THE Federal Government has reinstated its position that only a two-state solution will end the Israeli-Palestinian age-long conflict. Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, disclosed this while speaking with the press after a meeting with the Palestinian Ambassador to Nigeria, Abdallah Abu Shawesh, on Tuesday evening. He said Nigeria believes both parties have a right to an independent state. The Minister lamented that innocent civilians were being killed in the conflict, calling on both parties to stop hostilities. “I reiterated to him [Palestinian Ambassador to Nigeria] Nigeria’s position which is for a two-state solution and we are…
Author: Hamza Rufai
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PROFESSOR Rufai Ahmed Alkali. a former national chairman of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), and Senator Sulaiman Othman Hunkuyi, candidate of the NNPP in the March 18 governorship election in Kaduna State, have defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). National chairman of the APC, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, received them into the party, on Tuesday. Prof. Bem Angwe, a former national legal adviser of the NNPP and Benue State governorship candidate, alongside 23 others from the NNPP and PDP also joined the ruling party. Speaking on behalf of the defectors, Alkali said they didn’t join the APC…
MANY feared dead as a boat carrying over 100 passengers capsized mid water at Benue river on Saturday. This newspaper learnt that traders, women and children, heading for Binnari town in Karim-Lamido local government area of the state were on the ill-fated boat. Many of the passengers were returning from Mayoreneyo fish market in Ardo-Kola LGA. The boat left Mayoreneyo local jetty at about 3:30pm and capsized 40 minutes later, according to sources. A resident of Mayoreneyo, Musa Mayoreneyo, told this newspaper that the ill-fated boat had earlier conveyed the passengers from Binnari to Mayoreneyo. In a telephone interview, a…
THE Federal Government of Nigeria supports and reiterates call for an immediate durable and sustained humanitarian truce between Israeli forces and Hamas in Gaza and asks for the opening of humanitarian corridor. According to a statement personally signed by the Minster of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, Saturday, the situation in Gaza is dire and requires immediate attention as a result of the recent uptick in violence. Women, children, and other vulnerable groups are among Innocent civilians that have suffered greatly as a result of the indiscriminate violence and are currently bearing the consequences. The parties in the conflict must…
THE Defence Headquarters said, on Thursday, that troops in the last two weeks intercepted stolen crude worth N1.2bn. This was as it vowed to incapacitate terrorists from carrying out small-scale attacks on soft targets. The Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen. Edward Buba, said this on Thursday in Abuja while briefing journalists on the activities of the military in the past two weeks. He said, “The ongoing counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations have prevented these evil elements from accomplishing their strategic objectives. The military will continue to degrade their ability to carry out small-scale attacks which are intended to create panic…
FORMER President Muhammadu Buhari has hailed the Supreme Court verdict that upheld President Bola Tinubu’s election, asking the opposition to team up with the Nigerian leader. Buhari said this in a statement by his spokesman Garba Shehu, minutes after the apex court dismissed appeals by Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s Atiku Abubakar. “Now that we have arrived at the last bus stop, after a tortuous 8-months of expensive legal journey, the nation deserves a break. The opposition has fought a good fight. Having now exhausted their rights as constitutionally allowed, they should…
THE National chairman of the ruling All progressives Congress (APC) has applauded the supreme court decision which upheld the victory of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the presidential election Ganduje, in a statement signed by his Chief press secretary, Mr Edwin Olofu, said the judgment has laid to rest all claims by the opposition political parties that the votes at the presidential poll were manipulated in favour of President Tinubu. Ganduje remarked that the outcome of the Supreme Court verdict would now pave the way for President Tinubu to concentrate on implementing the Renewed Hope mandate of the APC for…
THE Senate on Wednesday sworn in Amos Yohanna as the new Senator representing Adamawa North Senatorial District. The swearing-in was performed by the Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau, who presided over the plenary. Yohanna, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party replaces Abbo, who was sacked by the Appeal Court last week Monday. The Court of Appeal, Abuja had sacked Abbo, a member of the All Progressives Congress. Delivering judgment on Monday, the three-member panel presided over by Justice C.E. Nwosu-Iheme, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to issue a Certificate of Return to Yohanna as the duly elected lawmaker…
THE organised Labour has expressed dissatisfaction with the slow pace of implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding it signed with the Federal Government to avert its planned nationwide strike. The state chapters of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress said failure to implement the agreement before the October 30 deadline might leave them with no choice but to down tools, noting that they had commenced mobilisation of their members across the country. Asked on Tuesday whether Labour was satisfied with the implementation of the MoU, the Head of Information and Public Affairs of the NLC, Benson Upah,…
CHAIRMAN of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, on Tuesday, directed staff of the Commission to declare their assets. Olukoyede, who gave the directive at the headquarters of the anti-graft agency, Abuja, said it was in line with civil service regulations and procedures. The EFCC boss, while addressing senior members of staff of the commission, stressed that fighting corruption required those at the vanguard to be above board. “All of us are going to declare our assets; from level 17, downward. I did mine, so there’s no reason for anyone to be afraid to do the same.”…
