THE Federal Government has unveiled plans to privatise 91 public enterprises in a renewed push to strengthen Nigeria’s economy, generate more revenue, and create jobs. News Point Nigeria reports that the Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr. Ayodeji A. Gbeleyi, disclosed this during a media briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, stressing that the fresh wave of privatisation was aimed at ensuring optimal performance and repositioning key sectors of the economy. Among those lined up, two Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) and one power generation company (GenCo) have been earmarked for Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) on the Nigerian…
Author: Maimuna Bashir Isa
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AT least 23,659 persons remain unaccounted for across Nigeria, leaving 13,595 families trapped in uncertainty and anguish, according to new figures released by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The data obtained by News Point Nigeria was released over the weekend in Yola by Benson Lee, ICRC Family Link Officer, during activities marking the International Day of the Disappeared, a day set aside to remember victims of forced disappearances and support their families. Lee explained that Nigeria’s crisis of disappearances is deeply tied to years of violent conflict and insecurity in the Northeast. He revealed that 67% of…
THE Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy has commenced talks with the Swiss government on cultural cooperation and the repatriation of Nigerian artifacts currently housed in Swiss museums, including monolits and bronze pieces. During a courtesy visit to Minister Hannatu Musa Musawa Esq., in Abuja on Friday, the Swiss Ambassador H.E. Patrick Felix Egloff expressed Switzerland’s willingness to enter into bilateral agreements and cultural diplomacy. “This is the first time that a Swiss ambassador is meeting with a Nigerian Minister of Art and Culture. “There is a lot happening, and we would be very interested to build more…
THE Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has announced a sharp increase in the cost of obtaining international passports, with the new charges set to take effect from September 1, 2025. In a statement issued on Thursday made available to News Point Nigeria, the Service’s Public Relations Officer, A.S. Akinlabi, disclosed that the revised fees affect only applications made within Nigeria. Under the new pricing structure, the 32-page passport with a five-year validity will now cost ₦100,000, while the 64-page passport with a 10-year validity will cost ₦200,000. This represents nearly a 100 percent increment compared to previous fees. However, passport fees…
THE National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 50-year-old widow and mother of one for allegedly attempting to traffic 1.3 kilograms of cocaine using a fake pregnancy as cover. The suspect, Mrs. Ifeoma Ezewuike, said to be the owner of Golden Star Creation, a fashion business in the Ago Palace Way area of Okota, Lagos, was apprehended on Friday, August 22, 2025, at a bus terminal in Jibowu, Yaba, while trying to move the consignment to clients in Abuja. A follow-up raid on her residence uncovered 200 grams of a cutting agent used in processing cocaine. “In her…
THE Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Dr. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, has revealed that she currently has no official office to work from, underscoring the infrastructural challenges facing the ministry. Onyejeocha made this startling disclosure on Thursday during an interview with the African Independent Television (AIT) monitored by News Point Nigeria, where she explained that the space initially allocated to her has been reassigned to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Aviation. “This is the Ministry of Labour and Employment but even the Minister of State doesn’t have an office because the place I am staying currently, the Permanent…
THE Minister of Arts, Culture, Tourism, and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa Esq., has outlined key challenges and strategic interventions to enhance the growth and development of Nigeria’s creative economy and tourism sectors. The Minister made this known while declaring open the 2025 Ministerial and Sectoral Retreat, organized by the Ministry of Arts, Culture, Tourism, and Creative Economy, held on Wednesday at the Nigerian Army Resource Centre, Abuja. In her keynote address, Minister Musawa identified limited funding access, poor infrastructure, piracy issues, security concerns, and inadequate data on job creation estimates as major challenges hindering the full realization of these…
THE National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) has secured a permanent headquarters in Abuja after nearly three decades of operating without one, marking a major milestone in the agency’s history. The development was confirmed on Tuesday when the NFVCB management team, led by its Director-General, Dr. Shuaibu Husseini, paid a courtesy visit to the Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa, to express gratitude for her pivotal role in making the acquisition possible. Dr. Husseini revealed that the new office space, a property confiscated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) since 2017, was…
THOUSANDS of international students, including hundreds of Nigerians, face imminent deportation from the United States after the U.S. State Department revoked more than 6,000 student visas over alleged violations of immigration laws, criminal offenses, and overstays. A report by the department, sighted by News Point Nigeria, confirmed that the mass revocation was carried out under the Trump administration’s ongoing crackdown on immigration and foreign students. Although the U.S. government did not provide country-by-country figures, the report noted that hundreds of Nigerian students are among those affected, with many flagged for overstaying their visa terms, committing burglary, and, controversially, offering “support…
NIGERIAN battling kidney disease have received a major lifeline as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved a subsidy reducing the cost of dialysis in federal government-owned hospitals from ₦50,000 to just ₦12,000 per session. The announcement was made on Monday by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, via a post on his X (formerly Twitter) handle. According to Dare, the policy is already being implemented in federal medical centres and teaching hospitals across the six geopolitical zones, with more facilities expected to join before the end of the year. The hospitals where the intervention is…
