Author: Amina Ibrahim

THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says the Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar did not meet the constitutional requirements to be declared winner of the February 25 election. Urging the Presidential Election Petition Court to dismiss the petition by Atiku and his party, the commission said the PDP flag bearer failed to score, at least, one-quarter of the votes cast in at least two-thirds of the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and as such could not have been declared the winner. As against the claim by the petitioners, INEC…

THE National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has received 152 Nigerian returnees from Libya through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. NEMA Zonal Coordinator for South-West, Ibrahim Farinloye, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday. Farinloye said the returnees departed Libya aboard a chartered Al Buraq Air Boeing 737-800 with registration number 5A-DMG Buraq Aircraft. The victims who arrived at the Cargo Wing of the Lagos airport consist of 54 adult females, 73 adult males and children. On ground to receive them were NEMA Director General, Mustapha Habib Ahmed, alongside officials of the Nigeria Immigration Service, National Agency for the Prohibition…

THE immediate-past managing director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, Hadiza Bala Usman, has said that failure to extend the Intels’ service boat management contract by one year was one of the reasons why former minister of Transport Rotimi Amaechi recommended her suspension and eventual removal from office. In her new book released on Tuesday, titled “Stepping On Toes: My Odyssey Odyssey at the Nigerian Ports Authority”, Ms Usman revealed how stepping on toes to ensure due process and good governance cost her the plum NPA job. This newspaper gathered that a former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and presidential candidate…

THE National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has opposed the House of Representative Bill mandating Nigeria-trained medical and dental practitioners to practice for five years before being granted full licence. NARD made its position known in a communique issued at the end of the emergency extended National Officers’ Committee (NOC) meeting of the association which was held virtually over the weekend. According to the statement obtained on Monday by News Point Nigeria, the resident doctors expressed shock by the action of the sponsor of the bill, Honourable Ganiyu Johnson (APC/Lagos). The doctors also decried the non-payment of salaries of members…

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari will travel to Saudi Arabia on official visit from Tuesday, April 11 to 19 on his last trip to the Kingdom as Nigerian President, presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu has said. In a statement on Monday, Shehu said the President during the visit will perform Umrah, the Lesser Pilgrimage. He will be accompanied by his aides.

THE United Kingdom Government has barred active recruitment of health workers from Nigeria by health and social care employers in the UK. The UK disclosed this in its updated ‘Code of Practice’ for the international recruitment of health and social care personnel’ posted on its website. Nigeria has now been included in the red list of countries facing critical shortage of health workers as contained in the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s health workforce support and safeguards list. In March, the WHO published the safeguards list comprising 55 countries — including Nigeria — struggling with a shortage of health workers. The…

25 PROMINENT journalists and writers from across the country have come together to write a book on Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN. Entitled “OSINBAJO STRIDES: Defining Moments of An Innovative Leader,” the book is scheduled to be launched virtually on 28th April, 2023, at 4 p.m. prompt. There were altogether  25 writers. They are Richard Akinnola, Azu Ishiekwene, Garba Mohammed,  Etim Etim, Donu Kogbara, Sadiq Abdullateef, Fatima Mamman-Daura, James Akpandem, Mustapha Ogunsakin, Dayo Akintobi,  Dr. Wale Adeduro, Columba Ogah, Haruna Abdullahi, Temilade Okesanjo, Arukaino Umukoro, Olaolu Beckley, Ore Ogunbiyi, Jude Zoho, Vitalis Obidiaghaa, Seun Bisuga, Seyi Gesinde, Faith Dafe-Joseph, Muritala…

GUNMEN in the early hours of Saturday attacked Chitumu, a community near Zuba town in Gwagwalada area council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Muhammad Liman, secretary to the community’s village head, said the attackers numbering about fifteen, arrived some minutes after 12 am, and went straight to the house of a cattle dealer, one Isiaka Alhassan Dogara. “They immediately abducted him with one of his daughters name Fatima, aged fourteen years old. Some of the gunmen killed the father, Alhassan Dogara, as the wives of the abducted person raised alarm.” He further stated that, three uncles of the man…

THE member-elect of the Kwara State House of Assembly representing the Owode/Onire Constituency, Rukayat Shittu, has asserted that her identity as a woman and youth are not barriers in politics. On May 31, 2018, President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Not Too Young to Run Act into law with the aim to reduce the minimum ages for elective offices provided for by law. The enactment paved the way for Shittu’s historic emergence as the youngest female House of Assembly member-elect in Nigeria. Speaking on Channels Television’s breakfast show, Sunrise Daily on Friday monitored by News Point Nigeria, the All Progressives Congress…

FAMED author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has criticised the United States over its congratulatory message to the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, who was declared the winner of the February 25 presidential election. A spokesperson for the US State Department commended Nigeria on Tinubu’s victory, the same day the President-elect was declared the winner, while calling for calm amid accusations of voter fraud and concerns over technical glitches. According to him, many Nigerians and some of the parties have expressed frustration about the manner in which the process was conducted and the shortcomings of technical elements that were used for the first time…

