EBONYI State Governor, Rt. Hon. Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru, has suspended 87 high-ranking officials of the state government for their failure to attend an important official function. The suspended officials include 25 Commissioners, 14 Senior Special Assistants (SSAs), 24 Special Assistants (SAs), and 22 Permanent Secretaries, marking one of the largest administrative disciplinary actions in the state’s recent history. In a statement released on Monday night by the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Monday Uzor made available to News Point Nigeria, the affected officials are to proceed on a one-month working suspension without pay, effective immediately. The Governor’s directive, the statement noted,…
Author: David Akonuche
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SEVERAL persons were feared dead on Friday night after a trailer lost control and rammed into them along the Chisco Park Junction in Amichi, Nnewi South Local Government Area of Anambra State. It was gathered that the fatal accident occurred around 9:30pm when the driver of the trailer experienced brake failure and crashed into pedestrians on the roadside, resulting in multiple fatalities. The incident which was also captured on the Amichi City-wide CCTV system, showed some of the knocked-down victims lying on the ground, while some residents and other road users were seen bemoaning the incident and offering rescue assistance…
TRAGEDY struck the Arondizogu axis of Ideato North Local Government Area in Imo State late Thursday night, as gunmen unleashed a brutal assault on three communities; Umualaoma, Ndiakunwanta, and Ndiejezie killing scores of youths and leaving several others critically injured. According to eyewitnesses, the attack, which occurred between 10pm and 11pm, saw three unidentified assailants riding a motorbike and opening indiscriminate gunfire on unsuspecting residents. Victims included shopkeepers, customers, and youths gathered outdoors to enjoy the night breeze or play the popular board game, draft. “They just rode in and started shooting at everyone. People were running, screaming, it was…
ANAMBRA State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, has appointed Joachim Achor, from Abia State, as the Accountant General of Anambra in his effort for inclusivity in the civil service. Similarly, Soludo recently appointed Adebayo Ojeyinka, a native of Osun State, as a Permanent Secretary in a move the governor said further underscored his commitment to a diverse and competence-driven civil service. This appointment marks a departure from the longstanding tradition of reserving top government positions exclusively for state indigenes. In a statement on Thursday, Soludo’s Press Secretary, Christian Aburime, said these appointments were not politically motivated, but rather the outcome of…
THE Ebonyi State Governor Francis Nwifuru said his administration will not rush to a conclusion regarding the Federal High Court sitting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, which ordered interim forfeiture of over N1billion linked to the Secretary to the Ebonyi State Government, Grace Umezurike, and her aide, Ngene Nwanna Onyeabor The Governor spoke on Sunday, during a Church service held at the Government House Chapel, at Centenary City, Abakaliki. This newspaper reports that the forfeiture order was granted by the judge, Maurine Onyetenu on July 8, 2025. The court order followed an ex parte application filed by the Economic and…
THE Labour Party (LP) statutory National Executive Committee (NEC) has elected Senator Nenadi Usman as the Interim National Chairman and Senator Darlington Nwokocha as the Interim National Secretary, among others, as members of the party’s interim working committee. Nenadi was elected on Friday during the party’s NEC meeting in Abuja. The interim working committee is expected to oversee all party activities till the party’s convention, when elections for a new NEC will be conducted Other resolutions reached during the meeting include the approval of the schedule for the conduct of ward congresses, local government area congresses, state congresses, Zonal congresses,…
THE Enugu State Police Command has arrested two sisters, Juliet Chukwu and Ngozi Nancy Chukwu, for allegedly masterminding the abduction of their elder brother, Mr. Friday Chukwu. Both suspects, who serve in Nigerian security agencies—Juliet in the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and Ngozi in the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) were accused of arranging the kidnapping, which took place last month along the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway near the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Ituku-Ozalla, in Nkanu West Local Government Area. According to sources familiar with the case, the sisters’ actions led to the payment of a ₦30…
ENUGU State Governor, Peter Mbah, has unveiled the state-owned airline, Enugu Air, describing it as a giant leap for the state and a gold standard for government-private sector partnership. The inaugural flight of the state-owned airline took off on Monday, marking what the governor called a historic moment for ‘Ndi Enugu’. Speaking at the launch, Mbah said the achievement aligned with his administration’s vision of transforming Enugu into a premier destination for investment, living, and tourism in Nigeria. “It is an honour to stand before you today, not only as a governor but as a fellow believer in the power…
THE Ebonyi State Governor, Francis Nwifuru, has condemned the alleged killing of 13 Ebonyi indigenes in Anambra State, and called for calm and a swift investigation into the matter. According to a statement released by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Monday Uzor and obtained by Channels Television, Governor Nwifuru described the killing of the indigenes residing in Ogboji community, Orumba South Local Government Area of Anambra as shocking. They were allegedly killed during their monthly town union meeting held last Monday. Nwifuru said such an unprovoked attack on law-abiding citizens who were simply holding a community meeting was…
NO fewer than 1,686 people were killed in at least 909 incidents of gang violence across Nigeria between January 2020 and March 2025, with the South-South and Southwest regions emerging as the most affected zones. According to a report SBM Intelligence released on Tuesday, Rivers State topped the fatality chart with 215 deaths, followed by Lagos (197 deaths) and Edo (192 deaths), all strongholds of longstanding cult and gang rivalries. The report added that these clashes often involved groups such as Vikings, Icelanders, Eiye, Aiye, Black Axe, and Greenlanders. The report indicates that the South-South region alone recorded over 750…
