Author: Abdullahi Maitama Sani

KADUNA State Governor, Uba Sani, has faulted the claims of the Defence Headquarters (DHQ), attributing the reason for the air strike in the Tudun Birni community to terrorists embedding themselves with civilians. The incident, which happened on Sunday, resulted in the deaths of over 120 people and injuries to several others in the Igabi Local Government Area. But the Director of Defence Media Operations, Edward Buba, stated on Tuesday that the reason for the air raid was terrorists embedding themselves with the locals in the area. However, Governor Sani, speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday monitored by News…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of four (4) new members of the National Council on Privatization (NCP), representing the private sector in the Council. This was disclosed in a statement by the Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to the President, Ajuri Ngelale, Thursday. See full statement below: PRESIDENT TINUBU APPOINTS NEW MEMBERS OF NATIONAL COUNCIL ON PRIVATIZATION (NCP) President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of four (4) new members of the National Council on Privatization (NCP), representing the private sector in the Council: (1) Oluwole Osin — South-West (2) Mohammed Mustapha Bintube — North-East (3) Olayiwola Yahaya…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe as Executive Secretary of Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), along with some qualified Nigerians to serve on the Governing Council and Management team. This was disclosed in a statement by the Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to the President, Ajuri Ngelale, Thursday. The statement reads in full: PRESIDENT TINUBU APPOINTS NCDMB GOVERNING COUNCIL AND MANAGEMENT TEAM In conformity with Sections 71(1), 72, and 73 of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act (2010), President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of qualified Nigerians to…

FORMER Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Khalifa Muhammadu Sanusi II, has called for a proper audit of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), noting that this call was what cost him his job at the apex bank. Sanusi made this known while delivering his remarks at The Bank Directors Summit holding at the Congress Hall of the Transcorp Hilton in Abuja. The 14th Emir of Kano and leader of the Tijjaniyya Order in Nigeria, who was CBN governor from June 2009 to February 2014, insisted that the President should not be the Minister of Petroleum. For…

THE United States Bureau of Arms Control, Deterrence, and Stability said on Thursday that the deployment of Artificial Intelligence will help the Nigerian military reduce the incidence of accidental bombing to the barest minimum. The PUNCH reports that there have been over 12 cases of miscalculated airstrikes by the military, resulting in the deaths of over 400 innocent civilians between 2017 and 2023. The Centre noted that the adoption of AI by the Nigerian military will not only improve its capabilities but will also prevent the military from running foul of international humanitarian law. The Centre’s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary,…

THE National Judicial Council (NJC) has recommended the appointment of 11 justices to the Supreme Court. A statement by the apex court’s Director of Information, Soji Oye made available to News Point Nigeria, said the recommendation was made at the 104th meeting of the council in Abuja on Wednesday. The recommended candidates would be sworn-in after the approval of their recommendation by President Bola Tinubu and the subsequent confirmation of their appointment by the Senate. With this appointment, the apex court will have the full complement of 21 justices, as envisaged by the Constitution. Those recommended for appointment to the…

THE Chairman of the Senate Appropriation Committee, Senator Adeola Olamilekan, on Wednesday, directed the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, to appear before the committee in 24 hours. Olamilekan, who asked Kyari to appear in company of the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Engr. Gbenga Komolafe, warned that failure to appear undermines the legislature and sabotages the process. They are required to present the list of all individual companies operating with OML licenses in Nigeria as well as total production output approved on a daily basis. The…

THE Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar underscored the urgent need for concerted global action to address the pressing challenges of climate change. He said that Nigeria is leading the fight against climate change in Africa by setting ambitious and realistic goals, “Nigeria has ratified its commitments through a Climate Change Act and a National Council on Climate Change (NCCC). Through these, Nigeria set ambitious, albeit realistic, goals, and I am proud to state that we have hit the ground running, transforming our commitments into tangible climate action.” He emphasized the critical role of collaboration, innovation, and shared…

EIGHTY-FIVE were killed in an air strike by the Nigerian Army at Tudun Biri village in Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State, in one of the country’s deadliest military bombing accidents. The North-West zonal spokesman of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Halima Suleiman, told Channels Television that 66 other victims were also injured in Sunday’s bombing. She said the fatality figure was gotten from the local authorities after the burial of the victims on Monday. “The Northwest Zonal Office has received details from the local authorities that 85 dead bodies have so far been buried while a search…

THE Federal Government funded 422 persons to the ongoing COP28 Climate Summit in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has said. The minister made this known in a signed statement made available to News Point Nigeria on Monday following a controversy trailing 1,411 Nigerian registered delegates at the summit. President Bola Tinubu had on November 29, 2023, departed Abuja for Dubai for the summit expected to end on December 12, 2023. Controversy has since surrounded the number of Nigerian delegates at the summit which ranked that of China, with many Nigerians…

