Author: Amina Ibrahim

OPERATIVES of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Friday quizzed the immediate past Minister of Women Affairs Mrs. Pauline Tallen. The ex-minister who arrived at the Abuja Zonal Command of the Commission on invitation at 12pm was grilled by investigators of the EFCC up until 8 pm. Though details of the allegations against the ex-minister were sketchy, a source familiar with the case informed that it bordered on corrupt enrichment to the tune of N2 billion Part of the money was allegedly diverted from the African First Lady Peace Mission Project. The spokesman of the Commission, Wilson Uwujaren,…

THE President, Bola Tinubu, is meeting the immediate past governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, former governor of Delta State (1999-2007), James Ibori, and Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State. News Point Nigeria spotted the trio arriving at the presidential villa at around 4:30pm and were ushered into the President’s office. This was as the Chief Executive Officer of Access Holding Plc, Mr Herbert Wigwe, was spotted walking out of the building complex. Though members of the main opposition, Peoples Democratic Party, Makinde and Wike are considered to be allies of President Tinubu and reportedly played supportive roles to ensure…

THE Nigeria Labour Congess (NLC) has declared a nationwide strike from next Wednesday. This comes amid fuel shortages across the country occasioned by President Bola Tinubu’s inaugural speech in which he declared that “fuel subsidy is gone”. NLC President Joe Ajaero made the announcement after an emergency meeting of the union’s National Executive Council (NEC) in Abuja. He said the government, particularly the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited had up until Wednesday next week to revert to the old price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise referred to as petrol. Ajaero added that failure of the Federal Government to…

PRESIDENT Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Friday in Abuja announced the appointment of Speaker of House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila as Chief of Staff. The president also appointed Sen. Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia, a former Deputy Governor of Jigawa State, as Deputy Chief of Staff. In a meeting with the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF), the President also named a former Governor of Benue State and immediate past Minister of Special Duties, George Akume, to serve as Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF). Those present at the meeting were governors Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa), Umar Namadi (Jigawa),…

THE Court has admitted evidence presented by the Labour Party and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, to support its claim challenging the victory of President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Lead counsel to Obi on Friday informed the court sitting in Abuja that he had a schedule of more evidence which they desire to render before the court. The counsel continued with evidence (election results) from Rivers and Kogi states, presenting certified true copies of INEC election results from six local government areas (LGAs) in Rivers State as evidence. Again, counsels to the first, second and third…

THE Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, on Thursday, described the removal of subsidy payment on fuel as painful. Kyari who was a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today monitored by News Point Nigeria, said the Federal Government is aware of the pain Nigerians were passing through and working to alleviate that. “Will it bring pains? Yes. These pains will be alleviated, and I am aware that Mr President is working on this to see how the alleviation of these pains is going on. More than anything, it is going to enable…

THE Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, is optimistic that the fuel queues across the country will be a thing of the past in the next two days. On Monday during his inaugural speech at the Eagle Square in Abuja, President Bola Tinubu said the era of subsidy payment on fuel has ended, a move that led to a hike in price across the nation. Fuel queues have resurfaced across the country as Nigerians forage for the premium product which rose from around N185 per litre to between N400 and N600 per…

TROOPS of the Joint Taskforce Northwest Operation Hadarin Daji, have rescued 10 kidnap victims in Shinkafi Local Government Area of Zamfara State. During the operation operations, troops also killed scores of bandits in the Anka Local Government Area of the north-western state. News Point Nigeria reports that the military exercises were carried out on Tuesday, May 30 and Wednesday, May 31 respectively. A top military source who pleaded anonymity confirmed this to News Point Nigeria on Thursday. He said that troops conducted operations and cleared Alasanawa, Kayawa, Mai-Zuma, Dutsi, Dogon Gandu, Girari, Maiwa, Asarara, Gabawuri, Tungan Danmada, Baje, Ruwaje, Atarawa,…

THE Presidential Election Petitions Court has criticised the Labour Party and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, for exhibiting a lack of preparedness in the petition filed against the victory of President Bola Tinubu. At the resumed hearing on Thursday, one of the senior lawyers in the petitioners’ legal team, Emeka Okpoko, sought to tender electoral documents as exhibits before the court but the documents were said to not have been properly filed and scheduled before the court. Consequently, the court stepped down the hearing for 10 minutes and asked the legal team to re-file the schedule of documents in line…

