PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has returned to Abuja, the nation’s capital, after spending two weeks abroad. The President arrived back at the Presidential Villa in the early hours of Wednesday. The Nigerian leader had travelled to the Netherlands on April 23 for a summit on economic growth. After the three-day event, he proceeded to Saudi Arabia, where he joined other leaders from around the globe for the World Economic Summit (WEF). The Nigerian leader did not immediately return to Nigeria after the event, spending more days abroad. No official reason was given for the extended stay that has aroused speculations from…
Author: Abdullahi Maitama Sani
Says If They Don’t Repent, Tinubu’ll Attend Their Funeral A CHIEFTAIN of the All Progressives Congress, Jesutega Onokpasa, has revealed that certain appointees of President Bola Tinubu are plotting to succeed him before the end of his tenure and are seriously wishing that the President will not make it to 2027 for their selfish reasons. Onokpasa, a lawyer and former member of the APC Presidential Campaign Council for Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who lamented the alleged hypocrisy, pull him down mentality and anti-party activities going on in the governing party, laid curses on those he accused of wishing Tinubu dead, saying,…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has condoled with the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, over the passing of his brother, Salihu Ahmadu Ribadu, who died on Sunday in Yola, Adamawa State. The President was represented by his Chief of Staff, Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila, who led a federal government delegation on a condolence visit to Yola, on Tuesday. Speaking at the Ribadu family home in Yola, the Chief of Staff said President Tinubu is saddened by the loss and describes it as “painful and irreparable.” “Mr. President has mandated us to come to Yola and condole with a valued member of…
TEN years after the launch of the Abuja centenary city, the Senate has opened up an investigation into the failed $18.5bn public-private sector-led project. It is seeking a revival of the lofty project under the 10th Assembly. The Senate has therefore set up an ad-hoc committee to be chaired by the deputy Senate President, Sen. Barau Jibrin. The sponsor of the bill, Sen. Yisa Oyelola representing Kwara South, noted that the original estimated investment for the Abuja Centenary Economic City project in 2014 pegged at $18.5bn, was designated as a free trade zone under the regulatory oversight of the Nigerian…
THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested six senior officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps over alleged N6bn fraud. The senior officers are currently being grilled by EFCC interrogators at the commission’s headquarters, Jabi, Abuja, this newspaper can confirm. Though details of the probe are still sketchy, our correspondent gathered that the NSCDC officers were handed over to the EFCC on Monday on the order of the NSCDC Commandant General, Ahmed Audi. Impeccable sources privy to the development but who were not authorised to speak to the press revealed that the EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, had…
THE Presidency says Seyi Tinubu has a right to pursue his business interests in Nigeria and anywhere in the world within the limits of the law. This is in response to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who in a statement, faulted the award of the contract for the Lagos-Calabar coastal road to Hitech Construction Company Ltd. According to Atiku, the award of the contract to Hitech Construction Company Ltd constitutes a conflict of interest because Seyi Tinubu, the son of President Bola Tinubu, is a director on the board of CDK Integrated Industries, a subsidiary of the Chagoury Group, which…
THE Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) has announced a reduction in the price of electricity tariff for Band A customers from N225/kWh to N206.80/kWh. The AEDC made the announcement in a tweet on Monday, May 6. It reads: “We are pleased to share with you the revised tariff for our Band A feeders, which will decrease from N225/kWh to N206.80/kWh effective today, May 6th 2024. “We assure customers on our Band A feeders of continued availability of electricity supply for 20-24 hours daily. “Please note that the tariffs for Bands B, C, D, and E remain unaffected.” Similarly, the Kaduna…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu is expected to receive a report on the performance status of the Federal Government’s ministries, departments and agencies for the first quarter of 2024 this week. Presidency sources with knowledge of the developments said the report will form the basis of the President’s assessment of his ministers will be submitted on Wednesday. “What I know is that the report on the performance of the ministers has been submitted to the President and the report for the first quarter is being prepared,” a source who preferred to remain anonymous because he was not authorised to speak told this…
THE trial of a former Governor of the Central Bank, Godwin Emefiele, was stalled on Friday after his lawyers sought an adjournment following the service of additional proof of evidence served on them in court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The trial judge, Justice Rahman Oshodi, granted the adjournment after he agreed with the defence team that the reasons given for the adjournment had merit. The judge adjourned till May 9th for a continuation of the cross-examination of the second prosecution witness, John Ayoh, a former Director of Information Technology of the CBN. Emefiele is facing a…
A FEDERAL High Court sitting in Kano issued an order stopping the National Electricity Regulation Commission (NERC) and the Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO)from implementing the new increased electricity tariff for Band A consumers, News Point Nigeria reports. Recall that NERC recently mandated electricity distribution companies to charge Band A consumers increased tariffs in a move aimed at ensuring a stable power supply for those who can pay for it. However, many Nigerians accused NERC of migrating most consumers to Band A even as they complained of epileptic supply. But, on Thursday, presiding judge, Justice A M Liman gave a…
