Author: Sani Nura

THE Federal Government on Monday directed all Polytechnics in the country to shut down until after the forthcoming general elections. The development came a week after issuing a similar directive for the closure of all Universities in the country. News Point Nigeria reports that, the directive was contained in a circular issued by the Federal Ministry of Education, directing the Executive Secretary, National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Prof. Idris Bugaje to communicate to Rectors and Provosts of polytechnics. The letter, which was signed by Mr I. O Folorunsho, for the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu and dated Feb.…

THE money laundering trial of two family members of the Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello: his nephew, Ali Bello; and his wife, Rashida Bello, will resume on Monday before Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court, Abuja. Ali Bello was among four defendants remanded upon arraignment on February 8, 2023 on 18 counts bordering on criminal misappropriation and money laundering to the tune of N3,081,804,654.00 (Three Billion, Eighty One Million, Eight Hundred and Four Thousand, Six Hundred and Fifty Four Naira). The other defendants are Abba Adauda, Yakubu Adabenege and Iyada Sadat, according to a statement by EFCC spokesman,…

THE presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Bola Tinubu is promising to bring back the Argungu Fishing Festival in Kebbi State and also boost agriculture in the area. He made the pledge during the APC presidential campaign rally at the Haliru Abdu Stadium in Birnin Kebbi, the state capital. “We promise you that we will give you the greatest and the best of the economy. Lagos is back to Kebbi and Kebbi is back to Lagos,” he told the gathering on Saturday. “We equally promise you that the fishery industry in Argungu will be reconnected so that it…

SENATOR Emmanuel Bwacha has won the All Progressives Congress (APC) rerun primary ahead of the March 11 governorship election. He polled 778 votes to defeat senator Yusuf Yusuf who polled 5 votes out of the 796 accredited delegates. Details later…

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday campaigned for the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate Bola Tinubu, saying the party is determined to win this month’s election. Buhari made the comment during his visit to the Sultan of Sokoto Sa’ad Abubakar III alongside Tinubu. Presidential aide Garba Shehu in a statement quoted the president as telling the monarch that “my wish is for your support and blessings; we want to win”. “He went on to narrate the qualities of the candidates, including their common belief and commitment to the unity and progress of every section of the country. He said he…

CONTRARY to earlier reports that, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Professor Mahmood Yakubu may dump the use of university lecturers as Returning Officers in the forth coming general elections, the INEC chairman held a meeting with vice-chancellors of federal universities in preparation for their roles as gatekeepers of election results, Thursday. Prof Yakubu also insisted that, the 2023 general elections will hold as scheduled and would be the best ever. The INEC chief asked the vice-chancellors to do a proper background check to avoid enlisting staff affiliated with political parties or having any history of partisanship before…

THE Adamawa State Police Command has arrested one Lot Bitrus, 24, said to have attacked the convoy of the wife of Governor Ahmadu Fintiri, Hajiya Lami Fintiri, on Saturday. Fintiri was attacked in Muchala town, Mubi Area of the state as thugs stoned her convoy while entering the village to attend a gathering of Catholic women. In a press statement by the State Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Suleiman Nguroje, disclosed deployment of security operatives to go against thugs led to the arrest of Bitrus. “The suspect, Lot Bitrus, 24 years old, a resident of Muchalla ward was…

THE Supreme Court of Nigeria, on Wednesday, dismissed two appeals brought against the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Kaduna State, Uba Sani, in the 2023 poll and the Independent National Electoral Commission. The appeals were filed by Sani Sha’aban, an in-law to President Muhammadu Buhari. Sha’aban, a former APC governorship aspirant, later moved on to clinch the governorship ticket on the platform of the Action Democratic Party to contest the 2023 governorship poll in the state. But the solicitor for the APC, who is also a former chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, Kaduna branch, Sule Shu’aibu,…

A FORMER Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, has accused the United Kingdom of denying Sonia Ekweremadu a kidney transplant despite having many donors who are willing to assist. Sonia, 25, is the daughter of former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who is being tried alongside his wife, Beatrice, in a British court for allegedly plotting to harvest a street trader’s kidney. The kidney was allegedly intended for Sonia, who remains on dialysis with a renal condition, in return for up to £7,000 ($8,430) and the promise of a new life in Britain for the 21-year-old trader. Taking to his verified…

AFTER listening to the endless lists of unprecedented achievements by the Inuwa Yahaya-led administration in the last 3 and a half years, the Gombe State Council of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC yesterday spoke with one voice that not only has the Governor performed excellently well, but also deserves their support for a second term if the wheel of advancement in the State needs further progress. This came to the fore during an interactive session organized by the Political Commission of the Nigeria Labor Congress, for all candidates of Political Parties in Gombe State. The leadership of the NLC who…

