Author: Abdullahi Maitama Sani

THERE are indications that the Defence Headquarters is preparing to release the names and pictures of the new set of most wanted terrorist and bandit leaders. This newspaper gathered that this was following the elimination of top bandit leaders on the watchlist of the military and the emergence of a new crop of leaders. The DHQ had in November 2022 declared no fewer than 19 bandit leaders wanted with a bounty of N5m on each of them to encourage Nigerians to volunteer information that could lead to their arrest. Prominent among those declared wanted were Bello Turji from Fakai village,…

THE Defence Headquarters has said 15 military personnel were killed during a communal clash in Delta State. The personnel consist of two Majors, one Captain, and 12 soldiers. They were said to have met their deaths while responding to a distress call during a clash between Okuama and Okoloba communities in Delta State on Thursday. According to a statement on Saturday by the Director, Defence Information, Brig. Gen. Tukur Gusau, the troops who were on a peace mission to Okuoma community in Bomadi LGA were attacked and killed by some community youths. He noted that the commanding officer who led…

THE Court of Appeal in Abuja has dismissed separate appeals seeking an order, compelling the Code of Conduct Bureau to release the asset declaration forms of former presidents, their vice and National Assembly principal officers. Delivering the Lead Judgement, Justice Okon Abang equally dismissed the appeals, adding that the suits were immature. He said, as at the time the suit was filed at the trial court, the National Assembly did not make any written instrument prescribing the terms and conditions that will guide any members of the public to either apply for the inspection of the assets form or disclosure…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Mrs. Zubaida Umar as the Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). Mrs. Umar is the first woman to be appointed as Director-General of this pivotal agency, and her appointment further underlines the President’s avowed commitment to gender inclusion. This was disclosed in a statement by the Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to the President, Ajuri Ngelale, Friday. According to the statement, the new Director-General of NEMA has over 20 years of work experience in diverse fields, including Human Resources, and Finance and Administration. She is a member of the Chartered…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has mourned the late Olubadan of Ibadanland, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Mohood Lekan Balogun, Alli Okunmade II. In a statement by Ajuri Ngelale, his spokesman, President Tinubu described the late Olubadan as a courageous man who stood for peace. “His Imperial Majesty, the Olubadan of Ibadanland, was an exceptional king who used his ancestral stool in the service of humanity,” Tinubu was quoted as saying on Friday. “He was compassionate, courageous, and an unrelenting advocate of the pristine ideals of peace, honesty, and unity. His wise counsel will be sorely missed at this time in the life…

LESS than 24 hours after President Bola Tinubu has ruled out the payment of ransom to the abductors of over 287 schoolchildren in Kuriga village of Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State, the bandits have reportedly demanded a ransom of N1 billion from the victims’ families. On Wednesday, President Tinubu through the Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, ruled out the possibility of paying a ransom to rescue victims of kidnappings in the country. He directed the security agencies to do the needful to rescue the children including the Tsangaya students of Sokoto and the IDPs in Borno State. This…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has appointed Dr. Temitope Ilori as the new Director General of the National Agency For The Control of AIDS. Dr. Ilori, who is the first female to be appointed the Director-General of the agency began her initial term of four years on February 22, 2024. The Head of Public Relations and Protocol of NACA, Toyin Aderibigbe made this known in a press statement made available to this newspaper on Thursday. Dr. Ilori took over from her predecessor, Dr Gambo Aliyu, who was the DG of the agency from June 2019 till February 2024. Up until her appointment,…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has said that no ransom will be paid for the rescue of the children abducted from Kuriga in Kaduna State. The President stated this today at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting which held at the Presidential Villa Abuja. Briefing State House Correspondents after the FEC meeting, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Muhammad Idris said President Tinubu also reiterated his directive to the defence to ensure that the children are rescued and brought back safely to their homes. He also said the President made his stance against payment of ransom to kidnappers and that the…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has directed the opening of Nigeria’s land and air borders with the Republic of Niger and the lifting of other sanctions against the country with immediate effect. This was disclosed in a statement by the Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to the President, Ajuri Ngelale, Wednesday. According to the statement, the directive is in compliance with the decisions of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government at its extraordinary summit on February 24, 2024, in Abuja. “ECOWAS leaders had agreed to lift economic sanctions against the Republic of Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea. “The…

