THE Nigeria Police on Friday said its operatives have arrested five suspects allegedly involved in transborder gun-running. Disclosing this in a statement, Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, identified the suspects as Adamu Noma, Matthew Audu, Andrew Poyi, Aminu Sani, and Aminu Talha, all male. He said they were apprehended by the operatives of the Force Investigative Department Intelligence Response Team (FID-IRT) on November 18, 2024. “The NPF in its unyielding resolution and unwavering commitment to ensuring the safety and security of all citizens, continues to work tirelessly to prevent and combat all forms of crime and criminality,” the statement…
Author: Khadija Abubakar
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MEMBERS of the Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEAC) and the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), on Wednesday morning, shut down activities at the headquarters of Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) over unresolved labour grievances. The two in-house union members, who stormed the premises in the early hours of the day, carried several placards and barricaded the entrance, preventing workers from entering the premises. The unions were protesting against alleged injustices, including unpaid pension arrears, poor staff welfare, casualisation of workers, non-compliance with the new national minimum wage, among others grievances they considered to have contravened…
THE presidency on Tuesday said that 200 trucks are set to load petroleum products daily from the Port Harcourt Refinery. Speaking on his X handle, the Special Adviser on Public Communications and Orientation to the President, Sunday Dare, said that the refinery’s Old Wing has resumed operations with a production capacity of 60,000 barrels of crude oil per day. “The Port Harcourt Refinery has two Wings. The Old Refinery comes on stream today with an installed production capacity of 60, 000 barrels per day of crude oil. “About 200 trucks are expected to load products daily from the refinery Renewing…
A TOTAL sum of N1.411 trillion, being October 2024 Federation Accounts Revenue, has been shared among the Federal Government, States and Local Government Councils. A statement by the Office of the Accountant General of thee Federation on Wednesday, said the revenue was shared at the November 2024 meeting of the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) held in Bauchi State, and chaired by the Accountant General of the Federation. Dr. Oluwatoyin Madein. The November 2024 FAAC meeting was held after the 2024 National Council on Finance and Economic Development (NACOFED) hosted by the Bauchi State Government. The N1.411 trillion total distributable…
PROMINENT politicians are in Kano for the wedding of the son and daughter of Dahiru Mangal and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the national leader of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) and former governor of the state. Vice President Kashim Shettima, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Senate President Bukola Saraki were among top politicians present in Kano. This newspaper reports that Dr Aisha Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso is tying the knot with her heartthrob, Engr Fahad Dahiru Mangal. Others are former governor of Kaduna State, Ahmed Makarfi, Senator Abdulaziz Abubakar Yari, former Governor of Zamfara State, Senator…
NIGERIA’s headline inflation rate increased to 33.88% in October 2024, up from 32.7% in September 2024, reflecting a 1.18 percentage point month-on-month increase. This was contained in the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released on Friday. The Bureau attributed the rise in inflation to increased transportation costs and higher food prices. On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 6.55% points higher than the rate recorded in October 2023 (27.33%). This indicates that the headline inflation rate increased in October 2024 when compared to the same month in the preceding year. On a month-on-month…
A MAJOR shake-up has taken place in the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), resulting in the removal of some management members and the redeployment of others. This was announced by the Board of Directors of the Company Limited (NNPC) on Wednesday. while Umar Ajiya was Chief Financial Officer (CFO) before now, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan was in charge of the upstream operations, these two have been dropped. Adedapo Segun, who manned the downstream activities of the NNPC before now has been redeployed as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO)of the company Udobong Ntia has been appointed to replace…
THE National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Wednesday advised the Borno State government to evaluate the activities and programmes of Medecins Sans Frontieres in the state. News Point Nigeria reports that the commission made the recommendation in a report presented to the state, which absolved the Nigerian military of complicity in the reported termination of about 10,000 pregnancies in the North East. On December 7, 2022, Reuters had published a report alleging that since 2013, the Nigerian military conducted a secret, systematic and illegal abortion programme in the North East, terminating at least 10,000 pregnancies among women and girls, many…
THE Federal Government has restricted licensed flight crew members from operating multiple airlines. The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) issued the restriction, saying its findings shows that pilots and other crew members render services to different airlines. In a circular NCAA/DGCA/AOL dated November 6th 2024 and signed by the Ag. Director-General, Civil Aviation, Capt. Chris Najomo, declared the act as illegal. According to the circular, instances where pilots operate for more than one airline concurrently pose risk to safety. It said the licence issued to pilot or any member of the flight crew is operator specific based on the approved…
THE total debt of Nigerian states has risen to N11.47tn as of June 30, 2024 despite higher allocations from the Federation Account Allocation Committee. This is according to an analysis of data from the public debt reports released by the Debt Management Office. The figure for the second quarter of 2024 represents a 14.57 per cent increase from the N10.01tn recorded in December 2023. This newspaper, however, observed that the increase was driven primarily by a sharp rise in external debt, worsened by the devaluation of the naira. External debt for the states and the Federal Capital Territory climbed from…
