THE House of Representatives Committee on Persons With Disabilities has lamented that, despite the passage of the ‘Discrimination Against Persons With Disability (prohibition) act 2018’ popularly known as ‘Disability Act 2018’, Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) are not keen on implementing its provisions to ease the needs of persons With special needs in their day-to-day activities. This was observed by the committee as well as stakeholders at an investigative hearing on the level of compliance to the Act by MDAs on Monday. In his opening address, Chairman of the Committee, Rep. Bashiru Dawodu, said the committee was mandated to investigate…
Author: Abdullahi Maitama Sani
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THE presidency has clarified that Nigeria was not among those who competed in the 2024 United Nations Human Rights Council elections, which were held on October 9, 2024. According to the press statement signed by the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, Nigeria was not snubbed. The statement states that any votes mistakenly attributed to Nigeria during the recent election were likely cast in error by other nations. In line with such elections into international bodies, countries vying for positions usually receive regional endorsements, and Nigeria’s focus has been on supporting these endorsed candidates to strengthen collective African…
THE Federal Government has said it is not responsible for the hike in the pump price of petrol. On Wednesday, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) raised the pump price of fuel from N897 per litre to N1, 030 in Abuja; from N855 to N998 in Lagos; N1, 070 in North-East; N1,025 in other South-West states; N1,045 in South-East and N1,075 in South-South. This had triggered reactions among Nigerians who asked President Bola Tinubu to work towards reversing the increment. But in a chat with this newspaper, Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said the government should…
FOREIGN investors bypassed 26 states as Nigeria’s capital importation reached $2.60bn in the second quarter of 2024, representing a robust increase of 152.81 per cent year-on-year compared to $1.03bn in Q2 2023. This was revealed in the latest capital importation report for the second quarter of 2024, released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday. The number of states without recorded investments decreased from 27 in Q2 2023 to Q2 2024 to 26 as Lagos State maintained its position as the leading destination for capital importation, attracting $1.37bn, or 52.52 per cent of total inflows. Lagos was closely followed…
THE House of Representatives on Tuesday issued a seven-day ultimatum to the Managing Director/CEO of Agip Petroleum Plc (now Oando Plc), Mr Wale Tinubu and the management team of Aiteo over perennial oil spillage in some oil-producing communities across the country. The Chairman, Committee on Environment, Julius Pondi, issued the ultimatum during the investigative hearing on the environmental impact of transporting crude oil by mega seagoing vessels from Nembe Creek Trunk to offshore crude oil storage in the Atlantic Ocean by Aiteo E&P. The committee is also investigating alleged oil spillage at the Olugboboro Community in the Southern Ijaw region,…
A PRINCE of Zazzau and son of the immediate past Emir has died in an auto crash. Alhaji Umar Shehu Idris, who is also the Dan Isan Zazzau, lost his life in the road accident along Kaduna-Abuja express way, on Tuesday afternoon. Untill his death, late Umar Shehu Idris was the Assistant Secretary to the Zazzau Emirate Council. He died at the age of 41, leaving behind two wives, two children. Confirming the death, Mallam Abdullahi Aliyu Kwarbai, Media and Publicity officer.of the emirate, said his remains would be buried in due time. Recall that his biological mother who was…
THE National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has stated that the federal government will not subsidise hajj payment for pilgrims in 2025. This newspaper reports that government subsidy is mostly in the form of concessionary rate which allows pilgrims to access dollars at a reduced rate from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). A statement by the spokesperson of the commission, Fatima Sanda Usara, said for the 2025 Hajj, “There will be no concessionary exchange rate from the government for Hajj fare payment for pilgrims whether under state or private Hajj operators.” This means that if the naira maintains its…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has ordered the Nigeria Police Force to protect local government secretariats in Rivers State against incursion by arsonists and vandals. Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga made this known in a statement on Monday after rampaging hoodlums aggrieved with the outcome of Saturday LG poll burnt down some council secretariats in the oil-rich state. “In response to recent tensions following last Saturday’s local government council election, the President expressed deep concern over reports of arson and explosions in the state,” Onanuga said. The President urged all political actors to de-escalate the situation and discourage their supporters from engaging in…
THE Nigerian government has officially launched its Naira-for-crude sale agreement with Dangote Refinery, effective October 1, 2024. The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy announced that, in line with the Federal Executive Council (FEC) directive, the sale of crude oil and refined petroleum products in Naira has officially commenced as of October 1, 2024. Edun emphasised that the initiative aligns with the directive from the Federal Executive Council (FEC). “The sale of crude oil and refined petroleum products in Naira has officially commenced as of October 1st, 2024,” he stated. “Following the launch, key stakeholders convened on…
STRONG indications have emerged that President Bola Tinubu has completed the list containing the names and designations of those who will serve in his reshuffled cabinet. Multiple sources in the Presidency, who confided in this newspaper, said Tinubu had concluded the list of ministers to drop and those to retain and was expected to release it on Thursday night, a day after he arrived in the United Kingdom for his two-week annual leave. Following the biting economic hardship and the nationwide protests last August, President Tinubu has been facing increasing pressure from within and outside his party, the All Progressives…
