Author: Amina Ibrahim

SIXTEEN days to the conduct of the general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has affirmed that the two major encumbrances faced by the commission have been resolved. For this reason, the INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, assured that the February 25 and the March 11 elections will hold as scheduled. In a chat with State House correspondents after briefing the Federal Executive Council on preparations towards the elections and challenges, the INEC chief identified that petrol scarcity and the currency challenge instituted challenges that have now been resolved following assurances by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria…

THE Supreme Court of Nigeria has restrained the Federal Government from implementing the February 10 Deadline of the old 200, 500 and 1000 naira notes to stop being legal tender. Three Northern States, Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara, had in a motion ex-parte filed on February 3rd, prayed the apex court to halt the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) naira redesign policy. A seven-man panel of the Supreme Court led by Justice John Okoro, in a unanimous ruling, granted an interim injunction restraining the FG, CBN, commercial banks etc from implementing the February 10, deadline for the old 200, 500 and…

WITH the increase in fuel supply to tackle lingering scarcity nationwide, the country needs N4.27 trillion to meet its subsidy requirements, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited said on Tuesday. The Group CEO, NNPC, Mele Kyari, in an interview on The 2023 Verdict, Channels Television’s special election programme monitored by News Point Nigeria, disclosed that the the NNPC transfers products to oil marketing companies at N113 per litre to establish a market price of N170. “That was one year ago. That’s the basis of all the estimates,” he explained. According to Kyari, there are some adjustments that have “brought…

THE Inspector General of Police (IGP) Usman Baba Alkali has redeployed a former spokesman of the Force Frank Mba as the Ogun State Commissioner. He also posted other senior officers to various formations and commands. Tuesday’s move is in “line with his manpower development policy of placing round pegs in a round hole,” Force spokesman Muyiwa Adejobi said in a statement made available to News Point Nigeria, Tuesday “DIG Danmallam Mohammed, FDC, has been redeployed to the Department of Finance and Administration while the following Assistant Inspectors-General of Police have been posted to take up the duties and responsibilities of…

JUSTICE Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court Abuja has discharged and acquitted Jide Omokore, Chairman of Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts Nigeria Limited, of fraud allegations. Omokore was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) alongside Victor Briggs, Abiye Membere, and David Mbanefo on 15 counts on July 4, 2016. They were alleged to have fraudulently diverted about $1.6bn alleged to be part of proceeds of sales of petroleum products belonging to the Federal Government. Omokore, an ally of a former Minister of Petroleum, Diezani Alison-Madueke, was initially arraigned in 2016. He and the co-defendants were arraigned before…

THE Federal Government on Tuesday said “unscrupulous” opposition politicians have “legally hamstrung” President Muhammadu Buhari from providing any relief to Nigerians on the scarcity of N200, N500 and N1,000 bank notes. Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed stated this at the 23rd Edition of the President Muhammadu Buhari Administration Scorecard in Abuja. He said the opposition parties have turned the scarcity of new naira notes to a political game, “preferring to make Nigerians suffer more on the altar of unconscionable political gamesmanship”. The pandemonium over the February 10 deadline for the validity of three old naira notes assumed another…

NIGERIA lost a total of N500bn in revenue in January as a result of low crude oil production in January, according to findings. Shipping data obtained from Refinitiv Eikon, a company that tracks export flows, showed that the country’s production has yet to fully recover, as it exported 1.2mb/d as against the 1.6mb/d quota assigned to it by the Organisation for the Petroleum Exporting Countries. An export of 1.2mb/d brings January’s total export to 37.2 million barrels, as against 49.6 million expected if it had exported 1.6mb/d. Nigeria’s crude grade, Bonny Light, sold for $89 per barrel in January- +1…

JUSTICE Eneojo Eneche of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, has stopped the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), President Muhammadu Buhari and 27 commercial banks from suspending or interfering with the currency redesign terminal date of February 10, or issue any directive contrary to the said date. In a motion by five political parties, the court also granted an order directing the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of the banks, to show cause why they should not be arrested and prosecuted for the financial sabotage of the country, by illegally hoarding and not disbursing the new N200, N500, and N1000…

WORRIED by the effects the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s naira redesign policy is having on the residents of their states, the governments of Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara have dragged the Federal government before the Supreme Court, seeking a restraining order to stop the full implementation of the policy. In a motion ex-parte filed on their behalf by their lawyer, AbdulHakeem Uthman Mustapha (SAN) obtained by News Point Nigeria, Monday morning, the three northern states are urging the apex court to grant them an interim injunction stopping the Federal Government either by itself or acting through the CBN, the commercial…

