Author: Abdullahi Maitama Sani

THE Chairman, of All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Abdullahi  Umar Ganduje has enjoined Nigerian Muslims to imbibe the lessons and sacrifices of Ramadan in their day-to-day life. A statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Edwin Olofu, made available to newsmen, Ganduje said 30 days of spiritual cleansing, lessons, and its attendant sacrifices required to be imported into daily life to grow the nation. The Chief Press Secretary quoted his principal to have said “Ramadan is indeed a month of patience, in it, we fast for the sake of Allah by enduring hunger, and thirst, extending love to all especially…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu, on Tuesday, called for a unified effort from all Nigerians, especially the Muslim Ummah, towards building the nation. “We are the sculptor, and Nigeria is the clay; we build it the way we desire,” Tinubu said in his maiden Eid-Al-Fitr message as President to end the month of Ramadan. The President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, conveyed Tinubu’s Eid message in a statement on Tuesday titled ‘President Tinubu greets the Muslim Ummah at Eid-Al-Fitr, calls for a union of will and action to build the nation.’ Ngelale noted that the President “felicitates the Muslim…

THE Federal Government has extended the public holiday for the Eid-Al-Fitr celebration to Thursday. On Sunday, it declared a two-day holiday – Tuesday and Wednesday – for the festivities. However, the crescent moon was not sighted in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, meaning the Eid celebration will take place on Wednesday. This prompted the Federal Government to add an extra day to the already-declared public holiday. “The Federal Government has approved Thursday 11th April 2024 as an additional public holiday to celebrate this year’s Eid-Al-Fitr,” the Ministry of Interior Permanent Secretary Aishetu Gogo Ndayako said in an early Tuesday statement. “The…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has approved the establishment of the National Health Fellows Programme, with young Nigerian fellows to be engaged in all the 774 local government areas in the country. This was disclosed by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, in a statement on Monday. He said the President approved this in his determination to comprehensively upgrade existing primary healthcare centres and construct over 8,800 new primary healthcare centres across all local government areas in the country for accessible and qualitative healthcare delivery with the provision of new social accountability mechanisms. According to Ngelale,…

ELECTRICITY transformers and substations meant for the $2.3bn Siemens power project have arrived in the country as the project gains traction, Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, said on Sunday. The development came a few months after the Federal Government renewed the mega power project contract with the German government and Siemens, following several months of delays. The minister in a statement on Sunday said the COVID-19 pandemic and the death of the late Chief of Staff to former President Muhammadu Buhari, Abba Kyari, hampered the implementation of a Memorandum of Understanding signed between Nigeria and Siemens to transform power transmission…

THE Federal Government has declared Tuesday and Wednesday, April 9 and 10, 2024, as public holidays to mark the Eid-el-Fitr celebration. The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday by the ministry’s permanent secretary, Aishetu Ndayako. The minister congratulated all Muslims for the successful completion of the fasting in the holy month of Ramadan. Tunji-Ojo called on them to imbibe and practise the virtues that entail kindness, love, tolerance, peace, good neighbourliness, and compassion, as exemplified by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon Him). The statement read, “The Federal Government of Nigeria has declared…

THE Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Women Campaign Council, on Friday, lamented what it called abandonment by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration towards the team, saying that it is insensitive to dampen the morale of women folks in future elections with such disposition. The campaign team, which was led by the former First Lady, Aisha Buhari, and co-chaired by the First Lady, Senator Remi Tinubu, and Wife of the Vice President, Mrs. Nana Shettima, have, however, sought audience with President Tinubu in order to address the perceived imbalance, noting that a closed mouth is a closed destiny. According to a statement made available…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu will depart Abuja for Lagos on Sunday ahead of Eid-el-Fitr later in the week. The President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, disclosed this in a statement titled, ‘President Tinubu to observe Eid-el-Fitr in Lagos’ on Saturday. “In deference to the solemn occasion, which marks the end of Ramadan, the President will observe the moment in prayers for Nigeria and with family,” Ngelale said. Ngelale who did not specify the date of Tinubu’s return said the Nigerian leader will “continue official duties during and after the Eid-el-Fitr holidays.”

THE Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has directed all power distribution companies to refund all overbilled Band B customers by April 11. This directive to the electricity distribution companies on implementation of the April 2024 supplementary Multi-Year Tariff Order was released on Saturday. The directive came amid complaints from customers not on Band A, who are now being made to pay N225/KWh for electricity. On Wednesday, the Federal Government said it would no longer pay subsidy on electricity consumed by Band A customers, but others would continue to pay the old rates. However, as DisCos upgraded their payment platforms, some customers…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of the management team of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund. The appointment is contained in a Friday statement by presidential spokesman Ajuri Ngelale who said the move is in line with Tinubu’s “determination to secure Nigeria’s socio-economic future by ensuring sustainable higher education and critical skill development for all Nigerian students and the youth”. He listed the new management team as: (1) Mr. Akintunde Sawyerr – Managing Director/CEO (2) Mr. Frederick Oluwafemi Akinfala – Executive Director, Finance and Administration and. (3) Mr. Mustapha Iyal – Executive Director, Operations “With the appointment of the…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has thanked Mr. Jim Obazee, for his services as the Special Investigator of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and other related entities, declaring that the investigation has officially come to a close. Presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, in a statement quoted the President as commending Mr. Obazee for the dedication and professionalism he exercised in handling the “complexities of this critical national assignment.” Ngelale said, “Subsequent to the conclusion of the assignment and the submission of a final comprehensive report, and with the winding up of all apparatuses used during the scope of the task which terminated…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu on Thursday said growing and diversifying Nigeria’s economy would require the steadfast support of the organised private sector. Tinubu affirmed that he has “no reason to underperform” given the trust Nigerians have bestowed upon him. “I have no reason to underperform as the elected President of the country because I campaigned for the job. Cut the costs. Fix the bends. Summon courage. Save the money, but push the economy,” Tinubu said during Iftar (breaking of fast) with members of the Nigerian business community at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja. The Special Adviser to the President on Media…