SOME bandits in the early hours of Tuesday invaded a mosque at the Sabon Layi, Kakangi ward in Birnin-Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State, killing the Imam and one worshipper identified as Kabir, with two others sustaining various degrees of injuries. Two other worshippers who sustained serious injuries from the attack were identified as Bilya Mairabo and Ashiru Mairabo. They were said to be receiving medical attention at the Jibrin Maigwari General Hospital, Birnin-Gwari. A community leader, Zubair AbduRrauf, told this newspapwer on the telephone that the incident occurred during the early morning prayers (Subhi) around 5am. AbduRrauf, who…
DOMECTIC flight operations resumed at the Kaduna International Airport after over five months when commercial airlines suspended their flights into the airport due to bandits’ threat and other logistics issues. At exactly 5:10 pm on Monday, a commercial passenger plane from Lagos landed at the airport amidst tight security, thereby marking the resumption of flight operations along the route. The Manager of Kaduna International Airport Manager, Adamu Sheikh, declared the airport safe and secure for both passengers and airline operations, insisting that the airport was never shut down due to bandit attacks. Bandits had attacked the precinct of the airport…
BANDITS have killed a local hunter, Bashir Unguwar Shekarau, and two commercial drivers, Mustapha Adamu and Malam Muktar, well known as “Teacher” along the Kaduna-Birnin Gwari area of Kaduna State. It was learnt that the local hunter was fatally shot last Wednesday when their vehicle came under fire while patrolling the highway. The two commercial drivers were returning to Birnin Gwari around 3:30pm on Saturday when the bandits opened fire on their vehicles. A resident of Birnin Gwari and relative of one of the victims, Shehu Randagi, told this newspaper that another driver also lost his eyes after being hit…
GOOGLE has celebrated Nigeria’s iconic all-time leading goal scorer, Rashidi Yekini with a special doodle on his 60th posthumous birthday. Yekini is fondly remembered for his iconic goal celebration where he held on to the net after scoring Nigeria’s first goal at the USA 1994 World Cup match against Bulgaria, which ended 3-0 in favour of the Super Eagles. The doodle opened with a bio about the Kaduna-born striker “Today’s Doodle celebrates iconic Nigerian footballer Rashidi Yekini, an accomplished forward nicknamed the “Goalsfather” for his ability to sneak shots by the keeper. On this day in 1963, he was born…
FILLING stations, particularly those operated by independent marketers, now dispense Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, at prices that are higher than the bands approved by the Federal Government, with some filling stations in the North selling as high as N685/litre. In July, the pump price of petrol was raised from between N537 and N550/litre to N617/litre at filling stations operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited in Abuja, Kano, Kaduna, Sokoto and many states in the North. The price of PMS was also increased from between N488 and N500/litre in Lagos and other South-West states to around N580/litre.…
ANOTHER justice of the Supreme Court, Musa Dattijo will officially retire from the bench on Friday, October 27, 2023. This is coming after the retirement of Justice Amina Augie on September 22, 2023, and the death of Justice Chima Nweze on July 31, 2023. With this development, the apex court has been reduced to 10 justices, 11 short of the 21 stipulated by Section 230(2) of the 1999 Constitution. Announcing Dattijo’s retirement on Sunday in a statement, the Court Spokesperson, Festus Akande said a valedictory court session would be held in his honour on Friday. Akande said the Chief Justice…
A FORMER Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Attahiru Jega, has called for an amendments to the Electoral Act, 2022. He said though the country’s electoral law could be said to be the best in Nigeria’s history, it is not perfect; and there was the need for further amendments to remove ambiguities, clarify and strengthen some of its sections. Jega spoke at a two-day retreat organised for senators by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State. The amendments, he said, should make the electronic transmission of results mandatory from…
A NEW report by the Center for Fiscal Transparency and Integrity Watch (CeFTIW) has placed Ekiti, Kaduna, Ondo, Lagos and Gombe states top of its Index Fiscal Transparency and Integrity Watch list and Bauchi, Adamawa, Benue, Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom states are bottom. The index was released this month by the Center for Fiscal Transparency and Integrity Watch in collaboration with the MacArthur Foundation. According to the report, the index looked at six key areas in assigning the scores: Accessibility, Open Budget, Public Procurement, Human Resources, Anti-Corruption, and Citizens Engagement. The index is also an annual assessment that examined the…
ALHAJI Mansur Nuhu Bamalli, Nigeria’s Ambassador to Morocco, is dead. He was also the Magajin Garin Zazzau and biological younger brother to the Emir of Zazzau. A statement by the Media and Publicity officer of the Zazzau emirate council said Mansur Nuhu Bamalli died at a private Hospital in Lagos while on transit to Morocco. The statement added that “funeral prayers will be announced later.” He is survived by a wife and 2 children. Ex-President Muhammadu Buhari had appointed the deceased a year ago. In a letter dated October 7 and signed by the then Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey…
THE Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited says it has noted the appearance of fuel queues in some parts of Lagos and a few other locations around the country. The retail management of the NNPC in a statement on Thursday, said the queues are due to reduced Depot loadout in Apapa, Lagos over a few days. It added that the root cause of the queues has since been addressed. “We assure all Nigerians that there is ample supply with sufficiency of at least 30 days,” the statement said. The NNPC, however, advised motorists to desist from panic buying as distribution…