. In the statement,  AEDC gave the customers up till June 3, 2024 to settle their debts or face disconnection of their electricity supply. It emphasised the importance of adhering to payment deadlines to…

SUSPENDED Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, has been released from the Kuje Custodial Centre in the Federal Capital Territory after spending 27 months in detention. Kyari was detained following his arrest on February 14, 2022, by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency for alleged involvement with an international drug cartel. Kyari, along with four members of the Police Intelligence Response Team—Sunday Ubia, Bawa James, Simon Agirigba, and John Nuhu—was arraigned on March 7, 2022. Two suspected drug traffickers, Chibunna Umeibe and Emeka Ezenwanne, who were arrested at Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu, were also charged. While Kyari and…

THERE is tight security at the Central Mosque of Kano where Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II is expected to attend Friday prayers. Our reporter observes that there is large number of local security operatives of vigilantes and hunters with few personnel from the Department of State Service and Police. Earlier, there was disquiet in the city following reports that the dethroned Emir of Kano, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, would attend Juma’at prayer at Kofar Kudu Central Mosque, the same mosque Emir Sanusi is also expected to attend. The Kano State Police Command, however, dismissed the reports, saying the deposed Ado Bayero…

THE Supreme Court, on Thursday, gave the 36 state governors of the federation, seven days to file their defence to the suit brought against them by the Federal Government through the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN). The apex court held that filing of all processes and exchanging of same must be completed within nine days. It, therefore, adjourned till June 13 for the hearing of the suit. In the suit, marked SC/CV/343/2024, the Federal Government wants the apex court to enforce the autonomy of the local government by, among other things, stopping state…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu on Thursday urged state governors to prioritise the needs of their local communities. Receiving the leadership of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Tinubu said the call was necessary to ensure accountability and effectiveness in the administration of local governments. He also asked the Arewa leaders to hold their governors accountable to the people. “We are running a constitutional democracy. I will appeal to you to summon the governors. I am doing my very best to enhance the revenue base of the country. They must equally be sympathetic, and they must urgently…

THE Governor of Kano State, Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf, met with the National Security Adviser Malam Nuhu Ribado at the Office of the NSA, Thursday. The meeting, which lasted for more than an hour, was prompted by the recent happenings in Kano following the dissolution of five emirates by the Kano State House of Assembly through the repeal of the state emirate law, and the subsequent restoration of Emir Muhammad Sanusi II by the Governor. In a statement issued by the Governor’s spokesperson Sanusi Bature Dawakin Tofa, it was noted that the two political leaders deliberated on various matters relating…

THE Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja, has assured Nigerians that soldiers involved in a recent incident at Banex Plaza in Abuja will be sanctioned if they are found to culpable. The military had taken over the plaza for several days after an alleged attack on its personnel by civilians on Saturday, May 18, 2024. Lagbaja, who was a guest on Channels Television’s May 29 special programme monitored by News Point Nigeria to score key areas of President Bola Tinubu’s administration after one year in office, said they army is still investigating the incident. “The press release from…

THE Federal Government has stepped in to address the recent deportation orders issued against some Nigerian students at Teesside University in the United Kingdom. A delegation led by a representative of the Nigerian Embassy in the UK, Ambassador Christian Okeke, along with leaders of the Nigerian Students Union in the UK, will meet with the university’s management to seek a resolution. This decision follows a virtual meeting chaired by the Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, and attended by Okeke, the President of the Nigerian Students Union UK, Yemi Soile, and several affected students. The meeting was…

THE Federal Government has suspended Air Nigeria Airline project indefinitely. Minister of Aviation and Aerospace, Festus Keyamo announced this at the Ministerial briefing to mark the first year of the Tinubu administration, Monday. He said the airline was never a Nigerian airline but an attempt to use a foreign airline to pose as a Nigerian national airline. Giving details about that project, he noted that the ‘national carrier’ that was supposed to be an indigenous project and one that was supposed to spark hope for Nigerians, was flawed with a lot of secrecy and fraudulent activities. “It was never Air…

AN Abuja-bound train from Kaduna derailed halfway to the nation’s capital, on Sunday causing panic. The train with dozens of passengers on board departed Kaduna around 8:05am but derailed at Jere about an hour later. Currently, efforts are being made to repair the train, with about three carriages off the tracks. Despite the fact that it stopped in a mountainous area, security personnel, including soldiers and police officers, were present.

