Author: Maimuna Bashir Isa

THE Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has summoned Kenya Airways over a social media video showing a heated exchange between a Nigerian passenger and Kenya Airways staff at the transfer desk of the airline in Nairobi, Kenya. The development followed a stiff criticism of the passenger by the airline, which accused the Nigerian traveller of behaving inappropriately to its employees by removing and throwing three used sanitary pads at them. A video of the intense exchange between a Kenya Airways staff and a Nigerian passenger, Gloria Omisore, travelling from Lagos to Nairobi, Paris and Manchester via the carrier, surfaced on…

THE federal government has said it has heightened surveillance especially at the points of entry following the outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in Uganda. The Nigeria Centre of Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) on Sunday in a public advisory confirmed that there is currently no case of the virus, but warned that the country is at moderate risk. This means that without mitigation, Ebola is likely to occur in Nigeria, with potential for significant public health consequences, hence the need to take the necessary precautions, the Centre explained. Ebola virus disease, formerly known as Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever, is a…

ABUJA-BASED Baze University has appointed veteran educationalist, administrator, and scholar, Professor Jamila Shu’ara, as the new Vice-Chancellor for a five-year tenure. The private University also announced Professor Abiodun Adeniyi as the new Registrar, while Dr. Dogo Mohammed Waziri was reappointed as the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the Baze University Hospital. It said the new set of leaders are to drive the university’s next innovation stage in an increasingly sophisticated world of knowledge production, impartation and sharing. Chancellor and founder of the University, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, made the announcements at a media briefing after the 37th University Board of Trustees…

THE verbal crossfire between former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai and presidential media aide Daniel Bwala continued on Thursday when the ex-governor said he would have still excoriate the All Progressives Congress (APC) if were in the cabinet of President Bola Tinubu as a minister. On Monday, El-Rufai spoke at a national conference in Abuja, saying he no longer recognise the APC and that the party has tended toward a one-man show. “You cannot afford to have illiterates, semi-illiterates, and cunning people as your leaders. This is why we end up with the poor leadership we have today,” he had…

THE Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) says it will not conduct admissions for the Law programme in some select universities following the suspension of the Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) programme by the Council of Legal Education (CLE) for the 2025/2026 academic session at the universities. The JAMB Spokesperson, Dr Fabian Benjamin, who stated this in a statement on Wednesday, listed the affected universities to include Kwara State University, Malete, Kwara State, Bingham University, Karu, Nasarawa State and Redeemers University, Ede, Osun State. Others are Western Delta University, Oghara, Delta State, Taraba State University, Jalingo, Taraba State, Arthur Jarvis University,…

THE Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, says preliminary investigations suggest that explosion at a mining site in Sabon Pegi, Mashegun Local Government Area of Niger State, on Sunday, was caused by the illegal stockpiling of explosives by one Yushua Maikampala, a resident of New Bussa. Maikampala is believed to have been involved in purchasing and storing explosives and their accessories in a house in Sabo Pegi, Mashegun Local Government Area. This was disclosed in a statement released by the Special Assistant to the Minister on Media, Segun Tomori, Monday night and made available to News Point Nigeria. The…

MINISTER of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has directed the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) to deploy new printers to the passport offices in the Nigerian Consulate in Atlanta and New York, United States of America. This is coming a few days after a petition by a group of Nigerians in the Diaspora. The petitioners had appealed to the minister to act after detailing challenges being faced by Nigerians in dire need of consular services in the two cities. In response, Tunji-Ojo in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Alao Babatunde, acknowledged receipt of the petition while announcing his…

THE 2024 Batch C Stream 2 Orientation Camp will officially open today, Wednesday, January 22, 2025, across all states in the country, according to the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). The NYSC also announced the release of deployment letters for the 2023 Batch ‘C’ Stream II. PCMs can now access their deployment details to prepare for the service year. This announcement was shared via messages on the NYSC’s official X handle, #officialnyscng, on Tuesday. “Prospective corps members (PCMs) are to report to their various camps on the date stated on their call-up letters, with their required documents and survival packs,”…

WORKS Minister, David Umahi has revealed that he ordered the removal of speed bumps on the country’s highways to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion on major roads. Umahi made this known at a two-day Retreat for Federal Ministry of Works Highway Engineers and Managerial Staff in Abuja yesterday. The retreat with the theme “Ensuring Delivery of Mr President’s Agenda on Road Infrastructural Development,” was organised by the ministry. The minister said the order to dismantle the speed bumps was necessary because some were haphazardly done causing accidents and elongating travel time. “I came through one of the federal routes…

NIGERIANS are left guessing whether to expect inflation report as the site remains inaccessible on the eve of the report release. The outcome of the report is expected to shape decisions at a crunch monetary policy meeting late this month but the National Bureau of Statistics’ (NBS) website remains inaccessible. Data showing price levels in December is due January 15, but as the country’s official data site remains inaccessible, many are wondering whether or not the NBS would break its own tradition of timely release of critical economic data. The website which was compromised following a cyberattack on December 18…

