Author: Lekan Adeyeye

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari on Friday asked Nigerians to give him seven days to resolve the cash crunch following the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s redesigning of the naira notes. He said this while speaking to the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF) who visited him at the Presidential Villa in Abuja to seek solutions to the cash crunch which they said was threatening the good records of the administration in transforming the economy. President Buhari told the All Progressives Congress (APC) governors that the currency re-design will give a boost to the economy and provide long-term benefits. He also expressed doubts about…

GOVERNORS on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) are set to meet with President Muhammadu Buhari today (Friday), at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, over the scarcity of the newly redesigned Naira notes and the alleged ‘Anti-Tinubu elements in the Villa’ comment. According to a source in the APC Governors’ Forum, who spoke to News Point Nigeria via telephone early hours of Friday, the governors will meet the president to discuss ways of bringing an end to the hardship faced by Nigerians due to the scarcity of the new Naira note. “They will also discuss claims made by…

THE National Union of Air Transport Employees, the Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals and the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees have threatened to ground operations at the Nigerian Meteorological Agency over non-implementation of approved minimum wage in two weeks’ time. This was contained in a letter dated January 26, 2023, which was jointly signed by the Secretary-General, NUATE, Ocheme Aba; Secretary-General, AUPCTRE, Siriku Waheed and the Secretary-General, ANAP, Abdul Saidu, addressed to the Director-General of NiMET. The unions, however, described the failure of NiMET to implement the minimum wage consequential adjustment despite its…

AHEAD of the 2023 elections, President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday reiterated his commitment to ensuring free and fair elections this year.  President Buhari gave the assurance when he received the Secretary General of the World Customs Organization Dr Kunio Mikuriya who is in Nigeria for a Global Conference on Fragile Borders. He underscored that in spite of the usual excitement and gamesmanship that accompanies campaigns, he will ensure that the elections are conducted in a peaceful and conducive atmosphere. The President further stated that Nigeria and her neighbors must place a higher premium on the effective policing of borders, underlining…

THE Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) seeking to restore the nullification of the participation of Osun’s ex-governor Gboyega Oyetola and his deputy Benedict Alabi in the July 16, 2022 governorship election. A five-member panel of the Supreme Court led by Justice Centus Nweze on Thursday held that the appeal by the PDP lacked merit and directed the counsel to the PDP Kehinde Ogunwumiju to withdraw it. The court held that the PDP could not, under the law,  question the process leading to the emergence of Oyetola and Alabi as candidates of the All…

THE Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has said there are “elements” in the Presidential Villa that are seeking the defeat of the ruling All Progressives Congress in this month’s poll. “I believe that there are elements in the Villa that want us to lose the elections because they didn’t get their way,” El-Rufai said during a live appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Wednesday. “They had their candidate; their candidate didn’t win the primaries and I think they are still trying to get us to lose the elections and they are hiding behind the President’s desire to do…

THE Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele is before the ad-hoc committee of the house of representatives which is investigating the scarcity of the new naira notes. Details later…

THE United Bank for Africa Plc has appointed Ghanaian national, Mrs. Abiola Bawuah, as its Africa new Chief Executive Officer. According to a statement, Bawuah will oversee the bank’s operations across Africa, excluding Nigeria. She is the first female CEO of the UBA Africa and her appointment demonstrates the bank’s commitment to diversity. Bawuah’s appointment brings the number of female directors across the UBA Group to eight, a report by Nairametrics says. Before her appointment as the bank’s Africa CEO, Bawuah was UBA’s Regional CEO for West Africa, managing operations in nine subsidiaries including Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana,…

A 20ft laden container has fallen on a commercial bus in the Ojuelegba area of Lagos State, crushing nine passengers to death. News Point Nigeria investigations reveal that the commercial bus was picking up passengers at the bus stop along the Ojuelegba Bridge when the truck lost control and fell over the side of the bridge. Early responders at the scene of the incident were the officials of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) who suspended the container and cut off the top of the bus to rescue a woman and take her to the trauma centre. LASEMA Permanent…

NO fewer than 11 people have lost their lives in a road accident that occurred in Ore town along the Benin-Shagamu Expressway in Odigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State, on Sunday morning. It was gathered that the accident involved a Marcopolo bus and a truck. The victims were said to have burnt beyond recognition as the vehicles involved caught fire. The Ondo Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Mr Ezekiel Son’Allah, confirmed the incident. He said the accident occurred as a result of excessive speeding on the part the drivers of the vehicles involved.

