Author: Maryam Garba

THE immediate past Minister of Finance, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed has landed a World Bank job as an Alternate Executive Director. Baring last minute hitches, she will resume at the bank’s headquarters in Washington on July 10. However, there appears to be pushback from some interests who alleged that the former minister did not follow due process. An online medium, quoted Washington sources as saying that Mrs. Ahmed circumvented appointment procedures by nominating herself . The report also had it that the World Bank had requested for the nominations of three economists for an AED position, several months before the end…

THE Defence Headquarters has directed all Senior officers with “seniority on commission “above Nigerian Defence Academy Regular Course 39 to proceed on voluntary retirement. This development comes on the heels of the appointment of the new service chiefs by President Bola Tinubu. The notice of resignation was made known in a statement from the Defence Headquarters signed on Monday by Maj-Gen. Y. Yayaha for the Chief of Defence Staff. “I am directed to respectfully request services to direct all officers with seniority on commission above that of Nigerian Defence Academy(NDA) regular course 39 to submit their applications for voluntary retirement…

THE internal wrangling within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State seems to be over as Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu appeared at a public function with two of his predecessors in a spectacle rare as hen’s teeth. Sanwo-Olu, Akinwunmi Ambode and Babatunde Fashola met at a reception organised in honour of President Bola Tinubu on Thursday at the Lagos House in the Marina area of the state. Sanwo-Olu’s spokesman, Gboyega Akosile, shared the refreshing sight in a tweet, stressing that this is the first time the trio will meet in over four years. Since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999,…

SENATOR Orji Kalu has said that contrary to certain claims making the rounds, there was no cheating in the election that saw Senator Godswill Akpabio emerge as President of the Senate. Kalu’s comment comes on the heels of claims that some Senators under the umbrella of the ruling All Progressives Congress, might be trying to cross-carpet following the outcome of the June 13 election that saw Akpabio become Senate President of the 10th National Assembly. Akpabio had trounced Senator Abdul’aziz Yari to emerge the new Senate President, with the former Akwa Ibom governor being returned elected after scoring 63 votes…

THE Police in Kaduna State have arrested five hundred and three (503) suspects for various offences ranging from banditry, armed cattle rustling,culpable homicide, vandalization of rail tracks and other related crimes. Among the suspects include one Ismail Mohammed of Maijere Village Saminaka in Lere local government area of the state who kidnapped and later killed his brother, Kabiru Mohammed after collecting N120,000 as ransom from the family. Parading the suspects at the command’s headquarter , the spokesman of Kaduna State Police Command, DSP Muhammed Jalige told reporters that the suspects were arrested between May to June 2023. He explains that…

AS Nigerians join their counterparts from across the world to celebrate the Eid-el-Kabir, President Bola Tinubu has asked the citizens to face their future with renewed hope and vigour. The President made the call in a statement on Tuesday. “As we embrace the present challenges, we must face the future with vigour and Renewed Hope with the confidence that our tomorrow shall be better and brighter,” he said. Eid-Al-Kabir is a festival of sacrifice and total obedience to Allah as exemplified in the exceptional action of Prophet Ibrahim AS. n his Sallah message, Tinubu said there is no greater sense…

THE Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, has ordered all police convoys, henceforth, to obey all traffic regulations with immediate effect. IGP Egbetokun issued this directive on Monday at the meeting with the Mobile Police Squadron and commanders at the Force headquarters in Abuja. According to him, it was important that his men lead by example and be held accountable before the law. ” Let me end this speech by reminding you that those who keep the peace must be the epitome of peace. Those whose duty is to enforce the laws of the land must themselves respect and obey…

OVER two million Muslim pilgrims crowded Saudi Arabia’s Mount Arafat on Tuesday, the climax of a potentially record-breaking hajj pilgrimage held in fierce June heat. As dawn broke, groups of worshippers recited Qurán verses and the pilgrimage recitations on the rocky rise, where the Prophet Muhammad SAW is believed to have given his final sermon. The ritual is the high point of the annual pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam, that officials say could be the biggest on record after three years of Covid restrictions. More than 2.5 million pilgrims were expected to join the hajj, one of…

GARBA Shehu, a former spokesperson for ex-President Muhammadu Buhari has explained that the former Nigerian leader put petrol subsidy removal and the unification of the country’s foreign exchange rates on hold “for a better time”. Shehu made this known in a statement on Monday exactly four weeks after President Bola Tinubu took over from Buhari on May 29, 2023 and announced petrol subsidy removal, with a litre of the vital commodity jumping from N184 to over N500, amid attendant economic pain. “Removing subsidies for the Naira and PMS (Premium Motor Spirit) was cued and put on hold. Look for example…

THE Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, Prof. Abubakar Rasheed on Monday announced his voluntary resignation. Rasheed disclosed this in an interaction with our correspondent and noted that he would be returning to the Bayero University Kano to continue his job as a lecturer. News Point Nigeria reports that Rasheed was appointed as the NUC boss seven years ago during the tenure of the erstwhile minister of education, Adamu Adamu. Under his tenure as NUC executive secretary, the commission approved the highest number of private universities. The university system also witnessed the highest number of industrial actions. More details…

