PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has directed that a food intervention should be provided by the Federal Government to check the shortage of food in the country. The Minister of Information and National Orientation Muhammed Idris said this at the State House after a meeting of the Presidential Committee on Emergency Food Intervention convened by the Chief of Staff to the President Femi Gbajabiamila. Mr. Idris said the government is concerned about what Nigerians are going through and is taking some steps to ensure they get some relief. The meeting had in attendance the Minister of Agriculture, Abubakar Kyari; Minister of State…
Author: Abdullahi Maitama Sani
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PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has landed in Abuja after his private trip to France. The president arrived at the Presidential Wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe airport at 8:50 pm and was received by a delegation led by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Sen George Akume. Also present to receive him were the Chief of staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, the minister of the F.C.T., Nyesom Wike and other government officials. President Tinubu had travelled to France on Wednesday, January 24. The trip was President Tinubu’s second to France since he assumed office in May 2023.
THE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said the $40 billion foreign exchange demand to pay for education and medical treatment abroad is more than the total reserve of the apex bank. Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the bank, said this in his presentation at the Sectoral Debates/Dialogue at the House of Representatives, on Tuesday. The session was introduced by the House to interact with heads of Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) on government policies. The CBN governor said the fluctuating exchange rate is due to the simultaneous occurrence of many factors, especially the high demand by Nigerians to pay for…
ABUBAKAR Ahmad Sirika, the immediate younger brother of the former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Abubakar Sirika, has been arrested by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). News Point Nigeria reports that he was apprehended by the anti-graft agency on Sunday, February 4 over investigation of the Aviation Ministry. While in office as minister, Sirika is accused of conspiracy, abuse of office, diversion of public funds, contract inflation, criminal breach of trust and money laundering amounting to N8,069,176,864. According to the Commission, the sum is for four aviation contracts from the former minister to a company known as…
THE Federal Government said members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) are no longer posted to states deemed unsafe in the wake of worsening security conditions in the country. Several corps members have been abducted in some parts of the country during their one-year mandatory national service, raising fears about the sustainability of the scheme. But the Minister of Youth, Jamila Ibrahim says the scheme has taken steps to secure NYSC members including posting them only to safe states. “As an immediate intervention of the government and the NYSC as an agency, we have actually stopped posting corps members…
FOUR states are currently experiencing power outages due loss of bulk power supply by the Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company. The affected states are Kaduna, Sokoto, Zamfara, and Kebbi. A statement by the Kaduna DisCo Head of Corporate Communications, Abdulazeez Abdullahi, confirmed the development on Sunday. According to Abdullahi, the power supply would be restored as soon as DisCo received bulk supply at load centres across its franchise. “The Management of Kaduna Electric wishes to inform its esteemed customers that it has lost bulk power supply hence the outage being experienced currently in Kaduna, Sokoto, Zamfara and Kebbi states. “Power supply…
THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has recovered over N30bn from the N37,170, 855,753.44 allegedly laundered in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs under the former minister, Sadiya Umar-Farouk. Sources in the anti-graft agency, who spoke with our correspondent on Sunday, said the commission had also uncovered over N500m from the ‘taken funds’ associated with Umar-Farouk’s successor, Betta Edu, who was recently suspended by President Bola Tinubu. This newspaper had in December reported that N37,170,855,753.44 was transferred from government coffers and sent to 38 different bank accounts domiciled in five legacy commercial banks belonging to or connected with a contractor, James…
THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has suspended the ongoing rerun elections in specific constituencies in Enugu, Kano and Akwa Ibom States due to disruptions, irregularities and abduction of election officials. The affected areas are Enugu South 1 State Constituency, Enugu State, Ikono/Ini Federal Constituency, Akwa Ibom State and Kunchi/Tsanyawa State Constituency, Kano State. The electoral body disclosed this in a statement signed by its National Commissioner & Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun on Saturday. The decision came after INEC earlier said it was monitoring cases of thuggery and hijacking of electoral materials in these…
THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has recovered a total of N70,556,658,370.5 within 100 days, between October 2023 and January 19, 2024. Details of the recovery outlined in an EFCC document titled, ‘Operations and Recoveries’, was obtained by our correspondent on Wednesday. The document revealed that between October 2023 and January 19, 2024, the EFCC recovered N60,969,047,634.25, $10,522,778.57, £150,002.10, €4,119.90, making a total of N70,556,658,370.5 recovered by the anti-graft commission within the period. Within the same period, the EFCC received a total of 3,325 petitions, accepted 2,657 of the petitions, and secured the convictions of 747 persons for financial crime…
THE trial of Ahmed Idris, a former Accountant General of the Federation, on alleged N109 billion corruption charge, at the Federal Capital Territory High Court, has been adjourned to March 20 following completion of the cross examination of the first prosecution witness. Idris is being tried alongside three others by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for the alleged diversion of the said N109 billion. During the proceedings, the witness admitted that the former accountant general didn’t have a lawyer with him when his statements were taken during investigation by the anti-graft agency. The witness informed the court that…
