THE Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has arrested and detained about 800 Nigerians for various offences bordering on irregular migration. This was contained in a statement signed by the Head, Public Relations Unit, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Gabriel Odu, on Friday made available to News Point Nigeria. The Saudi authorities said 45,458 illegal migrants were in the country, hence the need to get rid of the undocumented foreigners. The clampdown by the Saudi authorities began in October 2022. The Federal Government, however, urged Nigerians travelling to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to do proper documentation, noting that Saudi authorities have heightened…
Author: Maryam Garba
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A HOUSE of Representatives member Ado Doguwa says the naira crunch will affect the electioneering expenses of politicians, noting that he needs N70m in “hard copy” for the poll. He made the comment after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Aso Rock villa in Abuja on Thursday in the wake of the Nigerian leader’s directive to the CBN on the naira swap. “I need to have this N70m in hard copy. That is the position of the law and as I speak to you, I don’t have it,” the House leader said in reference to Section 88(4) of…
THE Inspector General of Police Usman Alkali has announced that 310,973 police personnel comprising conventional police men, mobile police, special counter terrorism unit, Special forces, intelligence response team and other sections of the police will be deployed to ensure a smooth conduct of the elections, while 93,495 personnel complement from other security agencies. He disclosed this during the weekly ministerial briefing at the state house. Listing threats against the conduct of the elections to include fuel scarcity and cash squeeze, the Police Chief expressed the believe that the situation will stabilize before the commencement of the upcoming exercise. According to…
PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari says old N500 and N1,000 banknotes are no longer legal tender in Nigeria. He, however, directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to release old N200 notes into circulation as legal tender for the next 60 days. The President, who made this known in a nationwide broadcast on Thursday, directed the CBN to allow the new notes available to all citizens. The President apologised to Nigerians over the difficulty experienced in the implementation of the naira redesign policy. “To further ease the supply pressure, particularly on our citizens, I have given approval to the CBN that the…
THE Supreme Court of Nigeria on Wednesday held a brief hearing as regards the case on the naira swap policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Present in court today for the hearing were governors Yahaya Bello of Kogi state and Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State, alongside a retinue of Senior Advocates of Nigeria. Speaking after the case had been adjourned to Wednesday, February 22 for hearing of the consolidated suits by 10 states, Governor Bello told newsmen that he and El-Rufai were present to ensure that justice is obtained for the masses who are suffering the brunt…
PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has called on the Government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to lift its blanket visa ban on Nigerians. The President canvassed this position on Tuesday during a telephone conversation with the President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who doubles as the Emir of Abu Dhabi. Buhari had earlier called Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to condole with him on the death of his mother-in-law, Sheikha Maryam Al Falasi, during which important issues of mutual concern between the two countries came up. According to a statement issued by the Senior…
Imo 37, Taraba 33, Lead States THE insecurity issues in the North-East and South-East regions have clearly affected voters’ registration turn out as both zones lead the figures of INEC’s 240 polling units with no elections. News Point Nigeria reported that, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had published a list 240 polling units across the country with no registered voters late on Monday. The INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, had earlier on Monday disclosed at a meeting with political parties in Abuja that these polling units have no registered voters, adding that the total number of polling units in the…
PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has directed the transition committee headed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, to ensure that the achievements of the HIV programme are clearly highlighted in transition notes for the incoming administration. The President issued the directive during an audience with the Director–General of National Agency for the Control of AIDS, Dr. Gambo Aliyu; the Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Molly Phee; and Ambassador of the United States to Nigeria, Mary Beth Leonard. According to a statement issued by the Special adviser to the President, Femi Adesina on Monday, the President…
JUSTICE Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court Abuja on Monday adjourned till 14th February for ruling on the bail application filed by Ali Bello, a nephew to the Kogi State governor, and three others on an alleged N3 billion fraud charge brought against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Justice Egwuatu had on February 8, adjourned for ruling on the bail application filed by the defendants after they had pleaded not guilty to the 18-count charge At the day’s sitting, counsel to the defendants Ahmed Raji (SAN), told the court that the EFCC had filed a…
AHEAD of the 2023 general elections, President Muhammadu has declared that the eyes of the nation and global community are on the Nigeria Police Force and all law enforcement agencies. News Point Nigeria reports that, the President stated this on Monday when he commissioned the newly-procured NPF operational assets, vehicles, crowd control, and anti-riot equipment at the Force Headquarters in Abuja. President Buhari who on Friday briefed by the Inspector General of Police Alkali Baba on the operation order and action plan for the polls expressed confidence in the level of preparedness of the police for the exercise. By the…
