Author: Maryam Garba

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,…

ONE person has reportedly been killed and another one injured as bandits invaded the Oreke-Okegbo community in the Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara state. This newspaper gathered that the incident occurred on Thursday when the bandits reportedly in military uniforms invaded the community at about 7:00 p.m. According to a credible source, “they shot one person at Awere River, and all efforts made by Kabiesi Oloreke to contact the army at Oro Ago proved abortive.” However, speaking to this newspaper on the telephone on Sunday, the traditional ruler of Oreke, Oba Joseph Sunday Adefila, confirmed the attack, adding that…

FAISAL Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi, son of former Governor of Kaduna state, Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi, is dead. A family source who did not want to be mentioned confirmed his death to our correspondent, saying the deceased was involved in an accident. This newspaper gathered that the accident happened along Kaduna-Zaria highway on Saturday evening. “The accident occurred along the Kaduna-Zaria highway this evening. He was taken to an undisclosed hospital where he was declared dead. His father was at the hospital; his corpse has been conveyed home for burial arrangements. Makarfi, a former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), could…

THREE major revenue-generating agencies in Nigeria deducted a total of N533.11bn as costs of revenue collection in the first seven months of 2024, according to findings by this newspaper. The agencies include the Nigeria Customs Service, Federal Inland Revenue Service, and Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission. This figure, derived from the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee reports published by the National Bureau of Statistics, marks a substantial increase of 99.85 per cent compared to the N266.75bn recorded in the corresponding period of 2023. The FIRS and NUPRC deducted about four per cent of the cost of revenue collection, while the NCS…

THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has asked the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos to dismiss an application filed by the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, seeking to stop the forfeiture of some properties and monies linked to him. On August 25, 2024, the court authorised the EFCC to temporarily take custody of the cash sum of $2.045 million, seven choice landed properties, and shares linked to Emefiele. At the resumption of proceedings on Friday, Emefiele’s counsel, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Olalekan Ojo, asked Justice Deinde Dipeolu to stay further proceedings in…

THE Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HCSF), Mrs Didi Esther Walson-Jack, has urged the nation’s civil and public servants to be abreast of information communication technology (ICT) and digitalisation so as to boost their professionalism and contribution to national development. She said this on Wednesday in Abuja while undergoing inspection of the 2024 OHCSF Senior combined confirmation and promotion (COMPRO) examination exercise for senior para-military officers and others. She said that would be part of the ongoing reforms under the digitalization pillar of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan (FCSSIP 25). She noted that it…

PARTICIPANTS at the 2024 Abuja International Trade Fair(AITF) have been thronging the pavilion of the Dangote Group to make inquiries about the company, and its state-of-the-art oil refinery, which recently commenced the discharge of petroleum products. Dangote Group is one of the major sponsors of the 19th Trade Fair organised by the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry(ACCI). Many of the participants were seen milling around the company’s other business units, which include: Dangote Fertiliser, Dangote Sugar, NASCON(Dangote Salt), and Dangote Cement. A participant and block Moulder, Peter Ibrahim, told newsmen: “I am here at the Dangote booth to find…

THE Federal Government is set to implement the New Minimum Wage with effect from July 29, 2024. It also approved the revision of the Salary structure for lecturers, doctors, military and other civil servants. The development comes after FG and the Labour Union on Friday signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the ₦70, 000 new minimum wage. A statement by the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, and signed by the Head, Information and Public Relations, Eno Olotu said the committee on salaries for civil servants has agreed that the new minimum wage will be implemented…

THE Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has commended the conduct of the just concluded governorship election in Edo State. NBA, in a report of its Election Working Group ((NBA-EWG) on the Edo governorship election , jointly signed by its team lead, Mrs. Bolatumi Animashaun and General Secretary, Mobolaji Ojibara, said the poll was  conducted in an orderly manner. “The Nigerian Bar Association Election Working Group (NBA-EWG) observed that the 2024 Edo State Governorship Election was generally orderly,” the report stated. The NBA also commended the security agencies for demonstrating a high level of professionalism throughout the election. However, it expressed concerns…

TELECOMMUNICATIONS operators are expected to start disconnecting mobile telephone lines that are not linked to National Identification Numbers, following the expiration of the September 14 deadline set by the Nigerian Communications Commission. The NCC said in a statement in August that it expected that no SIM card would remain active without a verified NIN from September 15. The telecom regulator had encouraged subscribers who were yet to complete their NIN-SIM linkage or have faced issues due to verification mismatches to visit their service providers promptly to update their details before the deadline. As of March 2024, data from the NCC…

THE Secretary General of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Haitham Al Ghais, has expressed deep gratitude to Nigeria and President Bola Tinubu for their unwavering support of the organization since Nigeria joined in 1971. In a message commemorating OPEC’s 64th anniversary, Al Ghais said: “Today, we proudly celebrate OPEC’s founding. It is a pleasure and an honour to deliver this message to the great nation of Nigeria, which has played a pivotal role in this organisation since joining in 1971. Nigeria has been a steadfast supporter of OPEC’s mission to ensure a stable and balanced global oil market.”…

THE Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) said it has confirmed 55, out of the 935 suspected Mpox cases across 39 local government areas in 21 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). NCDC made this known on Tuesday via Its official website, where it also confirmed that no death was recorded from the disease so far this year. States where the cases were confirmed include Enugu with eight cases, followed by Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom, recording six cases each. Other states with confirmed cases include Cross River (5), Delta (3), Benue (3), Plateau (3), Osun (2), Imo…

NIGERIA’s telecom sector risks shutdown as about 800 workers from the Private Telecommunications and Communications Senior Staff Association have embarked on strike, threatening to cripple services nationwide. The union, largely contract staff, warned of massive disruptions to telecom operations if its demands were not met, as this would leave millions of subscribers to face a potential communication blackout. The strike began on Monday and the union’s demands include, among other things, reinstatement of some of its sacked workers, recognition of the union, improved working conditions, and remittance of membership dues. “The strike has become inevitable because of the prevalent precarious…

THE National grid on Monday hit a record high of 5,313 megawatts, a record high in the last three years. This was revealed by the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu while speaking at an event which took place in Beijing, China on the eve of the opening ceremony of the African-China Co-operation Summit on Tuesday. Adelabu called on the Distribution Companies to make use of the opportunity to take more energy to prevent grid collapse. He explained that frequency drops whenever power is produced and not picked by the DISCOs, adding that efforts would be made to encourage industries…

THE Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has denounced claims that it is involved in the admission process for higher national diploma (HND) students. A statement signed by the Spokesman of the board, Fabian Benjamin, said the board has no involvement, authority, or control over the admissions process for HND candidates. The statement added that JAMB is also not responsible for other higher institutions’ programmes besides their regular admissions. The board further added that candidates’ HND admissions are unknown and irrelevant to the mandate of JAMB. Some HND students had earlier accused the board of being responsible for their inability…

THE Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Moji Adeyeye, says the agency has not advised Nigerians not to eat bread. In a statement on Tuesday, Adeyeye labelled as false, a video circulating on social media, which claims that the agency has raised concerns about bread safety in Nigeria. “The video which suggests that NAFDAC advised Nigerians to avoid bread due to the use of saccharine by some producers, does not reflect the observations of NAFDAC during the stakeholders’ engagement on August 16, 2024, in Ibadan, Oyo State,” she said. Adeyeye clarified that…