A SENIOR officer in the Nigerian Army, Brigadier General I. M. Ahmadu has died while running during the Second Annual Physical Training Test for 2023. This newspaper reports that Ahmadu was an Artillery Officer serving in the Army Headquarters Department of Special Services and Programmes. The General fell while running and was confirmed as the hospital where he was rushed to, a top source in the military told SaharaReporters on Monday evening. According to the source, the General was buried on Monday evening according to Islamic rites. “Sadly, an Army Brigadier General lost his life while running during the Second…
Author: Abdullahi Maitama Sani
MINISTER of Information and National orientation, Muhammad Idris, has said the ministry will not need to tell lies to defend the government rather “we will always say it as it is.” Speaking when he assumed office after his inauguration, he said the ministry and the government will be transparent and truthful while giving out information. He said the government would own up where it errs or make any mistake and try to adjust where necessary. Idris said National orientation would be a core aspect of the government, hence “in a matter of days we would roll out our plans to…
THE inauguration of the 45 confirmed ministers-designate is being held at the Conference Centre of the State House, Abuja. This comes less than a week after President Bola Tinubu released the portfolios for the appointees, including former Rivers State governor Nyesom Wike in charge of the Ministry of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Festus Keyamo manning the Ministry of Aviation. All the 45 Minister’s are present and they are as follows; Wale Edun (Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy), Adegboyega Oyetola (Minister of Marine & Blue Economy), David Umahi (Works), Festus Keyamo (Aviation and Aerospace Development), and Betta Edu…
THE Department of State Services has arrested the Manager, Abuja-Kaduna Kaduna Train Services, Pascal Nnorli, following the leak of a memo warning of the possible terror attack on the Abuja-Kaduna railway. A reliable source in the Nigerian Railway Corporation told our correspondent on condition of anonymity that the manager was arrested along with the Operations Manager, Victor Adamu, and other staff members. News Point Nigeria had reported that the DSS last Wednesday issued a security alert to the Nigerian Railway Corporation on a plot by bandits to attack the Abuja-Kaduna train link at any possible time. In a memo signed…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has approved the redeployment of Engr. Abubakar Momoh from the Federal Ministry of Youth to the Federal Ministry of Niger Delta Development. According to a press statement by the Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to the President, Ajuri Ngelale, made available to News Point Nigeria, Sunday, the Federal Ministry of Youth is to be re-assigned to a Minister-Designate soon. The Ministers-Designate allocated to the Federal Ministries of Transportation, Interior, and Marine & Blue Economy have been reshuffled as follows: (A) H.E. Adegboyega Oyetola is redeployed as the Honourable Minister of Marine & Blue Economy. (B) Hon. Bunmi…
THE housing allowances for the newly appointed ministers will cost the country about N343.25m yearly, according to findings from this newspaper With that annual allocation, in four years, the Federal Government will spend N1.37bn on the 45 ministers-designate’s accommodation. The allowances are based on data collated from a document obtained from the website of the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Allocation Commission. It covers allowances for accommodation (200 per cent of basic salary), domestic staff (75 per cent of basic salary), utilities (30 per cent of basic salary), and furniture (300 per cent of basic salary). Unlike other allowances paid monthly,…
GENERAL Abdourahamane Tchiani, leader of the Niger junta, has said the army will hand over power to the civilian government within the next three years. He stated this in a televised broadcast on Saturday night. Tchiani spoke after meeting with a delegation of the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) led by the former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd). General Tchiani said within a month, the junta will form a committee to study and form the new constitution of the country. While he maintained that Niger does not want to go to war, the General said the…
AS a delegation from the West African bloc ECOWAS arrived in Niger on Saturday for talks with the military officers who have seized power, Burkina Faso and Mali have also deployed war planes to the country following the threat ECOWAS troops that they were waiting for order to strike. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has agreed to activate a “standby force” as a last resort to restore democracy in Niger after generals toppled and detained Bazoum on July 26. But it says it favours dialogue to defuse the crisis. A plane carrying the dialogue delegation landed in…
NIGER’s new prime minister, Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, on Friday, told The New York Times that the generals who overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum during a July 26 coup will do him no harm. “Nothing will happen to him, because we don’t have a tradition of violence in Niger,” Zeine, the most senior civilian appointed by the military leaders, told the newspaper in an interview from Dakar on the fate of overthrown President Mohamed Bazoum. Zeine also insisted the Niger coup leaders had no intention of collaborating with Russia, or with the Kremlin-backed mercenaries of the Wagner group. The New York…
THE Presidency says the Federal Government is on standby to monitor the distribution of palliatives – meant to cushion the impact of subsidy removal – to Nigerians at the state level. Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, made this known on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday monitored by News Point Nigeria. “It is fair to say that there does not need to be a check. There needs to be a means of monitoring which is why federal regulators are involved; which is why we have put in place the palliatives distribution,” he said. The…
