PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has again made significant changes to the proposed leadership of the South East Development Commission, submitting a revised list of nominees to the Senate for confirmation less than 24 hours after the first change. The updated list, announced on December 6, 2024, features new appointments aimed at strengthening the Commission’s capacity to drive development in the South East region. According to a State House press release, Tinubu replaced the initial chairman nominee, Emeka Atuma, with Dr. Emeka Nworgu. This newspaper had on Friday announced Atuma alongside others—in a statement where he announced the leadership for the North…
Author: Abdullahi Maitama Sani
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has cancelled Yazid Danfulani’s earlier appointment as the Executive Secretary of the Solid Minerals Development Fund/Presidential Artisanal Gold Mining Initiative less than an hour after his announcement. The development was disclosed in a State House release issued on Friday by the president’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, titled, “President Tinubu announces key appointments into NUC, NERDC, NEPAD, renews the appointment of Fatima Shinkafi in SMDF.” The statement noted that Danfulani’s appointment was cancelled as “there is no vacancy in the agency,” thereby returning Fatima Shinkafi as the executive secretary. According to Onanuga, Shinkafi was…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of chief executive officers for the National Universities Commission (NUC), the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), the Solid Minerals Development Fund/Presidential Artisanal Gold Mining Initiative (SMDF/PAGMI) and the New Partnership for Africa Development (NEPAD). This was disclosed in statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, Friday. According to the statement, Tinubu appointed Professor Abdullahi Yusuf Ribadu, a visiting professor at the NUC, as the organisation’s Executive Secretary, Prof. Salisu Shehu as Executive Secretary of the NERDC, Jabiru Salisu Abdullahi Tsauri as the National Coordinator…
PRESIDENT Bola Ahmed Tinubu has forwarded to the Senate for confirmation a modified list of members of the inaugural Governing Board of the North West Development Commission (NWDC) as he nominated Hon. Emeka Atuma as chairman of the South East Development Commission (SEDC). This was disclosed in statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, Friday. In a list of nominees sent to the Senate late in September 2024, President Tinubu nominated Ambassador Haruna Ginsau as chairman of the NWDC board while also naming Senator Tijani Yahaya Kaura and Hon. Abdulkadir S. Usman as…
THE Labour Party caucus in the House of Representatives has lost four of its members to the ruling All Progressives Congress on Thursday. The lawmakers Who left LP for APC are Tochukwu Okere (Imo), Donatus Mathew (Kaduna), Bassey Akiba (Cross River), and Iyawe Esosa (Edo). Similarly, the daughter of former Delta State Governor, Mr James Ibori, Erthiatake Ibori-Suenu, also ended her relationship with the Peoples Democratic Party as she joined the APC. Confirming the development, Matthew, who represents Kaura Federal Constituency of Kaduna State, said the decision to defect to the APC is based on conviction. Asked if his imminent…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has approved that sack of some civil servants with degrees from private tertiary institutions in Benin Republic and Togo. The directive affected federal workers who graduated from the institutions from 2017 to date. The Director of Information and Public Relations in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Segun Imohiosen, confirmed the development to one of our correspondents on Wednesday. In August, the Federal August announced that only eight universities had been accredited to award degrees to Nigerians in Togo and Benin Republic. This followed an undercover investigation report in which a Daily…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu arrived in the country after departing for Cape Town, South Africa, to co-chair the 11th session of the Nigeria-South Africa Bi-National Commission alongside President Cyril Ramaphosa. President Tinubu touched down at 9;10pm at the ANnamdi Azikiwe International Airport . Present to receive the president were the Minister of FCT, Nyesom Wike, the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila as well as the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu Others include the All Progressives Congress (APC) chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje and the Commissioner of Police FCT, Peter Opara. The 11th session of the BNC featured deliberations across eight…
SOUTH African Government has relaxed its visa rules for Nigerian tourists and business people, saying they can now apply for a visa without submitting a passport. President Cyril Ramaphosa announced this on Tuesday at the opening of the 11th session of the Nigeria-South Africa Bi-National Commission (BNC) in Cape Town, which President Bola Tinubu attended. This was contained in a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga. According to the statement, President Ramaphosa said South Africa has simplified its visa processes to facilitate travel for Nigerian business people and tourists, with measures such…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has directed the Federal Ministry of Justice and the National Assembly to work on concerns raised over the tax bills. Criticisms have greeted Tinubu’s transmission of the Tax Reform Bills to the National Assembly. The move has pitted the president against some governors with the most vocal criticism coming from the northern region. Some critics believe the bills are against the northern region while others argue that they would further impoverish Nigerians. But to address these concerns, President Tinubu has mandated the Justice Ministry to look into the concerns raised and work with the leadership of the…
THE Presidency has rejected claims that the ongoing Tax Reform Bills, currently before the National Assembly, propose the scrapping of key government agencies such as Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND), National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) or that they will impoverish the northern region. The state house spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, on Monday, in a statement, dismissed what he described as misleading information and false narratives surrounding the bills. The tax reform proposals have been the subject of heated debate in recent weeks, with critics accusing the government of targeting specific…