A FEDERAL High Court in Abuja has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to identify, within 90 days, its officials involved in the registration of the underaged during the continuous voters’ registration (CVR) exercise in polling units across the country. Justice Obiora Egwuatu, in a judgment, also directed the culprits to be produced and handed over to the appropriate law enforcement agency for investigation and possible prosecution. Justice Egwuatu equally made a mandatory order, compelling INEC to expunge forthwith from its national voters’ register the names of all the underage voters from each of the polling units across the…

AFTER a combined seven months, scores of students of the Federal University Gusau, Zamfara kidnapped from their hostels and the eight Akwa Ibom State graduates abducted on their way to the National Youth Service Corps orientation camp in Sokoto State are still In kidnappers’ den, News Point Nigeria reports. In September Bandits reportedly kidnapped a significant number of students of the Federal University Gusau, Zamfara State, in the early hours of day from their hostels. An indigene of Sabon Gida village, Abubakar Sani, told this newspaper that the bandits, who were in large numbers, stormed the students’ off-campus residences in…

A FORMER governor of Niger state, Dr. Muazu Babangida Aliyu, has said he chased the dreaded Boko Haram leaders, Abubakar Shekau and Abu Qaqa, out of Niger State during his first term as Governor. He said if he had not done that, the state would have been the foundation of Boko Haram. Speaking at the 2023 annual public lecture, awards and election of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) over the weekend, he said part of the solution to the security challenges bedeviling Nigeria, like terrorism and banditry is proper planning and budgeting that will eradicate the negative statistics…

THE Federal Government has earmarked a total of N13,805,814,220 for the upkeep of former presidents, vice-presidents, heads of state, Chiefs of General Staff, retired heads of service, permanent secretaries, as well as retired heads of government agencies and parastatals in the 2024 fiscal year. The beneficiaries include former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari, as well as ex-vice-presidents Atiku Abubakar, Namadi Sambo and Prof Yemi Osinbajo. Also expected to benefit from the windfall are ex-military Heads of State, General Yakubu Gowon and General Abdusalami Abubakar, as well as a former dictator and self-styled military President, General Ibrahim Babangida,…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu presented the 2024 budget to the National Assembly’s joint session on Wednesday. It is President Tinubu’s first full-year budget since he assumed office in May. Below is the complete transcript of his speech: 2024 BUDGET SPEECH: Budget of Renewed Hope In furtherance of my sacred duties and obligations as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, it is my honour to be here today to present my administration’s 2024 Budget Proposal to this Joint Session of the 10th National Assembly. This moment is especially profound and significant to me because it is my first annual budgetary presentation…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has written the House of Representatives seeking the approval of the green chamber for $8.6bn and €100m external borrowing plan for critical infrastructure in areas such as power, roads, water, railway, and health. The President also forwarded the Federal Capital Territory Supplementary Budget to House for consideration. Meanwhile, the President will present the 2024 budget to the National Assembly on Wednesday. This was after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved a 2024 budget of N27.5 trillion. The approval followed the review of the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) earlier passed by the National Assembly which benchmarked the exchange…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu will, on Wednesday, depart Abuja for Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to attend the COP28 Climate Summit, his spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, has said. At the world leaders’ summit, which will take place on December 1 and 2, 2023, with the theme, ‘Unite, Act, and Deliver,’ Tinubu will deliver a national statement, highlighting Nigeria’s stance on various thematic issues, including renewable energy and climate financing. The President will be accompanied by senior government officials to the summit also known as the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference, or Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC (COP28). “Mindful of the…

VICE President Kashim Shettima has tasked local and foreign investors to make Nigeria their investment hub as he declares President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s determination to provide the enabling environment for businesses to thrive in the country. The Vice President gave the charge on Monday when he hosted the management of First Surat Group, as well as top management of MTN Nigeria at the presidential villa in Abuja. He charged MTN Nigeria to facilitate and spearhead digital mobile money and digital education. Shettima, in a statement by his spokesman, Stanley Nkwocha, said the Tinubu administration was willing to partner with various…

THE Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the House of Representatives, on Monday, began a full-scale probe into the alleged mismanagement of COVID-19 intervention funds from 2020 to 2023 as mandated by the House at the plenary session. Addressing the opening session, the Chairman of the Committee, Bamidele Salam (PDP-OSUN), warned that the committee would not entertain delay tactics from the Ministries, Departments and Agencies by way of asking for an extension of time. “The committee is probing over 60 MDAs over several billions of naira in intervention funds allocated to them during the COVID-19 pandemic and we have given them…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of a new Board and Management team for the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) with effect from December 1, 2023: This was disclosed in a statement by the Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to the President, Ajuri Ngelale, Monday. The statement reads in full: STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE PRESIDENT TINUBU APPOINTS NNPC BOARD AND MANAGEMENT TEAM In compliance with Section 59 (2) of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of a new Board and Management team for the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) with effect…