Author: Amina Ibrahim

THE Federal Government has declared Wednesday, September 27, 2023 as public holiday in commemoration of Eil-ul- Maulid celebration. The celebration signifies the birth of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW). In a statement which the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr Oluwatoyin Akinlade, issued on his behalf, Minister of Interior, Hon Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, congratulated Muslims for witnessing this year’s occasion. He also admonished them to imbibe the spirit of love, patience, tolerance and perseverance which are deep spiritual virtues that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him ) exemplified. The Minister urged youths to embrace hard work and peaceful dispositions…

THE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has confirmed the resignation of Mr Godwin Emefiele as its governor, three months after being suspended from office by President Bola Tinubu. Emefiele was thereafter quizzed by officials of the Department of State Service (DSS) who later charged him to court. Following his suspension, the Federal Government appointed Mr Folashodun Shonubi, the Deputy Governor (Operations Directorate), to oversee the affairs of the apex bank. In a statement by the Director of Information at the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Willie Bassey, the government said Emefiele’s suspension from office was…

THE Universal Basic Education Commission has revealed that Nigeria needs an additional 20,000 schools and 907,769 classrooms to be able to absorb the growing number of out-of-school children in the country. A statement by the Director, Press, of the Federal Ministry of Education, Ben Goong, disclosed this on Tuesday. The statement noted that the Executive Secretary of UBEC, Hammed Boboyi, gave the statistics while briefing the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, on his agency’s activities. The PUNCH reports that there have been controversies over the true state of out-of-school children in Nigeria. Though the official number of out-of-school children…

THE Department of State Services (DSS) on Thursday said victims injured in the September 7 shooting incident in Abuja deserve financial support and justice. DSS Public Relations Officer, Peter Afunanya, stated this in a statement a week after officials of the service allegedly shot at a man in a market in the Garki 2 area of the nation’s capital. He said the “Service believes that the victims deserve empathy, financial support, and justice”. “While it is in regular contact with their families or guardians, it will continue to follow up on their recovery and progress. However, the DSS reassures the…

THE Department of State Services, DSS has arrested and detained the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria in charge of Financial System Stability, Aisha Ahmad, over the alleged fraudulent acquisition of shares in Polaris Bank, Titan Bank/Union Bank. A source in the Secret Police told News Point Nigeria that, the CBN Deputy Governor is currently being interrogated on how $300 million to complete the acquisition of Union Bank was raised by Titan Bank. According to the source, the department has also confiscated Ahmad’s electronic gadgets and carted away some documents from her home and office. Ahmad is still…

THE Department of State Services has begun an investigation into what appears as a mob attack at the Garki Market in the Federal Capital Territory earlier today. The Service said in a statement by its Spokesman Dr. Peter Afunanya that the probe became necessary to determine whether its operatives or the mob at the market were at fault over the incident. In the statement made available to News Point Nigeria on Thursday night, Afunanya said: “The attention of the Department of State Services has been drawn to an incident that occurred a few hours ago (Thursday, 7/9/2023) between its staff…

THE National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has urged state pilgrim welfare boards to collect N4.5m as deposits from 2024 hajj pilgrims. Speaking after a meeting with chairmen and executive secretaries for the state’s pilgrim board Tuesday in Abuja, the Chairman of NAHCON, Zikrullah Hassan, said the fare for the next hajj would be expensive due to the unification of foreign exchange by the federal government. Hassan noted that with the dollar currently at N750, the commission is not certain what the price for pilgrims would be owing to the fluctuation of forex. He said the deposit might change depending…

THE Senate has foreclosed the possibility of the National Assembly cutting down on expenses despite the economic hardship occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidies. The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, told journalists in Ilorin, Kwara State, on Monday that the National Assembly is not responsible for any economic hardship experienced in Nigeria. He identified what he described as many cogent roles, including committee works and oversight roles, played by lawmakers without any allowances attached, insisting that calls for them to cut down on expenses cannot be valid. Adaramodu made the remarks…

THE Nigeria Immigration Service issued at least 66,929 official and diplomatic passports to public office holders since the dawn of the electronic passport issuance in January 2007 till August 2023, this newspaper gathered. This is as over 1,091 of the travel documents were issued to newly-elected and appointed public officials since President Bola Tinubu assumed office on May 29, 2023. Acting Comptroller-General of the NIS, Caroline Adepoju, revealed this in an interview with our correspondent. Adepoju said over 16 million passports were issued to Nigerians, including foreign nationals who later became citizens. She disclosed that more passports are being processed…

THE Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has made a new demand for an upward review of allowances from the state and federal governments following the rising cost of living as a result of the removal of fuel subsidies by the Federal Government. This was part of the resolution reached by the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the NMA at its meeting held in Owerri, the Imo State capital, between August 27 and September 3. However, the National President of the NMA, Uche Ojinmah, who spoke to journalists on Monday, commended the Federal Government for the recent upward review of its members’…

