THE Federal Government is planning to rehabilitate and construct 1,925 roads and highways across the country in the 2024 budget proposal, according to findings by this newspaper. The government also allocated N548.56b for roads construction in 2024, with the East-West and Benin-Akure roads getting N2bn and N3.75bn respectively. This is however separate from the N288.44bn allocated for the modernisation of 329 roads and bridges in the 2023 supplementary budget. If road projects in the supplementary budget are added to those in the 2024 budget proposal, it means the government is expected to spend N837bn on 2,254 roads and bridges in…
Author: Abdullahi Maitama Sani
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ECOWAS leaders have resolved to urgently review efforts to activate a standby force for counterterrorism operations in areas infested by terrorist groups. A communiqué read by Dr. Omar Touray, President of ECOWAS Commission, at the end of the 64th ordinary session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS, on Sunday in Abuja, said the leaders reiterated their commitment to the eradication of terrorism and other threats to peace, security, and stability in the region. They also resolved to hold an extraordinary summit on unconstitutional changes of government aimed at promoting peace, security, and democracy in the…
THE leadership of the 10th Senate has donated 109 million naira to victims of mistaken army air strike at Tudun Biri village in Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State. The Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin, who announced the donation when he led other principal officers and senators on a condolence visit to Governor Uba Sani at Sir Kashim Ibrahim Government House on Sunday, said it is their December salaries for the welfare of the victims. While sympathizing with the Kaduna State government and people of Tudun Biri community over the tragic incident, the Deputy Senate President, who represented…
THE United States’ Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Molly Phee, has visited Nigeria to mediate on the political situation in Niger Republic, which has been under military rule since July 26. This was disclosed in a statement on the website of the US Secretary of State. According to the statement, the US envoy arrived in Nigeria on Saturday and will hold talks with the Nigerian President, Bola Tinubu, as well as leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The meeting with regional leaders gathering for the ECOWAS Heads of State Summit is slated for Sunday…
THE Department of State Services (DSS) said on Saturday it will soon unveil weapons produced by its personnel. This was disclosed by the DSS Director General, Yusuf Bichi, at the graduation ceremony of the Executive Intelligence Management Course (EIMC) 16 participants in Abuja, the nation’s capital. According to him, the DSS will soon begin to “produce what it eats and eat what it produces.” Among the weapons the Secret Service will soon unveil are Unmanned Aeriel Vehicles (UAVs), he stated. Bichi also assured that the agency will continue to support the National Institute for Security Studies to succeed in its…
THE Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima on Saturday said both kinetic and non-kinetic approaches must be explored in tackling the various security challenges across the country. He stated this at the graduation ceremony of the National Institute for Security Studies’ Executive Intelligence Management Course 16 which was held in Abuja. The agitation by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in the South-East, the banditry in the North-Central, and terrorism in the North-East and North-West need to be tackled using not just a kinetic approach but also non-kinetic means, Shettima noted. Attributing the current insecurity in parts of the country to…
KADUNA State Governor, Uba Sani, has faulted the claims of the Defence Headquarters (DHQ), attributing the reason for the air strike in the Tudun Birni community to terrorists embedding themselves with civilians. The incident, which happened on Sunday, resulted in the deaths of over 120 people and injuries to several others in the Igabi Local Government Area. But the Director of Defence Media Operations, Edward Buba, stated on Tuesday that the reason for the air raid was terrorists embedding themselves with the locals in the area. However, Governor Sani, speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday monitored by News…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of four (4) new members of the National Council on Privatization (NCP), representing the private sector in the Council. This was disclosed in a statement by the Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to the President, Ajuri Ngelale, Thursday. See full statement below: PRESIDENT TINUBU APPOINTS NEW MEMBERS OF NATIONAL COUNCIL ON PRIVATIZATION (NCP) President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of four (4) new members of the National Council on Privatization (NCP), representing the private sector in the Council: (1) Oluwole Osin — South-West (2) Mohammed Mustapha Bintube — North-East (3) Olayiwola Yahaya…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe as Executive Secretary of Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), along with some qualified Nigerians to serve on the Governing Council and Management team. This was disclosed in a statement by the Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to the President, Ajuri Ngelale, Thursday. The statement reads in full: PRESIDENT TINUBU APPOINTS NCDMB GOVERNING COUNCIL AND MANAGEMENT TEAM In conformity with Sections 71(1), 72, and 73 of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act (2010), President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of qualified Nigerians to…
FORMER Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Khalifa Muhammadu Sanusi II, has called for a proper audit of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), noting that this call was what cost him his job at the apex bank. Sanusi made this known while delivering his remarks at The Bank Directors Summit holding at the Congress Hall of the Transcorp Hilton in Abuja. The 14th Emir of Kano and leader of the Tijjaniyya Order in Nigeria, who was CBN governor from June 2009 to February 2014, insisted that the President should not be the Minister of Petroleum. For…