A DEPLOYMENT of soldiers has arrived the mini-palace of Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, who was dethroned by Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, on Thursday. While signing the repealed Kano Emirates Council Law, Yusuf gave the sacked Emirs 48 hours to vacate their palaces and hand over. This newspaper reports that while the other Emirs – Alhaji Nasir Ado Bayero (Bichi), Alhaji Kabiru Muhammad Inuwa (Rano), Alhaji Ibrahim Abubakar II (Karaye) and Alhaji Aliyu Ibrahim Abdulkadir (Gaya), complied with the directive, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero (Kano), returned to the ancient city, on Saturday. The aircraft which conveyed the monarch touched down at…

MAJORITY leader of the Kano House of Assembly, Lawal Hussaini Chediyar Yan Gurasa, has said there is no single emir in Kano State at the moment. The lawmaker said this after the Kano State Emirs (Appointment and Deposition) Law was repealed on Thursday. “This bill in its entity has abrogated the establishment of 5 new Emirates in the state and reverted to the former status of a single emir in Kano which we inherited since the Jihad of Shehu Usman Dan Fodio. That’s what the Bill is now all about and there was a plan to create an additional second…

OPERATIVES of the Department of State Services (DSS) on Thursday stormed the palace of Emir of Kano, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, as rumours of imminent deposition of the Emir thicken. This is coming on the back of the passage of the Kano State Emirates Council Amendment Law (repeal bill), 2024 by the state assembly on Thursday morning. Our correspondent, who visited the palace around 11am, saw some DSS operatives stationed in the palace. Though the Emir of Kano was said to be in Ogun State on a private visit to Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona, the security operatives…

THE Kano state House of Assembly has passed Kano emirates council law (repeal bill) 2024 after scaling 3rd reading. The law has abrogated establishment of 5 new Emirates in the state. All offices established under the repealed law have been set aside by the new bill. Also all district heads elevated or appointed under the repealed law are to revert to their previous positions. The Kano State Emirates Council (Amendment number 2) Law, 2024, was sponsored by the Majority Leader and member representing the Dala Constituency, Lawan Hussaini Chediyar Yan Gurasa. The law which created five new emirates was first…

THE Federal Government spent N628.61bn as subsidy on electricity in 2023, as power distribution companies collected a total revenue of N1.08tn during the same period, the latest industry data obtained from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission on Wednesday showed. An analysis of figures from the power sector regulator indicated that electricity subsidies continued to increase every quarter all through last year. It was observed that subsidies on power in the first, second, third, and fourth quarters of 2024 were N36.02bn, N135.23bn, N204.6bn, and N252.76bn respectively. It was also observed that during the same period, power distribution companies raked in N247.09bn,…

GUNMEN in military uniform numbering about 50 have raided Dawaki community in Abuja, and abducted at least 20 people. Witnesses said it was yet another daring onslaught by the attackers, who they variously described as bandits, armed robbers, terrorists, among other names. Dawaki, a heavily populated neighbourhood, where thousands of workers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) live, is located opposite the Gwarinpa Estate, the biggest organised single settlement in Nigeria, located along the Abuja-Kubwa Expressway. It was learnt that the invaders, armed with different categories of weapons, stormed Dawaki around 7.30 pm on Sunday, and operated up till around…

THE Federal High Court in Abuja, on Monday, rejected the request of terrorist negotiator, Mohammed Mamu, to be transferred from the custody of the Department of the State Service to Kuje Prison. While delivering a ruling on the application, Justice Inyang Ekwo, said the issue of incessant jail breaks in prisons is a major reason why Tukur’s Transfer request is opposed as even the Federal government had raised concerns about this. Justice Ekwo, held that Mamu, did not contradict or dispute the averments as required by law and since the averments were not challenged, they are deemed to be true…