THE Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries(OPEC) said Nigeria’s crude oil production month-on-month dropped by 7.94% to 1.322 million barrels per day, bpd in February 2024, from 1.427 million bpd in January 2024. Nigeria was among several countries, given a lower target after years of failing to meet the previous ones. Its 2024 target was reduced to 1.38 million from the previous 1.74 million. President Bola Tinubu in November said his administration had “adopted a conservative oil price benchmark of 77.96 US dollars per barrel and daily oil production estimate of 1.78 million barrels per day” after reviewing developments in the…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Dr. Dayo Mobereola to serve as the Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) for a renewable term of four years. The appointment follows the exit of Mr. Bashir Jamoh, whose tenure recently expired. Mobereola’s appointment was disclosed by the Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity), Ajuri Ngelale in a statement on Tuesday Dr. Mobereola holds a Ph.D., and an M.Sc in Transport Economics from the University of Wales, United Kingdom. He is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Transport, in England, and a fellow of…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu is in closed-door talks with Senate President, Godswill Akpabio; Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, and other lawmakers at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja. Tuesday’s talks followed the recent suspension of Senator Abdul Ningi of Bauchi Central (PDP), who accused the executive of implementing a budget other than the one approved on January 1, 2024. Ningi, who chairs the Northern Senators’ Forum and Senate Committee on Population, had contended in a BBC Hausa Service interview that the Federal Government, led by Tinubu, was executing a budget significantly higher than what was passed by the NASS. According to the…

THE Senate under the leadership of Senate President Godswill Akpabio on Tuesday suspended Senator Abdul Ningi over allegations of N3.7trn padding of the 2024 Budget. Ningi, from Bauchi Central Senatorial District, was suspended for three months after a long stormy session in the red chamber. A member of the Appropriation Committee in the Senate, Jimoh Ibrahim, first moved the motion for Ningi’s suspension for 12 months over allegations of criminal misinformation and breach of peace in the National Assembly and the country by extension. However, other lawmakers like Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong moved for the amendment of the motion by Ibrahim.…

POWER distributors that reject electricity allocated to them by the Transmission Company of Nigeria shall be dealt with severely going forward, the Federal Government declared on Monday. It also revealed that in the next three to six months, it would ramp up power generation and supply to between 6,000 and 6,500 megawatts. The Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, who disclosed this in Abuja before commencing a meeting with heads of agencies under his ministry, also disclosed that the Federal Government was subsidising the electricity bills of consumers nationwide by about 65 per cent. “I am holding this meeting with…

SENATOR Abdul Ningi, who represents Bauchi Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly, has made a U-turn on some claims he made regarding the 2024 Appropriation Act. In a chat with Senate correspondents on Monday, the Chairman of the Northern Senators’ Forum said he is ready to carry his cross, even if it means suspension from the Red Chamber. Ningi clarified that he never suggested that President Bola Tinubu is implementing two budgets or that he was biased against the North. He clarified that he stands by his utterance as a Senator and not the Chairman of the Northern Senators’…

FORMER President Muhammad Buhari was not aware of the depletion of Nigeria’s foreign reserves under the watch of former Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, according to Ajuri Ngelale, spokesperson for President Bola Tinubu. Emefiele, who is currently battling multiple lawsuits, was in charge of the CBN throughout Buhari’s 8 year tenure. Although former President Goodluck Jonathan appointed Emefiele after suspending Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Tinubu suspended Emefiele weeks after assuming power and ordered his probe. In a recent interview, Ngelale said Buhari did not authorize the bulk of the expenditures from the foreign reserves, amounting to billions of dollars, under Emefiele.…

THE holy fasting month of Ramadan will begin in Nigeria on Monday, March 11th 2024, the Sultan of Sokoto, Saad Abubakar, has announced. Sultan Abubakar, who doubles as the president of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), said this in a broadcast Sunday night. The announcement followed the sighting of the crescent moon in a single location in Nigeria, according to the National Moonsighting Committee. “The Sultan felicitates with the entire Muslim community on the auspicious occasion of the forthcoming 1445AH Ramadan Fast,” a statement by the Sultan said. He prayed that Allah spares the lives of every…

THE  Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Mrs. Olu Verheijen yesterday said the administration of President Bola Tinubu opted for fiscal incentives in the Oil and Gas Sector to attract investments. She also said the government was seeking ways to grow revenue and foreign exchange to stabilize our economy and currency. She said enhanced security measures in the Niger Delta has led to increase in  liquids of over 200,000 Barrels/day over the last six  months. She added that the stability in the oil producing areas has  increased the availability of NLNG Trains 1-6 from 57% in 2023  to 70%…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has promised that his administration will prioritise the welfare of women, protect their rights, and advance their causes. Tinubu described women as the nation’s pivot in a statement signed by his media aide, Ajuri Ngelale, to commemorate International Women’s Day. The President recognised the role of women in nation-building, emphasising that, without a scintilla of doubt, Nigerian women are elemental to the nation’s development, growth, and greatness. “The President affirms that in every discipline and field of human endeavour, the standout achievements of Nigerian women have become a testament to the resilience, strength, courage, and ingenuity of…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has suspended the Managing Director/CEO of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad. Confirming the suspension in a statement on Thursday, presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, said the President also suspended three executive directors of the agency. “In the light of new findings unearthed during a comprehensive investigation into the financial activities of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), President Bola Tinubu has approved the indefinite suspension of the Managing Director/CEO of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad, alongside three Executive Directors of the Agency, from office,” the statement read. “Olaniyi Alaba Netufo — Executive Director,…