Author: Hamza Rufai

THE Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, has denied having any rift with the Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma. This follows reports (not by News Point Nigeria) that Abbas and Uzodimma were at loggerheads over the appointment of the lawmaker representing Ideato North/South Federal Constituency, Ikenga Ugochinyere as the chairman of a supposedly “juicy” committee in the House. The Speaker, in a statement on Wednesday by his media aide, Musa Abdullahi Krishi, debunked the claims of an issue with Uzodimma, who is also the Chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum. Both Abbas and Uzodimma are All Progressives…

PARTS of Abuja, the nation’s capital, were thrown into chaos on Tuesday when two factions of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) clashed on Sapele Crescent, off Ladoke Akintola Boulevard in Garki II. Gunshots were reported during the conflict, which heightened the tension in the area. The exact number of casualties, if any, could not be confirmed at the time of filing this report. This conflict underlines the escalating tension within the NURTW, a development that observers say requires urgent intervention to prevent further breakdown of law and order. According to sources, a clash broke out when supporters…

THE Kaduna State Police Command says it has killed four suspected kidnappers and arrested 13 others during sting operations in different parts of the state. Disclosing this while parading the suspects, the acting Public Relations Officer of the command, ASP Manir Hassan, told journalists that the suspected kidnappers were killed during gunbattle in different locations in Kaduna State, while the arrests were based on intelligence reports about the suspects’ nefarious activities. According to the police spokesman, among the suspects is one Auwal Saidu, a private security guard, who allegedly masterminded the abduction of his boss from his residence and later…

A YOUNG Nigerian lady (name withheld) has died aboard Egypt Air flight en route to London, United Kingdom. The lady was said to have left Nigeria for London onboard Egypt Air MS 876 flight to Cairo on Monday through the Murtala Muhammad International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, but died on board. A family source who confirmed the incident however said the corpse was dropped in Cairo, the Egypt Capital by the airline. “The family said the Airline didn’t inform them, but rather they got a message from the consular office in Cairo informing them of her death on board the flight.…

THE House of Representatives has summoned the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to appear before it to respond to allegations made by a private security company, Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, alleging that the company hired its services to secure pipeline but denied it access to the same pipelines. News Point Nigeria reports that, the House Adhoc Committee which commenced investigation into crude oil theft in the country was not pleased that the NNPCL failed to honour its earlier invitation and gave another chance to the management and other vital stakeholders that did not attend the opening session. Meanwhile,…

MINISTER of Defence, Abubakar Badaru, has appealed to Nigerians to continue to pray for the current administration, particularly those at the helms of nation’s security. Badaru, who made the appeal at his office in Abuja when he received a delegation from his State, Jigawa led by the governor, Malam Umar Namadi, said with the complex nature of security challenges and other aspects of national development, “one could only but ask for prayers to succeed.” According to him, though the task before them was enormous, they were determined to surmount the challenges, urging Nigerians to support them in all ramifications including…

IN an obvious move of the historic Kanuri and Fulani jibe, the Vice President, Kashim Shettima has said that he will retire the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 elections Atiku Abubakar to his hometown and buy livestock for him to rear. Shettima said this during a chat with reporters moments after the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal affirmed the victory of President Bola Tinubu at the Court of Appeal on Wednesday. The Fulanis, Atiku’s tribe and the Kanuris, Shettima’s tribe, have centuries old supremacy jibe, with the Kanuris claiming they colonialised the Fulanis and taught…

THE Nasarawa State government has denied sending traditional rulers to meet with any person on its behalf, warning residents against disrespecting traditional rulers because of politics. This newspaper reports that last week Wednesday, some selected traditional rulers led by the Emir of Lafia, HRH Justice Sidi Bage Muhammad, who doubles as the Chairman of the state Council of Chiefs, paid a congratulatory visit on the vice president in Abuja, with the visit drawing diverse commentaries, especially from opposition political parties in the state. The Commissioner for Local Government, Community Development and Chieftaincy Affairs, Aliyu Tijani Ahmed, in a statement yesterday,…

THE Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal (PEPT) led by Justice Haruna Tsammani on Wednesday dismissed the claims of the Labour Party (LP) and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, that they won 25% of needed votes in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). During the 2023 presidential election on February 25, LP and Obi won 25%, by securing about 59 per cent of the votes cast. Neither President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (19 per cent) nor Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (15 per cent) scored up to 25 per cent of the votes in the Nigerian capital. Ruling…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has arrived New Delhi, India, for the G-20 Leaders’ Summit. The President arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday after departing Abuja for the summit in India on the special invitation of Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. The President’s trip took place hours to a warning strike by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) over palliatives to cushion the effect of the removal of petrol subsidy. While away, the the Presidential Election Petition Court will also deliver judgments in the petitions by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP) as well as their presidential candidates challenging…

FORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo says he picked the late President Musa Yar’Adua as his successor despite knowing he was ill. He said he took the decision because medical advice showed that Yar’Adua, who had a kidney transplant, was fit to act as President. This newspaper reports that Obasanjo twice led Nigeria; first as military head of state (1976-1979) and later as an elected civilian president (1999-2007). Obasanjo’s deputy, Abubakar Atiku; and ex-Governor of Rivers State, Peter Odili were among those who fought for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential ticket. The ex-general eventually settled for Yar’ Adua in 2007, who…

PRESIDENT Bola Ahmed Tinubu has expressed concern about Nigeria’s bloated civil service payroll at the national and sub-national levels. The president bore his mind on Monday while speaking at a meeting in the State House, Abuja, with the Global Vice President of Oracle, Mr. Andres Garcia Arroyo. He told his guest that with cutting edge technology, the country would digitize the public service and surgically apply public money for growth. He said: “Each time they give me the payroll number, I get so frightened. Where am I going to get the capital to develop the infrastructure we desperately require if…

THE much-anticipated verdict of the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPT) is expected to be delivered on Wednesday, September 6th. The Court of Appeal Registrar Umar Bangari confirmed this to News Point Nigeria on Monday, saying the proceedings will be open to live broadcast by interested television and radio stations. The Labour Party (LP), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), as well as their presidential candidates, had petitioned the tribunal seeking to nullify the election of President Bola Tinubu as the winner of the 2023 presidential election. Judgement is also expected to be delivered by election…

FOLLOWING the declaration of a two-day warning strike by the Nigeria Labour Congress, some state chapters of the organised labour union have expressed their readiness to join the industrial action. The leadership of the state chapters of the labour unions, in separate interviews with our correspondents, said they have ordered their members to join the warning strike which is scheduled to be held on Tuesday and Wednesday, September 5 and 6, 2023. Speaking with our correspondent on Sunday, the Chairman, NLC Lagos chapter, Mrs Agnes Sessi, said Lagos NLC would join the nationwide strike. “We are under the authority of…

FORMER President Muhammadu Buhari has accused ex-Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke, of anti-corruption pretense. In an interview with Adesua Giwa-Osagie, Adoke had commented on the corruption allegations pressed against him and former Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki. “I have been a victim of corruption allegations by the immediate past government. The most incompetent government we’ve ever seen in this country; ran by the most incompetent President that this country has ever had and will never have again. And ran by a set of political morons,” he had said. Reacting to some of his allegations through his spokesman Malam…

THE Nigeria Labour Congres (NLC) has declared a two-day warning strike, beginning on Tuesday, September 5, in protest against the Federal Government for failing to address the challenges caused by the removal of fuel subsidy. The NLC President, Joe Ajaero, made the declaration on Friday during a press conference at the Labour House in Abuja, while speaking on resolutions by the NLC National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting the previous day. The labour union is accusing the Federal Government of abandoning the negotiations and failing to implement some of the resolutions from previous meetings with the government. On August 2, organised…

THE Niger State governor, Mohammed Umar Bago has ordered a waiver for employment of qualified doctors and other healthcare professionals in hospitals across the state. The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Binta Mamman made this known while briefing the media after the State Executive Council meeting in Government House. Mamman said the state had come to terms with the reality of shortage of healthcare workers that had hindered effective healthcare service delivery in the state, saying that the government was assessing the level of shortage of manpower in various departments in the healthcare sector to know the numbers required. Also…

THE Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has dared the leadership of his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to suspend or discipline him. Wike, who spoke exclusively on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Wednesday monitored by News Point Nigeria, said he has not seen the party chieftain who will suspend or expel him from the party. “Who will discipline me? I should be the one calling for the discipline of these people who violated the party’s constitution, in the way that the party supported rotation. “Who will suspend me? I want to dare anybody,” Wike…

VICE President Kashim Shettima has called on stakeholders to ensure transparency, equity and fairness in the distribution of fertilizers to farmers. He made the call on Tuesday when he met with Fertilizers Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN) at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Shettima said President Bola Tinubu is passionate about reducing the cost of fertilizers for Nigerian farmers as part of efforts to achieve food security in the country. According to him, the President will be happy if the price of fertilizers collapses by 50% after the exercise. The Vice President said the Federal Government is collaborating with…

THE Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Umar Ganduje on Tuesday named the Minister of the Federal Capital (FCT) Nyesom Wike as a member of the party’s campaign council for the Bayelsa governorship poll.  Ganduje also named the former governor of Rivers State as a member of the campaign councils for Kogi and Imo governorship polls billed for later in the year. “The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), H. E. Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, CON, in consultation with the National Working Committee (NWC), has approved the composition of the Bayelsa State National Gubernatorial Campaign Council…