THE United Arab Emirates, on Monday, lifted its months-long visa ban on Nigerians. This is as Etihad and Emirates Airlines are to resume flight operations to Nigeria with immediate effect. The decision follows talks between Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu, and his Emirati counterpart, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, on Monday in Abu Dhabi, have finalized a historic agreement, which has resulted in the immediate cessation of the visa ban placed on Nigerian travelers, the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, revealed…
Author: Abdullahi Maitama Sani
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PRESIDENT Joe Biden, on Sunday, commended President Bola Tinubu for his “strong leadership” as the chair of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The United States President hailed the commitment of his Nigerian counterpart in the defense and preservation of democracy in coup-torn Niger Republic and the West African sub-region. Biden met with Tinubu on Sunday on the sidelines of the G20 in New Delhi, India and reinforced US’ enduring commitment to Nigeria. “President Biden welcomed the Tinubu Administration’s steps to reform Nigeria’s economy and thanked President Tinubu for his strong leadership as the chair of the Economic…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu will meet with the authorities of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after his G-20 Summit in India. The Nigerian leader has been joining other world leaders at the 18th G20 Leaders’ Summit where he called for global unity and cooperation in tackling pressing challenges, fostering inclusiveness, and establishing a fairer world order. In a statement on Sunday, the presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, announced that Tinubu would meet UAE authorities during a technical stopover in Abu Dhabi. “The meeting will serve as a follow-up discussion to address specific, salient issues within the bilateral relationship after conversations held during…
THE Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike has debunked “recent online media reports” claiming plans to invite the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the immediate past FCT Minister, Muhammad Bello, in relation to certain irregularities in the award of contracts and other such matters. The Director of Press in the FCT Ministry in the Office of the Minister, Anthony Ogunleye, in a statement made available to News Point Nigeria late Saturday, said, “We categorically and unequivocally state that these reports are entirely baseless and…
FORMER Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has congratulated President Bola Tinubu and Vice-President Senator Kashim Shettima on their victory at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, calling Wednesday’s judgment a great victory for the rule of law. According to a statement Saturday by Mohammed Brimah of the former VP’s Media Office, Osinbajo expressed his congratulations in a personal statement. “The ruling is a great victory for Nigeria’s constitutional democracy and the rule of law,” the Vice President said. “The practice of democracy in our nation has been further strengthened by the fact that all parties faithfully followed the electoral process according to the…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu, on Saturday in New Delhi, India, expressed Nigeria’s commitment to play a major role within the G20 and contribute to shaping a more equitable world, adding that G20 will be incomplete without Nigeria, adding that G20 will remain incomplete without Nigeria. According to a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, Tinubu said this while addressing world leaders at the 18th G20 Leaders’ Summit. He said the Nigerian leader called for global unity and cooperation in tackling pressing challenges, fostering inclusiveness, and establishing a fairer world order. While acknowledging the…
THE family and Egypt Air have both told their side of the story on the death of Remilekun, the deceased Nigerian passenger aboard the flight on Monday. The passenger, a young Remi travelling to London on a connecting flight via Cairo, was said to have passed away after arriving in Cairo sick. The family of the deceased had alleged that the corpse was “dumped” in Cairo without properly informing them of the incident while demanding detailed information on the cause of the death. Olufunmilola Olaniyi-Alabi, the elder sister of the deceased who spoke on behalf of the family, in a…
THE Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, said the judiciary was right when the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) reclaimed his mandate as governor of Anambra State in 2007 but the judiciary was wrong when he lost at the presidential Tribunal on Wednesday. Wike, a Peoples Democratic Party chieftain, spoke exclusively when he featured on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Thursday monitored by News Point Nigeria. “Did Peter Obi not win at the Supreme Court when he was removed as governor? Did he pay bribe? Let him tell the world now,” Wike said.…
NO fewer than 30 persons have died in a landslide caused by the activities of illegal miners in the Kuje Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory FCT, on Thursday. News Point Nigeria learnt that 19 persons were also kidnapped in the Bwari Area Council of the nation’s capital same day. These sad happenings were confirmed at the maiden meeting between the FCT minister, Nyesom Wike and the six Area Councils Chairmen, Thursday. The Minister, who was miffed over the developments, said he would summon the FCT Director of State Services as well as the Commissioner of Police to receive…
FORMER Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election, says the “war is ahead”. News Point Nigeria reports the Tribunal threw out the case of Atiku, who is the Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate, and his Labour Party counterpart, Peter Obi, and upheld the victory of Tinubu. In his reaction, at a press conference organised by the party at the PDP Headquarters in Abuja on Thursday, Atiku said, ”I am here today to give my official reaction to the judgment delivered yesterday by the Presidential Election Petition Court on the 2023 presidential election.…
