Author: Farouk Abbas

THE Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has issued a fresh strike threat faulting the the Federal Government for not meeting any of its demands despite repeated assurances to resolve their age-long differences. The president of the union, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, said apart from the renegotiation team constituted recently to discuss afresh with ASUU, no concrete agreement had been reached. Osodeke said the union had since concluded its own part of renegotiation with the team, awaiting feedback from the government’s representatives. “It’s been two months now, and the government’s team has not come back to us, let alone sign a…

THE National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has affirmed a former National Youth Leader, Sunday Udeh-Okoye, as the party’s National Secretary. The party disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday. Signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, the PDP NWC said that it is bound by the judgment of the Court of Appeal on the matter. According to the statement, the opposition party would send its resolution affirming Udeh-Okoye as the PDP National Secretary to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other relevant bodies for recognition, in accordance with the Court of Appeal’s judgment. “The…

THE national grid has collapsed again, plunging millions of Nigerians into darkness. News Point Nigeria reports that the collapse which happened on Wednesday is the first in 2025. Confirming this in a post on X, the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company reported that the system outage happened at 11:34 am local time. “Please be informed that we experienced a system outage today 12th February 2025 at 11:34hrs affecting all our feeders. “Restoration of supply is ongoing in collaboration with our critical stakeholders,” the post read. Abuja Electricity Distribution Company also confirmed the development on X. “Dear Valued Customer, we regret to…

THE National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, insists that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would serve out his two terms of eight years in office spanning between 2023 to 2031. Ganduje spoke against the backdrop of a warning by former Governor of Kaduna state, Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, that President Tinubu stood the risk of being booted out of office in the 2027 poll with votes from the Northern part of the country. Ganduje, who spoke Tuesday while receiving the Tinubu Northern Youth Forum at the National Secretariat of the party in Abuja, maintained that…

THE Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, on Tuesday admitted a former Managing Director of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Ahmed Kuru, to bail in the sum of N50m with two sureties. The court also convicted and wound up a company, Sigma Golf Nigeria Limited and ordered the forfeiture to the Federal Government, all rights, title and interest of the company in Six Billion, Two Hundred and Fifty Million (6,250,000,000) units of Keystone Bank Limited’s ordinary shares of 1.00 each. Justice Rahman Oshodi handed down this judgment which formed part of the terms of a plea bargain…

IN an effort to explore alternative sources of funding to supplement the funding challenges being experienced by the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), the Honourable Minister of State for Works, overseeing FERMA, Bello Muhammad Goronyo, Esq., has directed that  a steering committee be constituted to look into other sources of funding the Agency including those captured in the FERMA Act, to enable her deliver its mandate of effectively and efficiently monitoring and maintaining all Federal roads across the country. Goronyo disclosed this at a one-day retreat for the Board and Management of FERMA with the theme “ *Delivering* *FERMA’s* *Mandate*…

THE Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, has voiced support for the implementation of Sharia law in the Southwest. Oloyede, who is also the Secretary-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), said Sharia panels would serve the interests of Muslims in the region. He called on leaders in the South-West geopolitical zone to support the establishment of Sharia panels in the six states of the zone. According to him, the establishment of Sharia panels, which are essentially committees of Islamic scholars set up to settle marriage and inheritance disputes, will foster…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has been sued by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) following the federal government’s failure to prosecute contractors who failed to execute any projects despite raking in N167 billion from 31 ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs). In the suit number FHC/L/MISC/121/2025 filed last Friday at the Federal High Court, Lagos, SERAP is asking the court “to compel President Tinubu to direct Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Olawale Edun, to publish the specific names of the companies and contractors as documented in the 2021 Audited Report by the Auditor General of the Federation.”…

THE National Chairman of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, Agbo Major, has stated that the Rabiu Kwankwaso faction remains expelled. This newspaper reports that the Kwankwaso faction had rejected Tuesday’s convention that led to Major’s election as the party’s new National Chairman. The faction insisted that the convention held in Lagos State was illegitimate and that Dr Ajuji Ahmed remains the only recognised National Chairman of the party. Speaking on behalf of the faction in an exclusive interview with this newspaper, the party’s Publicity Secretary, Ladipo Johnson, described Major’s faction as a renegade group. However, addressing a press conference in…

NASARAWA State Governor, Abdullahi Sule has dissolved all political appointees serving in his government. Governor Sule announced this Friday, February 7, at the Executive Council Chambers, Government house during a valedictory session with the Special Advisers, Senior Special Assistants, Special Assistants, Personal Assistants. He thanked them for all the services and contributions they made in the cause of their appointments to the development of the State and assured them that some may be still be re-appointed in other capacities. Governor Sule also swore in a new Secretary to the State Government, Barr Labaran Magaji who is the immediate past Commissioner…

