THE Federal Government says President Bola Tinubu’s government sees food security as a priority for his administration. According to the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security Aliyu Abdullahi, since Tinubu’s inauguration in May 2023, the government has rolled out programmes to ensure food security in the country. “As part of the Renewed Hope Agenda, because food security is on the front burner in the agriculture sector; it is the mainstream of Nigeria’s economy. It is expected to also play a critical role in the economy as a means of poverty alleviation and gender inclusivity,” the minister said on…
Author: Maryam Garba
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SOME members of the Nigerian Armed Forces retirees under the umbrella of the Coalition of Military Pensioners in Abuja shut down the Federal Ministry of Finance on Thursday morning over the non-payment of their 20% to 28% salary increment from January to November 2024. The retired military officers who came from different chapters lamented the failure of the Federal Government to pay them their entitlements. Their demands are payment of palliatives from October 2023 to November 2024, payment of N32,000 added to pension, payment of Security Debarment Allowance (SDA) in bulk and refund of deductions made from the pensions of…
THE Central Bank of Nigeria has clarified that its Early Exit Package for staff of the apex bank is entirely voluntary and that participation is not mandatory. The CBN In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Mrs Hakama Sidi-Ali, assured staff and the public that no employee would be forced into early retirement under the scheme. She stressed that the programme provides an opportunity for eligible staff members who wish to exit the bank voluntarily, which is in alignment with CBN’s ongoing strategy to promote career development. The statement read, “The Central Bank of Nigeria…
THREE days to round off first term examination by the primary school pupils in the Federal Capital Territory, their teachers have embarked on a fresh strike action over non-compliance with the new minimum wage of N70,000 by the area councils of the territory. Primary school pupils in the FCT have experienced a series of strike action embarked upon by their teachers. The last one was on September 18, 14 days into this term’s resumption. The strike was eventually called off on October 7, thereby forcing them to remain at home for about three weeks. Pupils who went to school on…
VICE President Kashim Shettima, Wednesday morning, departed Abuja for Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. A statement by Senior Special to The President on Media & Communications (Office of The Vice President), Stanley Nkwocha on Wednesday, said Shettima will be attending the opening ceremony of the International Exhibition of Extractive and Energy Resources (SIREXE) 2024 conference. The SIREXE conference is an international event organised by the Government of Côte d’Ivoire that focuses on “Policies and Strategy for the Sustainable Development of the Extractive and Energy Industries”. The conference will be held from November 27 to December 2, 2024, at the Abidjan Exhibition Centre.…
THIRTEEN Nigerian girls who were trafficked to Ghana have been rescued, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) said. The agency said their rescue brings “the total repatriated back to the country within five months to 163”. In a statement by its Director of Media, Public Relations and Protocols, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, NiDCOM gave a breakdown of the rescued ladies. “Among the 163 included the 13 girls that were rescued and brought back to Nigeria over the weekend,” the Friday statement said. It said the rescue “operation was a result of the combined and coordinated efforts of the Ghanaian Anti-Human Trafficking Police,…
THE National Examinations Council announced on Wednesday that it has completed payment of allowances for the 72,138 examiners engaged as ad hoc staff for the 2024 School-Based Senior School Certificate Examination. The Council disclosed this in a statement released by Azeez Sani, the Acting Director of Information and Public Relations. According to the statement, NECO began payments on October 4, 2024, on a bank-by-bank basis to facilitate easier reconciliation and a smoother payment process. As of Wednesday, November 13, 2024, all examiners have received their allowances in line with the Council’s payment plan. The Council noted that some examiners initially…
THE Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) on Thursday said it does not deal with adulterated petrol. NNPCL Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye, disclosed this in a statement made available to News Point Nigeria, Thursday night. “NNPC Retail Ltd does not deal in adulterated products as it adheres to rigorous standards and quality control measures at every stage in its operations to ensure that only high quality, safe, and reliable petroleum products are available at its stations nationwide,” the statement read. Soneye also rejected a viral video showing a customer claiming to have bought bad fuel, allegedly from an…
JUSTICE Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court Abuja has issued an arrest warrant against the Managing Director of Dana Air, Hathiramani Ranesh, over alleged refusal to appear in court to stand trial. In a Ruling, Justice Egwuatu held that the arrest of Ranesh is necessary following his refusal to appear in court after he was served with the charge and several proceedings taken in the matter. The Judge held that in line with Section 184 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, the court can issue an arrest warrant against any defendant who refused to appear in…
TWO media houses and 65 Nigerian journalists were attacked in nine months, the International Press Centre (IPC) has said. In a report released on Saturday by the IPC’s Safety and Protection of Journalists Hub (SPJ-Hub), it said the attacks took place between January and September 2024. “No fewer than forty (40) cases of attacks involving over sixty-five (65) journalists and two (2) media outlets were reported and documented as follows: Male – thirty-six (36), Female – five (5), Not applicable/mentioned – (24),” the report read. The affected states are Lagos, Kaduna, Kano, Rivers, Ogun, FCT Abuja, Oyo, Katsina, Abia, Delta,…
