NIGERIA has recorded another major step in its quest to reclaim cultural treasures looted during the colonial era, as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday formally handed over two Benin Bronzes to the Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy in Abuja. The artifacts; a bronze relief plaque and a commemorative bronze head were originally looted from the ancient Benin Kingdom during the 1897 British invasion. They were recently repatriated from the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA), Boston, after years of diplomatic engagement and negotiation. At the handover ceremony, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama…
Author: Maimuna Bashir Isa
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THE Federal Government has suspended all enforcement activities carried out nationwide by the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR), following mounting concerns over the agency’s recent operations in the hospitality and tourism industries. The directive was issued by the Federal Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy and approved by the Honourable Minister, Hannatu Musa Musawa, Esq. The suspension takes immediate effect. According to the Ministry, the decision follows a comprehensive review of NIHOTOUR’s recent compliance and enforcement activities, which have sparked criticism and anxiety among operators in the sector. Stakeholders had raised alarms over what they…
VICE-Chancellor of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Professor Olufemi A. Peters, has been awarded the International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE) 2025 Individual Prize of Excellence. He received the highly coveted honour at the ICDE Award Night in Wellington, New Zealand, on Wednesday. Peters was honoured alongside Professor Josep Duart for exceptional leadership and impact in open and distance education at national, regional, or global levels over the past five years. The ICDE Prize of Excellence is basically awarded for excellence in the field of inclusive, scalable and sustainable education. The ICDE awards are presented to…
THE African Union chief said there was no genocide in Nigeria’s north after US President Donald Trump claimed that Christians were being slaughtered by insurgentss and faced an “existential threat”. News Point Nigeria reports that Trump this month threatened to carry out an armed intervention in Nigeria, saying insurgents were killing “Christians in very large numbers”. The US leader said Christianity was “facing an existential threat” in the West African nation, adding that if Nigeria does not stem the killings, the United States will attack and “it will be fast, vicious, and sweet”. Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, chair of the African…
THE Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has issued a final 14-day grace period to property owners in Asokoro, Maitama, Garki and Wuse districts to pay a N5m penalty for violating approved land-use provisions. The directive was contained in a statement sen to News Point Nigeria on Sunday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka. The minister ordered all affected allottees to comply between Tuesday, November 11 and November 25, 2025, or face enforcement action. “The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has granted defaulters of the land use/purpose clause…
THE Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has refuted the Federal Government’s announcement that it has released ₦50 billion as part of its commitment toward revitalising public universities, insisting that no funds have been disbursed to any institution. The rebuttal comes just days ahead of ASUU’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting scheduled for November 8–9, 2025, where the union says it will review the government’s response to its demands and decide the next line of action. In a statement issued late on Wednesday sent to News Point Nigeria, ASUU’s National Publicity Secretary, Prof. Jurbe Molwus, said lecturers across federal universities…
THE Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has dismissed claims of genocide against any religious group in the region, arguing that such labels are aimed at distorting cohesion in the bloc. ECOWAS, in a communique on late Tuesday sent to News point Nigeria, said the claims are targeted at worsening insecurity in the West African region. “Perpetrators of this violence target innocent civilians of all religious denominations including Muslims, Christians, and adherents to other religions. As independent reports have confirmed over the years, terrorist-related violence does not discriminate on the basis of gender, religion, ethnicity or age,” the regional…
THE Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) has denied the allegation of the Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, that its officers withheld her passport at the airport. The immigration spokesperson, Akinsola Akinlabi, told News Point Nigeria on Tuesday, shortly after the Kogi senator alleged an attempt to block her from travelling, that the incident was part of routine immigration procedures. “NIS didn’t seize the distinguished senator’s passport, but rather she went through routine immigration checks and was allowed to travel,” the NIS spokesperson said. Speaking further, Akinlabi clarified that officers were only performing their statutory duties. “The NIS officers needed to…
PRESIDENT Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to take all legal and necessary measures to secure the immediate return of striking resident doctors to their duty posts, following a nationwide shutdown of services in major hospitals. News Point Nigeria reports that the directive followed the indefinite strike declared by the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) on Saturday, which has paralysed routine operations and emergency care across federal and state medical institutions. Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Salako, conveyed the President’s orders during a press briefing in Abuja…
MINISTER of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, on Monday, faulted claims that Christians were being killed in Nigeria under the President Bola Tinubu’s administration. Speaking as a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today monitored by News Point Nigeria, Wike said the narrative of genocide under Tinubu’s administration is “politics taken too far”. “It is an indictment that a government I am serving, anybody will allege that that government is supporting genocide, killing of Christians and I am still in that government. “This is politics taken too far. The Inspector General of Police is a Christian, the Director General of…
