Author: Binta Kabir

FORMER first Lady and widow of late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Hajiya Turai Yar’Adua, on the 13th-year anniversary of his death, said, her late husband never liked politics and never wanted to be president. In a special interview with BBC Hausa, Turai stated that, the late President Yar’Adua was what is known as an accidental politician because he never wanted to join politics and never wanted to be president. “All his life, all he ever wanted was to be a teacher, come home from school, sit with his family and crack jokes till dusk. He wanted no politics or governance…

THE Kaduna State Internal Revenue Service has sealed seven telecommunication masts belonging to MTN and Globacom across the state’s urban areas over outstanding taxes totalling N5.8bn. The Head of Corporate Communications for the Kaduna IRS, Zakari Muhammad, disclosed this development in a statement issued on Thursday. The sealed masts, vital for the operation of mobile phone networks, were targeted due to significant tax liabilities established by the Kaduna State Urban Planning and Development Agency. Part of the statement reads, “Kaduna State Internal Revenue Service, in the exercise of its powers vested in it by Section 104 of the Personal Income…

THE Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, on Monday, released the results of the 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, showing that 1,402,490 candidates out of 1,842,464 failed to score 200 out of 400 marks. The number of candidates who failed to score half of the possible marks represents 78 per cent of the candidates whose results were released by JAMB. Giving a breakdown of the results of the 1,842,464 candidates released, the board’s Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, noted that, “8,401 candidates scored 300 and above; 77,070 scored 250 and above; 439,974 scored 200 and above while 1,402,490 scored below 200.” On…

THE Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman, has criticised the enrollment of young teenagers in the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), saying the federal government may review age requirements for admission into tertiary institutions in the country. Speaking in Bwari, Abuja shortly after monitoring the conduct of the examination, the minister reiterated that eighteen years remained the benchmark for admission into universities, and advised parents not to push their underage wards to higher education, especially university education. The minister expressed unhappiness with the age of some candidates who applied to write the examination, noting that they fall below the…

THE Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board on Sunday announced that it has sanctioned some officials over the harassment of a female Hijab-wearing candidate. The female candidate who sat her Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination at the Bafuto Institute, Ile-Iwe Bus Stop, Ejigbo, Lagos was said to have been asked to remove her headcover during the accreditation process before being allowed into the examination hall. Addressing the issue in a statement signed by the Head of Public Affairs of the Board, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, the Board noted that it deeply regretted the incident. It said on investigation, it discovered that the incident…

THE Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) on Friday shared a total sum of N1.123 trillion March 2024 Federation Account Revenue to the three tiers of government after its April meeting in Abuja. A statement by the Director of Press and Public Relations at the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation Bawa Mokwa indicated that in March 2024, import duty, value-added tax, (VAT) Gas Royalty, companies’ income tax (CIT), and others increased considerably while excise duty, oil royalty, Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT), Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) and CET Levies recorded decreases. FAAC in a communique at the end…

TO further strengthen Nigeria’s digital economy in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has announced a collaboration on National Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) to enhance and create synergy between digital identity, payment ecosystem, and secure & seemless data exchange capabilities for Nigeria. During the meeting between the Director-General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, and Director General of NIMC, Engr. Bisoye Coker-Odusote, with some management staff of both organisations, they discussed various initiatives, which include building DPI stacks for a…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has ordered the Ministry of Education to include graduates of the National Open University in the National Youth Service Corps scheme. Tinubu also resolved the longstanding admittance of NOUN Law graduates to participate in Law School in the country for equal opportunities. He made the disclosure during his presentation at the 13th convocation ceremony of NOUN on Saturday, at the university’s Convocation Arena, Jabi, Abuja. Before now, NOUN graduates in 2017 were assured by the former vice chancellor of the institution, Abdallah Adamu, that they would soon be able to participate in the National Youth Service Corps…

HEINEKEN Lokpobiri, the Minister for Petroleum Resources (Oil), has said the federal government would not hesitate to take back oil assets, as only five out of 60 licences issued during the 2021 marginal oil field bid round are currently in use. Lokpobiri disclosed this at an event organised by The Petroleum Club in Lagos. According to him, FG is looking to ramp up crude oil production to boost revenue, and would not tolerate dormant oil licences. “I don’t need to know you to renew or sign your licence and I will also not look at your face for me to…

FORMER Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, says he no longer have a smooth relationship with one of his predecessors, Peter Odili, because “there are some political differences”. Wike, who is now the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), revealed this during a chat with journalists in Abuja on Tuesday. Wike was the governor of the oil-rich South-South state from May 2015 to May 2023 before he was appointed minister by President Bola Tinubu. At various public functions before now, Wike had described Odili, who was Rivers governor from May 1999 to May 2007, as his political father and leader.…