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari, on Thursday evening, terminated the appointment of Hajiya Saratu Umar as the Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission, with immediate effect. The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, disclosed this in a statement he signed on Thursday titled ‘President Buhari terminates appointment of Saratu Umar as NIPC boss.’ Umar’s sacking comes barely a week after a scathing report unearthing fault lines in the Commission’s administration. The report alluded the challenges to the NIPC boss’ “incompetence and mismanagement.” More details in a while…

CHAIRMAN/Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) has approved the extension of the close of application on its recruitment portal by a week to enable applicants having challenges submitting their applications take advantage of the additional days to complete the process. The online application portal was opened on Sunday 12th March and originally scheduled to close on Saturday 8th April, but with the one week extension, the portal will remain open till midnight of Monday 17th April. This according to NDLEA spokesman, Mr Femi Babafemi, will enable applicants who are yet…

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday told two outgoing ambassadors that democracy is still the best option in spite of military takeovers in some parts of Africa. The President received the two envoys at State House. They are His Excellency, Dr Eustaquio Januario Quibato of Republic of Angola and outgoing Ambassador of United Arab Emirates (UAE), Dr Fahad Obaid Al Taffaq. The President assured the two countries that his administration will take advantage of mutual interests and continue improve on the existing relationship. In a statement released on Thursday by the Special Adviser to the President, Femi Adesina, the President recalled…

FORMER President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, has said that the incoming administration must work to facilitate national moral rearmament and reconciliation, following the divisiveness occasioned by the just concluded general elections. This he said had the potential to bring about healing and to assuage Nigerian youths who were angered by the shortcomings of the elections. He further advocated national reconciliation in order to enhance the healing needed for national peace and cohesion. Obasanjo said this on Thursday at the Yaradua Centre in Abuja during a book presentation, ‘The Unending Quest For Reform: An Intellectual Memoir’ authored…

A PORT HARCOURT-BOUND Aero Contractors aircraft, on Wednesday morning, developed fault mid-air and had to return to Abuja for emergency landing. A passenger on the plane exclusively told LEADERSHIP that the aircraft took off at about 8:40am but few minutes into the flight, the pilot announced he had to return back to Abuja. The passenger said those on board didn’t understand the gravity of the technical issues the plane encountered until it was almost impossible for the pilot to land safely in Abuja. “We later realised that the engine had serious issues like hydraulic leakage or something like that. It…

AHEAD of the planned subsidy removal in June 2023, the Federal Government has announced an $800 million grant from the World Bank, targeting 50 million vulnerable Nigerians or 10 million households, as part of its subsidy palliatives measures. The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed gave the announcement during the weekly after the Federal Executive Council meeting chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari today. Mrs Ahmed underscored that engagements are ongoing with the newly established Presidential Transition Council (PTC) and the incoming administration, to drive the palliative program, which includes the need for buses among various considerations. Meanwhile…

THE Tesla and Twitter chief is now the second-richest billionaire, worth an estimated $180 billion, which is $39 billion less than the previous year. The top spot has been awarded to Bernard Arnault, the chairman of French luxury goods giant LVMH. His net worth increased more than $50 billion in the past year to $211 billion. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to Musk, whose position wobbled on the Forbes’ “Real-Time Billionaires” list, which is updated daily, for the past several months. He and Arnault often switch places. However, Tuesday’s list tracks his wealth annually. Forbes explained that Musk’s wealth…

THE House of Representatives on Tuesday condemned calls for an interim government in Nigeria after May 29, 2023. The lawmakers feared that such calls is capable of truncating the country’s young democracy and causing anarchy across the country. This followed a motion of urgent national importance raised by a member, Unyime Idem drawing attention of the green chamber to the statement issued by the Department of State Services (DSS) warning of plots to install an interim government after the outcome of the presidential election. The House urged the security agencies to be on alert and warned aggrieved parties to await…

NO fewer than ten students have been kidnapped by bandits in the Kachia Local Government Area of Kaduna state. The State Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan confirmed this in a statement on Monday, where he revealed that the students were from the government secondary school Awon (day secondary school). The Commissioner also explained that the exact location of the incident is yet to be confirmed, but said that detailed reports are being awaited to clarify the abduction of the students occurred within the school premises or elsewhere. More details in a while…

THE Senate Public Accounts Committee Monday queried about 558 ministries, departments and agencies for failing to account for N969bn “intangible assets” in the 2019 budget. Members of the panel, while considering the 2019 report of the Auditor-General for the Federation, said there was no disclosure by the MDAs to enable audit confirm the assets. The committee’s vice chairman, Senator Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia, said the details of the agencies involved were contained in the Auditor-General’s report. The report said: “Audit observed from review of notes 36 and 36A (Intangible) to the FGN Consolidated Financial Statement that the sum of N969bn was…