Author: David Akonuche

THE Government of Cross River State has confirmed a fresh outbreak of COVID-19, with authorities linking the index case to a Chinese national working with Lafarge, raising renewed public health concerns in the state. News Point Nigeria reports that the state Commissioner for Health, Henry Ayuk, disclosed the development on Tuesday during a news conference in Calabar, the state capital. According to him, the first reported case involved a Chinese national employed by Lafarge, who arrived in Nigeria on March 17 before falling ill. The commissioner explained that the patient’s condition deteriorated while receiving care at a medical facility under…

A FORMER Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology, Uche Nnaji, alongside the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) and other parties in a certificate forgery dispute, have commenced moves to resolve the matter out of court, effectively halting further proceedings in the case for now. News Point Nigeria reports that the latest development emerged on Monday during proceedings before Justice Hauwa Yilwa of the Federal High Court in Abuja, where the matter had been scheduled for the hearing of pending applications. Nnaji had initially approached the court in October 2025, following an investigation by Premium Times which alleged that he forged…

THE Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodimma, has approved the appointment of 16 directors to head various directorates of the organisation, in a move aimed at strengthening its operational efficiency and expanding its nationwide reach. News Point Nigeria reports that Uzodimma, who also serves as the Director General and National Coordinator of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors, announced the appointments on Friday, noting that the new leadership structure is designed to drive the organisation’s mandate of promoting President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda across the country. The Renewed Hope Ambassadors initiative was conceptualised by President Tinubu in November 2025 as a…

THE Labour Party has officially zoned its 2027 presidential ticket to the southern region of the country. News Point Nigeria reports that the party’s acting National Chairperson, Nenadi Usman, confirmed the decision during an interview with journalists in Abuja on Tuesday. “We have one certain decision that we have taken, and that is that we will certainly not field any aspirant from northern Nigeria. “We have zoned the position to Southern Nigeria. So if any northerner comes now to want to contest elections, we certainly will not accept that,” she said.

ANAMBRA State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, has approved the appointment of Mrs. Chiamaka Nnake as the new Secretary to the State Government. News Point Nigeria reports that Nnake most recently served as the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning and as Chairman of Solution Fun City Limited. As commissioner, the 39-year-old led the effective mobilisation, planning, and allocation of state resources to drive socio-economic development. She also held key leadership roles across several state boards and initiatives, including the Anambra State Investment Promotion and Protection Agency, the Internal Revenue Service Board, and the Small Business Agency. “As the state’s Reform Champion…

THE presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, has formally registered as a member of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), marking a significant development in Nigeria’s evolving political landscape ahead of the 2027 elections. News Point Nigeria reports that Obi completed his membership registration on Saturday in his hometown of Agulu, located in Aniocha Local Government Area of Anambra State, where he also announced plans to challenge the recently passed Electoral Act 2026 in court. The former governor of Anambra State alleged that certain provisions contained in the new electoral law were deliberately designed…

THE Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on Monday presented the certificate of registration to the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, one of the two political parties the Commission recently registered. Protem National National Legal Adviser of NDC,  Barrister Reuben Egwuaba, who received the certificate on behalf of the party, said with the presentation, NDC joins the registered political parties “in the contention for provision of democratic leadership and contest for power in ways that would make Nigerians at home and the diaspora proud”. Said Mr. Egwuaba, “Today’s event marks the culmination of NDC’s long and tortuous fight for registration, a journey…

A BOARD member of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has confirmed that Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle has submitted fresh contractual terms, including a proposed increase in his monthly salary from $50,000 to $130,000, a package that would also cover his backroom staff. News Point Nigeria Sport reports that the request, which is subject to review and approval by the NFF’s technical committee and executive board, comes despite Chelle still having one year left on his current contract. Chelle’s future has become a subject of intense discussion following Nigeria’s third-place finish at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON)…

THE presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, has assured his supporters of his readiness to contest in the 2027 elections. News Point Nigeria reports that he spoke in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, at the OBIDIENT Conference and official declaration for the African Democratic Congress (ADC) with the theme, “Activating the PO Effect in ADC”. Obi urged Nigerians to join hands with him to rescue Nigeria for the future generations, who, according to him, will suffer the consequences of bad governance going on in the country for decades. He alleged that he had in…

FOLLOWING the attack on Okporojo in Oso-Edda, Edda Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, a joint security team comprising the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Police, Department of State Security, and Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps has discovered shallow graves containing mutilated bodies in Amasiri, Afikpo Local Government Area. News Point Nigeria reports that the troops were deployed in direct response to the gruesome killings and beheadings of four individuals in Okporojo village. In a statement, Lieutenant Colonel Olabisi Olalekan-Ayeni, Acting Deputy Director of Army Public Relations, 82 Division Nigerian Army, said the atrocities demanded urgent intervention to restore peace, protect…

