Author: Farouk Abbas

FORMER Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, billed to be arraigned at the FCT High Court on Wednesday, took over crowd control of the court when Justice Maryann Anenih left the court room out of anger. Justice Maryann Anenih, billed to take the plea of the former governor and two others, rose abruptly and announced not to come back until there was sanity in the court room. Shortly after the Judge left the court room, Yahaya Bello who sat in front of the court room got up and moved to the surging crowd. He immediately directed his followers and sympathisers to…

FEDERAL pensioners under the Contributory Pension Scheme have written to the coordinating Minister of Finance and National Economy, Wale Edun, on the need for the government to release the accrued gratuities owed pensioners from March 2023 to November 2024. The pensioners, who had earlier staged a peaceful rally at the Ministry of Finance on November 12, 2024, expressed appreciation for the minister’s “mature and civilised“ handling of their grievances. However, they lamented that despite promises, their pensions remained unpaid. The pensioners are demanding the immediate release of the outstanding 21 months of accrued rights to retired public workers from March…

THERE are strong indications that former Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, has honoured the invitation of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission again over alleged misappropriation of funds. Our reporter reliably gathered from sources close to the EFCC that he went to the office with his lawyers on Tuesday morning and not with the current Governor of Kogi State, Usman Ododo. This follows the Supreme Court judgment which dismissed states’ case on the constitutionality of the anti-graft agency. It was also reliably gathered that the former Governor drove himself in a black hilux to the EFCC office with his…

PERSONNEL of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps deployed for the November 16 governorship election in Ondo State have complained over the alleged refusal of the authorities to pay their allowances, despite the election being held more than 10 days ago. Six thousand NSCDC officers, including those from neighbouring states like Ekiti, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Lagos, Edo, and Delta, were part of the security deployment for the election. The aggrieved officers, some of whom spoke anonymously to this newspaper on Monday, expressed frustration over the delay in receiving their allowances, especially since other security agencies, like the police, had…

THE lawmaker representing Abia South Senatorial District, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, has said that nobody approached the National Assembly with a request for a new presidential jet before the purchase was eventually made. The Presidency had in August unveiled a new Airbus A330 purchased for President Bola Tinubu. Following the new jet purchase, the Presidency faced so many criticisms from Nigerians who felt the President prioritized his luxury while neglecting the economic hardship faced by the masses. Presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga had in one of his explanations, said that what was purchased was not a new jet as was reported but…

– Says Perpetrators Will Be Brought To Book IN a bid to restore peace and security in Isanlu, Yagba East Local Government Area of Kogi State, Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo has convened an emergency security meeting in Lokoja to address the indigenes of Isanlu and the Fulani settlers after the latter alleged that one of them was killed by indigenes of the community. The Governor summoned the emergency security meeting to listen to both sides in order to take actions that will guarantee peace and security. This is to forestall reprisal attacks that could put the community under threat. According…

THE Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, says his ministry has complained to the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, over the harassment some Nigerians face at the hands of some security agents stationed at various airports in Nigeria. Keyamo, who was a guest on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics monitored by News Point Nigeria, said he gets loads of reports about the misbehaviours of some of the security operatives at the airports. The Minister said even though these actions are not by officials of the aviation ministry, he has approached the NSA to address them because he is concerned…

THE Dangote Petroleum Refinery on Sunday announced a reduction in its price of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, to ₦970 per litre for oil marketers. The company’s Chief Branding and Communications Officer, Anthony Chiejina, disclosed this in a statement. He said the decision is the refinery’s way of appreciating Nigerians “for their unwavering support in making the refinery a dream come true”. According to the statement, the move is a cut from the refinery’s ₦990 ex-depot price announced earlier this month. “In addition, this is to thank the government for their support as this will complement…

LESS than a week after reports emerged of governors threatening to deny federal lawmakers tickets to vie for National Assembly seats in the 2027 general elections for supporting the Tax Reform Bills, some of the lawmakers have denied the claim. On Monday, November 18, 2024, the Deputy Spokesman for the House of Representatives, Mr Philip Agbese, said some governors were threatening to deny federal lawmakers return tickets if they did not withdraw support for President Bola Tinubu’s Tax Reform Bills now before the National Assembly for consideration. The President had transmitted four tax reform bills to the National Assembly following…

THE Nigeria Labour Congress has said its December 1 ultimatum to state governors who fail to implement the new minimum wage by the end of November 2024 still stands. The NLC’s Head of Protocol and Public Relations, Benson Upah, confirmed this in a text message sent to our correspondent in Abuja. Recall that the NLC had given state governments an ultimatum of December 1, 2024, to implement the new minimum wage. “Yes, the ultimatum still stands. Nothing has changed,” Upah told this newspaper. Meanwhile, more state governments who have yet to reach an agreement with the organized labour movements in…