PRESIDENT Bola Ahmed Tinubu has chided ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo over his comments on the petroleum refinery in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. In a recent interview with TheCable, Obasanjo had emphasised his belief that the nation’s refineries would never function efficiently as long as they remained under government ownership. “Someone told me Tinubu said refineries would work by December. I told the person the refineries would not work. This is based on the information I received from Shell when I was president,” he had said. But responding through Tope Ajayi, his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Tinubu said Obasanjo…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has successfully attracted a monumental Three Billion US dollars ($3bn) investment pledge from Indian investors, to boost steel industry in the country. This is according to a statement by Abdullahi Haruna, Special Assistant, Media and Publicity to Minister of Steel Development, Prince Shauibu Audu, in Abuja on Wednesday. According to him, the president made the commitment during the Nigeria-India economic roundtable in India. “In a historic move that promises to bolster Nigeria’s steel industry, President Tinubu has successfully attracted a monumental $3 billion investment pledge from Indian investors. “This achievement was met with applause and commendation from…
THE Presidential Election Petitions Court delivered a 12-hour marathon judgment on Wednesday, throwing out the petitions of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM); the petitions of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its flag bearer, Atiku Abubakar; as well as the petitions of Labour Party (LP) and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi. The Tribunal dismissed the petitions of the three parties challenging the victory of President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the February 25, 2023 poll. The five-man panel led by Justice Haruna Tsammani did not only dismiss the consolidated petitions of the PDP, the APM and…
THERE was a mild drama at the Court of Appeal, the venue of the Presidential Election Petitions Court on Wednesday when the justices delivering judgments shut down a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and counsel for the All Progressives Congress (APC), Charles Uwensuyi-Edosomwan, for interruption. The Tribunal resumed at 9am and the justices have been delivering verdicts in what can be described as a marathon judgment. Apparently fatigued after eight hours of judgment delivery by the five-man panel led by Justice Haruna Tsammani, Uwensuyi-Edosomwan at 5pm asked the Court to say “the case is hereby dismissed” as opposed to “the…
THE Presidential Election Petitions Court on Wednesday ruled that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was at liberty to decide the mode of transmission of election results during the presidential election on February 25, 2023. The five-man panel led by Justice Haruna Tsammani said according to Sections 52 and 65 of the Electoral Act 2022, INEC was at liberty to prescribe the manner in which election results were transmitted during the poll. The Tribunal consequently dismissed the petition of the Labour Party (LP) and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, which argued that the victory of President Bola Tinubu of the…
THE Presidential Election Petitions Court has dismissed the claim of the Labour Party (LP) and Peter Obi seeking to disqualify Bola Tinubu over the forfeiture of the sum of $460,000 in a US court. Ruling on that ground of the petition, Justice Haruna Tsammani held that the petitioners “evidently failed” to establish the case as provided in Section 137(1)(d) of the Nigerian Constitution. Justice Tsammani held that the petitioners failed to prove that the allegation at the United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division wherein Tinubu was ordered to forfeit $460,000, was criminal case. He added that…
THE Presidential Election Petitions Court has ruled that the All Progressives Congress (APC) lacks the locus standi to challenge Peter Obi’s membership of the Labour Party (LP). APC and Bola Tinubu had in their petitions argued that Obi’s name was not contained in the list of LP members forwarded to INEC on April 25, 2022 and breached Section 77 of the Electoral Act, 2022. But in the lead judgment on the objections by the APC against the petitions of Obi and the LP, Justice Abba Bello Mohammed (before he handed over the ruling to Justice Haruna Tsammani) held that the…
THE Presidential Election Petitions Court has held that the Labour Pary (LP) and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, failed to prove how they scored the majority of lawful votes in the February 25 presidential election. In the lead judgment read by Justice Abba Bello Mohammed, said the LP made generic allegations of irregularities, suppression of votes and corrupt practices to rob them of their votes, especially in Rivers, Benue, Lagos, Taraba, Imo and Osun states but failed to specify the polling units affected. Justice Mohammed further held that LP also failed to prove the allegations of overvoting against the All…
THE Presidential Election Petitions Court has declared that it lacks the powers to hear the petition of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) challenging the qualification of President Bola Tinubu and Kashim Shettima. Reading the lead judgment on Wednesday, Justice Haruna Tsammani held that the issues brought before the tribunal are pre-election matters, which ought to have been at a high court. He added that the timeframe of 180 days within which to determine the issue had elapsed. “In Alhassan and others versus Ishaku and others, it was held that an election tribunal has no jurisdiction on the primary of a…
VICE President Kashim Shettima, chieftains of the Labour Party (LP), governors and chieftains of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are on the ground at the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal (PEPT) ahead of the court’s verdict. The APC governors present are those of Kogi, Yahaya Bello; Nassarawa, Abdullahi Sule; Imo, Hope Uzodimma; Ekiti, Biodun Oyebanji; Yobe’s Mai Mala Buni. APC National Chairman Abdullahi Ganduje; the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, and the chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu are also around. Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State is among the top PDP…