THE Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has inaugurated a special committee to investigate cases of technology-driven malpractice detected during the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination. Inaugurating the 23-member Special Committee On Examination Infraction on Monday in Abuja, JAMB’s Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, decried the rising sophistication of exam fraud, revealing that the results of 6,458 candidates remain under investigation for alleged involvement in high-tech cheating. “This year we come across a number of strange things and we felt that it would be better if we expand our resources. And we believe that God has endowed this nation with a lot…
THE Honourable Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, Barr. Hannatu Musa Musawa, has presented the UNESCO certificate recognizing the Sango Festival as a World Heritage Festival to the Alaafin of Oyo, His Imperial Majesty Oba Abimbola Akeem Owoade 1. Minister Musawa made the presentation at the grand finale of the 2025 World Sango Festival held over the weekend in Oyo State. Musawa stated that the achievement marks a significant milestone in Nigeria’s cultural landscape, demonstrating the Ministry’s commitment to safeguarding the country’s rich cultural heritage and promoting its powerful tool for international diplomacy and sustainable tourism. “I…
THE Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa, has launched the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) Digital Museum, a first-of-its-kind innovation that reimagines how Nigeria engages with its rich cultural heritage. This landmark achievement of one of the sister agencies under the Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy marks a new era in cultural preservation, promotion, and accessibility, positioning Nigeria as a leader in digital heritage management. At the official launch, Minister Musawa stated that the digital museum was the first to display real-life Nigerian Antiquities. “Today, we stand at the threshold…
THE Dangote Group has pledged full medical support and compensation for Mrs. Ruth Otabor, younger sister of Big Brother Naija Season 7 winner Josephina “Phyna” Otabor, following a public outcry and condemnation over a truck accident that left her severely injured. Phyna had taken to Instagram on Wednesday to narrate the harrowing incident, which occurred near Auchi Polytechnic in Edo State. She alleged that one of Dangote’s trucks crushed her sister, resulting in the amputation of one leg, severe injuries to the other, and head and hand wounds. In a strongly worded post, the reality TV star accused the company…
PRESIDENT Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed veteran media executive and sports broadcasting pioneer, Rotimi Richard Pedro, as the new Director-General of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), in a sweeping leadership shake-up aimed at repositioning the nation’s flagship broadcaster. The announcement also came with a series of high-profile appointments: Karimah Bello will serve as Executive Director of Marketing, Stella Din as Executive Director of News, and Sophia Essahmed as Managing Director of NTA Enterprises Limited. Pedro, a Lagos-born media entrepreneur, brings close to three decades of leadership experience in broadcasting, sports rights management, and marketing communications across Africa, Europe, and the…
THE Federal Government has approved the establishment of nine new private universities across the country. The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, announced the approval on Wednesday while briefing State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu in Abuja. He said the newly approved institutions are Tazkiyah University, Kaduna State; Leadership University, Abuja; Jimoh Babalola University, Kwara State; Bridget University, Mbaise, Imo State; Greenland University, Jigawa State; JEFAP University, Niger State; Azione Verde University, Imo State; Unique Open University, Lagos State; and American Open University, Ogun State. Alausa disclosed that the Tinubu administration…
THE Federal Government has appointed Professor Mathew Adamu as the Acting Vice-Chancellor of the University of Abuja, now officially renamed Yakubu Gowon University. According to a statement issued by the Acting Registrar and Secretary to Council, Roseline Adakayi, the appointment takes effect from Monday, 11 August 2025, for an initial three-month tenure. Professor Adamu succeeds Professor Patricia Manko Lar, who had served in the same capacity for six months since February 2025. Adakayi praised Prof. Lar for providing “purposeful leadership” and fostering stability in both academic and administrative operations during her tenure, as well as initiating the process for selecting…
THE Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has issued a public health advisory following a sharp rise in Chikungunya virus infections across the globe. In a statement published on Friday, the agency reported that more than 240,000 cases and at least 90 deaths have been confirmed this year in 16 countries, with China alone recording nearly 5,000 infections since early July 2025. Although Nigeria has not documented any confirmed cases in 2025, the NCDC warned that the country’s prevailing environmental conditions — especially in flood-hit and high-risk states — could increase the likelihood of an outbreak. Chikungunya is…
THE West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has released the corrected version of the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results for school candidates, revealing a significant improvement in performance statistics after a grading error was discovered and rectified. Speaking at a press briefing on Friday at WAEC’s national office in Yaba, Lagos, the Head of WAEC Nigeria, Dr. Amos Dangut, expressed regret over the discrepancies, describing the incident as “deeply embarrassing.” He admitted that an error in the marking of serialised papers, particularly the English Language Objective Test, had led to incorrect scores. “This is very difficult for…
THE Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has firmly denied allegations that he coerced the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Bayo Ojulari, into resigning from his position. In a statement issued on Wednesday by EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale made available to News Point Nigeria, the anti-graft agency described the report, which appeared on the online news platform People’s Gazette, as false, defamatory, and injurious to Olukoyede’s reputation. The controversial report had alleged that Olukoyede abducted Ojulari and forced him to resign at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja claims…