Author: Amina Ibrahim

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has received in audience, business tycoon Aliko Dangote and co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Bill Gates, at the State House in Abuja. The visit is part of the Gates Foundation’s commitment to working closely with communities and leaders to support innovation. Expected also to be discussed at the meeting which is holding behind closed-doors are issues of global health and development even as they concern Nigeria within the community of nations. More details shortly…

JUSTICE Zainab Bulkachuwa, wife of Adamu Bulkachuwa, Senator who represented Bauchi North in the 9th Assembly, has defended her judicial integrity. She was reacting to comments by her husband that he used his position to ask favour for his colleagues from his wife, the immediate past President of the Court of Appeal. Bulkachuwa on the floor of the Senate at the valedictory session of the 9th Assembly, had said: “I look at faces in this chamber whom have come to me and sought for my help when my wife was the President of the Court of Appeal, and I’m sure……

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has congratulated the new President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, NGE, and Editor of Vanguard Newspaper, Mr. Eze Anaba on his victory at the guild’s election. President Tinubu in a statement by his Special Adviser on Special Duties, Communications and Strategy, Mr. Dele Alake wished Anaba and other newly elected officials of the guild a most fulfilling and productive tenure in office. He commended the peaceful conduct of the election and the sportsman spirit displayed by Mr Anaba’s opponent, Bolaji Adebiyi, who has since conceded defeat and congratulated the winner. Recall that at the Biennial Convention…

BILL Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will be in Niger and Nigeria this week, following a visit to China, to discuss global health and development with national and local leaders, foundation partners, grantees, scientists, and young innovators. The visit is part of the Gates Foundation’s commitment to work closely with communities and leaders to support innovation that can help accelerate progress and improve lives across Africa, a statement made available to Channels Television on Saturday said. Gates and other foundation leaders are visiting to learn from partners helping to address polio, anemia, and other health threats;…

THE National Judicial Council (NJC) has okayed the probe of seven judges accused of engaging in sundry acts of corruption.  This decision was taken by the council, which is statutorily empowered to discipline erring judicial officers in the country, after its two-day meeting held on June 14 and 15th. It says it has set up panels to probe the judges. In a statement signed by the NJC Director of Information, Mr. Soji Oye, the meeting was chaired by the Chief Justice of Nigeria Justice (CJN) Kayode Ariwoola, who doubles as the Chairman of the Council. Even though the NJC did…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu is currently meeting with prominent Niger Delta leader and former leader agitator in the oil-rich region, Alhaji Asari Dokubo, at the State House. Although the agenda of the meeting is unclear, it is believed that Dokubo is likely to be part of the President’s ongoing consultations with opinion leaders from the Niger Delta region. President Bola Tinubu who had last week reiterated a promise to halt crude oil theft in the country, had also met with other key figures from the region, including former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Chief Timi Alaibe, as…

FOLLOWING the removal of fuel subsidy, the National Economic Council (NEC) has made moves to provide palliatives for workers and vulnerable groups in the country to ameliorate the impact. The Council after its inaugural NEC meeting on Thursday, chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima, announced that it would set up a committee to work out within two weeks, the modalities for organizing and distributing the palliatives. Members of the committee comprise the Governor of Kebbi, the Governor of Benue for North Central; the Governor of Kaduna, Northwest; Bauchi, representing the North East; the Governor of Cross River, South-South; Anambra representing…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu on Thursday named eight persons as special advisers, said State House Director Information, Abiodun Oladunjoye. In a statement on Thursday, Oladunjoye said the President appointed Dele Alake as his Special Adviser of Special Duties, Communications and Strategy and Yau Darazo as Special Adviser on Political and Intergovernmental Affairs. Tinubu also appointed Nuhu Ribadu as his Special Adviser on Security and Wale Edun as Special Adviser on Monetary Policies. The President appointed Olu Verheijen as Special Adviser on Energy and Zachaeus Adedeji as Special Adviser on Revenue. Others are John Uwajumogu (Special Adviser, Industry, Trade and Investment), and Salma Anas…

THE House of Representatives has urged the Federal and State governments to prepare for impending flood disasters. This comes on the heels of a motion of urgent importance by Honorable Femi Gbajabiamila, shortly before he resigned from the House of Representatives to take up his role as Chief of Staff to the president. Following Gbajabiamila’s proposition, the House expressed concerns that Large portions of the country are prone to flooding according to the prediction of Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) in January this year. The lawmakers asked the government to prepare palliatives and intervention measures for Nigerians to reduce the effect.…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has approved the indefinite suspension from office of the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), AbdulRasheed Bawa, to allow for proper investigation into his conduct while in office. According to a statement by the Director of Information at the Office to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Willie Bassey, the action follows “weighty” allegations of abuse of office levelled against him. “Mr Bawa has been directed to immediately handover the affairs of his office to the Director, Operations in the Commission, who will oversee the affairs of the Office of the Chairman…

