Author: Sadiq Abdullateef

THE Federal Ministry of Education has clarified controversy surrounding monetary gifts presented to Nigerian students who emerged winners at the TeenEagle 2024/2025 Global Competition held in the United Kingdom. The clarification follows reports on social media and some online platforms suggesting that the Federal Government disbursed ₦1.7 million as cash awards to the teenage champions. In August 2025, ₦200,000 was presented to Nafisah Abdullahi, winner of the TeenEagle Global Finals. Shortly after, after an online newspaper (Not News Point Nigeria) reported that Muhammad Manga, CEO of Manga Automobiles, awarded ₦800,000 to Nafisa Abdullahi Aminu, who won the TeenEagle World English…

THE United Nations has shut down a vital humanitarian air service in North East, citing severe funding shortages that threaten to cripple aid delivery in one of the country’s longest-running humanitarian emergencies. News Point Nigeria reports that the U.N. Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS), operated by the World Food Programme (WFP), ended its fixed-wing operations last week after nearly a decade of flying aid workers and supplies into hard-to-reach areas of Borno and Yobe States. U.N. spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric confirmed the closure on Thursday in New York, warning that “the humanitarian response in northeast Nigeria risks being cut off from the…

THE United Nations has sounded a stark warning about the escalating humanitarian toll of terrorism across West Africa and the Sahel, disclosing that 1,364 children were recruited by armed groups in 2024, while over 14,000 schools were forced to close due to persistent insecurity. News Point Nigeria reports that the grim statistics were revealed by UN Under Secretary-General and Special Representative for West Africa and the Sahel, Leonardo Simão, at the Regional Conference on Combating Emerging Terrorist Groups and Strengthening Sustainable Security in the ECOWAS Region and the Sahel, held in Abuja on Wednesday. “These numbers represent stolen futures, fractured…

FORMER Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika has rejected widespread claims that the Nigeria Air project initiated under ex-President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration was a scam, insisting that due process was followed throughout the process. Speaking on Channels Television’s Morning Brief on Tuesday monitored by News Point Nigeria, Sirika described allegations that he mismanaged over ₦100 billion on the controversial project as “false and mischievous.” “It is a lie that I spent ₦100 billion and it is lost in the process. The total budget for the national carrier was ₦5 billion, the total amount released was ₦3 billion, and I left the ministry…

A FORMER senior employee of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Paulinus Iheanacho Okoronkwo, is facing a maximum prison term of 25 years in the United States after being found guilty in a $2.1 million bribery scandal linked to oil deals involving Addax Petroleum, a Swiss subsidiary of Sinopec. According to a statement from the US Attorney’s Office in the Central District of California sighted by News Point Nigeria, Okoronkwo, a 58-year-old lawyer, was convicted of three counts of transactional money laundering, one count of tax evasion, and one count of obstruction of justice. His sentencing has been fixed…

VICE President Kashim Shettima has reaffirmed his unwavering loyalty to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, declaring that their bond of trust, anchored in service and sacrifice, will never be taken for granted. News Point Nigeria reports that Shettima made the pledge yesterday in Abuja in a heartfelt message of gratitude as he marked his 59th birthday, during which he also reflected on his journey in public service and the significance of his partnership with the President. “The bond we share, anchored in loyalty and service, is one I will never take for granted. I have watched you shoulder the burden of…

THE Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) has announced the appointment of two highly experienced professionals, Andy Odeh and Mrs Morenike Adewunmi, to strategic leadership positions aimed at strengthening the company’s stakeholder engagement and corporate image. News Point Nigeria reports that Odeh has been named the Chief Corporate Communications Officer, while Mrs. Adewunmi will serve as Chief Relations Officer, both charged with spearheading the company’s public affairs and stakeholder management strategies. With over 30 years of experience in communications, broadcasting, advertising, and the oil and gas industry, Andy Odeh brings a wealth of expertise to NNPC’s corporate communication efforts.…

THE Nigerian Armed Forces have firmly distanced themselves from allegations that they provide financial incentives to armed bandits, insisting that no payment of ransom or monthly allowance forms part of their counter-insurgency strategy. The Chief of Defence Operations, Major General Emeka Onumajuru, made this clarification on Tuesday during an appearance on Sunrise Daily, a Channels Television programme monitored by News Point Nigeria. He stressed that experience had shown that paying money to criminal groups only emboldens them rather than curtailing their activities. “The armed forces of Nigeria do not support the payment of money to criminal groups. We are not…

NIGERIANS have lost significant faith in some of their most important public institutions, with the police, the presidency, and the federal government ranking among the least trusted, according to a new national survey released by Chatham House in partnership with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The survey obtained by News Point Nigeria, published under the Social Norms and Accountable Governance Project, examined how institutional trust or the lack of it shapes governance and accountability across countries. Findings from the report paint a sobering picture of public perception in Africa’s most populous nation. Nearly 46 per cent of Nigerians said…

NIGERIA’s embassies and consular missions abroad are facing mounting financial distress, with staff salaries, allowances, and office rents left unpaid for months, News Point Nigeria gathered. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the development on Monday, attributing the crisis to persistent budgetary shortfalls and the impact of recent foreign exchange policy reforms. In a statement signed by its spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa, the ministry acknowledged that the situation had strained the smooth functioning of several missions, leaving them unable to meet key obligations to their staff and service providers. “The ministry is not unaware of the restrictions that financial limitations have…