ADAMS Oshiomhole has accused the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) of deceiving President Muhammadu Buhari over the redesign of the naira notes.  President Buhari last year approved the redesign of the N1,000, N500, and N200 notes. The move, has, however, created hardship among Nigerians who battle to lay hands on the new notes as the February 10th deadline for the currency swap inches closer. In the wake of the naira swap crisis, the CBN maintained it won’t extend the deadline. But Oshiomhole has faulted the policy, describing it as senseless and a plot by the apex bank to scuttle the…

FORMER Chief of Army Staff, retired Lt.-Gen Tukur Buratai, says winning hearts and minds of the North East populace was a major step taken by the Army that turned the tables against insurgents during his time. Buratai, who is the immediate past Ambassador of Nigeria to the Republic of Benin, said this in an interview with newsmen in Abuja. He said that the people also realised that President Muhammadu Buhari was passionate about restoring peace and stability to Borno and the entire North-East region. He said that there was also the reinvigoration of joint civil-military operations, composed of all operational…

THE Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit against the Senate President, Dr Ahmad Lawan and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila over the National Assembly’s budget. SERAP Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, saying the suit became necessary following their “failure to cut the unlawful National Assembly budget of N228.1bn, including the N30.17bn severance payments and inauguration costs for members.” In the suit, Defendants are President Muhammadu Buhari; the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN; and the Minister of Finance, Budget and…

THE Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Malam Muhammad Bello, has directed security agencies to arrest the officials of the Federal Housing Authority and the developer of the collapsed two-storey building in Abuja. The Coordinator, Abuja Metropolitan Management Council, Umar Shuaibu, disclosed this development to journalists during a briefing on Saturday. He ordered the arrest of the FHA officers saddled with monitoring the development, in charge of granting the development permit, the developer, and the engineer supervising the development, for manslaughter. Shuaibu disclosed that the uncompleted building that collapsed two days ago at 6th Avenue in Gwarimpa Estate, trapped 24…

A FORMER Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, on Friday said that governance is out of President Muhammadu Buhari’s hands. Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s special programme, The 2023 Verdict, monitored by News point Nigeria, the ex-SGF said has said that there is no government without an inner caucus. According to him, those in the current administration who had the ears of the President refused to carry Buhari’s expectations. “Things are out of his hands, there’s no running away from that fact. There are people that do not take the orders they are given,” he…

THE Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba, has ordered the arrest and subsequent prosecution of all individuals engaged in the sale or abuse of the naira notes issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). According to a statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, on Friday, the directive is in furtherance of the Federal Government’s policy and drive to uphold the provisions of the CBN Act, 2007, and dignify Nigeria’s currency. The IGP ordered the Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG) in charge of the Force Criminal Investigations Department and the Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG)…

GOVERNORS of the All Progressive Congress (APC) have appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to allow both the old and new naira notes to co-circulate to ease the suffering of Nigerians. Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of the Kano state disclosed this after the APC governors meeting with the Nigerian leader at the State House in Abuja on Friday. The President has promised to look into the situation, he said. The governors told the President that while they agreed that his decision on the renewal of currency was good and they are fully in support, its execution had been botched and their constituents…

THE Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has struck a $741 million deal with Daewoo Engineering and Construction Company to rehabilitate an oil refinery in Kaduna State. According to Bloomberg, NNPCL signed the maintenance service contract with the South Korean engineering firm at a ceremony held on Thursday. In a statement issued by the company, it read, “Under the terms of the agreement, Daewoo will restore production at the inoperative 110,000 barrels-a-day facility to at least 60 per cent of its capacity by the end of 2024. “The deal is part of the NNPCL’s efforts to reduce Nigeria’s near total reliance…

AHEAD of the 2023 general elections, Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to accept the nominations of candidates of the Labour Party (LP) in 24 states of the Federation.  The court ordered that the electoral body must accept the list of the candidates, either manually or through its electronic nomination portal. Delivering judgement, Justice Ekwo held that INEC violated Sections 31, 33 and 36 of the Electoral Act 2022 in rejecting the LP candidates in the affected states on the ground of non-functional of its nomination portal. The…

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has barred government officials from using private emails for official purpose. While noting that “the National Policy on Nigeria Government Second-Level Domains is a welcome step in this direction,” he directed that all government officials should refrain from using private emails for official purposes and Federal Public institutions (FPIs) must migrate their websites to the relevant government domains. The President stated this Thursday at the State House, Abuja, when he unveiled and launched two new policies developed by the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, according to a statement by presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina. The President said…

A BUILDING under construction has collapsed in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja with many feared trapped under its rubbles. The building situated in the Gwarinpa Area of Abuja collapsed on Thursday, afternoon. A Twitter user with the handle @nnjigs who shared a video of the building claimed people were trapped under the rubble. “Just witness a poor collapse of an ongoing construction building in Gwarinpa, Abuja, 4th Avenue. People are trapped inside. Please, help inform all necessary agencies,” the tweet read. Details later….