Author: Maryam Garba

THE Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has predicted three days of moderate-heavy rainfall in six States of the country. The affected States are: Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Edo, Bayelsa Delta and Ogun. The rainfall is anticipated between Wednesday April 9-11, 2025. The agency, in its heavy rainfall forecast bulletin on Tuesday, also forecasted light-moderate rainfall in Ondo, Lagos, Delta, Imo, Abia, Ekiti and few others states. It added that other parts of the country would experience very light or no rain in the next three days. The agency in the bulletin also hinted that there are prospects of flash floods as…

THE Presidency on Wednesday outlined new conditions for the quarterly Stakeholder and Citizens Engagement Meetings, saying the Federal Government is commitment to transparency, inclusivity, and citizen participation in governance. The guidelines, issued through the Central Delivery Coordination Unit under the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination, mandate stricter requirements for ministries to ensure these meetings serve as genuine platforms for public engagement. According to the CDCU, the engagement meetings were introduced as a deliverable for every ministry in response to President Bola Tinubu’s directive that all ministers regularly communicate government initiatives, beneficial programmes, and…

MANAGING DIRECTOR Director of Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Bismarck Rewane, has predicted that the cost of premium motor spirit also known as petrol will continue to decline until June 2025. Both Dangote Refinery and the Nigeria National Petroluem Company Limited (NNPCL) have crashed the cost of the essential commodity in recent weeks, easing the pressure on millions of Nigerians who depend on fuel for their energy needs. But Rewane says the recent reduction in the pump price of the product is expected to continue until mid-year. “So, generally between now and June, we will see prices begin to decline. But…

NAIRA closed February 2025 with an 8.5 per cent gain month-on-month on the parallel market to settle at 1,490/$, while it closed at 1,500/$ on the official market, indicating a 1.7 per cent m/m decline. According to the Afrinvest Monthly Market Report, the foreign reserve dipped by 3.2 per cent month-on-month. As of Thursday, it stood at $38.46bn. “This decline can be linked to CBN’s efforts to stabilise the naira, particularly through the resumption of payments for the verified portion of the outstanding $7.0bn foreign exchange backlog,” the analysts said. They went on to project that “in March, we anticipate…

MINISTER of Housing and Urban Development, Abdullahi Ata, has accused the Deputy Governor of Kano State, Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo, of disrespecting President Bola Tinubu. The minister, in a statement by his media aide, Seyi Olorunsola, said the Kano deputy governor while speaking on the lingering emirship tussle in Kano State, had asked President Tinubu to come and remove the emir he (Tinubu) enthroned and kept in a graveyard. The minister said the statement was “inflammatory and reckless. “The Deputy Governor’s audacity in publicly addressing the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in such an uncouth and disrespectful manner is…

A SEASONED Guidance and Counselling scholar at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Prof. Augustine Chinweuba Ukwueze, has said that the role of academic counselling in Nigeria’s education sector is often under-appreciated despite its impact. Ukwueze, a lecturer in the NOUN’s Department of Educational Foundations, Faculty of Education, stated this on Thursday at the NOUN 31st Inaugural Lecture held at the university’s headquarters in Abuja. In the lecture titled, “Academic Counselling: A Dark Horse in Education Industry,” he provided an analysis of why academic counselling remains a “dark horse,” saying, “It is a powerful but overlooked force capable of…

MANY Nigerian passengers aboard an Air France flight have been left stranded in Lomé, Togo, following a diversion caused by bad weather in Abuja. The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, raised the alarm over the situation in a statement posted on his official X account on Thursday night. Keyamo revealed that the Air France flight from Paris to Abuja was unable to land due to adverse weather conditions and was redirected to Lomé. However, he expressed concern over the airline’s handling of the situation. He said, “I have just been alerted of a situation involving mostly Nigerian…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu is currently presiding over the national caucus meeting of the All Progressives Congress at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja. Tuesday’s meeting began at 7:22 p.m. when Tinubu arrived at the venue. It is his first meeting of this nature since assuming the presidency 20 months ago. However, journalists were not allowed into the main hall. In 2024, the two crucial sessions, earlier scheduled for September 11 and 12 in Abuja, respectively, were called off. Although the party did not state the reasons for the postponement, the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Felix Morka, affirmed that…

AL-ISTIQAMA University, Sumaila, Kano State, has again made history celebrating its first set of 246 graduates who completed their studies from three faculties – Basic Health Sciences, Arts and Social Management and Science and Computing. The university, which was established in 2020 but officially took off on September 2021, is holding its maiden convocation today, having successfully produced 246 graduates from the three faculties. The convocation is being celebrated with a massive upgrade of the university’s facilities, with a view to providing an environment conducive for teaching and learning. One of the hallmarks of Al-Istiqama University is its unwavering commitment…