THE high rate of insecurity in Abuja has continued, the latest being the attack on a house situated 200 metres close to a military base in Pambara, Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. During the attack, one Aondo Ver, said to be a director in the Federal Housing Authority, was abducted. The bandits stormed the house around 12:30am on Thursday. The kidnappers reportedly gained access through the fence. As of the time of filing this report, the Army had yet to comment on the incident. This is coming days after gunmen broke into a home at…
THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has begin investigation on the controversial Nigeria Air deal sealed by ex-Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika. “The EFCC is investigating that deal,” the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, revealed on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Wednesday monitored by News Point Nigeria. He said “there is a criminal investigation going on. I have called for the report”. Keyamo also said no local airline would be designated as national airline, adding that “we will established a proper national carrier”. Last August, shortly after he was sworn in as minister, Keyamo, a Senior…
THE Senate, on Wednesday, through its Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions, summoned the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso, to appear before it on Tuesday next week to answer questions on the state of the economy and the free fall of naira in the forex market. The Committee, chaired by Senator Adetokunbo Abiru (APC Lagos East), met on Wednesday when the naira plummeted to N1,520 to a US dollar and resolved to summon the CBN governor on the way out. The naira at the official window on Tuesday, fell at an all-time low of N1,482…
TWO teenage sisters have been kidnapped by gunmen suspected to be bandits at Guita community, Chikakore in Kubwa, Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. This is coming barely eight days after the Chikakore community protested to the office of the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, over the terrible state of the major road linking their community which they described as one of the causes of serial kidnapping in the area. Our source gathered on Wednesday that the kidnappers returned last Sunday around 11:25pm despite the patrol of military men and policemen in the area. It was learnt that…
THE Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede, has revealed that the anti-graft agency uncovered how a religious sect in Nigeria is laundering money for terrorists. This was as he also revealed that another religious body was found to be protecting a money launderer after some money suspected to have been laundered was traced to the organisation’s bank account. The EFCC boss made the revelation on Wednesday at the Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja, during a one-day dialogue on “Youth, Religion, and the Fight against Corruption.” He noted that religious organisations, institutions, sects, and bodies, have been found…
THE Supreme Court has affirmed the election of Governor Ahmadu Fintiri as Governor of Adamawa State. Justice John Okoro who prepared and read the lead judgement on Wednesday dismissed the appeal by the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Aisha Dahiru. While dismissing her appeal for lacking in merit, the five-member panel led by Justice John Okoro held that the act of the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Hudu Ari, was an act of irresponsibility and criminality. Justice Okoro further held that it is the returning officer who must announce results, as this is to avoid chaos and anarchy.…
THE President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, says most governors of the 37-Member Tripartite Committee On Minimum Wage are guilty of not complying with the proposed base pay structure. Vice President Kashim Shettima had inaugurated the committee in Abuja earlier on Tuesday, saying the decision was aimed at ensuring a decent living wage and in compliance with the existing National Minimum Wage Act of 2019 which will expire in a few months from now. Speaking on Tuesday on Channels Television’s Politics Today monitored by News Point Nigeria Ajaero said, ”Most of the governors in the minimum wage…
A SECOND Prosecution Witness, in the trial of a former Governor of Sokoto State, Attahiru Bafarawa, Kassim Yusuf, on Tuesday, recounted before Justice Yusuf Halilu of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja, that the former governor diverted a staggering N4.6billion he received as security fund from the office of the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Colonel Sambo Dasuki. This was according to a statement by the spokesman for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Dele Oyewale. The EFCC is prosecuting Bafarawa on amended 25-count charges bordering on criminal breach of trust and diversion of public funds to the…
THE Federal Government on Tuesday inaugurated the 37-man Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage. The committee is to recommend a new National Minimum Wage for the country. Vice President Kashim Shettima who inaugurated the committee at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa Abuja, charged to them to ensure the timely submission of their recommendations. The Committee chaired by the former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Goni Bukar Aji, is made up of members of the organised labour, the private sector and the federal and state governments. Shettima said the decision to set up the committee is…
AT least 1,500 members of staff of the Central Bank of Nigeria will on Friday resume at its Lagos office following their redeployment from the headquarters, this newspaper has learned. A source at the apex bank told our correspondent that the plan, though heavily criticised, was still in motion, and affected staffers would be resuming on Friday. “Yes, the plan is still on and they will resume work by February 2, which is the first week of next month,” an official said. The latest development comes on the backdrop of the decision of the new management to relocate some of…