Author: Farouk Abbas

– Court Adjourns To June 27 THE Federal High Court, in Abuja, on Thursday, adjourned arraignment of the former Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, on an alleged money laundering case instituted against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, to June 27, following an agreement by the counsels of the two parties. A new date, June 27, had earlier been reportedly fixed for arraignment at the instance of the EFCC counsels. There was, however, a mild drama in court when Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, announced appearance for EFCC and claimed ignorance of the agreement. At the resumed hearing on…

THE Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development, Abdullahi Tijjani Gwarzo has congratulated President Bola Ahmad Tinubu on the occasion of commemoration of this year’s  Democracy Day. According to a statement by the Minister’s Senior Special Assistant on Media, Adamu Abdullahi, Wednesday, Gwarzo, also congratulated Nigerians as the champions of democracy for commemoration of Nigeria’s freest and widely acclaimed election held on June 12, 1993 and having uninterrupted democracy for good 25 years, adding that, it’s a great milestone for the development of democratic system. He explained that the APC-controlled administration under President Tinubu’s able leadership has recorded landmark…

THE Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has said the organised labour did not agree on any specific figure as the new minimum wage. NLC was reacting to President Bola Tinubu’s claims that an agreement had been reached on new national minimum wages. Speaking Wednesday during his nationwide broadcast to mark Democracy Day, Tinubu said a consensus had been reached on the long-debated new minimum wage between the Federal Government and organised labour. The president revealed that an executive bill will soon be sent to the National Assembly to formalise the new minimum wage agreement. He emphasised that his administration chose a…

THE National Universities Commission (NUC) has granted full accreditation status on 15 Academic Programmes of Maryam Abacha American University of Nigeria (MAAUN), The results of the full accreditation was contained in a letter dated 6th June, 2024 signed by the Acting Director of Accreditation, Engr. Abraham Chundusu on behalf of the Executive Secretary of the commission and conveyed to the President of the University. The accreditation of the Academic Programmes at the Maryam Abacha American University of Nigeria was conducted by the NUC between October and November 2023. In the letter conveying the results of the Resource Verification/ Accreditation Program,…

THE Nigerian Police Force has warned against planned demonstrations by certain individuals and groups to hold protests in several parts of the country on Democracy Day. The Force also placed its Zonal Assistant Inspectors General of Police and State Command Commissioners of Police on red alert, directing that they should “collaborate with other security agencies to ensure robust security arrangements are in place to prevent any breakdown of law and order including strategic deployments to protect key infrastructures and ensure that protests, if any, remain peaceful and lawful.” This warning was contained in a statement on Tuesday by the Force…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu will address the nation in a broadcast on the occasion of Democracy Day at 7 am on Wednesday. The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, disclosed this information in a statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja. The statement read in part, “Television, radio, and other electronic media outlets are enjoined to plug into the network services of the Nigerian Television Authority and the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) for the broadcast.” The statement reads in full: STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE PRESIDENT TINUBU TO ADDRESS THE NATION ON DEMOCRACY DAY President Bola…

DANGOTE Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals in Lagos State has moved the supply date for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) popularly known as petrol from June to mid-July. The President and Chief Executive Officer of the refinery, Aliko Dangote, attributed the postponement to slight delay but assured the public that by second to third week in July, the premium commodity would be in the market. Dangote spoke when he received a Senate delegation led by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, on a tour of the $20 billion facility in Lagos on Sunday. He said, “We had a bit of delay but PMS will…

THE Federal Government has declared Wednesday, June 12, 2024 as a public holiday to mark this year’s Democracy Day. In a statement on Tuesday, the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who made the declaration on behalf of the Federal Government, congratulated Nigerians on the occasion. He said, “As we mark another Democracy day in the history of our dear country, let us all reflect on the efforts of our founding fathers and ensure that Nigeria remains a united, secured, peaceful and indivisible entity”. He urged Nigerians to remain steadfast on the tenets of democratic governance. Tunji-Ojo reiterated President Bola Tinubu’s commitment…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has appointed retired Deputy Inspector General of Police, Hashimu Argungu, as the Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC). Argungu replaces former Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, who was appointed to the position by former President Muhammadu Buhari in January 2023. The appointment of Argungu was disclosed in a statement by the media aide to President Tinubu, Ajuri Ngelale, on Monday. According to the statement, the President also appointed of Chief Onyemuche Nnamani as Secretary of the Commission and DIG Taiwo Lakanu (Rtd) as Member. Noting that the appointments are subject to confirmation by the Senate,…

THE President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has graciously contributed a substantial donation of commodities, totaling 2,706  metric tons, to the Kano state government for dissemination among the vulnerable individuals. The President conveyed the goods through the auspices of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), encompassing essentials such as maize, millet, sorghum, and garri. During the occasion held in Kano, the Director General of NEMA, Zubaida Umar, representing the Federal Government, delivered the presentation, emphasizing that this act aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment to mitigating the repercussions of the current economic downturn. Within this allocation, Kano State has been apportioned…

