Author: Khadija Abubakar

THE Acting Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Chris Maiyaki, says the commission has identified at least 58 illegal universities operating in Nigeria. He clarified this when he spoke with Channels Television in Abuja on Wednesday, adding that some arrests have been made in this regard. Maiyaki said the Department of State Services was involved in the clampdown on illegal institutions. The NUC secretary urged parents to check the commission’s website for illegal and legal varsities in Nigeria so that their wards don’t fail victims of these institutions. Maiyaki’s statements followed the suspension of degree certificates from two francophone…

A FORMER Nigerian Ambassador to Namibia, Ms Lilian Onoh, has lodged a libel suit at the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas against Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama. Also joined in the case is Mr Gabriel Aduda, who was a Permanent Secretary at the ministry. The case has been assigned to Judge Jane Boyle for adjudication but no date has been fixed for hearing. In the court documents, Onoh accused Onyeama and Aduda of using a New York-based online newspaper, to defame her. In the suit before the Court, Counsel to Onoh’, Steven Thornton,…

FORMER President Muhammadu Buhari mourns the passing of Governor Akerdolu of Ondo State, describing him as a towering political and legal luminary. In a signed statement by his spokesperson, Garba Shehu, Wednesday, Buhari said, “I have lost a valued friend. I pray that his soul finds eternal peace. My thoughts are with the countless people who are inspired by his leadership in law and politics. “My condolences to his family,the government and people of Ondo State and to our party, the All Progressives Congress.” In the message to the large Na’Abba family in Kano, the government and the people of…

THE Governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule, has appointed the former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof Attahiru Jega, as the Pro-Chancellor of the Nasarawa State University, Keffi. This was contained in a statement by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr Aliyu Ubandoma, on Thursday in Lafia, the state capital. Jega is a former Vice Chancellor of the Bayero University, Kano and a former President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities. Ubandoma said the appointment was based on the powers bestowed on the governor as the visitor to the institution, adding that the governor approved…

THE Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Yusuf Tuggar, has warned against describing the unconstitutional change of government in West Africa as solely a regional problem. Tuggar also insisted that the coup could engulf the entire African continent and add to the challenges of terrorism and other cross-border criminalities if not addressed. The minister gave the warning at the 10th Annual High-level Seminar on the Promotion of Peace and Security in Africa: Assisting African Members of the UN Security Council in Preparing to Address Peace and Security Issues on the Continent in Oran, Algeria. Tuggar, in a statement signed by his…

THE Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the outbreak of dengue fever in Sokoto State on Saturday. The NCDC, in a statement posted on its website, said the outbreak was detected in November 2023. The statement signed by the NCDC Director General, Ifedayo Adetifa, disclosed that so far, 71 suspected cases, 13 confirmed cases, and zero deaths have been reported in the state from three Local Government Areas -Sokoto South (60 cases), Wamako (three cases) and Dange Shuni (one case). It said the majority of the suspected cases reported fall between the age range of 21- 40 years.…

THE Ministry of Art, Culture and the Creative Economy is to establish a National Museum and a National Theatre in a Creative City to be located in Abuja. The Minister, Barrister Hannatu Musa Musawa made this known when she presented the 2024 Appropriation Budget draft to the Senate Committee on Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy on Thursday at the National Assembly. Musawa stated that the establishment of the two edifices were top on the list of projects of the Ministry which is intended to create employment, not only for creatives but also for Nigerians in general. The achievement of…

THE Federal Executive Council (FEC) has exempted universities, polytechnics, colleges of education and other tertiary institutions from the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS) payment platform. The Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman, disclosed this after the federal cabinet meeting presided over by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja. He also said the heads of these institutions got relief to embark on recruitment exercise without recourse to the Head of Service of the Federation. The minister said the president had directed that the Vice Chancellor be taken out of the platform that made…

AFRICA’s top philanthropist, Aliko Dangote, has pledged his support to the Federal Government’s National Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative (NHSRII) launched at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Tuesday as part of events to mark Universal Health Coverage Day. Speaking at the multi-stakeholder Health Sector Renewal Compact event, the Managing Director of Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF), Mrs Zouera Youssoufou, reiterated the foundation’s continued support for human capital development in Nigeria and expressed the Foundation’s support for the new Initiative. Mrs. Youssoufou said: “I would like to reiterate the absolute commitment of the Aliko Dangote Foundation to improving health outcomes in our…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has, with immense grief, received the news of the passing of NTA Broadcaster, Aisha Bello Mustapha, who was one of the great icons of the Nigerian broadcast media. The President extends his deepest condolences to her family, friends, and colleagues, including the management and staff of Nigerian Television Authority, Africa’s largest Television network, as well as the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria. The President joins them in paying solemn respects to the highly professional news anchor and presenter, who spent 35 years at NTA until her retirement in 2022. “During her time as the presenter of the flagship…

