Author: Amina Ibrahim

THE United States Government has said it had taken final step on its plans to impose visa restrictions on specific individuals in Nigeria for undermining the democratic process during Nigeria’s 2023 elections cycle. News Point Nigeria reports that this was made known in a statement by the Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, on Monday, published on the website of the US government. “Today, I am announcing that we have taken final step to impose visa restrictions on specific individuals in Nigeria for undermining the democratic process during Nigeria’s 2023 elections cycle.” While noting that, “the United States is committed to…

VICE President Yemi Osinbajo, on Monday, presided over a special Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the State House in Abuja two weeks to the end of the current administration. The Vice President chaired the meeting on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari who is still away in London on medical grounds. The special FEC meeting expected to deliberate on over 30 memos emanating from various ministries and agencies of government is apparently convened to treat a backlog of pending memos as the administration wraps up this week ahead of the May 29 handover date. In attendance are Secretary to the…

THE Federal Government says 160 women claiming to be Nigerians working in Sudan have no passports to fly back to the country. News Point Nigeria reports that, the Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mustapha Ahmed stated this in Abuja on Sunday while briefing the press on the progress made so far in the evacuation of Nigerians from war-torn Sudan. According to him, although the women claimed to be Nigerians, they do not possess Nigerian passports to verify their claims and most of them have been in Sudan for a while. He said the agency is being…

THE Presidency has said it was unaware of the purported decision of President Muhammadu Buhari granting study leave to the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele. The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, said this while reacting to inquiries from Daily Trust on Sunday. He said his position as reported by another national paper on Saturday morning had not changed. The presidential spokesman had earlier said: “If the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has been granted study leave supposedly by President Muhammadu Buhari, this…

A TOTAL of 125 Nigerians fleeing the war in Sudan have arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja. News Point Nigeria reports that, the evacuees arrived on Saturday at 12.49 pm on a Tarco B737-300 aircraft from Port Sudan. The latest arrival brings the total number of evacuated Nigerians from Sudan to 2,371. Upon arrival, the returnees were processed by immigration officials alongside their colleagues from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants, and Internally Displaced Persons. On May 3, after nearly two weeks of assurances by the Federal Government, the first…

THE Chairman of the National Hajj Commission (NAHCON), Zikrullah Hassan, has said the four local airlines to airlift Nigerian pilgrims for the 2023 Hajj exercise have requested that the hajj fare be increased by $250. According to him, the airlines – Air Peace, Azman, Max Air and Aero Contractors – based the request on the crisis in Sudan, which would require a longer travel time to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Recall that the airlines had refused to sign the airlift agreement with NAHCON due to the additional financial cost using another route. Speaking in Abuja during a training exercise…

DOZENS of passengers were left stranded and spent the night at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja after a late cancellation of their Kano-bound flight by Max Air at 2:30am after a seven-hour delay. According to some angry passengers who spoke to News Point Nigeria early Saturday, no reason was given for the cancellation of the flight, which was scheduled to depart the Abuja Airport at 7:30pm. “Few minutes before the schedule time for boarding at 7pm, the first announcement came that the flight would be delayed for about four hours, which meant the departure time was 11:30pm. “We waited…

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari and his family have moved into the Glass House at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, ahead of the inauguration of the president-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu. This was disclosed by the First Lady, Aisha Buhari, via a video shared on her official Instagram page after taking the incoming First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu around the State House. During the tour of the Villa, Mrs Buhari introduced Senator Tinubu to the various areas of the house, providing detailed explanations regrading the history and importance of each edifice. According to the First Lady, the Glass House has served as a…

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has appointed the retiring Assistant Inspector General of Police, Garba Baba Umar as a Senior Security Adviser on International Police Cooperation and Counter-terrorism in the office of the Minister of Police Affairs. According to the presidency, this is to enable Nigeria keep the important position and make way for him to complete his nationally beneficial tenure as an Executive Member of the International Police Organization (INTERPOL). Senior Special Media Aide to the President, Garba Shehu, noted in a statement that in approving his appointment, Buhari took note of a precedent in which a former Executive Member, AIG…

THE Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal in Abuja has adjourned the petition filed by Mr Atiku Abubakar for the live coverage of proceedings. Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former vice president, on May 8 filed an application for an order to allow the live coverage of the daily court proceedings on the case they brought against the president-elect, Bola Tinubu, which started on Monday. Through his counsel, Chris Uche, the PDP candidate informed the court that all parties in the suit have met and constituted a team to harmonise and streamline vital areas and components…