THE military high command, on Thursday, released the full identities of some top terrorists’ commanders who were killed in the Northern region of the country during various operations across all the theatres between January and March, 2024. Among those killed by the troops attached to different operations included the Head of Is-Al Furqan Province (ISGS and ISWAP), Abu Bilal Minuki popularly known as Abubakar Mainok among his criminal gang members as well as Haruna Isiya Boderi. This newspaper reports that Mainok, a notorious terrorist who had operated along Birnin Gwari Forest in Kaduna State as well as the Abuja Kaduna…

THE Federal Government has arraigned Binance Holdings Limited and its two top officials, Tigran Gambaryan and the fleeing Nadeem Anjarwalla on allegations bordering on tax evasion. The company and its two executives were arraigned before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja. One of the defendants, Tigran Gambaryan, arrived at the court at 9:15 am on Thursday while his colleague, Anjarwalla was absent as he was said to be on the run. The Federal High Court is still observing its Easter vacation and the trial judge is not a vacation judge but the Chief Judge of the court,…

PRESIDENT  Bola Tinubu on Wednesday signed the National Students Loan Amendment bill into law. The President signed the bill in a short ceremony at the State House in the presence of the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, Deputy President of the Senate, Barau Jibrin, The Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, the Minister and Minister of State for Education, Hannatu Musawa, the Minister of State for Youth, Ayodele Olawande, the president of the National Association of Nigerian Students, other government officials and aides to the president. Tinubu initially signed the student loan bill into law back in June 2023,…

POLICE authorities are still searching for six officers who went missing in Delta State, according to Force spokesman Muyiwa Adejobi. Six police officers were gruesomely murdered in Ohoro Forest, Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State and the same number declared missing after they were ambushed during a rescue mission of their colleagues. Weeks after the incident, Adejobi said security operatives are still in the hunt for the missing officers. “Up till now, according to the provisions of the law, we are still searching for the six persons. Nobody can declare them dead. Hopefully, we are going to get…

THE Federal Government, on Monday, announced that the new price of natural gas for power generation companies is now $2.42 per metric million British thermal unit, higher than the previous rate of $2.18mmbtu. Nigeria generates over 70 per cent of its electricity from thermal power plants that are fired by gas. Therefore, the rise in the cost of the commodity may lead to a hike in the tariff payable by power consumers once the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission carries out another tariff review. The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, an agency of the Federal Government, unveiled the new…

SIXTEEN power plants are currently performing below capacity as the country grapples with the reality of constant grid collapses. Data obtained by this newspaper from the electricity market operator (NERC) on Monday, revealed that some power plants- Afam IV-V, Sapele ST, Olorunsogo NIPP, Omotosho NIPP, Sapele GT NIPP, Ihovbor NIPP, Geregu NIPP, Omotosho, Olorunsogo, Ibom Power, River IPP, Omoku, Trans Amadi, Paras, Taopex Energy and Dadin Kawa- currently produce just about 1,053MW (below 37 per cent) of the power consumed in-country. On the other hand, only 10 power plants classified as major, including, Egbin ST, Delta GS, Kainji Afam VI,…

ABOUT 107 companies including Dangote and Mikano International are currently enjoying tax exemption from the Federal Government despite its insistence to discontinue the programme and drastic steps to improve its revenue base, findings by this newspaper have shown. It also increased the number of beneficiaries enjoying Pioneer Status under the Industrial Development Income Tax Act by 24 from 83 in the first quarter of 2023 to 107 firms by the fourth quarter of 2023. This was disclosed in the latest Pioneer Status Incentive reports released by the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission and obtained by our correspondent on Sunday. An analysis…

IN the first six months after taking office, 13 new state governors collectively borrowed N226.8bn from domestic and external financiers. This emerged as findings by this newspaper showed that 16 state governors also increased the debt profile of their states by N509.3bn with domestic and external debt of N243.95bn and $298.5m (N265.37bn), respectively. The external debt was calculated based on the exchange rate of N889/$ used by the Debt Management Office in its report. This is according to an analysis of the latest sub-national debt reports released by the DMO. The sub-national debts are classified into domestic borrowings from local…