THERE was uproar in the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly on Tuesday, following the announcement of Senator Osita Ngwu representing Enugu West as the new Senate Minority Whip. Ngwu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was named as the minority leader by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, a situation that didn’t go down well with some Labour Party senators. Sen. Okechukwu Ezea from Enugu North rose to fault the nomination. His personal observation/objection was backed by Sen. Tony Nwoye of the LP who equally rose to challenge the ceding of three of the minority leadership to the PDP, leaving…
Author: Abdullahi Maitama Sani
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SENATOR representing Benue South Senatorial District, Abba Moro, on Tuesday, emerged Senate Minority leader. Moro, a two term Senator on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, was nominated by the opposition party in the red Chamber and was subsequently affirmed. He took over from Senator Simon Davou Mwadkwon representing Plateau North Senatorial District who was removed by the Appeal Court. Earlier, the Senate had zoned the Minority leader to the North Central. Senator Mwadkwon, though a first timer to the Senate, was nominated by the minority caucus. This newspaper reports that the newly elected Minority leader was a…
THE service chiefs and the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, are before the House of Representatives. The service chiefs include the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa; Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt-General Taoreed Lagbaja; Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar, and Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla. They were ushered into the green chamber for the security sectoral debate around 11:26 am. This comes after last Thursday’s criticism of the security heads by the lawmakers for sending representatives, who were rejected. The session is to be held behind closed…
THE House of Representatives has summoned 83 ministries, departments, and agencies of the Federal Government as it begins an investigation into the alleged mismanagement of over N447.6bn COVID-19 intervention fund from 2020 to 2022. Checks by this newspaper in the budgets of the MDAs showed that at least 22 of them got not less than N447.6bn as COVID-19 funds in 2020 alone. This implies that the COVID-19 intervention fund from 2020 to 2022 was way higher than the N447.6bn received by less than half the number of MDAs invited by the House of Representatives for the probe slated to begin…
VICE-PRESIDENT Kashim Shettima is meeting with members of the private sector including the Chairman of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, and the founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Mr Tony Elumelu. The meeting is being held behind closed doors with the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Dr Muhammad Ali Pate in attendance. A source in the Villa told News Point Nigeria that the meeting is in connection with the recent state of emergency declared on the health sector by the federal govenrment. “As you know, the federal government recently declared state of emergency on the health sector,…
LEGISLATIVE aides in the ninth National Assembly have cried out to President Bola Tinubu to help recover their 15 months salary from the National Assembly Management. The affected group of people alleged that the money had been released for payment under the former minister of Finance, Zaynab Ahmed, but the NatoInal Assembly management, under the leadership of the Clerk, Magaji Tambuwal, diverted their salaries for “other purposes”. It was gathered that the workers who left office in June 2023 were enrolled into the service of the National Assembly in May 2021; after serving as Legislative Aides for two years, they…
A LIEUTENANT Colonel, Abubakar-Surajo Imam, has emerged as the first Officer to be conferred with a professor from among the serving personnel of the Nigerian Army. Imam, who was conferred with the title of a Professor by the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), is now a Professor of Mechatronics Engineering. The Registrar of the Academy, Brigadier General A.M Tukur, who disclosed this in a statement, said the promotion of Lieutenant Colonel Imam who is also the Head of the Department of Mechatronics Engineering, was ratified during the NDA Council Meeting in September and took effect from October 1, 2022. The statement…
STATE governors as well as former ministers and other officials, who served in the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, and the political associates of President Bola Tinubu have launched an intense lobbying for appointment as Nigerian ambassadors to foreign countries. This newspaper gathered that chieftains of the ruling All Progressives Congress, National Assembly members and retired military officers were among those jostling for ambassadorial nominations. Nigeria has a total of 109 missions, 76 embassies, 22 high commissions and 11 consulates abroad. The desperate lobby for ambassadorial appointments commenced after the Federal Government recalled all the envoys from their posts…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu will, on Saturday, depart Abuja for Berlin, Germany, to attend the G20 Compact with Africa Conference on November 20, 2023, hosted by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. “The G20 CwA Conference will be taking place alongside the Fourth G20 Investment Summit, co-hosted by the German government and German business associations,” a statement signed by Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, read Friday. The statement is titled ‘President Tinubu attends G20 ‘Compact with Africa’ conference in Berlin as energy, trade, and investment top agenda.’ During the conference, Tinubu will join other Heads of State and Governments…
THE Court of Appeal in Abuja has nullified the election of Governor Abba Yusuf of Kano State in the March 18 governorship election. A three-member panel of justices led by Justice Moore A. Adumein upheld the appeal of Nasir Yusuf Gawuna of the All Progressives Congress (APC). The panel held that Yusuf of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) was not a registered member of the party and, therefore, not qualified to contest the election. The panel held that every political party shall maintain the register of its members as provided in Section 77 of the Electoral Act, 2022. The…
