Author: Farouk Abbas

THE Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, Rt Hon Benjamin Kalu, has revealed that none of the 31 requests for state creation met the constitutional requirements. Kalu, who also serves as the Deputy Speaker of the House, made this known on Friday during a two-day retreat for committee members in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State. The retreat, which will be held from February 20 to 23, 2025, provided a platform for reviewing pending amendment bills and strategizing about the next steps in the constitutional review process. The 10th House organized the event…

THE Chairman of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, and Chairman of BUA Group, Abdulsamad Rabiu, were part of the dignitaries that raised billions of naira for the establishment of a presidential library for former military president, Ibrahim Babangida, on Thursday. Dangote announced a donation of N6 billion, saying that he will be supporting the project with N2 billion annually for a period of four years. He added that he will continue the contribution if the project drags beyond four years. “I will contribute N2b annually for the next four years, which is N8b to the development of the IBB Presidential Library.…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu on Thursday recalled how he once challenged the former military President, Ibrahim Babangida, and told him that he failed to make history. Babangida, former military dictator, ruled Nigeria from 1985 to 1993. He is renowned for annulling the June 12, 1993 presidential election believed by many to be won by the late businessman, Moshood Abiola. Babangida was Nigeria’s leader when Tinubu was elected to the Senate to represent Lagos West in 1992. Speaking at a book launch in honour of Babaginda, Tinubu recalled how he confronted Babangida for always postponing their inauguration after winning election. He said…

A FORMER Head of State Yakubu Gowon has thanked ex-military president Ibrahim Babangida for helping him and contributing to Nigeria’s development. Gowon said this in Abuja on Thursday during a book launch by the former military president. “I had a very rough time in government, I was even charged for treason,” Gowon said during the event. “Later on, President Shagari rescinded that order, and you (IBB) in the end restored my rank and honour. You did quite a lot for the country.” In 1976, Olusegun Obasanjo, then military leader of the country, sacked Gowon from the Nigerian Army over the…

THIRTY-TWO years after his controversial annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election, Nigeria’s former Head of State, Ibrahim Babangida, admitted for the first time that the late philanthropist and democracy hero Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola won the election. The startling revelation was contained in Babangida’s 420-page memoir titled, ‘A Journey in Service: An Autobiography of Ibrahim Babangida’ which was launched in Abuja on Thursday with continental and national dignitaries in attendance. The book reviewer, former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, said the “evil genius” and “Maradona” as Babangida was nicknamed answered the question as to whether Abiola won the…

THE Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting scheduled for Wednesday was postponed due to a dispute between states and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Ltd over unpaid remittances. News Point Nigeria gathered that the state governors boycotted the meeting until NNPC settles an estimated N1.7 trillion in revenues, which have been pending since the full removal of the petrol subsidy in November 2024. It remains uncertain whether the meeting will take place later this week. This comes a few months after President Bola Tinubu said in a presidential TV chat that the federal government has not been depending on…

THE Federal Government has dragged Binance Holdings Limited to the Federal High Court, seeking compensation of $79.51 billion and N231 million for alleged economic losses caused by the operations of the cryptocurrency exchange company. In a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1444/2024, the third against Binance, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) is also asking the court to compel the company to pay $2.001 billion in income taxes for 2022 and 2023. The FIRS also claimed that Binance and two of its executives, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, caused Nigeria economic losses by failing to register with the service. News Point Nigeria also…

THE Senate has asked the National Security Adviser, Director DSS; Director, National Intelligence Agency; and Defence Intelligence Agency to appear before it, over allegations of funding of terrorist group Boko Haram by the USAID. The call for an urgent investigation into allegations that international organizations, including the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), may be funding terrorist groups like Boko Haram, followed a motion raised by Senator Ali Ndume on the urgent need to probe the matter. During the plenary, lawmakers expressed concerns over a viral video of U.S. Congressman Scott Perry, a Republican representing Pennsylvania, who alleged at…

THE Minister of State for Works, overseeing the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), Bello Mohammad Goronyo, Esq. has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, for his commitment to road infrastructural development across the nation under the Renewed Hope Agenda. The Minister disclosed this today Tuesday 18th February, 2025 while inspecting the Keffi – Gitata – Kaduna State Boarder Road and the Keffi – Gitata – Shendam (Plateau State Boarder road) in Nasarawa State, in the company of the Managing Director/CEO, FERMA, Dr. Emeka Agbasi, FNSE. The projects were carried out by both Contract and Direct Labour maintenance  in the budget…

THE Bauchi State government has expressed surprise over data showing that the child poverty rate in the state is alarming, with eight out of 10 children being multidimensionally poor. Reacting to revelations about the N1 billion spent over two years in Bauchi, during a two-day dialogue on advocacy and sensitization organised for members of the Bauchi and Plateau State Houses of Assembly, the Bauchi State Speaker, Abubakar Suleiman, after seeing the worrisome data showing several children on the verge of dying, said the state had spent billions on nutrition and pledged to probe the spending. “This is worrisome. Something is…