THE United States Bureau of Arms Control, Deterrence, and Stability said on Thursday that the deployment of Artificial Intelligence will help the Nigerian military reduce the incidence of accidental bombing to the barest minimum. The PUNCH reports that there have been over 12 cases of miscalculated airstrikes by the military, resulting in the deaths of over 400 innocent civilians between 2017 and 2023. The Centre noted that the adoption of AI by the Nigerian military will not only improve its capabilities but will also prevent the military from running foul of international humanitarian law. The Centre’s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary,…
THE National Judicial Council (NJC) has recommended the appointment of 11 justices to the Supreme Court. A statement by the apex court’s Director of Information, Soji Oye made available to News Point Nigeria, said the recommendation was made at the 104th meeting of the council in Abuja on Wednesday. The recommended candidates would be sworn-in after the approval of their recommendation by President Bola Tinubu and the subsequent confirmation of their appointment by the Senate. With this appointment, the apex court will have the full complement of 21 justices, as envisaged by the Constitution. Those recommended for appointment to the…
THE Chairman of the Senate Appropriation Committee, Senator Adeola Olamilekan, on Wednesday, directed the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, to appear before the committee in 24 hours. Olamilekan, who asked Kyari to appear in company of the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Engr. Gbenga Komolafe, warned that failure to appear undermines the legislature and sabotages the process. They are required to present the list of all individual companies operating with OML licenses in Nigeria as well as total production output approved on a daily basis. The…
THE Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar underscored the urgent need for concerted global action to address the pressing challenges of climate change. He said that Nigeria is leading the fight against climate change in Africa by setting ambitious and realistic goals, “Nigeria has ratified its commitments through a Climate Change Act and a National Council on Climate Change (NCCC). Through these, Nigeria set ambitious, albeit realistic, goals, and I am proud to state that we have hit the ground running, transforming our commitments into tangible climate action.” He emphasized the critical role of collaboration, innovation, and shared…
EIGHTY-FIVE were killed in an air strike by the Nigerian Army at Tudun Biri village in Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State, in one of the country’s deadliest military bombing accidents. The North-West zonal spokesman of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Halima Suleiman, told Channels Television that 66 other victims were also injured in Sunday’s bombing. She said the fatality figure was gotten from the local authorities after the burial of the victims on Monday. “The Northwest Zonal Office has received details from the local authorities that 85 dead bodies have so far been buried while a search…
THE Federal Government funded 422 persons to the ongoing COP28 Climate Summit in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has said. The minister made this known in a signed statement made available to News Point Nigeria on Monday following a controversy trailing 1,411 Nigerian registered delegates at the summit. President Bola Tinubu had on November 29, 2023, departed Abuja for Dubai for the summit expected to end on December 12, 2023. Controversy has since surrounded the number of Nigerian delegates at the summit which ranked that of China, with many Nigerians…
A FEDERAL High Court in Abuja has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to identify, within 90 days, its officials involved in the registration of the underaged during the continuous voters’ registration (CVR) exercise in polling units across the country. Justice Obiora Egwuatu, in a judgment, also directed the culprits to be produced and handed over to the appropriate law enforcement agency for investigation and possible prosecution. Justice Egwuatu equally made a mandatory order, compelling INEC to expunge forthwith from its national voters’ register the names of all the underage voters from each of the polling units across the…
AFTER a combined seven months, scores of students of the Federal University Gusau, Zamfara kidnapped from their hostels and the eight Akwa Ibom State graduates abducted on their way to the National Youth Service Corps orientation camp in Sokoto State are still In kidnappers’ den, News Point Nigeria reports. In September Bandits reportedly kidnapped a significant number of students of the Federal University Gusau, Zamfara State, in the early hours of day from their hostels. An indigene of Sabon Gida village, Abubakar Sani, told this newspaper that the bandits, who were in large numbers, stormed the students’ off-campus residences in…
A FORMER governor of Niger state, Dr. Muazu Babangida Aliyu, has said he chased the dreaded Boko Haram leaders, Abubakar Shekau and Abu Qaqa, out of Niger State during his first term as Governor. He said if he had not done that, the state would have been the foundation of Boko Haram. Speaking at the 2023 annual public lecture, awards and election of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) over the weekend, he said part of the solution to the security challenges bedeviling Nigeria, like terrorism and banditry is proper planning and budgeting that will eradicate the negative statistics…
THE Federal Government has earmarked a total of N13,805,814,220 for the upkeep of former presidents, vice-presidents, heads of state, Chiefs of General Staff, retired heads of service, permanent secretaries, as well as retired heads of government agencies and parastatals in the 2024 fiscal year. The beneficiaries include former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari, as well as ex-vice-presidents Atiku Abubakar, Namadi Sambo and Prof Yemi Osinbajo. Also expected to benefit from the windfall are ex-military Heads of State, General Yakubu Gowon and General Abdusalami Abubakar, as well as a former dictator and self-styled military President, General Ibrahim Babangida,…