BLACKOUT looms as the Association of Power Generation Companies (APGC) has warned of an imminent shutdown of operations in Nigeria, decrying the huge debt owed by the federal government as well as harsh monetary and fiscal conditions under which they operate. Sani Bello, chairman, board of trustees (BOT), APGC, said in a statement issued late on Monday that poor flow of money within the power industry is one of the fundamental problems preventing Nigerians from enjoying continued and sustainable improvement in electricity supply. He noted that power generating companies (GenCos) have continued to bear the brunt of the liquidity crisis…
Author: Bala Muhammad
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THE Kaduna State Government has rescued 13 children who were allegedly stolen from the state and sold to child traffickers in Calabar in Cross River State, Enugu and Anambra, Kebbi States. The state Commissioner for Human Services and Social Development, Rabi Salisu, disclosed this during a press briefing on Saturday. He said that the victims were first taken to an illegal orphanage home in Abuja, the nation’s capital, from where they were taken to other states by a child trafficking syndicate currently at large. It was an emotional atmosphere as the 13 children who were kidnapped by child traffickers reunited…
BANDIT kingpin Gwaska has been killed in Katsina alongside 100 others in military operations against criminals in the North-Western state. The State Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Dr. Nasir Mua’zu disclosed this in a statement on Friday. He said the operation is a crucial component of a broader strategy by security stakeholders to reclaim stability in the Katsina State and Northwest Region. During the operation, the forces recovered and subsequently destroyed two machine guns, locally fabricated shotguns, and other weapons to prevent their reuse by criminal elements. He explained that the Nigerian Army’s 17th Brigade and 213 Forward…
THE Federal Government has predicted heavy rains and floods in 30 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. The high-flood risk states are: Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross-River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, Zamfara and the Federal Capital Territory. The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Joseph Utsev, on Thursday, said coastal and riverine flooding would be experienced in some parts of the South-South geopolitical zone of the country due to a rise in sea level. Some of Maiduguri…
THE recent overhaul of the NNPC Limited board and management by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is not merely an administrative reshuffle—it is a decisive intervention in the national interest, aimed at rescuing the country’s most strategic public enterprise from systemic rot and institutional capture. The necessity of these appointments stems from the deeply troubling legacy of the Mele Kyari-led management, under which NNPC degenerated into a citadel of opacity, financial malpractice, and operational inefficiency, despite the transformative intent of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021. Under Kyari’s leadership, NNPC Limited failed to meet even the most basic standards of corporate…
OVER 400 filling stations of independent oil marketers located at border communities have remained shut since 2019 based on the Federal Government’s directive to halt the smuggling of petrol out of Nigeria to neighbouring nations. While the Nigeria Customs Service declared on Monday that the stations would still be shut, oil marketers decried the closure of these facilities due to the revenue losses caused by the development. The Customs insisted that it would continue to enforce the closure of the stations and sustain the crackdown on fuel smugglers through its Operation Whirlwind, especially due to the recent intense petrol scarcity…
STAKEHOLDERS, including the National Judicial Council (NJC), UNICEF, and the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, have called for the rehabilitation of young offenders instead of sentencing them to serve time in correctional facilities. At the second public hearing of the Independent Investigative Panel on the Alleged Corruption, Abuse of Power, Torture, Cruel, Inhumane, and Degrading Treatment against the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), held over the weekend in Abuja, the stakeholders made an urgent call for the implementation of strategies necessary for the rehabilitation, reformation, and reintegration of inmates in custodial centers, with priority on non-violent juveniles. UNICEF representative, Nkiru Maduechesi,…
THE Executive Director of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Engr. Abba Ganduje, has reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to supporting Kano State’s renewable energy drive as he received a high-powered delegation from the state government in Abuja. The delegation, led by top government officials, visited REA to discuss strategies for expanding renewable energy projects to enhance electrification in key sectors, including healthcare, education, agriculture, rural communities, and transportation. Welcoming the team, Engr. Abba Ganduje emphasized REA’s dedication to strengthening cooperation with Kano State to ensure sustainable energy solutions that will improve service delivery and economic development. “We are committed to working…
THE Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has warned former Kaduna State governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai to guard his utterances, saying that, contrary to his claim, there is no kidnapping gang within the NPF. The Kaduna Command of the NPF was reacting to El-Rufai’s post on his verified X handle, where he alleged that, one of his former Commissioners, Malam Jafaru Sani, was abducted by “Uba Sani’s kidnapping gang,” claiming to be Police. In a statement signed by Kaduna Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Mansir Hassan it said, the Police have the legal, legitimate and constitutional right to arrest and investigate…
AFTER a decade of legal battles, retired workers of the defunct New Nigerian Newspapers (NNN) are still awaiting the payment of their gratuities and pensions, with the death toll among them now reaching 107. The Joint Union of New Nigerian Newspapers (NNN) retirees confirmed in a statement on Wednesday that another beneficiary, Mr. Zakka Bitiyong of the Commercial Printing Department and Radio Room, passed away on March 11, 2025, further worsening the crisis. “With submission to the will of God Almighty, I wish to announce the death of our former colleague in person of Mr. Zakka Bitiyong, Commercial Printing Department…
THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has again shifted its National Executive Committee (NEC) from March 13 to May 15. Sunday Udeokoye, the party’s National Secretary, said in a letter sighted by BusinessDay in Abuja, that the postponement is to allow for the conclusion of the ongoing zonal, state, local government and ward congresses. The NEC meeting was earlier scheduled to hold on Thursday, March 13, 2025. The letter stated that ” following emerging issues including the need to conclude our pending Zonal, State, L.G.A and Ward Congresses as well as to allow for further consultation to ensure a hitch-free conduct…
THE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has urged the Federal High Court Abuja to dismiss a forfeiture case brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against a N2.7 billion property (located at Plot 781, Cadastral Zone 001, Karmo District) used as collateral to secure a loan from the apex bank through the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL). Counsel for the CBN, Joseph Abah, told the court that the apex bank had filed court documents seeking to join the EFCC case and argue for its outright dismissal through its proposed counter-affidavit and written address to…
THE Federal High Court sitting in Kaduna has ordered the temporary forfeiture of N1.37 billion allegedly diverted into the private account of Indo Kaduna Marts JV Nigeria Limited under the former Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s Government. Besides, the court also directed the applicant to ”publish a notice in any two national newspapers, calling for persons whether human, juristic or artificial having interest in the property, to show cause in court why the aforesaid movable property should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.” The exparte order given by Justice G. M Kabara on February 28, 2025, was a sequel to…
THE National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the United Kingdom are partnering on the UK/Nigeria Inward CyberTrade Mission to build a National Cybersecurity Architecture. Malam Kashifu Inuwa, Director-General of NITDA, at the meeting with some UK delegates on Monday in Abuja, said that President Bola Tinubu was committed to economic reforms and transformation, which digitization could drive. Inuwa noted that their Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (SRAP) 2.0, would enhance the digitization of the country by ensuring a digitally literate populace who are abreast of cybersecurity concerns. He said the Federal Government was working towards embedding cybersecurity in every…
AHEAD of the start of the Ramadan fast, the Executive Director, Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Engr. Umar Abdullahi Ganduje (Abba) has flagged off the distribution of 3,627 bags of rice to the people of Dawakin-Tofa Local Government area of Kano state. Ganduje, in a statement, explained that the gesture was to support the people and to bring succour during Ramadan adding that the palliative includes 1,133 bags of 50kg and 2,494 bags of 25kg. Addressing the mammoth crowd during the flag-off ceremony, in Ganduje town, Dawakin-Tofa Local Government on Thursday, he assured the crowd that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration…
THE Nigerian Army has dismissed claims that the Chief of Army Staff, COAS, Lt.-Gen. Olufemi Oluyede, has introduced automatic promotion for personnel who have served in their current ranks for five years or more. This is contained in a statement by the Director, Army Public Relations, Maj.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, on Tuesday in Abuja. Mr Nwachukwu described the claims as misleading and baseless, saying it was a deliberate misinformation calculated to mislead personnel as well as members of the public. He explained that promotion in the army was a structured, merit-based exercise governed by clearly defined statutory regulations and provisions, adding…
THE Chairman of the Kaduna State Pilgrims Welfare Agency Hajj Special Committee, Salihu Abubakar, has announced that the agency has so far registered 3,409 intending pilgrims for the 2025 Hajj exercise. According to him, the figure is part of the over 6,000 seats allocated to the state by the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON). Abubakar made this known when he received two newly appointed members of the Hajj Special Committee, appointed by Governor Uba Sani, at his office, on Thursday. The newly appointed members, Sheikh Haliru Maraya, and Malam Abdullahi Bayero, are Hajj experts with years of experience in…
THE former Chief of Staff to ex-Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, Bashir Saidu, has been released after spending 50 days in detention over alleged money laundering charges. El-Rufai confirmed Saidu’s release on Wednesday, describing his detention as an “unjustified incarceration” and claiming it was politically motivated. “Bashir has been my friend for over 53 years — a Barewa College classmate, former Commissioner of Local Government and Finance, and former Chief of Staff,” El-Rufai said in a tweet on X. “That is the main reason behind his persecution, and the payback to those behind it will be known on or before…
SENATOR Aminu Tambuwal yesterday came under fire for attacking defectors to the All Progressives Congress (APC). The ruling party said it is erroneous for the former Sokoto State governor to blame PDP’s woes on another party, stressing that the main opposition party is assailed by trust deficit. APC National Secretary Senator Ajibola Basiru said the party would continue to enlarge its coast to accommodate defectors from opposition parties. He said although the defections are painful to the PDP, the trend would continue because the main opposition party has failed to put its house in order. Basiru, who reacted to Tambuwal’s…
GOVERNOR Uba Sani of Kaduna State has assured the 50 political stalwarts that defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kaduna State that they will enjoy the same rights and privileges like every other party member. Prominent amongst those who decamped to the APC are former Governor of Kaduna State, Muktar Ramalan Yero, Senator Shehu Sani, Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi, the gubernatorial candidate of NNPP in the last election and Alhaji Sani Shaaban, a former gubernatorial candidate. Others are Senator Danjuma Laah, who represented Zone 3 at the upper legislative chamber on the platform of PDP, Abubakar Mustapha, the…