THE Inspector-General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba, as part of his manpower development policy targeted at promoting deserving police officers on the basis of competence, qualification, and length of service, has promoted a total of Thirty-One Thousand, Four Hundred and Sixty-Five (31,465) policemen comprising 24,991 from Sergeants to Inspectors, 194 from Corporal to Sergeant, and 6,280 from Constable to Corporal. The IGP, however, charged the affected officers to add more pep in promoting the lofty principles and values of modern policing and discharge their duties as expected of them in line with the provisions of the extant laws. Force…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has appointed the outgoing Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, as his Chief of Staff. He was introduced as the brand new chief of staff at the ongoing meeting between the President and the nation’s security chiefs currently holding at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Thursday morning. More details shortly…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu on Thursday met with the service chiefs at the State House in Abuja. The routine meeting in the previous administrations is the first since President Tinubu’s assumption of office on May 29, 2023. Those in attendance at the President’s first engagement with heads of the nation’s security and intelligence agencies include the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Farouk Yahaya; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo; the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Isiaka Amao; and the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba. Others are the Director-General of the Department of State Service(DSS), Yusuf Bichi;…

THE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reacted to reports claiming that it has devalued the naira to about 630 naira to a dollar. The report of the currency devaluation was earlier reported by one of the national dailies. However, in statement on Thursday, the bank’s Acting Head of Corporate Communications, Dr Isa Abdulmumin, described it as falsehood. “The news report, which in the imagination of the newspaper is exclusive, is replete with outright FALSEHOODS and destabilizing innuendos, reflecting potentially willful ignorance of the said medium as to the workings of the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market,” he said.

THE meeting between the Federal Government and the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) over fuel subsidy removal has ended without a consensus. The meeting began around 4 pm on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Representatives of the Federal Government included Dele Alake, the spokesperson for President Bola Tinubu; and the Group CEO of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mele Kyari. Other government officials present were the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele; and former Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole. The Organised Labour was represented by the NLC National President, Joe Ajaero; and the President…

THE Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has filed a lawsuit against the Federal Government over discriminatory, unfair and illegal treatment of its members. A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, filed the suit on Tuesday at the National Industrial Court in Abuja, the nation’s capital, on behalf of ASUU. Joined in the suit as defendants are the former ministers of Labour and Employment and Justice as well as the Accountant General of the Federation, according to a statement made available to Channels Television on Wednesday. In the suit with number NICN/ABJ/152/2023, the human rights lawyer is asking the court…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu is currently meeting the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa, at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja. The meeting comes barely 24 hours after Tinubu ordered the Department of State Services to vacate the Ikoyi office of the antigraft commission. Bawa, who arrived at the Villa a few minutes past 2 pm, was ushered into the President’s office complex. Although the purpose of the meeting is not yet public, it may be connected to the reported fracas between the EFCC and the DSS. News Point Nigeria reported that Tinubu, on Tuesday, directed the…

FEDERAL Government representatives are expected to meet with the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) today by 2pm over the planned removal of fuel subsidy. This was disclosed by NLC National President, Joe Ajaero, on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Wednesday monitored by News Point Nigeria. He said the position of Labour has been clear that even if President Bola Tinubu has a good intention, alternatives must be provided. He said the President should have asked questions and find out the implications of fuel subsidy removal on Nigerians on the streets. The NLC boss listed the alternatives to…

CONGRATULATONS are in order, it would seem, as more than two dozen states inaugurated the winners of their March 18 governorship elections and April 15 reruns. Today, they took their oaths of office with expectations of them as high as ever. But the epoch-making events did not include eight states — that is, Anambra, Bayelsa, Edo, Ekiti, Imo, Kogi, Ondo, and Osun — for which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will conduct off-cycle elections at various times within the next three years to determine their governors. Making up the “Class of 2023” governors are 18 newbies and 10 returnees…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has ordered the Department of State Security Services (DSS) to immediately vacate the office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Ikoyi, Lagos. DSS officials stormed the EFCC Ikoyi office, stopping officials from accessing their workplace. Gunshots were also held in the area. But Tinubu in a statement by his media aide Tunde Rahman, the President called on the DSS to quit the premises. “The President said if there were issues between the two important agencies of government, they would be resolved amicably,” the short statement read. The DSS had stormed the premises, claiming ownership…

THE House Of Representatives on Tuesday commended the decision of President Bola Tinubu on fuel subsidy removal. This followed a motion of urgent public importance by a member, Jimoh Olajide. The House further appealed to Nigerians to be patient and prayerful to allow the President deliver on his promises. On Monday during his inaugural speech at the Eagle Square in Abuja, Tinubu said the era of subsidy payment on fuel has ended, adding that the 2023 Budget made no provision for fuel subsidy and more so, subsidy payment is no longer justifiable. “The fuel subsidy is gone,” Tinubu said, noting…