THE Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare has announced that all Nigerian women in need will now have access to free Cesarean sections (CS). The announcement was made by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, on day 2 of the Joint Annual Review (JAR) conference. “This initiative is part of the new Maternal Mortality Reduction Innovation and Initiatives (MAMII) project,” Prof. Pate said, highlighting the government’s commitment to improving maternal and neonatal health in Nigeria. The statement, which was uploaded on the official X account of the Presidential Media Team on Thursday, November 7,…
FORMER Kano State Governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, has condemned the recent arraignment of 67 minors by the Nigeria Police Force in Abuja for allegedly participating in the #EndBadGovernance protest. Expressing shock at the development, Kwankwaso voiced grave concern over the treatment of the children. In a statement, his personally on Friday, Kwankwaso highlighted their malnourished condition and urgent need for medical care. “These children, who are clearly malnourished and in need of medical attention, have been subjected to a cruel experience when they should be in school. “The arraignment of such a large number of minors in their states is highly…
THE Federal Government on Thursday said 25 million Nigerians have so far received the ₦25,000 conditional cash transfer. News Point Nigeria reports that the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, disclosed this while briefing State House Correspondents shortly after the National Economic Council meeting chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima. He enumerated the steps taken by President Bola Tinubu’s administration to provide relief for Nigerians following the sufferings occasioned by the removal of subsidies and other policy reforms being implemented by the government. According to him, five million households have benefited from the direct transfer.…
DANGOTE Group’s contribution to the Nigeria’s GDP is significant and unprecedented, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State has said. Governor Yusuf said this at the 52nd Joint AGM of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) in Kano State. The Governor who was represented by the Kano State Commissioner for Commerce, Hon. Adamu Aliyu Kibiya, said the African conglomerate has also been adjudged the biggest employer of labour in the private sector. Dangote Group is one of the sponsors of the just concluded MAN’s 2024 AGM and Exhibition in Kano State. He said through his numerous investments and wealth creation…
OFFICIALS of local vigilante groups were seen holding sticks and locally forged swords as they provided security for the residents in the ongoing local government elections in Kano State on Saturday. As of the time of filing this report, police officers were nowhere in sight at the polling units. However, our correspondent on ground noted that some members of the local security officials were, however, seen clutching sticks and locally forged swords, while standing behind the residents as they get set to cast their votes. As of the time of filing this report, electoral officials have started arriving at polling…
THE Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, says no fewer than 1,191 persons have been killed by diphtheria from May, 2023 to date across Nigeria. Dr Muzzammil Gadanya, the Incident Manager, National Diphtheria Emergency Operations Centre, NCDC, disclosed this on Wednesday in Kaduna during the National Intra-Action Review Meeting for Diphtheria outbreak. He said the country recorded suspected cases of more than 38,000 persons while the number of confirmed cases stood at 23,000. Gadanya said the primary focus of the review meeting was to assess Nigeria’s current response mechanisms and strengthen coordination efforts to prevent further spread of the disease.…
THE Nigeria Democracy Working Group has condemned the sacking of the Chairman, Kano Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC) by a Federal High Court on Tuesday. In a press release jointly signed by Dr. Vincent Okpara Innocent, Convener and Dr. Idris A. Mohammed Co – Convener, the group condemned the ‘incessant Judicial Recklessness by Federal High Court Judges in Kano. According to them, the Judges who are supposedly on a mission to truncate democracy and jeopardize the peace and security of Kano state must be called to order immediately. The group says it is mobilizing 1,000 organizations across the country to file…
MINISTER of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has recalled how he revoked the certificate of occupancy (C of O) of some plots of land allocated to German construction giant, Julius Berger, in the Katampe District of Abuja. The minister spoke on Monday at the official Flag-Off Ceremony of the Design and Construction of 40 Judges’ Quarters at the nation’s capital. The event was attended by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun; and the President of the Court of Appeal of Nigeria, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem; among other dignitaries. Wike said 70% of funds for the project…
NIGERIANS spent about $2.38m on foreign healthcare-related services from January to June 2024, findings by this newspaper have shown. This is according to a report from the Central Bank of Nigeria on the amount spent on health-related and social services under the sectoral utilisation of foreign exchange. A breakdown of the report showed that $2.3m was spent in January; $0.00m in February; $0.01m in March; $0.00m in April; $0.05m in May; and $0.02m in June. Our correspondent observed that the amount spent on foreign healthcare-related services in the first half of the year was more than that spent in the…
THE Federal Government, through the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, has said discussions are ongoing to transfer the management of the national grid to Independent System Operator in line with the provisions of the Electricity Act 2023 to engender more discipline in grid management. NERC also revealed that an explosion incident at the Jebba transmission station was the cause of the latest national grid collapse that occurred early Saturday. According to the commission, efforts to restore supply have progressed significantly, with power restored in 33 states and the Federal Capital Territory as of 1 pm on Saturday. For the third time…