A WITNESS in the trial of the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has testified that about 200 security agents were killed in the South East due to the activities of the IPOB and its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN). The witness, whose identity was concealed, told a Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday, that one Uzoma Benjamin, aka Onye Army, spoke about how they allegedly received directives from Kanu to kill security agents. The witness, who was led in evidence by prosecuting lawyer, Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), told the court they allegedly…
THE Minister of Works, David Umahi, has dismissed claims that the administration of President Bola Tinubu is prioritising the South in infrastructure allocation across the country. While addressing the media during a two-day inspection tour of federal road projects in Rivers and Bayelsa states, Umahi described the claims as “misleading,” saying the North currently holds 52 per cent of legacy projects compared to the South’s 48 per cent. “Projects like the Sokoto-Badagry Road, Calabar-Abuja Highway, and Akwanga-Jos Road are ongoing in the North. When you measure by mileage and cost, the distribution is balanced,” Umahi said. He accused those behind…
POLITICIAN and former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has accused the administration of President Bola Tinubu of being hypocritical and playing politics rather than working to better the lives of Nigerians. He made the comment during a press conference in Abuja on Thursday as Nigeria marks Democracy Day on June 12. According to him, ongoing political activities in the country in the last two years are pointers to the next general election. Obi, who at first paid homage to the late MKO Abiola, said the politicians paid the ultimate sacrifice for democracy, adding that the current state…
EMBATTLED former National Chairman of the Labour Party, Barrister Julius Abure, has issued a sharp rebuttal to former presidential candidate Peter Obi and Abia State Governor Alex Otti, accusing both men of deliberately fueling the internal crisis within the party. Abure, who has faced months of leadership tussles and factional disputes, responded to recent comments by Obi, in which the former Anambra State governor alleged that the APC-led Federal Government had infiltrated the Labour Party’s leadership to destabilize it. In a strongly worded statement signed by the National Secretary of the party, Alhaji Umar Farouk Ibrahim, the Abure-led faction dismissed…
ALTHOUGH the current democratic dispensation is barely two years old, some politicians have already begun discussions and subtle campaigns for the 2027 elections, a move Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has strongly criticized. According to Otti, those talking about the 2027 elections in 2025 are “trying to play God” because there is no guarantee that anyone will see beyond tomorrow. Governor Otti said this on Sunday when he received in audience a former Governor of Abia State, and the Senator representing Abia North Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Sen. Orji Uzor Kalu and Sen. Chris Adighije who once…
THE Anambra State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has urged the Labour Party’s Presidential candidate in the 2023 Presidential Election, Peter Obi, to return to the party. Obi was PDP’s vice presidential candidate in the 2019 general election, with former vice president Atiku Abubakar. In a communiqué signed by the PDP chairman in the state, Chidi Chidebe, the party advised Obi that joining a coalition ahead of the 2027 election would not yield success. The communiqué stated, “The committee extends an open invitation to all aggrieved and former members of the PDP in Anambra, particularly our revered former…
THE Independent National Electoral Commission, on Wednesday, released the final list of candidates for the 2025 Anambra State governorship election. The electoral body also announced June 11 as the official commencement date for election campaigns, which must end at midnight on Thursday, November 6, 2025. According to a statement issued on Wednesday by the National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, the list was compiled following the conclusion of candidate substitution processes and the verification of personal particulars submitted by political parties. INEC noted that 16 political parties met the submission deadline of May…
THE West Africa Broadcast and Media Academy (WABMA) will on Thursday, June 5, 2025, mark the hundredth edition of its fake news debunker series, WABMA Fake News Debunker, as the academy graduates 50 successful participants in its 2025 second quarter media and communication certification courses A statement by the Registrar of WABMA, Joseph Obari quoted the Rector of the Academy, Dr Ken Ike Okere as saying that in an era of worrying proliferation of fake news and a culture of poor verification, the fake news debunker series has come to be a reference point for news consumers in Nigeria and…
GUNMEN last Sunday evening killed a United States-based returnee, abducting his wife in Umuguma, Owerri West local government area, Imo State. A source said the deceased, an indigene of Ihiala, Anambra State, and a Nigerian-US soldier, accompanied by his wife and land sellers/agents, had arrived in his Toyota Highlander Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) at a site which he was said to have negotiated to buy, located near the Golden Estate / Abba Father Avenue, Umuguma, Owerri West, Imo State. On arrival at the site masked armed bandits, ambushed them, killing him and abducting his wife. Others escaped with injuries, while…
THE Nigeria Police Force said it has rescued 12 trafficked children in Abia State. The police arrested two individuals for operating an unregistered and illegal motherless babies’ home within their residential apartment located at Ikot Ekpene Road, Aba, in Abia. “Upon intervention, the operatives discovered twelve (12) children, ranging in age from six months to fourteen years, housed in the premises,” Force spokesman Muyiwa Adejobi said in a statement. “Preliminary investigations revealed that the children originated from various villages in the Arochukwu area. “The rescued minors have been safely handed over to the Abia State Ministry of Women Affairs for…