CHICAGO State University, United States has put its X (formerly Twitter) page on private after some Nigerians allegedly stormed the page to inquire whether or not President Bola Tinubu truly graduated from the institution. This is in the wake of a petition filed by the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, in a United States court to obtain information about Tinubu’s academic records at the Chicago State University. A check on the page which was earlier Public, on Tuesday, showed it has now been put on Private with a message – “These posts are protected. Only confirmed…

THE military rulers who seized control in Niamey on July 26 have given the French ambassador 48 hours to leave Niger, the country’s minister of foreign affairs said in a statement Friday. Faced with “the refusal of the French ambassador in Niamey to respond to an invitation” from the minister for a meeting Friday and “other actions of the French government contrary to the interests of Niger”, the authorities have decided to withdraw their approval of Sylvain Itte and ask him to depart within 48 hours, the statement said. The coup leaders have not been shy about their relationship with…

THE Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) held an emergency meeting at the forum’s secretariat in Abuja on Wednesday night. The National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, also attended the meeting. Although journalists were not allowed to cover the opening, the agenda distributed to the governors showed that issues about state and national security will top part of the deliberations. Other items listed for deliberations include fuel subsidy palliative intervention by President Bola Tinubu, a review of the National Executive Council agenda, and a brief on the new Electricity Act. The meeting was chaired by the Governor of Kwara State, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq. Other…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu on Tuesday assured Nigerians that there will be no increase in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), or petrol, anywhere in the country. The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, noted that the market has been deregulated and will remain so. He emphasised that government will address the inefficiencies within the midstream and downstream petroleum subsectors to maintain prices where they are without having to resort to a reversal of the administration’s policy in the petroleum industry. This comes less than 24 hours after the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC)…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu is profoundly saddened by the news of the passing of Nigeria’s Ambassador to France, Kayode Laro. He extends his deepest condolences to Ambassador Laro’s family, the diplomatic community, as well as the Government and people of Kwara State. The President recognizes Ambassador Laro’s tireless dedication in fostering mutually-beneficial diplomatic ties between Nigeria and France during his tenure, noting his commitment to diplomacy and the impactful role he played in ensuring the success of the President’s visit to France in June this year, which was the President’s first foreign trip following his assumption of office. Having devoted himself…

THE National Judicial Council (NJC) has dismissed a letter purportedly emanating from it, surrendering its statutory powers and functions on judges’ appointments and promotions to state governors. The NJC said that the letter addressed to the Chief Judge of Kebbi State and purportedly signed by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, did not emanate from the Council or the CJN. In a statement issued on Sunday by NJC’s Director of Information, Soji Oye, it said that there was no iota of truth whatsoever in the fake letter. The fake letter titled ‘Order of Seniority of Judges of…

FIRST Lady Oluremi Tinubu, has renamed the main auditorium of Maryam Babangida National Centre for Women Development after Dr Maryam Abacha, Wife of former military Head of State late Gen. Sani Abacha. The hall, formerly known as African Peace Mission Hall, was unveiled by the First Lady and renamed after Abacha in recognition of her strong advocacy for peace across the African continent. In her keynote address, the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu said the occasion was a significant milestone in the collaborative efforts in strengthening connections and solidifying the progress in achieving unity and lasting relationship among women. She…

MARYAM Shetty, a staunch member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) whose ministerial nomination was withdrawn by President Bola Tinubu, says the best is yet to come. In a statement on Saturday about 24 hours after the dramatic twist of events, Shetty said “life, with its characteristic unpredictability, led to the withdrawal of my nomination”. About one week after his first batch list of 28 ministerial nominees was sent to the Senate, Tinubu, last Wednesday, sent 19 more names to the upper chamber for confirmation as ministers. Shetty was one of the 19 names in the supplementary ministerial list for…

SENATOR Ireti Kingibe of the Labour Party (LP) has lauded President Bola Tinubu for nominating an indigene of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Zephaniah Jisalo as a minister. Jisalo is the first FCT indigene to be nominated as a minister since the present democratic dispensation in 1999, a feat Senator Kingibe, who is also from the area, is grateful for. “I would like to, first of all, congratulate my nominee and all of the FCT for this nomination. We are all extremely happy and proud,” she said during the ministerial screening in Abuja on Friday. “We would like to thank…

MARYAM Shettima aka Maryam Shetty was nominated a minister by President Bola Tinubu, but Mariya Mahmoud, her classmate is on her way to being sworn in as a cabinet member. Tinubu had included Shetty’s name in the second batch of ministers sent to the Senate on Wednesday. However, knocks, condemnation and criticism trailed the nomination, which was revoked on Friday. Many had faulted the choice of Shetty who has a huge following on social media. Some had described her as a mere Tik Toker. But while Shetty arrived the National Assembly for screening on Friday, news filtered in that her…