PRESIDENT Bola Ahmed Tinubu has paid glowing tribute to Vice President Kashim Shettima on the occasion of his 59th birthday, describing him as a loyal partner, dependable ally, and a competent leader whose service to Nigeria has remained remarkable. In a statement personally issued by the President and released on Tuesday through his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga made avaialble to News Point Nigeria, Tinubu said he had “made no mistake” in choosing Shettima as his running mate and eventual deputy. “Today, September 2, 2025, presents me with another unique opportunity to celebrate you, my brother, partner,…

A VIRAL claim circulating across Nigerian media and social platforms suggests that “one in four fathers in Nigeria is unknowingly raising a child that is not theirs biologically.” The claim cites a 2025 annual report from Smart DNA Nigeria, a Lagos-based laboratory specializing in genetic testing. A close examination of the report and expert analysis by News Point Nigeria, however, reveals that the claim is misleading. The Claim Social media posts and some newspaper headlines such as Vanguard’s “1 in 4 Nigerian Fathers Not Biological Parents” argue that 25% of Nigerian men are unknowingly raising non-biological children. The statistic was…

THE Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has issued a stern warning to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), cautioning that the party risks self-destruction if it attempts to reintegrate former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi. Speaking during a live media chat on Monday, the former Rivers State governor accused the PDP of repeating errors that cost it dearly in the 2023 general elections, insisting that the opposition must embrace equity and justice if it hopes to regain national relevance ahead of the 2027 polls. Wike recalled how he and other aggrieved party leaders had raised alarms prior…

A FIERCE war of words has erupted between former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) over the federal government’s approach to tackling banditry and insecurity in northern Nigeria. El-Rufai, speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics monitored by News Point Nigeria, accused the government of “empowering bandits” instead of defeating them. According to him, the Tinubu administration is allegedly running a “kiss-the-bandits” policy that pays criminal gangs allowances and supplies them with food under the guise of non-kinetic engagement. “What I will not do is to pay bandits, give them a monthly allowance,…

A NEW book has shed fresh light on the behind-the-scenes tensions between former Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, and the Department of State Services (DSS) over the continued detention of human rights activist and politician, Omoyele Sowore, despite repeated court orders for his release. The revelations are contained in “I Write What I Like”, a newly published work by veteran journalist and rights advocate, Richard Akinnola sighted by News Point Nigeria. The 198-page book, comprising twenty chapters, is a compilation of Akinnola’s widely followed Facebook essays spanning from 2017 to 2025. According to Akinnola, the confrontation came to a head…

THE Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to fairness, justice, and inclusivity in the distribution of national resources, insisting that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration has treated all regions of Nigeria equitably in both appointments and infrastructure development. News Point Nigeria reports that the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, stated this in Abuja while reacting to recent claims that certain parts of the country were being sidelined in federal allocations and appointments. Idris emphasized that President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda was anchored on balanced development and inclusivity, stressing that verifiable data shows equitable distribution of projects across…

THE National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has exposed a sprawling drug trafficking cartel operating within Nigeria’s aviation sector, accused of planting narcotics on unsuspecting pilgrims and implicating them abroad. The shocking revelations come days after three innocent Nigerian pilgrims, Mrs. Maryam Hussain Abdullahi, Mrs. Abdullahi Bahijja Aminu, and Abdulhamid Sadiq were detained in Saudi Arabia on allegations of drug trafficking. Their ordeal has thrown Nigeria’s aviation industry into fresh controversy, sparking outrage, fear, and renewed calls for urgent reform. According to NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the pilgrims boarded Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET940 from Kano to…

PROMINENT African investor, entrepreneur, and philanthropist, Tony Elumelu, has opened up about the defining moment in his career when he was appointed a bank branch manager at just 27 years old, an opportunity he says changed the trajectory of his life and ignited his lifelong commitment to youth empowerment. In a post shared on his LinkedIn page on Friday cited by News Point Nigeria, the Chairman of Heirs Holdings and United Bank for Africa (UBA) recalled how his appointment at AllStates Trust Bank was met with skepticism, as many doubted a young professional could handle such a responsibility. “When I…

FORMER President Goodluck Jonathan has denied reports suggesting that he has abandoned plans to contest the 2027 presidential election, describing the publication as false and misleading. The denial followed claims in a report by Newsweek Nigeria that Jonathan had opted not to pursue a second-term ambition so as not to disrupt Southern unity ahead of the polls. Although the former president has not formally declared his candidacy, strong indications point to ongoing nationwide consultations with political stakeholders as part of moves to actualise a potential comeback bid. On Friday afternoon, Jonathan’s cousin, Azibaola Robert, debunked the report in a statement…

THE Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) has spent more than N14 billion feeding inmates awaiting trial in the country’s custodial centres between January and August 2025, findings have revealed. An analysis of inmate records obtained by News Point Nigeria showed a steady rise in the number of persons held without trial during the period under review. In January, there were 48,932 awaiting-trial inmates. By the end of February, the figure had increased to 52,771, and further climbed to 53,254 in March. The number slightly dipped to 52,937 in April, but rose again in June to 53,178, before reaching 53,473 by July.…