Author: Maryam Garba

LESS than seventy-two hours before the commencement of the 2023 general elections, the Department of State Services (DSS) has busted criminal hideouts and recovered dangerous weapons in various locations across the country including in a property along the airport road in Nasarawa Local Government Area of Kano state. The DSS Public Relations Officer, Dr Peter Afunanya confirmed this in a statement on Thursday in which he debunked allegations that the agency’s operations in Kano State were targeted at a political party. Items recovered from the said property in Kano State include a gun, daggers, swords, and jack-knives among others. Similarly,…

THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has started the distribution of sensitive materials for Saturday’s presidential and National Assembly elections.  Items distributed include the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), the result sheets as well as the ballot papers from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The distribution, which is still ongoing across the country, was witnessed by all security agencies including the paramilitary; Police, Army, and representatives of political parties participating in the polls. The security agencies have promised to be fair and professional in the discharge of their election duties. See photos of the distribution of sensitive materials from various…

THE Federal High Court of Nigeria will begin a five-day break from Wednesday in view of Saturday’s presidential and National Assembly elections The Chief Judge of the Court, Justice John Tsoho directed the court’s justices to sit up till Wednesday, February 22 before proceeding on the break. They are to resume on Tuesday, February 28 – three days after the polls. The break will allow the judges to vote in the elections scheduled to elect the President and Vice President and members of the Senate and House of Representatives. There will also be elections for state governors and state houses…

SENATOR Orji Kalu on Monday lamented the scarcity of the naira owing to the currency redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). He claims his family could not get enough money to cook recently. “You can see the policy is right but I don’t keep money in my house. I am suffering,” he said during his appearance on Channels Television’s election programme The 2023 Verdict monitored by News Point Nigeria. “The other day, my house manager told my wife in Abuja that we have no money to cook food. My wife was virtually roaming around and we feed…

THE Police Service Commission has replaced the former Director of the Civil Society directorate of the Presidential Campaign Council of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Hajiya Naja’atu Muhammad, as one of the coordinators that will supervise conduct of police officers during general forthcoming elections. Her removal came barely five hours after the ruling APC protested her inclusion among 45 coordinators who will monitor the conduct of the police officers on election duty. New Point Nigeria had reported that the Commission assigned Muhammad as one of the coordinators who would supervise the conduct of police officers’ affairs, but the Director Public…

AHEAD of the February 25 presidential poll, a spokesman for the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) and the presidential campaign of the party, Ladipo Johnson has said that the party’s flag bearer, Rabiu Kwankwaso, will get 25% of votes in 24 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. He spoke Monday on The 2023 Verdict, Channels Television’s special election programme, monitored by News Point Nigeria. The chieftain further said there is nothing wrong with the ‘cult-like following’ of Kwankwaso and expressed optimism that his candidate would get 25% of votes in at least two-thirds of all the states in the…

THE Independent National Electoral Commission has expressed hope that its cash request presented to the Central Bank of Nigeria would be met on or before Tuesday. INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of its Committee on Information and Voter Education, Festus Okoye, disclosed this to our correspondent on Sunday. The commission had earlier said it presented its cash requirement for prosecuting the forthcoming elections to the CBN, in face of shortage or scarcity of naira notes in circulation. The commission had explained that even though it does most of its payments through online transfers, some specific services have to be paid…

– Lagos tops figure with 928,951; Oyo-800,000, Kano-468,314 NO fewer than 4,175,006 registered voters in 10 states will not vote in the February 25 Presidential and National Assembly elections. Reason: They were not able to collect their Permanent Voters Cards, PVCs, from the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, before the February 5 deadline to do so. ended on Among the 10 states whose data on the number of PVCs collected and unclaimed were ready at the weekend, Lagos came tops with 928,951 unclaimed PVCs. Lagos is followed by Oyo, which has about 800,000 uncollected PVCs; Kano (468,314), and Ogun (412,086).…

PRESIDENTIAL candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, has just joined the emergency meeting of governors of the party currently holding at the party’s headquarters in Abuja. The meeting has in attendance, Governors Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa), Bello Matawalle (Zamfara), Simon Lalong (Plateau), Mai Mala Buni (Yobe), Yayaya Bello (Kogi), Abubakar Bello (Niger), Inuwa Yahaya (Gombe), Biodun Oyebanjo (Ekiti) and Abubakar Badaru (Jigawa). Powered By VDO.AI The APC national chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, had summoned the meeting to discuss issues related to the campaign, naira crisis and next Saturday’s presidential and National Assembly election. Adamu…

THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has denied raiding the home of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu. EFCC’s spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, in a statement on Sunday made available to News Point Nigeria, Sunday, said the claim of raiding the home of the former governor of Lagos State by the commission was not true. “The attention of the EFCC has been drawn to a report circulating in the social media, claiming that operatives of the Commission raided the home of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, standard-bearer of APC, in the forthcoming presidential election and recovered a humongous…

IN a daring move to spite the Federal Governemnt again, the Kaduna State Government has ordered its Ministries, Departments and Agencies to make trnsactions in old niara note and ensure that their revenue collection agents continue to accept payments made in all denominations of the old and New Naira notes. In a statement issued by the Special Adviser on Media and Communication to Governor Nasir El-Rufai, Muyiwa Adekeye and made available to News Point Nigeria, Sunday, said the directive is in line with the subsisting order of the Supreme Court. While the statement noted that the laws of Kaduna State…

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has called on African Union (AU) member countries to strengthen early warning systems to rein in conflicts in the continent. The President also urged all AU member states to ratify the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement. Nigerian positions and interventions on these issues were conveyed by the President during separate meetings at the ongoing 36th AU Summit in Addis Ababa, Ababa. The Summit, which is meeting under theme “Acceleration of the African Continent Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Implementation”, was a key opportunity for the Nigerian delegation, led by President Buhari, to emphasize that it has…

A FORMER Special Assistant to the President in the Office of the First Lady, Zainab Kassim, has filed a suit for the enforcement of her fundamental human rights against Aisha Buhari, demanding N100m as damages from her and other respondents. News Point Nigeria that, the other respondents in the case are; the Inspector General of Police and the Department of State Services. Kassim had claimed that some DSS officers acting on the orders of Aisha Buhari, allegedly abducted her and took her to the Presidential Villa where she was assaulted, dehumanised, and abused by the First Lady with the support…

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…

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…