Author: Farouk Abbas

THE Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, on Tuesday revealed that the commission has discovered an account opened by a foreigner to receive payments from Nigerians seeking a six-week degree abroad. The ICPC boss made this disclosure in Abuja during a stakeholders’ advocacy event on asset tracing, recovery, and management put together by the Centre for Fiscal Transparency and Public Integrity (CeFTPI) with the support of the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA). Aliyu noted: “Within some weeks, we were able to discover that a foreigner…

FORMER National Secretary of the defunct Social Democratic Party and former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, disclosed that Olusegun Obasanjo was chosen over Bola Ige, Olu Falae, and Abraham Adesanya in the interest of national unity. In an excerpt from his autobiography, Being True to Myself, launched on May 13, Lamido stated that Falae, Ige, and Adesanya were not seen as capable of being fair and effective presidents for Nigeria. In Chapter 9, titled Abdulsalami’s Transition and Formation of the PDP, he explained that the decision to support Obasanjo was driven by a desire for a Yoruba who could lead…

A BILL to amend the Electoral Act 2022 to make voting compulsory for Nigerians of voting age has passed second reading in the House of Representatives. The proposed legislation was sponsored by the Speaker, Tajjudeen Abbas, and Daniel Ago. Leading the debate during plenary on Thursday, Ago said the bill aimed to encourage citizens’ participation in the electoral process, noting that voter apathy during elections would be addressed if the bill scales legislative scrutiny. Although the bill passed second reading, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party from Akwa Ibom State, Mark Esset, said enacting a law to make voting…

THE World Bank has revealed that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has only been remitting 50 per cent of revenue gains from the removal of the Premium Motor Spirit subsidy to the Federation Account. This disclosure is contained in the latest World Bank Nigeria Development Update, which highlights concerns over fiscal transparency and revenue management following the deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector. It said out of the N1.1tn revenue from crude sales and other income in 2024, the NNPCL only remitted N600bn, leaving a deficit of N500bn unaccounted for. The biannual report, titled “Building Momentum for Inclusive Growth,”…

FORMER Kano State governorship candidate, His Excellency Ibrahim Ali Amin Little, has paid a courtesy visit to former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), in Abuja. The visit, according to sources close to the Kano politician, was both a show of solidarity and a move to deepen consultations around the ongoing merger talks gaining traction among northern political blocs. Amin Little expressed strong support for the merger initiative, describing it as a timely and strategic effort to unify progressive minds for the greater good of the region and the country at large. During the…

A FEDERAL Capital Territory (FCT) High Court sitting in Maitama, on Tuesday, berated the suspended Senator representing Kogi Central, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, for wrongful usage of her X-handle (Twitter). Justice Slyvanius Oriji, delivering the judgment, in a fundamental enforcement rights suit filed by Ali Bello, Chief of Staff to Governor Usman Ododo of Kogi State, against the suspended senator, held that such conduct should not be from a person of her status. Ali Bello had, on May 21, 2024 instituted the suit, marked: FCT/HC/CV/2574/2024, against Natasha as sole respondent, alleging breach of privacy among others. Bello through his counsel, Adeola…

A FORMER presidential candidate of the New Nigerian People’s Party, NNPP, in the 2023 general elections, Rabiu Kwankwaso, has said that members of the National Assembly elected under the platform of the party that defected to the All Progressives Congress, APC, will regret their decision. This newspaper reports that some lawmakers elected under the platform of NNPP had recently defected to the ruling party. The decampees include the Senator representing Kano South, Kawu Sumaila, Alhassan Rurum, among others. But speaking when he received hundreds of NNPP supporters from Takai Local government area at his Miller Road residence in Kano on…

INSECURITY will form a major discourse as the Northern governors and traditional rulers meet in Kaduna today over pressing issues affecting the region. The meeting is taking place at the Sir Kashim Ibrahim Government House, Kaduna. Key issues such as the lingering insecurity bedevilling the North, poverty, a high rate of out-of-school children, and other socioeconomic challenges affecting the region, will also be discussed at the meeting. Already, the governors of Zamfara, Kebbi, Gombe, Niger and Zamfara States have arrived for the meeting. Traditional rulers present are the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, the Emir of Zazzau , Ahmed…