THE Minister of State, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Mariya Mahmoud has described the looting of a warehouse in the area as a “criminal act” not necessitated by hunger. Some suspected hoodlums had on Sunday looted the warehouse in the Gwagwa-Tasha of the FCT, carting away food items. During an inspection tour of the facility on Monday, Mariya bemoaned the level of damage to the facility, expressing disappointment over the incident. “I was at the Gwagwa-Tasha warehouse to ascertain the level of damage penultimate Sunday by hoodlums. This act is beyond hunger, it is a criminal act!!! What I saw was…

THE Nigerian Meteorological Agency has said that the excessive heat being experienced in the country presently would remain for a while. NiMET disclosed this in its weather and climate update posted on its official X page on Wednesday. The agency in the post also outlined the weather’s implications and provided guidance to the public on how to manage the situation. “Air Temperatures hit 41°C over the North and 39°C over the South with model Projections indicating temperatures to remain high in the coming days,” NiMET said. “IMPLICATIONS: Dehydration: This could also cause fainting; chicken pox disease, measles, heat rash, weakness…

THE Federal Government has blamed the governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the economic hardships Nigerians are facing. ”It is a fact that many of the PDP Governors have not paid N30,000 minimum wage to their workers since it took effect more than 4 years ago. All of these anomalies in their states contribute significantly to the economic pressure their citizens face,” the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said on Tuesday. The statement by the minister comes a day after the PDP governors decried the free fall of the naira and…

THE Nigerian Army has promised to investigate the allegations of a female soldier who accused some senior male officers of abusing her. In a viral video, a female soldier without a uniform accused some senior male officers of maltreatment. However, in a statement on Friday, the Director of Army Public Relations, Maj. Gen. Nwachukwu Onyema, said the investigation was to ascertain the extent of her claims. Onyema also slammed the female soldier, adding that she did not seek redress according to the laid-down procedure. The statement read, “The Nigerian Army has been inundated with audiovisuals making the rounds on social…

THE Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, says automation of the passport application process will begin from January 8, 2024, and Nigerians will be able to apply and complete their passport application process online without human contact. “We are good to go live,” Tunji-Ojo said Monday in Abuja during an inspection of facilities of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) alongside the Comptroller General (CG) of the Service, Wura-Ola Adepoju. “We are starting the training and on January 8, the solution will be live and direct for Nigerians to have a good feel, a sweet experience based on the Renewed Hope of…

THE Defence Headquarters has refuted allegations of assaulting Fulani women in Plateau State. A video circulating on social media alleges Fulani women in Plateau State were being maltreated by soldiers attached to Operation Rainbow in the state. The allegation comes one week after terrorists invaded some communities in the state, killing over 100 persons. Reacting to the allegation, the Director of Defence Information, Brig. Gen. Tukur Gusau, on Saturday noted that the video in circulation was an incident that took place in Borno State in 2021. He noted that the soldiers involved in the act were adequately punished. The statement…

ARRANGEMENT have been concluded for a successful conduct of Annual General Meeting of Birnin-Kudu Old Boys Association BIKOBA, the umbrella of the Old Students of Government Unity College, Birnin Kudu, Jigawa state – one of the famous Secondary Schools/Colleges in Northern Nigeria. According to a statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary, Mahmoud Ibrahim Kwari, Thursday, the occasion scheduled to take place on Sunday the 31st of December, 2023 by 9:00am at the Murtala Mohammed Library Hall along Ahmadu Bello Way Kano, will feature a Public Lecture to be delivered by Prof. Sabo Ibrahim, Vice Chancellor Federal University of Technology,…

THE Minister of State Housing and Urban Development, Abdullahi Tijjani Muhammad Gwarzo, has described the death of former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Alh. Ghali Umar Na’Abba as a great loss to Nigeria and its  Democracy. Minister Gwarzo who stated this in a condolence message,  signed by his Special Assistant on Media and Publicity Adamu Abdullahi, says the Ex-Speaker will be remembered for his principle and firm believe in true democrcy. He prayed Almighty Allah to grant the soul of the late Speaker Jannatul Firdausi. “Ex-Speaker Na’Abba was an icon of true democrcy and parliamentarian par excellence, who…

THE national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has expressed his condolences on the death of the former speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Ghali Umar Na’Abba. In a statement by his Press Secretary, Mr Edwin Olofu, Ganduje described Na’Abba as a thoroughbred politician and legislator who meant well for the country. Ganduje recalled the pivotal role played by Na’Abba when he served as the Speaker of the House of Representatives to entrench the independence of the legislative arm of government even in the face of provocation by top operatives of the executive arm.…

THE Debt Management Office (DMO) said Nigeria’s total public debt as at September 30, 2023 was N87.91trn or $114.35bn. The DMO, in a statement on Wednesday, stated that the amount represented domestic and external debts of the Federal Government, the 36 state governments and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The debt office said the debt stock represented a marginal increase of 0.61% when compared to the June 30, 2023 figure of N87.38trn. “This trend is explained by the decrease in External Debt from USD43.16 Billion as at June 30, 2023 to USD41.59 Billion as at September 30, 2023 and a…