THE National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, has handed over 59 rescued kidnap victims to the Kaduna State Government. The victims who were kidnapped from various parts of Kaduna State were handed over in Abuja after being rescued along Abuja-Kaduna Highway. Addressing journalists after the brief hand over ceremony on Tuesday, Ribadu reaffirmed the commitment of the Federal Government to rescue other victims who are still in captivity. The victims are made up of 28 women, 24 men, and six children while one of them is said to be hospitalized. More details shortly…

THE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed bank directors with non-performing insider-related loans to step down immediately. The apex bank gave the directive on Monday in a circular signed by Acting Director of Banking Supervision, Adetona Adedeji. Insider loans are loans granted by a bank or financial institution to its own executives, directors, employees, major shareholders, or other related parties. The CBN explained that the move is to strengthen corporate governance and risk management within the banking sector. “Directors with non-performing insider-related facilities are required to step down immediately from the board, while the bank should commence immediate remediation…

THE Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has banned the Nigeria Police Force from parading suspects. A parade is a public display of a person suspected to have committed a crime. Senior police officers contacted in the Federal Capital Territory and Lagos State Police Command told our correspondent that they were informed of the development. One of them told our correspondent, “I am aware of it. I think the directive was given by the AGF earlier this month or thereabouts and the information was passed down to us. You would have noticed some level…

THE Nigerian Air Force has reacted to the tragic incident which occurred at Yauni Hill, Zakka Ward of Safana Local Government Area, Katsina State, on Saturday. This newspaper had reported how an airstrike targeted at bandits mistakenly wiped out a family of six and one other person. In a statement on Mondaay, the Director, Public Relations and Information, Nigerian Air Force (NAF), AVM Olusola Akinboyewa, said the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, had ordered a “thorough investigation”. Akinboyewa said the Saturday airstrike also helped to repel the onslaught against Police Mobile Force (PMF) and Katsina State Community…

THE federal government has revealed that 201 Nigerian nationals are currently being held in United States immigration camps, with 85 individuals already cleared for deportation. Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, disclosed this development during a courtesy visit by the U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Richard Mills Jr., at the Tafawa Balewa House in Abuja. The meeting, held to discuss immigration and diplomatic relations, was confirmed in a statement issued on Monday by the minister’s media aide, Magnus Eze. Odumegwu-Ojukwu expressed concerns over the treatment of Nigerians facing deportation and urged the U.S. government to adhere to international conventions…

OVER 340 officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) have proceeded on retirement ahead of the submission of the report of a disciplinary committee that probed their continued stay in office. The committee constituted by Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun met between Monday and Tuesday at the Louis Edet headquarters of the Force in Abuja. It was supported by the Force Management in the screening of the personnel. This newspaper could not ascertain at the weekend if the affected officers or men suddenly opted to quit to avoid being sanctioned. They had allegedly refused to proceed with…

THE Federal Government, on Sunday, vowed to probe the alleged hoarding of relief materials meant for Internally Displaced Persons in Abuja. The Federal Commissioner of the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants, and Internally Displaced Persons, Aliyu Ahmed, disclosed this after uncovering relief supplies hoarded inside classrooms at the Durumi IDP camp, Abuja. Ahmed, who was at the Durumi IDP camp to inaugurate a computer centre donated by the Brand Life Vision Foundation, embarked on an inspection of the camp and discovered that food and non-food items meant for distribution to the IDPs were being stored in classrooms instead. “On our…

THE head of financial crime for the crypto firm Binance, Tigran Gambaryan, has maintained the $150m bribery allegation was true. Gambaryan had alleged that some members of the House of Representatives demanded a $150 million bribe from him during a meeting in Abuja to halt the probe. Although his claims had since been dismissed by the lawmakers and the Federal Government, he reaffirmed that all that happened was nothing but the truth. The controversy between Binance and Nigerian authorities dates back to early 2024 when the government accused the cryptocurrency platform of manipulating foreign exchange rates. The government subsequently detained…

US Congressman, Scott Perry, has said that US aid agency, United States Agency for International Development, funded terrorist organisations, including Boko Haram. Perry, a Republican representing Pennsylvania, made the claim during the inaugural hearing of the Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency on Thursday. The session, titled “The War on Waste: Stamping Out the Scourge of Improper Payments and Fraud,” focused on alleged misappropriations of taxpayer funds. “Who gets some of that money? Does that name ring a bell to anybody in the room? Because your money, your money, $697 million annually, plus the shipments of cash funds in Madrasas,…

THE Director-General of the Department of State Services, Mr. Oluwatosin Ajayi, has called for a policy mandating the recruitment of first-class graduates into the intelligence agency to strengthen national security. Ajayi made this call while delivering the 2025 Distinguished Personality Lecture at the Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies, University of Ilorin, Kwara State. In his lecture, titled “The Roles of the DSS in Security, Peacekeeping, and National Integration,” Ajayi emphasised the need for a paradigm shift in recruitment and staffing within security agencies to ensure only the best minds are enlisted. Represented by the DSS Deputy Director, Mr. Patrick…