THE Kogi Government has filed an appeal before the Court of Appeal in Abuja against the removal of the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, Tijani Ahmed-Anaje, by a state High Court. Mr Muzi Abdullahi (SAN), the Kogi Attorney General, who is the 2nd claimant in the appeal, made this known to News Point Nigeria. Justice Umar Salisu of Lokoja High Court had on Monday ordered the sack of the paramount ruler in a case filed by Daudu Adeku-Ojiah, Hussain Yusuf and Abdulrahaam Suberu as 1st, 2nd and 3rd plaintiffs and challenged the appointment of Ahmed-Anaje by former governor Yahaya Bello as the…

THE Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, has acquitted and discharged a former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, of the charge of medical forgery levelled against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Justice Olubumni Abike-Fadipe who freed the former minister while delivering ruling on the no case submission filed by his counsel held that the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case against him. The court upheld the no case-submission filed by his counsel, Norrison Quakers (SAN) and ruled that Fani-Kayode had no case to answer as the EFCC did not link him to the…

THE Nigeria Labour Congress has suspended its planned nationwide protest against the recent 50% hike in telecom tariffs approved by the Federal Government. The labour union announced the protest last week, citing the burden the tariff increase would place on Nigerians. However, following a meeting with government representatives at the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation on Monday night, the NLC resolved to halt the demonstration pending further discussions. Speaking to journalists after the meeting, NLC President, Joe Ajaero, said the government had agreed to set up a larger committee to review the entire tariff structure.…

A FORMER Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme, Prof. Usman Yusuf, has pleaded “not guilty” to a five-count amended charge, bordering on alleged fraud. Yusuf was arraigned on Monday at the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Kuje, Abuja by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. Arrested last Wednesday by the EFCC, Yusuf is being accused of using his office to confer undue advantages to himself between 2016 and 2017. Specifically, the EFCC accused Yusuf of using his position at the time to confer an undue advantage to himself by approving the purchase of a vehicle at the cost…

THE Federal Government says Nigerians should brace up for fresh electricity tariffs in months. President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Energy, Olu Verheijen, said in an interview in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, according to Bloomberg. Verheijen was in Tanzania attending a World Bank-backed conference where Nigeria presented a $32 billion plan to boost electricity connections by 2030. Private investors are expected to contribute $15.5 billion and the rest will come from public sources, including the World Bank and African Development Bank. The energy adviser said Nigeria’s power prices need to rise by about two thirds for many customers to reflect…

THE House of Representatives’ Committee on Communications is interfacing with the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress to avert the nationwide protest scheduled February 4, 2025, over the 50 per cent hike in telecom tariff. The Nigerian Communications Commission recently approved a 50 per cent tariff increase for telecommunication companies, citing prevailing operational costs. Miffed by the development, the NLC vowed to embark on a nationwide protest, calling on the Federal Government and the National Assembly to revert to the old tariff in the interim. The union noted that the rally would serve as a warning on the dangers of…

THE Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) on Friday revoked the air operator certificates of Eastwind Aviation Logistics Services Limited and Omni-Blu Aviation. In a post on its X handle, the NCAA said the move is part of efforts to “further sanitize the aviation industry”. “The Authority has determined that both Omni-Blu Aviation and Eastwind Aviation are in violation of Part 1.2.1.5 of Nig. CARs on Falsification, Reproduction, or Alteration of Applications, Licences, Certificates, Logbooks, Reports, or Records,” the agency said. Part 1.2.1.5(b) of Nig. CARs provide the sanction for such fraud as revocation of the certificate. “Consequently, their respective Air…

THE National Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, on Friday called for urgent action to address the shrinking Lake Chad Basin. Ganduje made call while declaring the week-long meeting of the 5th edition of the Lake Chad Basin Governors’ Forum closed in Maiduguri. The chairman, also former Executive Secretary of Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC), called for a renewed focus on the environmental challenges facing the basin and people living within it. He reminded the meeting of the vision of LCBC’s founders – Davao Baleo of Nigeria, Ahmed Ahijo of Cameroon, Amani Diori of Niger, and Tamba…

REPRESENTING an N20 increase within a day, the Nigerian naira appreciated against the U.S. dollar in the parallel market on Friday, closing at N1,610/$1. The naira closed at N1,630/$1 on Thursday. The British pound weakened slightly against the naira, trading at N2,000/£1 on Friday, down from N2,010/£1 the previous day—a 0.50% decline. The euro also saw a drop, closing at N1,655/€1, marking a 0.91% appreciation of the naira against the European currency. The latest movement in the parallel market comes as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) reported an official exchange rate of N1,493/$1 as of Thursday. On Friday, the…

THE Jami’ur Rahman Mosque, formerly Masjid Sahaba, has suspended Sheikh Muhammad Bin Uthman from leading prayer and delivering sermon, following his controversial sermon on January 24. The old site of the mosque, which was headed by Mr Uthman for 24 years, is located a few meters away from the new site, which was officially allocated to a renowned oil marketer, AY Maikifi. The new site was originally a green area where Muslim congregants monitored and performed Friday and during Eid prayers led from the old site. After the allocation of the green area by Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, Mr Maikifi reportedly…