Author: Farouk Abbas

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…

THE National Counter Terrorism Centre, Office of the National Security Advisor, says at least 5,000 repented Boko Haram fighters have been reunited with their families. It says none of the ex-combatants returned to the battle ground after six months of the deradicalisation programme. Amb. Mairo Musa Abbas, Head of Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (PCVE), stated this at the second-day session of the Lake Chad Basin Governors’ Forum. Mairo, who spoke at the Third Penal with the theme, “Managing Boko Haram Exits and Demobilization of Armed Groups,” said harmonised strategy would help the governors of Lake Chad region to address…

THE Nigeria Labour Congress has proposed a five per cent increase in telecom tariff hike rejecting the 50 per cent approved by the Nigerian Communications Commission. The NLC spokesman Benson Upah said on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Thursday. “They keep on emasculating us through stupid taxes. It will come to a point when people can pay but they won’t pay. This really is to halt this mindless tariff increase. And if by any chance there has to be an increase at all, 5%, given the fact of our situation that there have been increases across the board. “But…

THE Federal Capital Territory High Court, Kuje, has deferred the arraignment of former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme, Prof. Usman Yusuf, to Monday, February 3, 2025. Yusuf, who was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Wednesday, January 29, 2025, was brought before Justice Chinyere E. Nwecheonwu on Thursday for his scheduled arraignment on allegations of fraud. However, the court adjourned the case to allow for amendment of charges. An EFCC statement on Thursday revealed this. During the brief session, defense counsel, Isah Dokto Haruna, who held brief for lead counsel O.I. Habeeb, SAN, sought…

THE Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi, yesterday clarified the federal government’s decision to terminate the contract awarded to Julius Berger by the previous administration for the rehabilitation of Section One of the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Dual Carriageway. Tacitly rebutting some insinuations about the revocation of the contract, the minister stated that the action was purely based on the federal government’s principled stance, after Julius Berger’s recalcitrance on cost, as well as its abandonment of the critical project. Similarly, the minister explained how Infiouest International Limited won the contract for the same project, stating that Julius Berger had refused to take advantage…

OPERATIVES of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have raided the Abuja home of a former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Prof. Usman Yusuf, picking him up, Daily Trust can confirm. It was learnt that the gun-wielding operatives arrested the professor of haematology-oncology and bone marrow transplantation in his house in the presence of his wife and children at about 4:46pm on Wednesday over a yet-to-be-revealed offence. Sources familiar with the development confided in our correspondent that Yusuf was driven to an unknown location after he was picked up by the operatives. Although details of…