IN a bid to alleviate the sufferings of Nigerians who had sought greener pastures in other countries and became stranded, the Federal Government on Wednesday received another set of 147 returnees from Niamey, Niger Republic. The returnees, who arrived at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) in Kano State, consisted of 77 male adults, 16 male children, 23 female adults and 21 female children from different states including Lagos, Kano, Katsina, Jigawa and Kaduna. According to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the returnees were brought back through a voluntary repatriation programme under the care of the International Organisation…

OPERATIVES of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have arrested a former Minister of Power, Sale Mamman over alleged N22bn fraud. According to competent sources, the former minister was arrested early Wednesday and was subsequently detained at the headquarters of the anti-graft agency. The arrest is said to be in connection with the Commission’s ongoing investigation into alleged corruption in the execution of some power projects. Specifically, Mamman is alleged to have conspired with staff of the Ministry in charge of the accounts of the Zungeru and Mambilla Hydro Electric Power projects and diverted N22billion, which they shared amongst…

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has sent a letter to the Senate seeking approval to take a loan to the tune of $800 million from the World Bank to cushion the effects of subsidy removal. News Point Nigeria reports that, this follows the Federal Government’s April announcement of an $800 million World Bank grant targeting 50 million vulnerable Nigerians or 10 million households, as part of its subsidy palliatives measures. According to the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, the disbursement of the grant is in light of the planned subsidy removal in June 2023. Ahmed underscored that engagements…

AN Abuja Federal High Court has barred the National Broadcasting Commission from imposing fines on Nigerian broadcast stations. Presiding Judge James Omotosho, in a Wednesday ruling, said the NBC lacked the judicial powers to impose penalties. Omotosho gave an order of perpetual injunction restraining the NBC from imposing fines, henceforth, on broadcast stations in the country. He also set aside the N500,000 fines imposed, on March 1, 2019, on each of the 45 broadcast stations. Justice Omotosho held that the NBC, not being a court of law, had no power to impose sanctions as punishment on broadcast stations. He further…

THE Action Peoples Party (APP) has applied to withdraw its petition challenging the victory of president -elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, at the 2023 General Elections. The counsel to the Party, Obed Agu, also asked the court to strike out and dismiss the suit. Counsel to Tinubu, Wole Olanipekun, said they are not opposing the application for withdrawal of the petition and they are not asking for cost. Chairman of the Panel, Justice Haruna Tsammani, subsequently dismissed the suit with no cost attached. The APP was challenging the Presidential Election on the grounds of alleged non-compliance with the electoral laws…

THE ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on Tuesday defended its choice of Senator Godswill Akpabio as the Senate President ahead of the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly in June. APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka said the South-South zone which Akpabio represents has not produced a Senate President since the beginning of the Fourth Republic in 1999. “I am from the South-South and I don’t see why the South-South is ineligible for consideration. After all, no Senate President has come from that region since 1999, since his dispensation,” Morka said on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme monitored by News…

*As Gbajabiamila’s Men Go After Reps-Elect  THE jostle for leadership positions in the 10th National Assembly became further heightened as lawmakers ostensibly loyal to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila have commenced a lobby drive to collect signatures from reps-elect.  The development followed what an NWC member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) described as a ‘deliberate ambiguity’ in the press statement issued by the party. According to him: “the whole scenario is totally different from what used to be. We us8ally zone to areas or zones and possibly allow persons interested to view for the…

THE National Assembly has began the induction ceremony for Senators and Members elect of the 10Th Assembly. The induction ceremony is intended to educate lawmakers-elect on the legislative business. According to the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic studies, this is extremely important as more than seventy percent of Federal Lawmakers coming into the 10th assembly are first time lawmakers. On the leadership tussle in both Houses, some of the lawmakers-elect who spoke with Channels Television are divided on how the National Assembly leadership should emerge. While some lawmakers say the political parties should not interfere in the leadership choices,…

SECURITY has been beefed up as the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal Abuja has begun the pre-hearing of the petitions challenging the outcome of the February 25 presidential election. According to the Independent National Electoral Commission, Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress polled 8,794,726 votes to win the election. While Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party came second with  6,984,520 votes, and Peter Obi was third with  6,101,533 votes. Not satisfied with the outcome, Atiku and Obi approached the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal to annul Tinubu’s victory. News Point Nigeria observed that security around the court premises is…

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari will May 22nd, 2023 inaugurate the 650,000 barrels per day Dangote Refinery. The Special Assistant to the President on Digital Communications Bashir Ahmad disclosed this in a tweet on his handle. The tweet reads: “Efforts by the Federal Government to make Nigeria self-sufficient in local refining of crude oil to save the scarce foreign exchange used in the importation of petroleum products have received a boost as the 650,000 barrels per day Dangote Refinery, the world’s largest single-train refinery, is set for inauguration on May 22nd, 2023, by President Muhammadu Buhari,” he wrote on Sunday.