THE Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFund) said it has disbursed over N20billion to 192,906 students in public tertiary institutions nationwide. NELFund, in a post on X, said Northern varsities have topped the long list of beneficiaries in January 2025. The latest disbursement will see Bayero University, Kano, benefiting the most, with 11, 683 students approved to receive a total of N1.3bn. This is followed by the University of Maiduguri, 12, 198 students will share N1.27bn. NELFund’s Managing Director, Akintunde Sawyerr, revealed that the fund initially disbursed N110bn to students across the country in 2024. The University of Jos has 6,988…

THE President of MAAUN Group of Universities, Professor Adamu Abubakar Gwarzo, has endorsed Mahmoud Ali Youssouf as the next African Union (AU) chairperson. The African Union Commission election, which is scheduled for February 2025, has three candidates vying for the chairperson position, which include Mahmoud Ali Youssouf of Djibouti, Raila Amolo Odinga of Kenya and Richard Randriamandrato of Madagascar. During a courtesy call to Gwarzo in his office on Saturday, the Director of the Pan African School of Diplomacy, Salifu Diouf, said that they decided to visit him to appreciate his contribution to scholarship and the less-privileged in Africa. On…

THE presidency has approved Air Peace Limited, Fly-Nas, Max Air, and UMZA Aviation Services Limited as official air carriers for pilgrims of the 2025 Hajj. This was disclosed by Abdullahi Saleh Usman, the Chairman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria. He said these carriers were selected out of the 11 companies that submitted applications for the airlift of Nigerian Muslim pilgrims. In a statement, Usman said the air carriers were screened and shortlisted by a team of 32 members that was inaugurated by the NAHCON Chairman on 26th November 2024. The composition of the Aviation Screening Committee included representatives…

THE Federal Government has promised Nigerians that a new national air carrier will begin operations in the country soon. This was revealed by the newly appointed Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Abubakar Kana during the handing over ceremony organised by the ministry. According to him, his goal is to ensure that a national air carrier is established. He also promised the revamp of airports across the country. Speaking, Kana, a former Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Defence said that his statement was premised upon President Bola Tinubu’s renewed hope agenda for the aviation sector. He…

HUNDREDS of residents across 23 communities in Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State have fled their homes for fear of being attacked by the notorious bandits’ leader, Dogo Gide if they fail to pay the levies he placed on them. Confirming the incident to this newspaper on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the press, a lawmaker in the Zamfara State House of Assembly said over two-third of residents of the affected communities have fled their homes for fear of attack by the bandits. “I can confirm to you that hundreds of residents in…

THE chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has dismissed claims that the panel did not consult with Nigerian governors. The introduction of the bills by the Bola Tinubu-led government sparked widespread debates, especially in the north, with the Northern Governors Forum, the Northern Elders Forum, and others expressing strong opposition to the bill. The proposed legislation seeks to reform the country’s tax collection and administration systems, offering an opportunity to establish a more equitable and efficient taxation model. It includes the Nigeria Tax Bill 2024, the Tax Administration Bill, the Nigeria Revenue Service…

TWO of the suspects arrested alongside Simon Ekpa have been released by the Finnish government, this newspaper has learned. Ekpa, arrested on November 21, 2024, along with four others, faced accusations of terror-related activities, including incitement to violence and financing terrorism in Nigeria. Following his arrest, he was remanded in prison by the Päijät-Häme district court for allegedly “spreading terrorist propaganda on social media.” The five men have been incarcerated since November 2024. However, sources have confirmed that two of Ekpa’s alleged accomplices have since been freed by Finnish authorities. The names of the released individuals or the specific reasons…

THE Federal Capital Territory Police Command says it has recovered an abandoned one-day-old baby and arrested one Khadija Ali who is the mother. In a statement signed by its spokesperson, SP Josephine Adeh, on Sunday, the FCT police command said the baby was abandoned along a bush path near Crush Rock, behind an uncompleted Red Bricks Market, Mpape. This followed response to a distress call on Friday, at about 10:00am by Police operatives from Mpape Division’s Juvenile and Women Care Section (JWC) who found the baby wrapped in a cloth. “The child was promptly rescued and taken to Mpape Primary…

PETER Obi on Thursday visited a former Head of State Ibrahim Babangida at his residence in Minna, Niger State. The Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 election said the visit was a chance to share thoughts on national issues with the elder statesman. “From Jigawa state, I travelled to Minna, Niger State to pay a visit to a father figure, elder statesman and leader, the former military president, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, at his residence in Minna, Niger State,” Obi wrote on his X account on Thursday, sharing photos from the visit. “The visit was an opportunity to…

HAUWA Duguri, the stepmother of Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, has passed away at the age of 120. The death was announced in a press release issued on Wednesday by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Mukhtar Gidado, who expressed deep sorrow and heartfelt condolences. Gidado stated, “Hauwa Duguri, fondly known as Dada, was the revered stepmother of Governor Bala Mohammed. A symbol of wisdom and grace, she passed away today, 1st January 2025, at the remarkable age of 120.” He further noted that her passing marks the end of an era of selflessness, piety, and…