THE House of Representatives has suspended indefinitely the debate on the Tax Reforms Bills earlier fixed for Tuesday following mounting pressure from the 19 northern states governors. The planned debate was called off in a memo signed by the Clerk of the House of Representatives, Dr Yahaya Danzaria, as 73 northern lawmakers kicked against the bills. Those who rejected the bills include 48 Reps members from the North-East, 24 federal lawmakers from Kano and a former Governor of Sokoto State, Senator Aminu Tambuwal, who represents Sokoto South Senatorial District. The memo suspending the debate dated November 30, 2024 is titled,…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has stated that Nigerians were living a “fake good life” before the removal of the fuel subsidy, a decision he said was necessary to prevent the country from plunging into economic crisis. Speaking during the 34th and 35th combined convocation ceremonies of the Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA) in Ondo State, the President explained that his administration’s decision to remove the petrol subsidy and unify exchange rates was driven by the urgent need to salvage Nigeria’s future. Represented by the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Professor Wahab Egbewole, SAN, Tinubu noted that the subsidies,…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu will leave France on Monday for Cape Town, South Africa, to co-chair the 11th session of the Nigeria-South Africa Bi-National Commission alongside President Cyril Ramaphosa. This was disclosed in statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, Sunday. According to the statement, the presidential BNC, scheduled for Tuesday, December 3, will be preceded by a ministerial meeting on December 2, 2024, at the South African Parliament Building in Cape Town. President Tinubu and President Ramaphosa will engage in substantive talks on a wide range of issues of mutual interest, including bilateral,…
PRESIDENT Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the release of funds required for the immediate operationalization of the UNESCO Media and Information Literacy (MIL) Institute, whose hosting rights were awarded to Nigeria by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has announced. Idris stated this in Paris on Thursday during a meeting with the UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information, Dr. Tawfik Jelassi, on the sidelines of President Tinubu’s State Visit to France. “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been very supportive of the take-off process, and has approved the…
THE House of Representatives party caucuses will meet on Saturday to deliberate on the four tax reform bills transmitted to the National Assembly by President Bola Tinubu in September 2024. Similarly, state causes will meet on the same subject matter on Monday ahead of Tuesday’s resumption of plenary by the legislative chamber. The Deputy spokesman for the House, Mr Philip Agbese disclosed these in interview with this newspaper in Abuja. Recall that on September 3, 2024, the President transmitted four tax reform bills to the National Assembly for consideration following the recommendations of the Taiwo Oyedele-led Presidential Committee on Fiscal…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu and French President Emmanuel Macron signed two agreements on Thursday in Paris, France, that will ensure a partnership on the development of critical infrastructure and the long-term sustenance of agriculture and food security. Earlier, President Tinubu and President Macron witnessed the signing of the agreement by the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Group Chairman Tony Elumelu and Antoine Armand, the French Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry for the bank to commence operations in Paris. Zenith Bank also inaugurated its services in the country during the visit. The partnership agreements were signed at an economic forum attended…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron exchanged jovial greetings in Pidgin English on social media on Thursday. Tinubu is currently in France having arrived the European country on Wednesday evening for a state visit. Both leaders had a meeting on Thursday, with Macron recalling about his days at the French embassy in Nigeria as an intern. In a post he wrote in Pidgin English on his X handle, Macron appreciated Tinubu for his visit. “Na big honor for France, dear President Bola Tinubu @officialABAT, to welcome you for dis State visit as one big partner and friend…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has told French investors that the country is open for business, saying his government is creating an enabling environment for them to thrive. Tinubu said this on Thursday during a joint briefing with the French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace. “We’ve been working on stabilizing the security system in Nigeria and we are getting closer and closer,” Tinubu said. “We are doing better now in the area of security. I can assure all the investors that Nigeria is open for business.” “We assure you of a free market economy; easy in, easy out; no hindrance,”…
THERE are indications that President Bola Tinubu is set to transmit names of ambassadors-designate to the Senate for screening and confirmation, The PUNCH reports. The list comprises nominees who will serve as Nigeria’s ambassadors and high commissioners to various countries and multilateral organisations. Government officials with knowledge of the developments told our correspondent that names of nominees would be transmitted in early December. The development comes 14 months after 83 ambassadors were recalled in September 2023. Nigeria has 109 missions, 76 embassies, 22 high commissions and 11 consulates globally. This newspaper reported on November 21, 2024, that the Federal Government…
PRESIDENT Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, has approved the appointment of Jami’u Abiola as the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Linguistics and Foreign Matters. The appointment takes effect from 14th November, 2024. A statement by Director, Information & Public Relations, Segun Imohiosen on behalf of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, said the appointment is in line with the provisions of the Certain Political and Judicial Office Holders (Salaries and Allowances, etc) Act 2008, as amended. Until his appointment, Jami’u served as the Special Assistant to the President on Special Duties in the Office of the Vice…