GOVERNOR Umar Namadi of Jigawa State has disclosed that about 181 people were killed in the tanker explosion that happened in the state last week. He said while 80 persons were still in the hospitals, a total of 210 families were affected explosion that happened on October 15. The governor gave the Update when he visited President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tuesday. A truck carrying petrol from Kano to Nguru in Yobe State, exploded in Majia, located in the Taura Local Government Area of Jigawa. Addressing State House Correspondents after visiting the President, Governor Namadi said the state government had…
Author: Abdullahi Maitama Sani
VICE President Kashim Shettima will lead Nigeria’s delegation to represent President Bola Tinubu at the the 2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). Shettima will join King Charles of England and other world leaders from 56 member countries at the first CHOGM to be held in the Pacific small island of Apia, Samoa from October 21 to 26. This is according to a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications, Stanley Nkwocha. The leaders will deliberate on the theme, “One Resilient Common Future: Transforming our Common Wealth.” The theme will focus attention on how…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has returned to the country after weeks of annual leave. “The eagle has landed,” presidential aide Dada Olusegun wrote on his X account on Saturday. “Welcome home Mr President.” Tinubu arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja in the evening after his working leave. President Tinubu was welcomed by a team of government officials, the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) Abdullahi Ganduje; Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State; his Chief of State Femi Gbajabiamila; the National Security Adviser (NSA) Nuhu Ribadu among others. The two-week working leave is part of his…
VICE President Kashim Shettima is urging global investors to take advantage of Nigeria’s growing investment climate. The Vice President made the call during a business meeting with Swedish business in Stockholm, Sweden, as part of his two-day visit to the Nordic country. According to him, the Federal Government has undertaken bold reforms that are restructuring the nation’s economy for sustainable growth, adding that the administration’s renewed hope agenda is focused on a competitive business environment that attracts foreign and domestic investments. Speaking at Epicenter, Stockholm, Sweden, where he is currently on a two-day working visit aimed at boosting trade and…
SENATOR Orji Kalu says President Bola Tinubu is aware of the country’s fluttering economy and is taking steps to address the challenges facing Nigeria. “The president himself knows that Nigerians are suffering and hungry. He is a street person; he knows the street very well,” Senator Kalu said on Thursday’s edition of Channels Television’s Politics Today monitored by News Point Nigeria. “The president some nights secretly uses his car to go around and know what is happening in Abuja.” The country’s inflation figures hit 32.7 per cent in September 2024, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Since the…
THE House of Representatives took a major step towards state expansion on Thursday, October 17, as a bill proposing the creation of Ogoja State passed its second reading. The bill, spearheaded by lawmaker Godwin Offiono alongside three co-sponsors, aims to amend the 1999 Constitution, potentially adding a seventh state to Nigeria’s South-South region. Presenting the bill to his colleagues, Offiono highlighted its focus on fairness and regional balance, stating, “The essence of this bill is rested on equity.” According to Offiono, Ogoja State’s creation would address calls for fair representation within the South-South, a region where residents have long advocated…
THE Presidency on Wednesday said that the absence of President Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima in the country does not create any leadership vacuum. While Tinubu departed for the country on October 2, 2024, for a two-week working leave, Shettima left Abuja on Wednesday for Sweden on a two-day visit to represent Nigeria in bilateral engagements with the Scandinavian nation. In a statement on Wednesday, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the two leaders “are fully engaged with the nation’s affairs, even while they are away” Onanuga also noted that all state…
THE Senate President, Godswill Akpabio has reacted to social media reports alleging that the Department of States Service (DSS) had surrounded the National Assembly amidst a potential impeachment threat against principal officers. The reports said the secret police had taken over all entrances to the assembly complex on Tuesday. ‘We are here, doing our work very peacefully, oblivious of the mischief,’ Akpabio said during plenary on Wednesday. He cautioned the public to be aware and not adhere to the allegation he described as fake news. He equally jocularly referred the matter to the committee on special duties chaired by Senator…
VICE-PRESIDENT Kashim Shettima is expected to depart Abuja on Wednesday for Sweden on a 2-day visit to represent Nigeria in bilateral engagements. Stanley Nkwocha, the Spokesman to the Vice President Kashim Shettima, in a statement, said the visit which is at the instance of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. “The Vice President is expected back in the country on Saturday. While in Sweden, the Vice President, will engage in high-level bilateral talks with key government officials, including a meeting with Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and the Swedish Prime Minister,” he said. The spokesman said while in Sweden, the Vice President…
THE Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, has said that the increase in Nigeria’s revenue recorded in the 2024 fiscal year is being strategically allocated to various social intervention programmes aimed at improving the living standards of citizens and addressing pressing societal needs. The minister said the social investment programme is targeted to impact 60 per cent of the poorest, reaching 20 million persons. He also revealed a comprehensive proposed agenda for economic reform, which aims to reduce inflation, create jobs, and stimulate growth in key sectors of the economy. At his October 1, 2024…
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…
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…