Author: Abdullahi Maitama Sani

THE Senate has received a request from President Bola Tinubu for the confirmation of the appointments of seven ministerial nominees announced on Wednesday. President Tinubu’s request seeking expeditious consideration of the requests was contained in a letter addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio who read it at the commencement of the plenary on Thursday. Tinubu urged the Senate to consider and confirm the seven nominees for appointment as ministers. The ministerial nominees for confirmation include Nentawe Yilwatda (Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction), Muhammadu Dingyadi (Labour & Employment), Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu (State Foreign Affairs), and Jumoke Oduwole (Industry, Trade and Investment). Others…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu wielded his big stick on Wednesday, and like a surgeon in a theatre, he used his surgical knife, yanked off five ministers, redeployed 10 and appointed seven fresh nominees as ministers to replace the sacked ones as well as two others — Betta Edu who was initially suspended, and Simon Lalong who left his cabinet to join the Senate. Tinubu, ex-Lagos governor, appointed 48 ministers in August 2023, three months after his inauguration. The Senate immediately screened and confirmed the ministers. One of the ministers, Betta Edu, was suspended in January while ex-Plateau State governor, Simon Lalong,…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has appointed Sunday Dare as Special Adviser on Public Communication and orientation. He will be working from the Ministry of Information and National Orientation. Dare’s announcement was announced on Wednesday when President Tinubu also sacked 5 ministers and re-assigned 10 to new ministerial portfolios. He as well appointed seven new ministers for Senate confirmation. Dare served as the Nigerian Minister of Youth & Sports from 2019 to 2023 under the last administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. Before being made a minister, Buhari had appointed Dare as an Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)…

PRESIDENT Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the immediate implementation of eight far-reaching actions to reinvigorate the Administration’s capacity for optimal efficiency pursuant of his commitment to deliver on his promises to Nigerians. The eight actions approved by Mr. President include: 1. The renaming of the Ministry of Nigeria Delta Development to Ministry of Regional Development to oversee the activities of all the Regional Development Commissions. The Regional Development Commissions to be under the supervision of the new Ministry are; the Niger Delta Development Commission, the South East Development Commission, the North East Development and the North West Development Commission. 2.…

PRESIDENT Tinubu and the Federal Executive Council (FEC) have scrapped the Niger Delta Ministry, and the Ministry of Sports Development. The decisions were taken on Wednesday at the meeting of the FEC in Abuja, as seen on the X handle of the Special Adviser Information and Strategy to President Tinubu, Bayo Onanuga on Wednesday. There will now be a ministry of regional development to oversee all the regional development commissions, such as Niger Delta Development Commission, North West Development Commission, South West Development Commission, and the North East Development Commission. The National Sports Commission will take over the role of…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu says Nigerian motorists can now purchase a litre of Premium Motor Spirit, also known as petrol, at N1,000 per litre. The president also noted that the equivalent of a litre of petrol, which is a Standard Cubic Meter of Compressed Natural Gas, can be had for N200. Tinubu said this when he met with the executives of the Nigerian Independent Petroleum Company, led by the director, Mr Ramesh Kasangra, at the State House in Abuja Tuesday, according to a statement issued by the president’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, titled, “President Tinubu meets NIPCO…

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…

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…