A MEMBER of the Integrity Group and former Governor of Plateau State, Jonah Jang, has berated the Director-General of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, Governor Simon Lalong, over his claim that the G-5 governors led by Nyesom Wike were supporting the party’s presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu. Reacting to the claim in a statement on Sunday, Jang stated that Nigerians no longer took anything coming from Lalong seriously. The statement, which was signed by his Media Consultant, Clinton Garuba, said, “Obvious sign that Lalong is daydreaming is him thinking that the G5 PDP governors and allies including former Governor…
THE Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN has denied that it admitted a lack of capacity to print new Naira notes. In a signed statement by its Director, Corporate Communications, Osita Nwanisobi issued and made available to News Point Nigeria on Saturday, the apex also denied that it is planning to shut down some banks as alleged by a voice note that circulated since Thursday. The statement reads in full: CBN Debunks False Claims About Capacity of NSPMC Plc, Alleged Threats To Close Some Deposit Money Banks The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been drawn to a…
WITH two weeks to go until Nigeria’s presidential elections, major shortages of cash and fuel have plunged the nation into crisis. As well as provoking outrage among ordinary people, the shortages threaten to upend the February 25 presidential poll while throwing its organisation into doubt. In response to the situation, President Muhammadu Buhari is holding a state council meeting with governors, former heads of state, and the chairman of the National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu. It began when authorities replaced the old naira notes with new ones, of different colours, a move aimed at reducing the volume of money…
A FRESH poll by Bloomberg News has placed Labour Party (LP)’s Peter Obi as the leading presidential candidate ahead of this month’s election. The pre-election poll conducted for Bloomberg News by Premise Data Corp said the former Anambra governor was the preferred candidate for the nation’s top job, beating the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) Atiku Abubakar and Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC). “Two-thirds of respondents said they intend to vote for Obi, a third-party candidate, in elections scheduled for later this month. The results of the survey conducted for Bloomberg News by Premise Data Corp. were published…
THE Edo State Government has distanced itself from the comments and moves by the Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, and some other governors against the currency swap policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). In a statement by Special Adviser to the Edo State Governor on Media Projects, Crusoe Osagie, the state government said the Kaduna State Governor does not speak for Edo State and urged for “guided utterances and inferences in such critical matters, especially in the heat of the political season”. “The Edo State Government distances itself from the comments and moves by the Governor of…
THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has filed a motion before the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, asking for a stay of execution of the judgment of the Kogi State High Court delivered on December 12, 2022 and the consequential order made on Feb. 6th 2023, in the suit between the commission and Ali Bello. In the judgment of Feb 6th, Justice Rukayat Ayoola of the Kogi State High Court,had granted the application for commital to prison of the EFCC chairman, AbdulRasheed Bawa for disobeying an earlier court order made on 12 December 2022. The court also…
FOLLOWING uncouth comments trailing the decision of the Apex Court to listen to and act on the demand of the triumvirate Governors on naira swap, Governor Bello Matawalle has carpeted the attacks as mere political vendetta. In a statement on Thursday made available to News Point Nigeria, the governor said he is fully convinced that those against their action and subsequent triumph at the Supreme Court are either misguided or blinded by political chauvinism. “I and my Kaduna and Kogi states counterparts found it necessary to approach the Supreme Court in order to save the economy of Nigeria from being…
AHEAD of the February 25 presidential election, former President, Olusegun Obasanjo says Nigeria’s polls are crucial in determining who pilots the nation’s affairs for the next four years. He called on Nigerian voters to take the elections with all the seriousness it deserves, saying their voices matter. “In less than three weeks, we will be electing a leader that will pilot the affairs of Nigeria for the next four years from May,” Obasanjo said while hosting the members of the Board of Trustees of the African Democratic Congress at his penthouse residence located within the premises of the Olusegun Obasanjo…
THE Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, on Tuesday, attended a meeting with the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele. Yakubu was accompanied by 11 INEC National Commissioners. In his address, the INEC Chairman noted that the meeting was because of the apex bank’s unique role in the conduct of elections. However, this meeting is particularly focused on the recent cash withdrawal policy of the CBN. In November 2022, President Muhammadu Buhari unveiled the redesigned N200, N500, N1,000, restating the CBN’s plans to end the circulation of the old notes by…
AHEAD of the 2023 general elections, the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) has arrested 516 illegal immigrants in Kaduna State. News Point Nigeria gathered that, they were arrested during a mop-up operation by Immigration officials in the Zaria area of the State. The state Immigration Controller in Kaduna State Liman Sani Kila told newsmen that the illegal immigrants who are from Chad, Niger, and Togo were arrested following actionable intelligence. He also disclosed that the Service had earlier this year recovered more than one thousand Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) from illegal immigrants during a sting operation in various parts of the…