THE Appeal Court, Abuja Division, on Friday, affirmed the victory of Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State in the March 18 governorship election. The appeal was filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Sadique Abubakar, following the tribunal judgment upholding Mohammed’s victory. The panel of three justices were unanimous, awarding no cost as the court ruled that each party to the matter should bear their costs. The presiding justice read the judgment in the order of the appellant’s plea before the appeal court. On plea number one, the appellant pleaded that the election be nullified because the forms…
THE High Court sitting in the Federal Capital Territory has ordered that the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, be remanded in the Kuje Correctional Centre pending the determination of his bail request. Emefiele is standing trial on an alleged procurement fraud. The trial which had been stalled on three occasions finally held on Friday. The Federal Government had initially preferred 20 charge on procurement fraud to the tune of N6.5 billion against the former CBN governor. But the FG reduced the charges to six to the tune of over N1bn which he was arraigned on…
THE Police Service Commission and the Nigeria Police Force are contemplating the extension of the police retirement age to either 65 years or 40 years in the service. The move, it was gathered, followed the retirement of several competent police officers which had affected the effectiveness of the force. The recommendations were among the several others presented by the Chairman of the Police Service Commission, Solomon Arase, to the Inspector-General of Police, Kehinde Egbetokun, as part of plans to reform and professionalise the police force as contained in the Nigeria Police Force Scheme of Service. Among other policies being considered…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has returned to Abuja from his one-week engagements in Saudi Arabia and Guinea Bissau. This newspaper gathered that the Boeing 737 jet conveying Tinubu and his entourage arrived at the Presidential Wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, minutes past 8pm (local time). Tinubu departed Abuja for Riyadh, the Saudi capital, on Thursday, November 9, 2023, to attend the Saudi-Africa summit, which was held the next day. While there, the President assured potential investors that their investments are safe in Nigeria. He premised this on recent “bold economic reforms” by his administration to remove wasteful subsidies…
THE House of Representatives is furious over the absence of the service chiefs and the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, at an interactive session scheduled to hold on Thursday during plenary. The security heads instead sent representatives. The House had last week scheduled a sectoral debate with the security chiefs as it plans to do with other sectors of the country. Following a constitutional point of order by the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, the House rejected the representation of the security heads and instead postponed the session. The engagement has been rescheduled to Tuesday next week as the House…
FORMER Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, will today be put on trial by the Federal Government on alleged economic sabotage-related offences, News Point Nigeria gathered. Emefiele, whose trial was aborted days ago, will be arraigned at a High Court in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. A notice for his trial before Justice Hamza Muazu, sighted by this newspaper, indicates that the ex-CBN Governor will be docked along with one Ramalan Yaro. A registrar with the court, who wished to remain anonymous, confirmed that Emefiele would be brought before the court this morning for his plea…
THE Labour Party has described the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar’s merger proposal as a good proposal that should be considered. But the New Nigeria People’s Party said it could only accept the proposal if Atiku would support a former governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso, to wrest power from the ruling All Progressives Congress in 2027. The major opposition parties were reacting to the call by Atiku, on Tuesday, that opposition parties should enter a merger to dislodge the APC from power. This newspaper reports that Atiku made the merger proposition while hosting the…
THE Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia clarified media reports about the deportation of 264 Nigerians upon entry into the Kingdom, stating that it was not targeting Nigerians. On Monday, The Saudi Arabian government cancelled the visa of all the 264 passengers airlifted by Nigeria’s major carrier, Air Peace, on arrival at the country from Kano, insisting that they be returned to Nigeria. However, in a statement released on Wednesday, the Saudi Embassy said, “The passengers who were denied entry, and subsequently deported to their initial destinations, didn’t fulfil the entry conditions and requirements in accordance with the applicable rules and…
THE National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, on Wednesday, said investigation has commenced into an assault on the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero. The NSA also said some suspects have been arrested in connection to the incident in Owerri, the Imo State capital, on November 1, 2023. Labour embarked on nationwide strike on Tuesday to seek justice over an assault on Ajaero who was attacked when he was about to lead a protest against alleged anti-labour practices by the Governor Hope Uzodimma-led administration. In the wake of the incident and days to the November 11, 2023…
FORMER governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Khalifa Muhammadu Sanusi II, has said the apex bank’s lending to the federal government under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari through Ways and Means triggered inflationary pressure in Nigeria and weakened the value of the Naira. The CBN’s loan to the federal government hit N22.7 trillion, an amount the CBN said had been securitised not to dampen its balance sheet. Ways and Means is a way in which the federal government raises funds by borrowing from the CBN. The 14th Emir of Kano and leader of the Tijjaniyya Order in…