Author: Amina Ibrahim

THE suspended Women Leader of the All Progressives Congress in Kaduna State, Maryam Suleiman, has said she has no regrets over his criticisms of Governor Uba Sani. Suleiman, in a telephone interview with this newspaper on Monday, described her suspension by the party for criticising the governor as an act of God, adding that she remained unruffled. The Kaduna State APC leadership had on Sunday slammed Suleiman with indefinite suspension following her criticisms of the state governor, who had complained of inheriting a huge debt from his predecessor, Nasir El-Rufai. Governor Sani had, on Saturday, during a Town Hall Meeting,…

THE National Examinations Council has concluded arrangements to conduct the Senior School Certificate Examinations (Internal) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This follows the successful accreditation of the Nigeria International School, Jeddah, by a NECO delegation led by the Minister of State for Education, Dr. Yusuf Sununu, and the Registrar of NECO, Prof. Ibrahim Wushishi. During the visit, the delegation undertook an assessment of the school facilities and had an interactive session with the management and staff of the school. This was according to a statement released by NECO on Saturday. The statement read, “The Minister of State for Education,…

FORMER President Muhammadu Buhari said on Friday that he was committed to the success of the All Progressives Congress under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu. This was disclosed in a statement by the former President’s media aide, Garba Shehu. Buhari expressed his commitment in a phone call to President Bola Tinubu and passed his best wishes to the President for a happy 72nd birthday. The statement read, “In the course of the conversation, the former President said he was fully committed to the success of the APC administration under President Tinubu. “In this regard, President Buhari prayed profusely for…

THE Nigerian economy had an inflow of over $1.5bn in the past few days, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria, a development it says indicates the CBN’s monetary policy efforts are working. The Bank’s Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, Hakama Ali, made the assertion on Thursday when she noted that data available to the bank, indicated that the inflows resulted from a concerted effort to stabilise the foreign exchange market. According to her, the naira has also continued to record gains in the Autonomous Foreign Exchange market, as it traded at N1,309/$1 as against N1,611/$1 in the second week…

THE Central Bank of Nigeria is set to closely monitor the Nigerian banking sector’s recapitalisation alongside law enforcement agencies. This move is intended to prevent the influx of illicit financing into the sector. The Director of the Financial Policy and Regulation Department at the CBN, Haruna Mustafa, disclosed this in a circular on Friday. The circular was addressed to commercial, merchant, and non-interest banks, including promoters of proposed banks, on the new minimum capital requirements for banks. With the collaboration of relevant law enforcement agencies, the bank aims to ensure that the capital raised during the recapitalisation process is free…

IN recognition of his exemplary contributions to public sector communication, the Director General of Press Affairs, Government House Gombe, Ismaila Uba Misilli, has received the prestigious Spokespersons Gold Certificate, Public Sector (State) category conferred on him by the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) in partnership with the Image Merchant Promotion Limited (IMPR). The  Certificate of Excellence was presented to Misilli at the National Spokespersons Awards 2023 ceremony held on Wednesday at the International Conference Centre, Abuja marking the end of activities for the 3-day maiden National Spokespersons Summit unveiled by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed…

THE Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), has bagged a prestigious award from the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) for its remarkable performance in the recent Self-AssessmentTest II conducted on Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs). According to a statement by FERMA’s Director, Information/PR, Hajiya Maryam M. Sanusi (Mrs.) fnipr, the award was presented today by the Director General, BPSR, Dr. Dasuki Ibrahim Arabi, FICD, in line with the Strategy for Public Service Reforms which is aimed at utilizing self-assessment tools to check performance and enhance accountability within MDAs. Dr. Arabi emphasized the thoroughness of the assessment, stating, “The report is…

THE Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake has declared value addition as the irreducible standard for mining operations in the country. Speaking during an inspection tour of the gigantic $600m African Natural Resources and Mines Limited (ANRML) facility, in Kaduna state, that hosts the mining and processing of magnetite iron-ore, the Minister hailed the tenacity and foresight of the investors to build what is touted as one of the biggest foreign investment in the mining sector. According to Alake, the company aligns with his vision of value addition and beneficiation through its processing of iron-ore, urging other mining…

A FIRE outbreak has burnt down about eight vehicles, sheds and carpentry on Lawan Dambazau Road by rail line, Kano State. The incident occurred on Tuesday at an uncompleted building used for carpentry work and car repairs. According to the Public Relations Officer of the Kano State Fire Service, Saminu Yusif Abudullahi, operatives of the command arrived at the scene after an emergency call to the control room of the agency by the police officer P & G Kwalli Police Division. He said, “It is about 300 x 150ft caught by fire, including eight sheds with carpentry equipment and eight…

THE Central Bank of Nigeria has issued a circular to Bureau De Change Operators informing them of the sale of $10,000 to each BDC at a rate of N1,251/$1. This was contained in a circular made available to this newspaper and signed by the bank’s Director, Trade and Exchange Department, Dr Hassan Mahmud, on Monday. The apex bank directed each BDC to sell the dollars to eligible customers at a rate not exceeding 1.5 per cent above the purchase price, implying that each BDC is not expected to sell above N1,269/$1. This newspaper reported that the CBN announced its decision…