A GROUP of lawmakers in the House of Representatives, on Monday, proposed some amendments to the 1999 Constitution which they believe will improve governance in the country. The group led by Ikenga Ugochinyere, member representing Ideato Federal Constituency, proposed a six-year single tenure for the President and the 36 state governors. The group, the Reform Minded Legislators, said its proposals on the political and electoral reform bills going for second reading would help reduce the cost of governance and campaigns, unite the country, ensure a seamless transition, continuity, uninterrupted development, justice, equity, independence of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC),…

THE Organised Labour said the one-week grace period given to the Federal Government last Tuesday, June 4, 2024, would expire by the midnight of Tuesday, June 11, 2024. Labour said should the Federal Government and National Assembly fail to act on the demands of workers by tomorrow (Tuesday), the organs of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) would meet to decide on the resumption of the nation wide strike relaxed last week. Chris Onyeka, an Assistant General Secretary of the NLC, stated this on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief show on Monday monitored by News…

JUSTICE Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Friday, June 7, 2024 ordered the final forfeiture of every asset of NOK University, Gwasmyen Water Factory, Gwasmyen Event Center and Gwasmyen International Hotel in Kaduna State. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had, through its counsel, Ekele Iheanacho, filed an order of final forfeiture of the said properties pursuant to Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006 and Section 44(2) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The anti-graft agency stated that Iheanacho, through diligent submission…

THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission have revealed that the Kaduna State House of Assembly was yet to report the alleged N423billion money laundering allegedly committed during the administration of former Governor of the state, Nasir El-Rufai. Recall that the state Assembly had in April set up a 13-man panel, headed by the Deputy Speaker, Henry Danjuma, to probe El-Rufai’s administration over allegations of wanton misappropriation of the state funds. The ad-hoc committee was mandated to investigate all finances, loans and contracts awarded under the former governor. The probe by…

THE Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has criticised the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, over his comment that the shutting down of the National Grid on Monday by the Organised Labour amounted to treasonable felony and economic sabotage. In a statement late Friday by a spokesperson for the NLC, Benson Upah, Labour said economic saboteurs wear flowing Agbada (robes), drive in convoys and occupy the corridors of power. On Thursday, Akume said the shutdown of the National Grid by members of the NLC and Trade Union Congress (TUC) amounted to treasonable felony. He lamented the loss…

OVER 10 Nigerian teenage girls allegedly trafficked to Ghana for prostitution have been rescued, says the Chairperson of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa. The girls, all under the age of 18, were reportedly lured from Nigeria to Ghana by a nameless man who has now been arrested by the police in neighbouring West African country. According to the NIDCOM boss, the girls were rescued by the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO), an umbrella association for Nigerians living in Ghana. In a viral video which showed the girls after they were rescued, a NIDO official was heard saying,…

KEBBI State Independent Electoral Commission (KESIEC) has announced the date for the conduct of local government elections for chairmanship and councillorship in the 21 local government areas of the state. A statement from the State Electoral Commission headquarters signed by its Chairman, Aliyu Muhammad Mera, in Birnin Kebbi, indicated that the elections would hold on 31st August 2024 for the contest of seats for the 21 local government chairmen and 225 councillors throughout the state. The commission announced that nomination forms, contacts and all other relevant documents concerning the elections could be obtained from the Secretariat in Birnin Kebbi. KESIEC…

THE Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal has fined the prominent Pay-TV operator, Multichoice Nigeria, owners of DSTV, GOTV, ₦150 million for disputing the court’s jurisdiction, and ordered the company to provide Nigerians with a one-month free subscription to its subscribers. A three-man panel led by Thomas Okusu gave the verdict on Friday. The tribunal had previously blocked Multichoice from raising subscription fees without proper notice, based on a lawsuit by Barrister Festus Onifade who claimed the eight-day notice given for the price increase was inadequate. Onifade had sued DSTV, accusing the Pay-TV of unjustly increasing subscription fees without one month’s…

THE House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill seeking to establish a new state in the southeastern region known as Orlu State. The bill which passed first reading was sponsored by Hon. Ikeagwuonu Ugochinyere, member representing Ideato North South Federal Constituency of Imo State, along with other co-sponsoring lawmakers. According to the draft bill, the creation of Orlu State will amend the 1999 Constitution, increasing the number of states in Nigeria from 36 to 37. The new state, with Orlu as its capital city, will be created from portions of Imo, Abia, and Anambra states. The bill seeks to…

FORMER Kano State Governor and New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) 2023 Presidential Candidate, Engr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has filed a lawsuit at the Kano State High Court, presided over by Justice Yusuf Ubale to restrain the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) from arresting him. A reliable source told this newspaper that Kwankwaso is being investigated over alleged N2.5bn pension fraud and misappropriation of another 2.5bn campaign funds. News Point Nigeria had reported how the former senator was grilled by EFCC interrogators last Thursday. A source in the anti-graft agency familiar with the matter but had no authourisation to speak,…