OPERATIVES of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), have successfully dismantled a trans-border drug cartel and arrested five leaders of the syndicates operating in parts of the world in a special operation that lasted weeks during which different quantities of skunk, methamphetamine and ephedrine as well as air compressors used to conceal and distribute them globally were recovered. The special operation came on the heels of a warning by the Chairman/Chief Executive of the Agency, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) that drug barons and cartels will have it rough in 2023 if they fail to back out of…

THE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has extended the deadline for the use of the old notes till February 10. CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, announced the extension in a statement signed on Sunday. He explained that the apex bank has sought approval from President Muhammadu Buhari to extend the deadline for the use of the old notes by 10 days. “Based on the foregoing, we have sought and obtained Mr President’s approval for the following:  A 10-day extension of the deadline from January 31 to February 10 to allow for the collection of more old notes legitimately held by Nigerians,”…

LAOLU Akande, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Office of the Vice President, has bagged the University of Ibadan (UI) Alumni group’s 2022 Special Recognition Award. The convener of “World of Uites”, organizers of the awards, Mr Tobilola Ogunbajo, assisted by a member of the group, Mr Onele Peter-Cole, presented the award to Akande on Friday, in his office at the Presidential Villa. Presenting the award, Ogunbajo said that The World of Uites – a virtual gathering of the University of Ibadan alumni, affiliated with the Lagos Chapter, is recognising Akande for his selfless service to…

SOME major roads in Osogbo and Ilesa were on Saturday blocked by protesters, said to be displeased with the decision of the Election Petition Tribunal that sacked Senator Ademola Adeleke as governor. The protesters, who prevented vehicular movement along Osogbo/Ikirun road, also blocked Gbongan/Osogbo road to traffic and beat up many commercial motorcyclists that were operating in the town. While many commuters were stranded and had to trek long distances to their destinations, many business places did not open to customers over the fear of attack by the hoodlums. At Igbona Area, the convoy of the State Commissioner of Police,…

THE Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) says the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is under statutory obligation to redeem the old N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes after the January 31 deadline. The apex bank has however remained unequivocal about its decision that only the redesigned currency will be legal tender after the date. But the NBA President, Yakubu Maikyau, SAN, in a letter addressed to the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, insisted that the law allows Nigerians to redeem their old naira notes at the CBN. According to a statement by the NBA’s National Publicity Secretary, Akorede Lawal, made available to News…

THE Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has described the judgement of the governorship election petitions tribunal as “a miscarriage of justice”, vowing to challenge the ruling at the Court of Appeal. News Point Nigeria reports that, the Election Petitions Tribunal hearing the All Progressives Congress’ Adegboyega Oyetola’s petition against the victory of the Peoples Democratic Party’s Ademola Adeleke on Friday annulled the result of the July 16 Osun governorship poll. Justice Tetsea Kume, while delivering a majority decision, declared that the Independent National Electoral Commission did not comply substantially with the constitution and the provisions of the Electoral Act. Reacting…

THE chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, has said there have been attempts to hack into the commission’s computer system ahead of the 2023 general elections.  Yakubu spoke on Thursday during the 2022 National Conference of the National Association of Judiciary Correspondents (NAJUC) in Abuja with the theme, ‘2023 General Elections; Judiciary and Sustainability of Nigeria’s Democracy.” The INEC chairman who was represented by the deputy director of ICT, Dr Lawrence Bayode, said the attacks were from different parts of the world and not just Nigeria.  “We were looking at the system yesterday and we…

THE presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) Bola Tinubu has accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of sabotaging fuel supply in the county to blackmail the Federal Government. Several parts of Nigeria are experiencing fuel scarcity with queues snaking into streets in some areas. The price of the product has also jumped across the country. But Tinubu has pinned it on the main opposition party, accusing the PDP of “creating queues” for the product across Nigeria. “We are not the same thing as the poverty development party. They developed poverty, they met good account. For 16 years…

THE Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, has recommended Frank Mba and Idowu Owohunwa to the Police Service Commission for the office of Commissioners of Police, Ogun and Lagos Commands respectively. This was contained in a document exclusively obtained by News Point Nigeria on Thursday, signed by the Force Secretary, AIG Hafiz Inuwa, on behalf of the IGP. Our correspondent gathered that the recommendations were yet to be approved by the PSC. Impeccable PSC sources told News Point Nigeria on Thursday that the recommendation was a welcome development, adding that it showed that the Nigeria Police Force now respects the constitutional…

THE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has launched the Nigerian National Domestic Card Scheme, AfriGo, aimed at creating a more robust payment system that would drive financial inclusion in the country. Launching the card virtually, this morning, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, said that transaction charges on all cards would henceforth be paid in Naira, except for international transactions. According to him, AfriGo would be cheaper and would be a matter of national pride, with potential to boost financial inclusion. Emefiele said, “The National Domestic Card avails us the sovereignty of our data. Secondly,…