Author: Hamza Rufai

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu is expected to depart Abuja for Adis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Thursday to participate in the 37th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union (AU) Heads of State and Government meeting. Chief Ajuri Ngelale, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity in a statement in Abuja, said President Tinubu would join other African leaders in high-level meetings on institutional reforms of the African Union; peace and security. They will also deal with specific thematic issues such as climate change, as well as modalities of participation and priorities of the continental body in the…

THE Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, on Tuesday, presided over the swearing-in of three newly elected senators. Those sworn in during the plenary were Professor Anthony Okorie (All Progressives Congress, Ebonyi South), Mustapha Musa (All Progressives Congress, Yobe East), and Prince Pam Mwadkon (Action Democratic Party, Plateau North) On the ground to administer the oath of office was the Clerk of the Senate, Mr. Chinedu Akubueze at about 11:41 am. After their swearing-in, the new lawmakers were thereafter led to their respective seats. During the plenary, the upper chamber also went into close-door meeting with the service chiefs owing to the…

GOVERNORS elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Monday, restated their position on state policing, as the solution to the country’s worsening security situation. The opposition governors also decried the free fall of the naira and its attendant consequences, and asked that the Federal Government’s economic team should find appropriate solutions to the challenge. The Chairman of the Forum, Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State briefed journalists after a meeting of the governors in Abuja. He decried the high cost of living in the country, and the value of the naira, saying, “We are almost on…

A DEPUTY Director in charge of Branch Operations at the Central Bank of Nigeria, mister Onyeka Ogbu, has told a Federal Capital Territory High Court Abuja, that he was aware of a $6.2 million payment request for international election observers Mister Ogbu, who is the prosecution witness one, said, the request was made on January 8, 2023. He noted that he reviewed the documents and subsequently gave approval for disbursement which was then executed. All documents were identified, but certain pages were absent. This led the prosecution counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, to request a temporary halt for the issue of the…

VICE President Kashim Shettima will lead a Federal Government delegation to the 2023 African Cup of Nations, AFCON final on Sunday as the Super Eagles take on hosts, Côte d’Ivoire, in a bid for continental glory. A statement on Saturday from the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications, Stanley Nkwocha, noted that having represented President Bola Tinubu at the semi-finals last week, where Nigeria defeated South Africa, Shettima heads back to Abidjan for the title decider. “Recognising the unifying power of football and the immense role the Super Eagles play in fostering national pride and unity,…

THE Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) on Friday raised the alarm over high cost of operation even as aviation fuel has hit over N1300. This is despite the rising naira to dollar exchange rate of over N1,400 to a dollar which has made it difficult for airlines to carry out scheduled maintenance of their aircraft. The operators however said the situation poses existential threat to them, saying the aircraft that are due for maintenance have been grounded and cannot be ferried overseas because of the scarcity of forex. According to them, there is continuous depletion of equipment without replenishment and…

THE Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria counterpart have issued a 14-day nationwide strike notice to the Federal Government over the failure of the Bola Tinubu-led government to implement the agreements reached on October 2, 2023, following the removal of the subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit known as petrol. Leaders of the NLC and TUC are sad that despite organised labour’s efforts to ensure industrial peace, the government seems unperturbed by the mass suffering and hardship across the country. The October 2 agreement was “focused on addressing the massive suffering and the general harsh socioeconomic consequences…

THE Federal Government has hailed the Super Eagles over their victory against South Africa’s Bafana Bafana at the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2023 semi-final holding in Ivory Coast. The match finished 1-1 after extra time and the three-time champions will face hosts Ivory Coast or the Democratic Republic of Congo in the final on Sunday. Substitute Kelechi Iheanacho scored to give Nigeria a 4-2 penalty shootout victory over South Africa on Wednesday after an Africa Cup of Nations semi-final thriller in Bouake. Shortly after the match ended, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, described the Super…

THE Federal High Court in Lagos on Tuesday struck out a N22.8 billion fraud charge against former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall, Adesola Amosu, and two other Air Force Chiefs. Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke set the military officers free while delivering rulings on their separate preliminary objections challenging the court’s jurisdiction to try them for the alleged crime. The court held that Amosu and his co-defendants, Air Vice Marshal Jacob Bola Adigun and Air Commodore Gbadebo Owodunni Olugbenga, could not be tried by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) because they were serving military officers at the time the…

THE first civilian governor of Yobe State Bukar Abba Ibrahim has died while receiving medical treatment in Saudi Arabia. Yobe State Governor Mai Mala Buni confirmed the death of the former Senator representing Yobe East district. A statement via Buni’s Director General of Press and Media Affairs Mamman Mohammed noted that the former governor died on Sunday and would be buried in Saudi Arabia. He said condolences are to be received by Governor Mai Mala Buni at Government House in Damaturu. Abba Ibrahim a renowned politician who died at 75 is the husband of a serving lawmaker Khadija Bukar Abba…