THE crisis in Nigeria’s health sector deepened on Sunday as the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) dismissed the Federal Government’s claim that it is releasing N11.9 billion for payment of outstanding arrears and allowances owed to health workers. News Point Nigeria reports that the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare had on Saturday stated that the funds would be disbursed within 72 hours to address welfare concerns and restore industrial harmony following the nationwide strike by resident doctors across 91 federal and state tertiary hospitals. But speaking with this newspaper, NARD President, Dr. Muhammad Suleiman, said the figure…
UNITED States President Donald Trump has declared Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern” over alleged killings of Christians. In a statement posted on his social media platform Truth Social on Friday sighted by News Point Nigeria, Trump said Christianity faces an existential threat in Nigeria, describing the alleged killing as a “mass slaughter.” “Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter,” he wrote. The US president added that the United States “cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening” and directed Congressman Riley Moore and House…
THE Federal Government has announced the release of shortlisted names for applicants seeking recruitment into the nation’s paramilitary agencies, as the selection process moves into the Computer-Based Test (CBT) stage. This was disclosed on Wednesday in Abuja in a statement sent to News Point Nigeria by the Secretary of the Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire, and Immigration Services Board (CDCFIB), retired Maj.-Gen. Abdulmalik Jubril. The shortlisted candidates are those who applied to join the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Federal Fire Service (FFS), and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC). According to the statement, applicants are…
THE Federal Government has declared that effective electricity supply across Nigeria can no longer depend solely on centralised control from Abuja, urging the 36 states to immediately begin establishing and operating their own power firms to tackle the country’s persistent energy crisis. News Point Nigeria reports that the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, stated this position on Tuesday while speaking at the Nigeria Energy Leadership Summit in Lagos. Adelabu said decentralizing the power sector was the only sustainable solution to the decades-long electricity challenges that have crippled industries and left millions of Nigerians in darkness. Nigeria has struggled for years…
THE Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has hailed recent judicial decisions reinforcing consumer rights across the country, describing the judgments as a major boost for consumer protection and accountability in Nigeria’s marketplace. In a statement sent to News Point Nigeria by the Director of Corporate Affairs, Ondaje Ijagwu, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Commission, Tunji Bello, commended the courts for delivering rulings that affirm the enforceability of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) 2018 and encourage consumers to seek lawful redress when their rights are violated. One of the landmark rulings…
THE Parents Association of Maryam Abacha American University of Nigeria (MAAUN), Kano, has issued a formal apology to the university’s faculty and staff following a disturbance that occurred at the entrance of an examination hall on October 24, 2025. In an official statement signed by the Association’s Chairman, Alhaji Mustapha Balarabes sent to News Point Nigeria, the body expressed deep regret over what it described as “unacceptable and condemnable behavior” by Bashir Hussain Adamu, an unregistered member of the association, and his student niece. According to the statement, the duo’s disruptive conduct at the exam hall entrance violated the university’s…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has described Nigeria’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force “grey list” as a strategic victory for the nation’s economy and financial governance. The FATF, the global watchdog on money laundering and terrorist financing, announced Nigeria’s delisting at its October 2025 Plenary in Paris, France, on Friday. This followed the country’s full implementation of a 19-point action plan aimed at strengthening its Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism framework. In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga sent to News Point Nigeria, Tinubu said the development was “not just…
FOREIGN Affairs Minister, Yusuf Tuggar, has said that Nigeria will no longer accept deportees from the United States, stating that the matter is no longer open for discussion in Nigeria-US relations. News Point Nigeria reports that Tuggar said this at a fireside chat during the Reuters Next Gulf Summit in Abu Dhabi. “That ship has sailed. We made our point, and I believe it’s no longer on the discussion table. We don’t see the need to take nationals from other countries under duress” he said. The minister revealed that Nigeria’s focus is on developing and training its own population and…
NIGERIA and South Africa have taken significant steps toward resolving longstanding visa restrictions and strengthening cooperation across multiple sectors, including trade, defence, energy, and cultural exchange. News Point Nigeria reports that at a high-level Nigeria–South Africa Political Consultation Meeting held in Abuja on Tuesday, officials from both nations agreed to simplify visa procedures for business people and fast-track the signing of new bilateral agreements aimed at deepening economic and diplomatic relations. The Nigerian delegation was led by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, while the South African side was headed by Ms. Thandi Moraka of the Department…
THE Federal Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism, and Creative Economy and Lens for Good Initiative are set to empower Nigerian creatives and promote Nigeria’s cultural heritage through a strategic partnership. Both parties which entered into a partnership on Monday at the Nest Gardens in Guzape agreed to collaborate on strengthening national identity through positive storytelling, catalysing economic growth in the creative sector, and fostering skill development through training, mentorship, and resource-sharing. Through this partnership, Nigerian creatives will gain access to digital resources, mentorship, and learning materials, as well as training and workshops in photography, filmmaking, digital storytelling, and content creation.…