THE Transmission Company of Nigeria has announced a major milestone in the nation’s power sector, revealing that Nigeria has achieved a new peak power generation of 5,543.20 MW. This landmark event occurred on Friday, February 14, 2025, at precisely 11 pm, surpassing the previous record of 5,478.73MW, which was set just a day earlier, on Thursday, February 13, 2025. This milestone was disclosed in a statement issued by the management of the company late on Wednesday. The statement read, “The Transmission Company of Nigeria is pleased to announce that the Nigerian Power Sector achieved a new peak generation of 5,543.20MW…

THE Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has condemned the implementation of a 50% tariff hike by telecommunication companies, demanding immediate reversal to the old tariff. News Point Nigeria reports that the NLC and the Federal Government had earlier constituted a 10-man committee to deliberate on the tariff hike within two weeks and report back before any final decision would be made on the new telecom tariff structure. Despite the agreement, telecom firms have proceeded with the increase, prompting NLC to issue a March 1 deadline for a total shutdown of their operations if the tariffs are not reverted. In a communique…

FEDERAL Governemnt through Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) says it has initiated maximum enforcement action against Kenya Airways for many consumer protection infractions. News Point Nigeria reports that among the infractions is the airline’s refusal to tender an official apology, refund and compensate a Nigerian traveller, Gloria Omisore, within 48 hours. According to the NCAA, while the airline requested an extension of one hour after 48 hours elapsed, it failed to comply with the agency’s determination. Disclosing this in a post on X on Saturday, the Director of Public Affairs & Consumer Protection at NCAA, Michael Achimugu, also noted that…

THE Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps, Brigadier General Yushau Ahmed, has announced that corps members will begin receiving a new monthly allowance of N77,000 starting February 2025. The NYSC DG disclosed this on Thursday while speaking to the 2024 Batch ‘C’ Stream II corps members in Katsina State. Ahmed confirmed that the increment has been included in the 2025 Federal Government budget and will take effect once the budget is passed. “This month (January) has already ended, but once the budget is passed, by next month (February), you will start receiving N77,000 instead of the usual N33,000,” he…

HOODLUMS suspected to be kidnappers have invaded the Chikakore area of Kubwa in Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory, kidnapping a man, his wife, son and two others. A resident of the community told our correspondent that the kidnappers, numbering about 30 and armed with AK-47 rifles stormed the community around 12 am on Monday and went straight to the house of one Adefija Micheal Akinropo, who was kidnapped alongside his wife, son and elder brother. The resident, who is close to the victims, said the kidnappers later moved to another building housing a poultry farm, kidnapped a…

STRIKING resident doctors in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have challenged FCT Minister Nyesom Wike and Senate President Godswill Akpabio to use government hospitals in the nation’s capital to feel the plight of public health workers and patients. “If we are ready to fix the healthcare system in this country, I would think that every government official must use the government hospitals. Let’s start with that,” George Ebong said on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Wednesday. “I would like to see the minister use Wuse General Hospital. I would like to see the Senate President use Maitama General Hospital.…

THE National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has rescued expectant mothers from an alleged Baby Factory in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The women were rescued during a raid of the baby factory located at an estate in the Ushafa area of Abuja on Monday, NAPTIP said in a statement yesterday. According to the statement signed by the agency’s Press Officer, Vincent Adekoye, the victims were locked up in a rented apartment inside the estate by a yet-to-be-identified suspected human trafficking agent. Adekoye alleged that the said agent recruited the women through an online platform,…

THE Presidency has said the recent rhetorics by UK Conservative Party leader, Kemi Badenoch, won’t have any effect on Nigeria. This was stated by the Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communications, Daniel Bwala, when he appeared on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Monday monitored by News Point Nigeria. Bwala spoke a few days after Badenoch said she doesn’t want the UK to become like Nigeria where the government is terrible. When asked about the effect of Badenoch’s words on Nigeria, the presidential spokesman said, “I don’t think it would have effect because she’s not the government in…

THE 774 local governments are to open dedicated accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for the direct disbursement of allocations to them from the Federation Account, the Association of Local Governments (ALGON) said yesterday. The National President, Bello Lawal Yandaki, said the opening of the account is critical to the implementation of the Supreme Court ruling on direct allocations to the councils. Also, the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) is to monitor the utilisation of the funds by the chairmen in conformity with the principles of transparency, accountability and good governance, a source told News Point Nigeria. According…

THE Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, has reiterated that the Federal Government would not allow telecoms companies to increase tariffs by 100 per cent. For some years now, the telecoms companies have been asking for an increase in tariff, citing rising operational costs, inflation and naira devaluation among others. Tijani, who was a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday monitored by News Point Nigeria, said the government acknowledged that a tariff increase in the telecom sector is due, but said that the government cannot grant the 100 per cent the companies are demanding. Asked…

THE National Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Shehu Gabam, has opened up on his discussion with a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nasir El-Rufai. Gabam, who was a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Thursday monitored by News Point Nigeria, said his party has done nothing wrong in holding talks with ex-Kaduna governor El-Rufai. “Why the dust about Malam Nasir El-Rufai? They say he is not significant, he’s nothing. Why the worry about El-Rufai? Why the worry about Segun Sowunmi? If they are important, why won’t the government give them the relevant roles they…