THE presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Atiku Abubakar has promised to ensure the crude oil discovered in Bauchi/Gombe states is used to develop the area. He made the promise during the PDP presidential campaign rally at the Tafawa Balewa Stadium, Bauchi, on Tuesday. “I have also pledged that the petroleum resources that have been discovered between Bauchi and Gombe will be exploited and brought back to the benefit of the people,” the former vice president told the gathering, weeks before Nigerians head to the polls. He also vowed to ensure the smooth exploration of petroleum resources discovered…

GOVERNOR Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya has flagged off yet another phase of empowerment programme as part of his administration’s broader goal of addressing the human capital deficit in Gombe State. Speaking during the inauguration, the Governor said, his administration attaches much priority to human capital development owing to the central role it plays in the overall development of the society, maintaining that his government is determined to continue taking holistic developmental steps in order to improve the lives of the people by creating employment and income generating opportunities. He said the second phase of the empowerment programme will cover over 2000…

THE Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria has described as “fake” news doing the rounds that its over 30, 000 members would be shutting down their filling stations. The National Controller Operations, IPMAN, Mike Osatuyi, who spoke with journalists on Tuesday, said the memo to members which emanated from the Chairman, IPMAN Borno chapter, Mohammed Kuluwa, earlier on Tuesday, asking all its members in the state to suspend services was a wrong move. “Fake news. Bad eggs and sabotage,” Osatuyi told PUNCH. Also, the IPMAN National President, Elder Chinedu Okonkwo,said when contacted by our correspondent via the telephone that Kuluwa…

THE Borno chapter of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has directed members to suspend all operations. In a statement signed on Tuesday by Mohammed Kuluwu, IPMAN chairman in the state, the marketers were also ordered to suspend the payment of ordering products from source until further notice. The association said the decision followed, “the critical situation as it affect our sourcing and selling of product at lost (sic) and the action of the authority to impose the selling of product at a lost price (sic) on our side”. More to follow…

HE presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, has promised to defeat and eliminate terrorists if elected in the forthcoming general elections. He also assured the Katsina electorate of his readiness to cater for the children and widows of victims of the terrorist attacks in all parts of the country. Tinubu stated this on Monday during a campaign rally in Katsina, the home state of President Muhammadu Buhari, where he met residents mourning the death of over 100 civilians killed by terrorists in the last four days. He also empathised with the victims and their families, promising…

THE police in Rivers State have said that the arrest of over 30 persons in Port Harcourt on Sunday was purely a criminal matter with no political undertone. There were reports have about 30 members of the Atiku Support Organization were arrested by armed policemen during a meeting in the state capital. According to the spokesman of the Organization, Victor Moses, some of those arrested were state and local government leaders of the group. He alleged that the police operatives may have acted on the instructions of Governor Nyesom Wike. In a statement on Monday, the police spokesperson in the…

THE Kogi State High Court sitting in Lokoja has committed the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, to prison for disobeying a court order. The court also directed the Inspector General of Police to effect Bawa’s arrest and remand him in Kuje prison for the next 14 days until he purges himself of the contempt. Justice Rukayat Ayoola of the Kogi State High Court, in his judgement on Monday, granted the application for committal to prison of the EFCC chairman for disobeying a court ruling delivered on November 30, 2022, wherein the EFCC chairman was…

FOR the fourth time in less than 4 years,  Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya has yet again put smiles on the faces of senior citizens in Gombe State with the commencement of payment of another tranche of over 3 billion naira as backlog of gratuity to more than 5000 State and local government retirees. With dance steps, broad smiles and songs of appreciation, the retirees received their Cheques during the flag off ceremony of the payment held at the Banquet Hall,  Government House,  Gombe. The payments covers retirees from both the employment of the State and the Local Governments. In his…

A COALITION of Civil Society Groups in Nigeria has called out the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC for failing to include CSOs in the  campaign against persistent attacks on their personnel and facilities. The Coalition, in a statement jointly signed and issued by the Coordinator of the Coalition, Dr Abdullahi Usman and its Secretary, Amb Nwokoma Messiah, called on the umpire body to immediately mobilise groups with proven capacity to engage Nigerians on the dangers such attacks will have on the smooth conduct of the 2023 general elections. The statement further described the non-mobilisation of members of the Civil Society…

THE members of the Taraba State Executive Committee (SEC) of the All Progressive Congress (APC) on Saturday passed a vote of no confidence on the Chairman Barrister Ibrahim Tukur El-Suldi and removed him from office as the Chairman of APC in the State. In a release jointly signed by the APC Taraba State Executive Committee members, the committee members said the powers conferred on them by Article 21(d)(vi) of the APC Constitution gave them the power to remove the Chairman. The statement read, “our grounds and justification for passing a vote of no confidence on El-Suldi, and to consequently remove…