KEMI Badenoch on Saturday won the election to replace Rishi Sunak as leader of the Conservative Party. She is the first person of African heritage to lead the Tories. The Conservative Party announced her win in a post on X on Saturday. ANNOUNCED: @KemiBadenoch has been elected Leader of the Conservative Party,” the party tweeted. Badenoch, 44, beat Robert Jenrick after a four-month contest after Sunak’s resignation. The vote saw a turnout of 72% according to Conservative MP Bob Blackman. Most people said they had not formed an opinion of Ms Badenoch yet, according to a YouGov poll. But 40…
THE Federal Government has issued a nine-month ultimatum to individuals that are keeping dollars outside the banking system. Briefing journalists on Thursday after the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja, the Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, said the government has unveiled a new policy for Nigerians to deposit dollar bills held outside the formal banking system without scrutiny. “There will be no penalty; there will be no taxes, and there will be no questions,” the minister assured. “There is going to be a release today, details by the federal government through the Ministry of…
THE Transmission Company of Nigeria has announced that the ongoing repairs to the damaged transmission line that led to a blackout in northern Nigeria will be completed by Sunday, 3 November 2024. It noted, however, that alternative measures have been implemented to transmit 400 megawatts to certain areas within the next 24 hours. The Managing Director of TCN, Sule Abdulaziz, disclosed this development at a press briefing on Tuesday in Abuja, updating Nigerians on efforts to restore electricity to the northern region. On 22 October, TCN reported a power outage in the north-east, north-west, and parts of north-central Nigeria after…
THE Senate is set to begin screening of seven ministerial nominees recently announced by President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday (tomorrow). This follows the earlier request to the Senate by President Tinubu to confirm the new ministerial nominees. The Special Adviser to the President on Senate Matters, Senator Basheer Lado, in a statement on Monday, confirmed that ministerial nominees have commenced documentation ahead of their screening and confirmation by the Senate. He stated that the nominees were already submitting relevant documents as first in the series of procedures for the screening and confirmation of ministerial nominees. The nominees are expected to…
THE Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company, KAEDCO, has asked customers to pay their light bills despite a protracted blackout in the North. This newspaper reports that there has been power outage in Kaduna, Katsina, Kano, and Jigawa following the vandalism of towers along the 330KV Shiroro-Kaduna Lines and also the tripping on the Ugwuaji-Makurdi 330KV Line 2. The damage has left the affected states in darkness for days. But in a statement issued by the company’s head of corporate communications, Abdulazeez Abdullahi, the company asked the customers to pay for service provided before the power outage. While acknowledging the difficulty the…
THE U.S. on Thursday deployed a plane outfitted with medical supplies and 6-man special forces to retrieve Tigran Gambaryan, an executive of Binance Holdings Limited, from Nigeria. According to The New York Times, Gambaryan left the country after the Federal Government dropped money laundering charges against him. This newspaper had earlier reported that on Wednesday, the FG withdrew the money laundering charge filed against the detained Binance Holdings Limited’s executive, Tigran Gambaryan, due to his ill health and diplomatic intervention. Gambaryan has been detained since February due to a government crackdown on the exchange for alleged manipulation of the naira.…
AFTER nine years, Former President Goodluck Jonathan, on Friday, recounted the experience of losing the 2015 presidential election, saying it was a tough moment in his political life. The ex-president admitted that he was emotional when he learned the result, adding that it felt as if the whole world was against him. He made the confession in Abuja at the 1st Raymond Dokpesi Annual Diamond Lecture, organised by the management of Daar Communications in collaboration with the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations. Jonathan, who ran on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, was defeated in the 2015 election by…
A FEDERAL High Court in Abuja, on Wednesday, ordered the release of Mr Tigran Gambaryan, the detained Binance Holdings Limited’s executive, from Kuje Correctional Centre. Justice Emeka Nwite gave the order after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)’s counsel, R. U. Adagba, informed the court of the decision of the Federal Government to withdraw the charge against Gambaryan. Adagba, who held the brief of Ekele Iheanacho, SAN, premised the decision on Gambaryan’s deteriorating health and the diplomatic intervention. This newspaper reports that Gambaryan was the 2nd defendant in the charge preferred against the cryptocurrency platform (1st defendant) by the…
THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, on Monday, filed 14 fresh charges of alleged N5.78 billion fraud against the former Kwara State governor, Abdulfattah Ahmed, and his Commissioner of Finance, Mr Ademola Banu, before a Kwara State High Court presided by Justice Mahmud Abdulgafar. The duo were charged with alleged diversion and misappropriation of public funds meant for the execution of some projects and security of the state. The fresh re-arraignment of the former governor and his finance commissioner followed the withdrawal of the case last week Wednesday from the Federal High Court, Ilorin where they were formerly standing trial…
THE Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), has promised a backup or buffer system to ensure that Nigerians won’t be thrown into blackout whenever the national grid collapses. TCN Managing Director, Sule Abdulaziz, stated this Channels Television’s Sunday Politics programme. He blamed aged infrastructure as old as 50 years for the frequent grid collapses in the country. Abdulaziz said, “Presently, we are doing the scatter system for the whole network and it is funded by the World Bank, and the project will take two years to be completed, and now, we have done 70% of the project. “Almost a month ago,…