FORMER Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila has resigned from the House of Representatives to take up his role as Chief of Staff to the president. His letter of resignation was presented on the floor of the house and read by the speaker, Tajudeen Abbas. Channels Television had earlier on Wednesday reported that Gbajabiamila will have to step down, as to be able to focus on the tasks ahead of him within the new government. Concerns had emerged as to how he was going to manage both roles given that the former Speaker had been inaugurated alongside his colleagues on Tuesday and had…

SENATOR Ali Ndume of Borno South District in Borno State has asked that he not be held responsible in the event that the freshly elected Senate President Godswill Akpabio falls short of expectations in his new role. Ndume was one of those who spearheaded the campaign for Akpabio and Deputy Speaker Barau Jibril, leading up to their election on Tuesday. Appearing on Channels Television’s Politics Today monitored by News Point Nigeria, hours after the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly, the senator was asked if Akpabio’s performance should reflect on him as one of his endorsers. He however argued otherwise,…

BENJAMIN Kalu, a returning member of the House of Representatives from the All Progressives Congress (APC) representing Bende Federal Constituency of Abia state has emerged the Deputy Speaker unopposed. Confirming that there were no other nominations for the position, the Clerk to the National Assembly, Sani Tambuwal, swore in Kalu as Deputy Speaker immediately. Kalu takes over from the Deputy Speaker of the 9th National Assembly, Idris Wase. The emergence of Kalu followed the election of a member from Zaria Federal Constituency in Kaduna State, Tajudeen Abbas as Speaker of the Green Chamber. Abbas defeated Wase and Aminu Jaji in…

TAJUDDEEN Abbas, the All Progressives Congress preferred candidate, has been elected the Speaker of the House of Representatives in a voice vote on Tuesday at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja. He defeated his APC counterparts Aminu Jaji and Ahmed Idris Wase. Abbas polled 353 votes from a total of 359 votes, while Wase scored 3 votes, Jaji got three votes too. Abbas currently serves as the Federal Representative representing Zaria constituency in the 9th National Assembly. Abbas, who has been a member of the House since 2011, was subsequently sworn in as the new Speaker of the House of…

THERE was jubilation in the chamber of the House of Representatives as the anointed candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Tajudeen Abbas, crossed the winning margin in the ongoing election for Speaker. After a roll-call of members-elect, 359 out of 360 members are participating in the process. There are three contestants in the race, with the winner expected to defeat the others by a simple majority. A significant majority of the members-elect have “openly declared” their votes for Abbas. Abbas is on the verge of defeating his opponents: outgoing Deputy Speaker, Ahmed Wase, and Sani Jaji, who have one and…

VOTING has commenced in earnest for the Speakership position of the House of Representatives. It’s a three horse race with the APC preferred candidate for the office, Hon. Tajudeen Abass, the immediate past deputy speaker of the House, Hon. Ahmed Idris Wase and Hon. Aminu Jaji on the ballot. The House adopted open ballot system where members easily mention to the electoral officer and the deputy clerk to the national assembly, Barr. Kamura Ogunlana the candidate of their choice by voice. It’s done on state-by-state basis and on alphabetical order. So far, Abia, Adamawa, Anambra Akwa Ibom and Benue have…

THE senator-elect representing Kano South senatorial district, Jibrin Barau, has emerged as the Deputy Senate President unopposed. Senator Dave Umahi nominated Senator Barau as Deputy Senate President and read his citation after which the nominee accepted the nomination. A member-elect, Salisu Mustapha supported the nomination. The Clerk of the Red Chamber after asking if there are further nominations, declared Senator Jibrin Barau as Deputy Senate President unopposed. Senator Barau was thereafter sworn in as Deputy Senate President of the 10th National Assembly. News Point Nigeria, on Tuesday, reports Godswill Akpabio was elected President of the Senate.

A CANDIDATE of the All Progressives Congress for the Senate presidency, Godswill Akpabio, has been elected as President of the Senate. The House of Senate, on Tuesday, elected Goodwill Akpabio as its President after scoring 63 votes defeating Senator Abdulaziz Yari who scored 46 votes. The former Governor of Akwa Ibom served as a Minister for Niger Delta Affairs from 2019 to 2022, represents Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial zone. The result was announced by the clerk of the National Assembly, Sani Tambuwal. He said 107 senators voted. Akpabio was the anointed candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has signed into law the Student Loan Bill in fulfilment of a promise he made during his campaign. News Point Nigeria reports that this was announced on Monday by the spokesperson to the Federal Government, Dele Alake, saying that the funds will be domiciled in the Ministry of Education and will only be accessed by indigent students of tertiary institutions. The student loan bill sponsored by the Speaker of the 9th House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, which provides for interest-free loans to indigent Nigerian students, passed the third reading at the House, two weeks ago. The law…

VICE-PRESIDENT Kashim Shettima has raised the alarm over attempts at twisting his recent utterances in support of the candidacy of Senator Godswill Akpabio as President of the 10th Senate to cause disaffection. Shettima, in a statement by Abiola Sola, Director of Information in the Office of the Vice President, said his support for Akpabio was not to look down on anybody or a section of the country but to underline the importance of diversity and justice. “During an interactive session with senators campaigning for the emergence of Senator Godswill Akpabio and Senator Barau Jibrin to lead the 10th Senate, yesterday,…