PRESIDENT Bola Ahmed Tinubu has conferred the nation’s second highest national honour, the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger, on the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas. This follows a protest by members of the lower chamber of the National Assembly. In his 64th Independence Anniversary Speech on October 1, Tinubu had conferred the Commander of the Federal Republic( CFR) on the speaker and the deputy senate president. But this development led to a debate in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, calling on the President to confer a higher honour on the Speaker. In a…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu may bar revenue-generating agencies from collecting revenues on behalf of the Federal Government as he plans to introduce a single agency – Nigeria Revenue Service – to handle the task. This came as the Federal Government instituted a comprehensive set of fresh tax reforms aimed at significantly boosting revenue collection. The reforms, designed to enhance the efficiency of collecting direct taxes, along with various levies that are imposed on behalf of the government, will bar the Nigerian Customs Service, Nigerian Ports Authority, and 60 other revenue collection agencies from participating in revenue collection activities, but will lead…
THE National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadau, on Thursday addressed Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero as the Emir of Kano. Both Bayero and Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi are laying claim to the revered stool of the Emir of Kano. In March 2020, former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje had dethroned Sanusi and named Bayero Emir. However, four years after, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf sacked Bayero and reinstated Sanusi. Bayero’s whose sack was announced when he was out of the state, had returned to Kano and moved into the mini palace at Nasarawa, where he has been holding court. Angered by his action, Yusuf had…
THE Senate has received President Bola Tinubu’s communication seeking consideration and passage of the proposed Fiscal Policy and Tax Reform Bill to align with ongoing financial reforms of the Federal Government and enhance efficiency in tax compliance. The House of Representatives also received four bills were forwarded by the President. They include the Nigeria Tax Bill, the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, the Nigeria Revenue Establishment Bill and the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill. On October 1, 2024, during his speech on Nigeria’s 64th Independence Anniversary, Tinubu said some Economic Stabilisation Bills would be transmitted to the National Assembly. “We are…
AHEAD of the submission of the report of the 10-member inter-ministerial committee on the implementation of the Supreme Court ruling on Local Government Areas autonomy next week, state governors have begun fresh lobbying against the enforcement of the verdict. The panel, headed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, has concluded its assignment and is expected to submit its report on or before October 13, according to PUNCH findings. Under former President Muhammadu Buhari, the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit issued a regulation, effective from June 1, 2019, banning transactions on State and Local Governments Joint Accounts.…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu is set to proceed to the United Kingdom on annual leave. Tinubu had headed for the UK after his trip to China in September. A statement by the Special Adviser to the President (Information & Strategy), Bayo Onanuga on Wednesday, said he will use the two weeks as a working vacation, and a retreat to reflect on his administration’s economic reforms. He will return to the country after the leave expires. The president had celebrated Nigeria’s 64th Independence Day anniversary with a speech, where he said the Federal Government would introduce a 30-day confab aimed at including…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu says his administration is focused on restoring peace to the troubled parts of the North so that farmers displaced by bandits and kidnapping can return to their farmlands and increase food production. “We expect to see a leap in food production and a downward spiral in food costs. I promise you, we shall not falter on this,” Tinubu said on Tuesday during his 2024 Anniversary Broadcast on the occassion of Nigeria’s 64th Independence Day Anniversary on October 1, 2024. According to the President, his “administration is winning the war on terror and banditry” with target to eliminate…
A FORMER Vice President and the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2023 general elections, Atiku Abubakar, has written to the National Assembly, requesting an amendment to the Constitution to allow for a six-year single term for the President and state governors. In a memorandum to the Senate Committee on Constitutional Review, Atiku also proposed that the presidency be rotated between the North and South. It is noteworthy that during Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s presidency, he advocated for a six-year single term for the presidential seat. Following the 2023 general elections, Atiku has continued to support this tenure…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu will make a nationwide broadcast on Tuesday, October 1, 2024 at 7 a.m. The broadcast, according to a release issued by the Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, is part of activities to commemorate the 64th Independence Anniversary of the nation. Television, radio stations and other electronic media outlets are enjoined to hook up to the network services of the Nigerian Television Authority and the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria for the broadcast. See full statement below: STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE OCTOBER 1ST 2024 INDEPENDENCE DAY: PRESIDENT TINUBU ADDRESSES THE NATION President Bola…
PRESIDENT, Bola Tinubu has sworn in Kudirat Kekere-Ekun as the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN). The ceremony took place at the Council Chamber of the State House Abuja. The event had in attendance Vice President Kashim Shettima, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Right Honourable Tajudeen Abbas, Ministers of Information, Muhammed Idris, FCT, Nyesom Wike, Justice, Lateef Fagbemi and Special Duties, Mr Zephaniah. The swearing in of Kekere-Ekun as substantive Chief Justice of Nigeria follows her confirmation by the Nigerian Senate last week. President Tinubu had in August sworn in the new CJN in acting capacity…