THE Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, has described the killing as a national tragedy. He asserted the killing of military personnel in Okuama Community in Delta State on the 16th of March 2024, during a visit by the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Gwabin Musa, who led a delegation of top military brass to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Friday morning. Amb Tuggar also used the occasion to condole President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, the Defence Headquarters and the dependents of the deceased soldiers. He prayed for the…

ZENITH Bank Plc has appointed Dame Adaora Umeoji as the Group Managing Director effective June 2024, making her the first female to lead the bank she serves as the deputy GMD.  Her appointment is, however, subject to the approval of the Central Bank, this newspaper gathered from sources with knowledge of the move. She holds multiple degrees, including a doctorate in Business Administration, and has completed prestigious programmes at Harvard Business School, Columbia Business School, and MIT Management Sloan School. The appointment is coming after 5 years at the helms by Dr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu who was appointed Group Managing Director/CEO…

AFRICA ‘s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, through Aliko Dangote Foundation, has launched the distribution of free meals to no fewer than 10,000 fasting Muslims in Kano state, his state of origin. In a statement signed by Samira Sanusi, an official of the foundation in Kano, the gesture was also extended by distributing one million bags of rice, worth over N13 billion across the 36 states of the federation and Abuja to alleviate hunger in the country. The gesture, according to her is to ease hardship for millions of Nigerians amidst economic challenges in the country. This is in addition…

FASHION journalist, Chioma Nnadi has been named as the new editor of the world renowned British magazine Vogue. Nnadi’s appointment also makes her the first black female head of the industry-leading fashion magazine. In an Instagram post, the London-born journalist said she is “honoured and excited to be coming home”. The new head of British Vogue is replacing Edward Enninful, who spent more than six years breaking boundaries and championing diversity at the top fashion magazine. Nnadi, 44, started her career in newspapers in the UK, before moving to New York and joining Vogue there. She spent the next 14…

THE United Kingdom authorities have banned health workers from bringing dependants to the country. The UK Home Office made this known in a statement released on Monday. The statement said the new rules to cut net migration and tackle visa abuse “in force as part of the government’s plan to bring down unsustainable levels of legal migration”. The statement said last year alone, a total of 120,000 dependants accompanied 100,000 workers to the UK. “Care providers in England acting as sponsors for migrants will also be required to register with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) – the industry regulator for…

THE wife of the president, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu has advocated for more investment in women in commemoration of the 2024 International Women’s Day (IWD). In a statement in Abuja on Friday, Tinubu argued that more investment in women would accelerate progress in all spheres of the economy. She said; “This is the time to invest in women more than ever. Accelerating progress in any sphere requires that women have to be more involved. “That is why I see investing in women, not as charity, but as a strategy to build the future of our dear nation, Nigeria. Equipping you with…

NIGERIA ’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, reiterated Nigeria’s commitment to strengthening diplomatic and bilateral relations with Russia. The Minister of Foreign Affairs stated this during his working visit to Russia on March 6, 2024, where he met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Mr. Sergey Lavrov Amb. Tuggar stated that Nigeria and Russia have enjoyed cordial bilateral relations since establishing diplomatic ties on December 25, 1960. He also said that both countries supported each other in their quests for elective positions in the United Nations specialized agencies and other international engagements. He…

THE United Arab Emirates (UAE) has not resumed visa services for Nigerian citizens wishing to visit the country, the Presidency said yesterday. Speculations have been rife, following reports that UAE on March 4 lifted the visa restriction on Nigerian travellers. But the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga in a post on his X handle, formerly Twitter on Tuesday said the development was not true. According to him, “UAE has not resumed visa issuance to Nigerians. The document in circulation is not authorized either by the Nigerian government or the UAE.” Recalled that in…

HUNDRED of millions of users of social media platforms Facebook and Instagram have been logged out of the mediums following an outage around 3:30 pm on Tuesday.  On Facebook, users were logged out of the platform with a message that read, “The password that you’ve entered is incorrect” while on Instagram, it returned the message, “Something went wrong. There’s an issue and the page could not be loaded”. Hundred of millions of users reported the outage on X with the hashtag #instagramdown and “Facebook and Instagram” among the top trends. A visit to the website Downdetector showed many users reporting…

THE Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), on Monday, explained why some telecommunications subscribers who previously linked their SIM cards to their National Identification Numbers (NINs) have their mobile lines barred. NCC spokesman, Reuben Muoka, said “people who probably didn’t get a cleared or verified NIN” have been barred because “the earlier ones they submitted was not good”. Muoka, who was on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief programme monitored by News Point Nigeria, said some SIM cards have verification and identification issues like disparity in information such names and other data. “There are still some subscribers whose NINs are yet to be…