BANDITS who collected N8.5 million before releasing four among 17 people, including a nurse at Kawu in Bwari area council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), have again demanded two brand new Bajaj motorcycles for the release of the remaining 11 victims in captivity. This newspaper had reported how the bandits invaded Kawu community on December 26, 2023, and abducted 23 persons. Four among them had escaped, leaving behind 17 others in captivity. The bandits were said to have threatened to kill the remaining 11 over delayed ransom. Speaking with our reporter on Friday, a family member of one of…

THE Inspector General of Police, Olukayode Egbetokun, has ordered restriction of all forms of vehicular movement on roads, waterways, and other forms of transportation from 12 am to 6 pm in 26 states holding bye-elections on Saturday. This is with the exclusion of those on essential duties such as officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, election observers, accredited journalists, ambulances responding to medical emergencies, and firefighters among others. The affected states are Ebonyi, Yobe, Kebbi, Lagos, Ondo, Taraba, Benue, Borno, Kaduna, Plateau and Akwa Ibom. Others are Anambra, Cross River, Delta, Enugu, Jigawa, Katsina, Adamawa, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Kano, Nasarawa,…

THE Minister of Information and National Orientation Mohammed Idris Malagi is calling on Nigerians to be patient with the reforms of the Bola Tinubu government.  Tinubu, who came into office in May, initiated a string of reforms including the floating of the naira and the removal of the much-debated fuel subsidies. The moves have triggered a spike in the cost of living with inflation soaring. But Malagi believes these are bound to happen, maintaining that in the long run, these reforms would yield fruit. “I want you to remember that the President is seven months old in office. I am…

AMID its fresh moves to stabilise the nation’s volatile exchange rate, the Central Bank of Nigeria has ordered Deposit Money Banks to sell their excess dollar stock latest February 1, 2024. The CBN, which made the disclosure in a new circular released on Wednesday, also warned lenders against hoarding excess foreign currencies for profit. According to officials, the central bank believes some commercial banks hold long-term foreign exchange positions to enable them profit from the volatile movements of exchange rates. The new circular introduces a set of guidelines aimed at reducing the risks associated with these practices. In the circular…

BUREAU De Change (BDC) operators have announced shut down of operation in Abuja as a result of unavailability of dollars. Chairman of the Association, Mallam Abdulahi Dauran, announced this in the nation’s capital, on Wednesday. He attributed the development to online business transaction and cryptocurrency. Daurau said the closure of business would take effect from Thursday, February 1, 2024. The development comes hours after a senate panel summoned Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), over forex crisis. More details shortly…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu, on Monday, commiserated with Nigeria’s former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd.), over the death of his younger sister, Salamatu Asabe. “General, please accept my sympathy and condolences,” Tinubu said in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, titled, ‘President Tinubu condoles with General Abdulsalami Abubakar over sister’s passing.’ According to Ngelale, “It is with a heavy heart that President Bola Tinubu receives the news of the passing of Hajiya Salamatu Asabe, the younger sister of former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd).” Tinubu who condoled with General Abubakar,…

OPERATIVES of the Federal Capital Territory Police Command have rescued five abductees from two different gangs of kidnappers in Abuja. The five victims were rescued by a combined team of the FCT Special Intervention Squad and the FCT Police Anti-Kidnapping Unit. The FCT Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh, made the development known on Monday, during a press conference with crime reporters at the Command Headquarters. SP Adeh said, “Ladies and gentlemen of the press, I am honoured to welcome you all to the FCT Police Command today and to equally give you an update on the rescue of…

OPERATIVES of the Nigerian Police Force have arrested a suspected kidnapper believed to be involved in the abduction and murder of Nabeeha, daughter of a Bwari lawyer. Recall that about 19 abductees were taken away by bandits from the Sagwari Estate Layout in the Dutsen-Alhaji area in the Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory. The kidnappers were demanding N700m ransom for nine of their victims. The kidnappers had killed four of the hostages, including Nabeeha Al-Kadriyar, a 400-level student of Biological Science, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and 13-year-old Folashade Ariyo. Nabeeha was abducted alongside six other siblings. The…

OPERATIVES of the Special Intervention Squad, Federal Capital Territory Police Command, have neutralised three notorious bandits in a forest within the Bwari area of Abuja. The bandits were killed in the early hours of Friday, January 26, at about 2 am, in a forest linking Abuja to Kaduna State. Amongst the three bandits killed was their gang leader, Mai Gemu popularly known as Godara, who, alongside his gang members have been terrorising the FCT and neighbouring states. The Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, revealed the development in Abuja on Friday during the parade of about 20 criminal suspects arrested…

THE Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Zacch Adedeji is calling on Nigerians to be patient with the Bola Tinubu’s administration and maintained that the new government won’t overtax the citizens. Inaugurated May last year, the Tinubu government is fighting insecurity, a battered economy compounded by inflation, and the removal of fuel subsidy among other issues. But Adedeji, who was sharing insights into the operations of the FIRS and the concerns over taxation in the country, asked Nigerians to be patient with Tinubu’s government in its quest to better the lives of citizens. “We understand that it is…