THE Ebonyi State Police Command has confirmed the abduction of three children by suspected kidnappers. News Point Nigeria reports that the incident occurred on Saturday, at Nkwegu, opposite the Nkwegu Military Cantonment gate, in Abakaliki Local Government Area of Ebonyi State. Police authorities said the parents of the abducted children reported the incident to them. The spokesman of the Ebonyi Police Command, Joshua Ukandu, said the three children included: one boy (aged 2), and two girls (aged 4 and 2 years). “Yes, we are aware of the incident. It happened in the early hours of February 7, which was Saturday,”…

VICE President Kashim Shettima on Wednesday unveiled a 25-year development blueprint for Nigeria’s South-East region, describing the zone as a central pillar of the country’s long-term economic future and a critical driver of national growth. News Point Nigeria reports that Shettima unveiled the blueprint at the South-East Vision 2050 Regional Stakeholders’ Forum held in Enugu, where he announced that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the establishment of the South East Investment Company Limited to mobilise funding for the region’s development. According to the Vice President, the new investment vehicle will pool resources from the diaspora, capital markets, and development…

MONTHS after operatives of the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) raided his Abuja residence in connection with investigations into an alleged coup plot against President Bola Tinubu, former Bayelsa State Governor and ex-Minister of Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, has yet to return to Nigeria, raising fresh concerns within security and anti-graft circles. Findings by this newspaper indicate that Sylva, who was later declared wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over an alleged $14,859,257 fraud, is now being trailed by the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) in collaboration with Nigerian security agencies. Senior officers of the Department of State…

THE African Democratic Congress (ADC) on Wednesday constituted a ” 50-Member Wise Men and Women Policy and Manifesto Committee” chaired by Odigie Oyegun. Bolaji Abdullahi, the party’s national publicity secretary, in a statement sent to News Point Nigeria, said the constitution of the Policy and Manifesto Committee, followed the approval by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party, led by David Mark. The party revealed that this is in line with the party’s commitment to building a credible, people-centred, and forward-looking policy framework for national governance. The party had earlier constituted the Committees to review membership register and draft…

ANAMBRA State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, has described as “delusional” the claim by some traders in the Onitsha Main Market that they do not open their shops on Mondays due to insecurity. News Point Nigeria reports that in a state broadcast on Wednesday, Governor Soludo maintained that the sit-at-home order ended in Anambra State in 2023, calling the continued failure of most traders to open their shops on Mondays an act of economic sabotage. “It could be said that since 2023, anybody saying he didn’t open the shop because of insecurity is just delusional,” Governor Soludo said. “Go round some other…

ANAMBRA State Governor, Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, has ordered the immediate closure of the Onitsha Main Market for one week following traders’ continued defiance of the state government’s directive to resume normal business activities on Mondays. News Point Nigeria reports that the governor issued the directive on Monday during an unscheduled on-the-spot assessment of the market, accompanied by senior government officials and security chiefs, after observing that a large number of shops remained shut in apparent compliance with the outlawed sit-at-home order. Soludo described the action as a necessary enforcement measure aimed at restoring economic normalcy and breaking what he…

THE Anambra State Government has announced the termination of the Monday sit-at-home in the state “with immediate effect”. This was contained in a statement signed by the Board Secretary, Mgbemena Loveline E., on behalf of the state universal basic education board sent to News Point Nigeria. It also warned that errant civil servants who flout the directive would either receive 20 per cent of their salary or forfeit it entirely. “Sequel to the state exco retreat held on January 21, 2026, presided by the Executive Governor, Charles Chukwuma Soludo, I am directed to inform you that the state government has…

FORMER Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, on Monday appeared before the Southwark Crown Court in London for a preliminary hearing in her long-running corruption case involving alleged bribery totalling £100,000. News Point Nigeria reports that the appearance marked the formal commencement of pre-trial proceedings ahead of her full trial, which is scheduled to begin on January 26, 2026, and is expected to last between 10 and 12 weeks. Alison-Madueke, 65, served as Nigeria’s petroleum minister between 2010 and 2015, becoming the first woman to hold the position and later the first female president of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting…

THE African Democratic Congress (ADC) is witnessing a surge in political momentum following the defection of the 2023 Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, with no fewer than eight federal lawmakers reportedly set to formally join the party, barring any last-minute change of plans. News Point Nigeria reports that Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, officially joined the ADC on Wednesday in Enugu, urging Nigerians and opposition forces to unite under a broad national coalition to “rescue Nigeria from poverty, disunity and democratic decline.” Explaining his decision to leave the Labour Party, Obi said his move was driven…

A FORMER presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, is set to formally join the African Democratic Congress amid ongoing consultations ahead of the 2027 general elections. A principal official of the party in Abuja told News Point Nigeria that Obi had concluded plans to join the party and hold a declaration rally in Enugu, the political capital of the South-East, on December 31. According to the official, Obi’s supporters and loyalists have begun arrangements for the defection. The source disclosed that Obi, after the ADC asked him to make up his mind on joining the party about three…