THE Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede, narrated an incident where a 17-year-old successfully hacked into his personal computer and bank account while being interrogated at his office in Lagos. The anti-graft agency chairman made this known in a chat with editors at the EFCC Headquarters, Jabi, Abuja, last Tuesday. Olukoyede recounted inviting the 17-year-old for questioning at his own office, only to witness the young hacker effortlessly bypass the security measures of his locked computer right before his eyes. He said, “I brought into my Lagos office a seventeen-year-old boy who is studying History and…
THE Federal Government says although the Tripartite Committee On National Minimum Wage is yet to conclude its negotiations, workers will not lose anything as the new minimum wage will take effect from May 1, 2024. The Minister of State Labour, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, stated this on Wednesday while addressing Nigerian workers at the May Day celebration in Abuja. She said it is regrettable that the new national minimum wage is not ready before today, but that a wide consultation is ongoing to ensure that the document is out together as soon as possible. The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade…
THE House of Representatives, on Tuesday, passed a resolution to invite the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri; and his counterpart for the gas sector, Ekperikpe Ekpo; over the fuel scarcity being experience in the country. The green chamber also summoned the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, over petrol shortages in the country. This followed a motion of urgent national importance by a member of the House, Umar Ajilo, raising concerns over lingering queues at petrol stations nationwide. The House expects the ministers and the NNPCL boss to…
THE Federal Government has appealed to the United States of America to repatriate more illicit funds transferred from Nigerian officials through its banking system. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, appealed in his remarks at the 6th Session of the Nigeria-US Bi-National Commission in Abuja on Monday. Speaking at the event, Ambassador Tuggar, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Adamu Lamuwa emphasised the need for increased support from the U.S., citing $308 million as insufficient compared to Nigeria’s losses from illegal fund transfers over the years. He reiterated the Nigerian government’s commitment to utilising these funds…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has secured a $600m investment from Danish shipping and logistics firm A.P Moller-Maersk, the presidency said on Sunday. The deal is to help in expanding port infrastructure to accommodate more container shipping services in Nigerian ports. Chairman of A.P Moller-Maersk, Mr. Robert Maersk Uggla, disclosed the decision during a meeting with President Tinubu on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum Special Meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth and Energy for Development in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Sunday, presidential spokesman Ajuri Ngelale said in a statement. ”We have seen a significant opportunity for Nigeria to cater for larger…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has insisted that his administration’s decision to remove the petrol subsidy was very necessary to prevent the country from going bankrupt. Tinubu announced the removal of subsidy on petrol the day he was inaugurated into office with the popular “subsidy is gone” speech. The action, however, made prices of commodities to rise through the roof, increasing hardship in the country which has made some of his critics condemn the subsidy removal as a policy not well thought out. But speaking as one of the panelists at the ongoing World Economic Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia this morning,…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has appointment Dr. Innocent Bariate Barikor as the Director-General of the National Environmental Standards and Regulation Enforcement Agency (NESREA). The President has also appointed of Prince Ebitimi Amgbare as the Managing Director/CEO of the Niger Delta River Basin Development Authority (NDRBDA). These appointments were made known in a statement signed by the President’s spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale, on Friday. He said the President expects that the new heads of these important agencies will discharge their duties with utmost fidelity to the nation and unfailing adherence to the highest standards of professionalism, accountability, and excellent service to the people…
A FINANCIAL data and media company, Bloomberg, has ranked the Dangote Refinery above the top 10 biggest refineries in Europe. According to data compiled by the business news platform, the refinery has more capacity than many European ones. The $20bn-worth refinery located in Lekki-Epe Expressway, Lagos State, can refine 650,000 barrels of petroleum products per day. The report sighted by our correspondent on Thursday stated that this is over 246,00bpd capacity, more than Shell’s Pernis Refinery, which is located in the Netherlands. It added that the Pernis Refinery, which has an installed capacity of 404,000bpd, is the biggest in Europe.…
HAMMA Adama Bello, the prosecution Witness Eight, (PW8) in the trial of former Head of Service (HoS), Winifred Oyo-Ita, on Thursday, narrated before Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Maitama, Abuja, how the defendant and her subordinates allegedly diverted public funds into their private companies. Oyo-Ita, the first defendant is facing criminal prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) alongside her special assistants, Ugbong Okon Effiok (seventh defendant), Garba Umar (fourth defendant) and six companies: Frontline Ace Global Services Limited, Asanaya Projects Limited, Slopes International Limited, U and U Global Services Ltd, Prince Mega Logistics Ltd…
THE Federal Government says the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) will carry out a comprehensive audit of Air Peace, Max Air, Azman, Rano Air and all local airlines in the country. The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, stated this on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Thursday monitored by News Point Nigeria. He said beyond the suspension of Dana Airlines and the ongoing audit of the airline, all other carriers in the country would be audited to guarantee the safety of passengers and the health of the civil aviation industry. Keyamo, who assumed office last August following…