JUSTICE Ekerete Akpan of the Federal High Court Abuja has ordered that the 109 foreigners linked to activities threatening national security and high-level cybercrimes and hacking be remanded in Kuje and Suleja correctional facilities until the next adjourned date. Justice Akpan made the order based on the request by the counsel for the defendants on grounds that the police facility where they are being kept wasn’t conducive for the number of suspects. The suspects’ arraignment was also stalled due to issues of misrepresentation of names of the suspects on the charge sheet and issues of counsel representation. Counsel to some…

THE Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has suspended its National Chairman, Mamman Mike Osuman, over an unauthorised statement on the 2027 elections. The Chairman of ACF Board Trustees (BoT), Bashir Muhammad Dalhatu, and National Secretary, Murtala Aliyu, announced his suspension in a statement on Thursday. Osuman was quoted as saying that the North will back a Northern candidate for the presidency come 2027. The statement noted that “Our attention has been drawn to widely reported statements credited to Mr. Mamman Mike Osuman, SAN, OFR, Chairman, ACF National Executive Committee (NEC), which were made during the meeting of the NEC, held on…

THE Senate has granted approval to the ₦1.77 trillion ($2.2b) loan request of President Bola Tinubu after a voice vote in favor of the request. The Senate presided by Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, approved the loan after the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts chaired by Senator Wammako Magatarkada (APC, Sokoto North) presented the report of the committee. The request which was submitted by the President on Tuesday is part of a fresh external borrowing plan to partially finance the N9.7 trillion budget deficit for the 2024 fiscal year. Tinubu had on Tuesday written to the National Assembly,…

JUSTICE Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court Abuja has granted the request of the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to arraign a former lawmaker for Anambra South Senatorial District, Senator Andy Uba, on a two-count charge bordering on alleged N400 million fraud. Justice Ekwo fixed February 18, 2025, to take the plea of the defendant following an allegation that he defrauded one George Uboh, whose petition to the police led to the charge. Equally cited as 2nd and 3rd defendants in the suit which was filed before the court are Crystal Chidinma Uba and Benjamin Etu. The IGP…

THE Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi, has stated that the immediate past Minister of Works, Babatunde Fashola, is better positioned to respond to the audit query concerning an unauthorised expenditure in the ministry and not him. The minister, who spoke through his Special Adviser (Media), Hon. Orji Uchenna Orji stated this while addressing a news report on an audit query indicting the Ministry of Works and Housing for financial mismanagement and unauthorised expenditure totalling ₦4.64bn during the 2020–2021 financial year. News Point Nigeria had reported that an audit report has uncovered financial irregularities totalling over N4.64bn in the Federal…

THE Nigerian Army has initiated an investigation following the emergence of a viral video showing a Major General and some soldiers, purportedly assaulting a couple in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). News Point Nigeria gathered that the altercation was said to have happened after the soldiers stopped the couple for “unlawfully overtaking” their convoy. In the video, the military personnel could be seen attacking the couple before reportedly handcuffing them and transporting them to the Gwarimpa Police Station. According to reports, the soldiers ordered the police to detain the couple indefinitely. In a statement Wednesday morning, Army Spokesperson, Onyema Nwachukwu,…

THE Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) has kicked off the 7th phase of the constituency and executive projects tracking exercise involving 1,500 schemes valued at ₦610 billion. The spokesperson of the ICPC, Demola Bakare, said this in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja. According to Bakare, the exercise is an initiative of the commission that began in 2019. He said it focused on how well money allocated to critical sectors like education, health, agriculture, water resources and power, amongst others, were utilized. The tracking exercise will cut across agencies of government, including intervention agencies such as…

BARELY two months after the September completion deadline flop, the Nigerian National Petroleum Commission has explained why it could not deliver the much-awaited Port Harcourt Refinery Company. In an interview with our correspondent on Monday, the NNPC Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye, said the company encountered risks and challenges while carrying out the rehabilitation, being a brownfield project. He noted that the NNPC began the commissioning of critical equipment and processing units after the mechanical completion in Nigeria. “You may recall that mechanical completion of the PHRC revamp was successfully achieved several months ago, marking a significant milestone in…

THE Chadian Government has repatriated no fewer than 600 irregular migrants from Nigeria who were found engaging in begging activities in various parts of the country. News Point Nigeria gathered that thousands of Nigerian refugees have fled Nigeria’s restive Borno state since 2019 at the peak of the Boko Haram insurgency to take refuge in neighboring countries of Chad and Cameroon. Muhammed Barkindo, the director-General of the State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, disclosed this to newsmen while profiling the refugees in Maiduguri on Monday. Mr Barkindo said that the migrants were primarily from Borno, Kano, Sokoto and Kaduna states and…

THE Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, has sued two prominent northern journalists, Shu’aibu Mungadi and Tijjani Ramalan, for alleged defamation and malicious reportage. The former governor, in the suit marked K/M2102/2024, dated October 25 and sighted by our correspondent on Monday, is seeking N10bn in general damages in his favour against each of the six defendants in addition to 10 per cent post-judgment interest of the entire judgment sum until fully liquidated. Other defendants in the suit are the employers of the two journalists, Vision Media Services Ltd, Vision FM, Farin Wata Television and Liberty Radio and TV.…