THE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has explained the reasons behind scarcity of naira notes in the country. This comes following a series of complaints by some bank customers on the scarcity of naira notes at the counters, Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), Points of Sale (PoS), and Bureaux de Change (BDCs). In a statement issued by the Corporate Communications Department of the CBN, the apex bank said the seeming currency scarcity was occasioned by large volume withdrawals of cash from various CBN branches by Deposit Money Banks (DMBs). It stated that panic withdrawals by bank customers were also partly responsible…

NO fewer than 9, 000 civil servants who sat the 2022 Federal Civil Service Promotion examinations failed. This is according to a list obtained by this newspaper from the Federal Civil Service Commission. This newspaper reports that no fewer than 13,000 civil servants sat the 2022 examination, which held in about 69 Computer Based Test centres. The candidates were drawn from the core civil service, the Nigeria Police, and other para-military and specialised agencies. The letter containing the list of successful civil servants was dated November 30, 2023 and sent from the Federal Civil Service Commission. The letter, tagged FC.6241/S.35/Vol.xi/…

GUNMEN on Sunday kidnapped two landlords in the Asokoro extension area of the Federal Capital Territory. The gunmen are demanding N20m ransom to release the victims. Our correspondent gathered that armed men pointed a gun at one of the landlords in the area whom they used to gain access to another victim. A resident of the area who simply identified himself as James told our correspondent that the other victim was making his way into his house when he was whisked away by the armed men. He said, “It happened around 11pm on Sunday. Because of the heat, one of…

THE Director Communications, Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF), Mallam Mohammmed Ahmed, confirmed the incident in a statement Saturday night. He said that the fire incident affected the utility rooms on the second to the eighth floors of the Federal Secretariat in Abuja. “Around 2:30 p.m., yesterday (Saturday), there was a fire incident at the Block C of the Federal Secretariat, Phase II, Abuja. The fire was triggered by an explosion from the Electrical Utility Room on the 3rd Floor of Block C being used as a Solar and Inverter Room by the present occupant,…

THE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says it will freeze accounts without a Bank Verification Number (BVN) or National Identification Number (NIN) from April 2024. This is according to a Friday circular by the apex bank which instructed banks to place a “Post no Debit” restriction – which prevents customers from making withdrawals, transfers, or any other debits “for all existing Tier-1 accounts/wallets without BVN or NIN”. “Effective immediately, any unfunded account/wallet shall be placed on ‘Post No Debit or Credit’ until the new process is satisfied. Effective March 1, 2024, all funded accounts or wallets shall be placed on…

FRESH facts have emerged over allegations of admission racketeering involving the management of Nigerian Law School. Multiple sources told this newspaper that the process of entrance into the Nigerian Law School has been made so rigorous that university authorities pay huge amount of money, which they get through the parents of the students or the students themselves, so the paying university can get a high number of its undergraduates into the Law School. A deputy dean from one of the South-West universities, who spoke on condition of anonymity said, ‘it’s an established fact that universities pay the Nigerian Law School…

THE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has appointed a professional Public Relations practitioner, Mrs Hakama Sidi Ali, as its Acting Director of Corporate Communications. She replaced Dr. Abdulmumini Isa. Mrs Sidi Ali is a recognised member of the Nigeria Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), who served as Deputy Director in the same Department at the apex Bank before her latest appointment. The NIPR has for years sustained the campaign to stop government agencies, individuals and corporate organisations from the illegal practice of appointing non-professionals and quacks as official spokespersons. It was gathered that the new CBN spokesperson is a 1992…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu met with His Majesty, King Charles III, on Thursday, on the sidelines of the COP28 Climate Summit in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the President said he had a productive engagement with the 75-year-old monarch. “I had a productive meeting with His Majesty, King Charles III of England who is also the Head of the Commonwealth, and a passionate climate advocate,” the President said. “The meeting was a significant step in strengthening the partnership between Nigeria and the United Kingdom, and I am optimistic about the positive impact our joint…

TWENTY-FIVE persons lost their lives while about 15 others sustained varying degrees of injury in a fire disaster at Bode Saadu in the Moro Local Government Area (LGA) of Kwara State. It was gathered that the fire incident occurred when a petrol tanker with registration number JJN 17 XW, a heavy-duty truck, and an 18-seater bus collided at about 3:18pm on Tuesday at Peke village along Oko-Olowo, Bode Saadu Expressway in the Moro LGA, A spokesman for the state Fire Service, Hakeem Adekunle, who confirmed the incident, said that the petrol tanker, travelling from Niger state, used the wrong side…

THE Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria has called on the Federal Government to probe alleged corrupt cases made against some of the Chief Executive Officers of the Federal Health Institutions. A communique of the 96th annual national conference of the PSN, titled, ‘Jewel City 2023,’ also raised alarm over the unregistered two million drug sellers in the country. The communique, signed by the President, PSN, Prof. Cyril Usifoh, and National Secretary, Mr Garfa Madehin, noted that the conference was held between October 30 and November 4 at Gombe International Conference Centre, Bauchi Road, Gombe State, Nigeria. “The conference called for the…