THE Department of State Services (DSS) has picked up the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), Abbas Umar Masanawa, this newspaper has learnt. Although the reasons he was picked up by the operatives were yet to be ascertained, sources familiar with the matter said his arrest was in connection with the ongoing investigation of the embattled former governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele. This newspaper had last year exclusively reported how Masanawa’s predecessor, Aliyu Abdulhameed, allegedly mismanaged over N5bn meant for farmers in Kano and Jigawa states and…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has called on Nigerians to be patient with his administration in the wake of the fuel subsidy removal, saying the move is in the country’s best interest. Tinubu spoke in Abuja on Thursday during the public presentation of the autobiography of an elder statesman, Edwin Clark. The Nigerian leader, who was represented at the event by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) George Akume, said efforts are being made the cushion the impacts of the subsidy removal. “Solutions to problems can never be as instant as coffee. But we must certainly be there. I…
The Federal Government has approved N5bn for each state to enable them to procure food items for distribution to the poor in their respective states. Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State disclosed this at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, shortly after the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting. Thursday’s development comes in the wake of the hike in the cost of food items, and petroleum owing to the removal of subsidy on the commodity. According to him, the Federal Government also released five trucks of rice each to the 36 state governors. Explaining further, Governor Zulum said the state governors are to…
TROOPS of the Economic Community of West African States have said they are ready to participate in a standby force that could intervene in Niger. After presidential guards seized power from President Mohamed Bazoum, ECOWAS issued a 7-day ultimatum to the military to restore the president or risk sanctions, including possible military action. But the junta called off ECOWAS’ bluff and vowed to resist foreign intervention. Subsequently, the regional bloc asked Defence Chiefs from the 15-member regional bloc to activate its standby force. At a meeting in Accra, Ghana capital, on Thursday, the Defence Chiefs said they were prepared to restore…
THE arraignment of suspended Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja over N6.9 billion alleged procurement fraud has been stalled due to the absence of the second defendant who are said to be indisposed. Although Emefiele (the first defendant) was present in court today (Thursday), the second defendant, a female CBN employee, Sa’adatu Yaro, was not in court. Following an application for adjournment, the Presiding Judge, Justice Hamza Muazu adjourned the matter to August 23, 2023. Emefiele will be arraigned alongside Yaro and her company, April1616 Investment Limited on…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu will on Monday, August 21, 2023, swear in his ministers. The event is billed to hold at the State House Conference, Aso villa in Abuja by 10am. A statement on Wednesday by the Director, Information Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Willie Bassey said the ministers are allowed to come with two guests each. It partly read, “The swearing-in ceremony by the President is as follows: Date: Monday, August 21, 2023 Venue: State House Conference Centre, Aso Villa, Abuja. Time: 10:00 AM “Honourable Ministers to be sworn in are expected to come with…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has appointed immediate-past governors of Rivers and Ebonyi states, Nyesom Wike and Dave Umahi, as Ministers of FCT and Minister of Works, respectively. The president has also appointed the former Jigawa state governor, Abubakar Badaru as Minister of Defence, and Hannatu Musawa as Minister of Arts and Creative Industry. Others include Lateef Fagbemi, SAN as Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, while former Osun State Governor, Gboyega Oyetola, will serve as Minister of Transportation. See the full list below: Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani Minister of State, Environment and Ecological…
THE Department of State Services, DSS, on Wednesday issued a security alert stating that there’s a grand plot by bandits to attack the Abuja-Kaduna train link anytime from now. This newspaper recalls that on 28 March 2022, an Abuja–Kaduna train was attacked in Katari, Kaduna State, Nigeria. In response, the Nigeria Railway Corporation briefly halted operations along the route. But in this fresh development, the DSS has issued a security alert cautioning train passengers to be extra careful in a memo sent to MD of NRC. In the leaked letter signed by DSS Director FCT Command, R.N. Adepemu entitled: Security…
THE Federal Government will on Thursday arraign suspended Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, and his associates for N6.9 billion procurement fraud at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja. Emefiele will be arraigned alongside a female CBN employee, Sa’adatu Yaro and her company, April1616 Investment Limited on 20 charges of procurement fraud, conspiracy and conferring corrupt advantages on his associates. The embattled apex bank chief, who has been in detention since he was suspended from office on June 9, 2023, was accused of conferring corrupt advantages on Yaro, a director in April 1616 Investment Ltd.…
BANDITS have claimed responsibility for the Monday’s surveillance helicopter crash in Badna, Chukuba ward of Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State. The Nigeria Air Force had said its MI-171 helicopter on a casualty evacuation mission crashed on Monday near Chukuba village in Niger State and that investigation had commenced to determine the probable cause of the incident. But bandits, in a two-minute-and-seventeen-second video, on Tuesday claimed they brought down the jet using AK47 rifle. This newspaper fact check team used different tools to verify the video which returned with no similar search. This means that the video is new…