BARRING any last minute change, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will return to the country on Tuesday, a day before the Sallah celebrations. A source close to the Presidency confirmed this to News Point Nigeria on Sunday, saying the President would spend the Sallah holiday in Lagos, the nation’s commercial hub. According to the source, an advance team has already been dispatched ahead of the President’s arrival. On Friday, Tinubu concluded his official trip to Paris, during which he participated in the summit for ‘A New Global Financing Pact’ hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron. The President used the opportunity of…

THE Federal Government said 125 stranded Nigerians have departed Sudan to Nigeria on Saturday morning. Abdur-Rahman Balogun, Head of Media, Public Relations and Protocol, Nigeria in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), disclosed this on Saturday. In a message, he said Tarco Airline aircraft: ST-TAL B737-300 “Left Port Sudan International Airport today, 24th June 2023, at 10:45am. local time, with 125 Nigerian nationals (Evacuees).” Recall in May, News Point Nigeria had reported that, about 160 women claiming to be Nigerians working in Sudan have no passports to fly back to the country. The Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mustapha…

THE Department of State Services told the Federal Capital Territory High Court on Tuesday that suspended Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, will flee the country if granted bail. The Attorney General of the Federation also supported the argument of the DSS, describing Emefiele as a “flight risk”. The former head of the apex bank is challenging his detention by the DSS and denying him seeing his family members and lawyers. This newspaper reports that Emefiele was suspended by President Bola Tinubu and subsequently detained by the DSS on Saturday, June 10, 2023. At the resumption of hearing on…

THE Federal Government says the Boards of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) are not dissolved. In a statement on Tuesday, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume said the two boards are exempted from the dissolution of the Boards of Federal government parastatals, agencies, institutions and government-owned companies earlier announced later Monday. The statement with the clarification was signed by the Director of Information in the SGF Office, Willie Bassey on behalf of Akume. “Further to the directive on the dissolution of…

IN a bid to further strengthen the nation’s judiciary, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, has sworn in six newly appointed judges of the National Industrial Court at the Supreme Court in Abuja. Justice Ariwoola on Monday charged the judges to discharge their duties with utmost honour and integrity in line with their calling by shunning all forms of corruption. He said the nation’s judiciary is in need of men and women of unquestionable character, who will dispense Justice to the citizens without the fear of external intimidation and manipulation. In his address, he asked the newly…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu on Monday approved the dissolution of boards of Federal Government parastatals, agencies, institutions and government-owned companies. See full statement: PRESS RELEASE PRESIDENT BOLA AHMED TINUBU APPROVES DISSOLUTION OF BOARDS OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT PARASTATALS, AGENCIES, INSTITUTIONS AND GOVERNMENT-OWNED COMPANIES President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, has approved the immediate dissolution of the Governing Boards of all Federal Government Parastatals, Agencies, Institutions, and Government-Owned Companies in the exercise of its Constitutional Powers and in the Public interest. The dissolution does not, however, affect Boards, Commissions and Councils listed in the Third Schedule, Part 1, Section 153 (i) of the 1999…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu will on Thursday, June 22, 2023 make his first official trip overseas since his inauguration as Nigeria’s new leader on May 29, 2023. The President will join world leaders in Paris, France, said his Special Adviser on Special Duties, Communication and Strategy, Dele Alake. In a statement on Monday, Alake said the President will join other world leaders to review and sign a New Global Financial Pact that places vulnerable countries on priority list for support and investment, following devastating impact of climate change, energy crisis, and after effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Summit, which will…

THE number of extremely poor Nigerians currently stands at 71 million, according to 2023 data from World Poverty Clock. The World Poverty Clock is a tool to monitor progress against poverty globally. Tonye Cole, governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, who quoted the data also said the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) classes 133 million people as multidimensionally poor. He spoke Saturday in Abuja, at the Nigeria Zero Hunger Symposium, organised by T200 Foundation to mark World Hunger Day and unveiling of Nigeria’s hunger report. Quoting the United Nations (UN), Cole said globally, 25,000 die…

THE Department of State Services (DSS) said Godwin Emefiele was granted access to his family and doctors long before a court gave a directive for such. A Federal High Court in Abuja had ordered the DSS to let the suspended Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor to have access his family and lawyers. But in a Saturday statement, the DSS spokesman Peter Afunanya said the agency did that before the court order. “It is instructive to state that the Service had granted the family of Emefiele, medical officials, and appropriate persons access to him, right from the day he was…

THE Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS) and the DSS has been ordered to immediately grant the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, unrestricted access to his lawyers and family members as it is within his constitutional right.  Emefiele was arrested by the DSS on Saturday, hours after his suspension by President Bola Tinubu on Friday evening. The order came from Justice Hamza Muazu of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court sitting at Maitama Abuja on Friday, following an application by J.B. Daudu SAN, counsel to Emefiele.  He informed the court…