Court Adjourns To June 26 For Ruling On Commission’s Request To ‘Cross-Examine’ Witness THE Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned the hearing of the alleged money laundering case instituted against the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to June 26, 27 and July 4 and 5 for ruling on the request by the prosecution to “cross-examine” the 3rd witness and for continuation of trial. Justice Emeka Nwite adjourned the hearing after listening to addresses by the prosecution and defence counsels on the Prosecution’s move to initially cross-examine the witness, a…

THE Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has issued a warning to the 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, cautioning him against making divisive comments that could cause confusion in the country. Obi who was speaking at a memorial lecture held in honour of Clark, lamented the condition of the nation, stating that ‘We are not a democratic country. Let’s tell ourselves the truth. The labor of our heroes past is in vain’. But Akpabio, on Thursday, during a valedictory session at the Senate chamber in honour of the late elder statesman, rejected his assertions. He crediting the resilience of voices like Clark’s…

JUSTICE James Omotosho of the Federal High Court Abuja has dismissed a suit filed by MultiChoice Nigeria, owners of DStv and GOtv, challenging the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission’s (FCCPC) intervention in its recent subscription price hike. Delivering judgment, Justice Omotoso ruled that the suit constituted an abuse of court process as similar proceedings were already pending in Lagos State. He stressed that the plaintiff should have pursued its arguments in that court, rendering the current filing inappropriate. Justice Omotoso, however, noted that while the FCCPC has investigative powers under its establishing Act, it lacks the authority to fix…

Court Rejects Commission’s Objection To Admissibility Of FCT Court Judgement THE 3rd prosecution witness in the alleged money laundering case instituted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission against the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, admitted before the Federal High Court in Abuja, on Thursday, that there was no wired transfer of fees from the Kogi State Government or any of the local Governments in the state to the account of the American International School, Abuja. During cross-examination by the Defendant’s counsel, Joseph Daudu, SAN, Nicholas Ojehomon, an internal auditor at the American International School, Abuja, also…

MUHAMMAD Badaru Abubakar, the minister of defence has acknowledged that Nigeria’s borders continue to face threats from criminal and terrorist groups — including newly formed ones Lakurawa and Mahmudawa. But, the minister assured citizens that the government is ramping up efforts to secure these borders and bolster national security. Speaking at the 2025 Ministerial Press Briefing, Abubakar highlighted the ongoing challenges while emphasising the progress made in curbing cross-border infiltration. Responding to concerns about rising insecurity in regions like Katsina and Zamfara States, the minister pointed to notable improvements, such as the reopening of vital roads and markets in areas…

THE Federal Ministry of Education has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) under the Federal Government’s Energising Education Programme (EEP) to provide 24-hour electricity on campuses. The signing ceremony took place at the solar-powered mini-grid site of the University of Abuja, one of the beneficiaries of the transformative initiative. The ministry reaffirmed its commitment to advancing the transformative agenda through continued collaboration with the REA and institutional partners across the nation and beyond. A key highlight of the event was the signing of a collaboration agreement between the REA and eight new universities under…

EMIR of Kano, His Highness, Khalifa Muhammadu Sanusi II, has urged foreign investors to take advantage of booming business environment in Nigeria to invest their resources for maximum profit margin. Khalifa Sanusi solicited investment opportunities in Nigeria while addressing global investors and captains of industries at the International Financial Investment and Trade Conference holding in Tunisia. The former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, explained that Nigeria reserves one of the fastest growing economy in Africa with highly competitive markets and business opportunities readily available for capital investors. Sanusi essentially appealed to business and investment giants to tap from…

THE Benue and Zamfara State Houses of Assembly have rejected the summons issued on them by the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions, describing it as unconstitutional and an overreach of federal legislative powers. The House of Representatives committee had last Friday summoned the Governors of Benue and Zamfara states, Hyacinth Alia and Dauda Lawal respectively, as well as their respective sate assembly speakers and house leadership to appear before it on Thursday, March 8, 2025. The Reps said the governors and Assemblies’ leaders must appear to explain why their constitutional functions should not be taken over by the…

SOME leaders of the All Progressives Congress APC in Kano state including the Minister of State, Housing and Urban Development, Yusuf Ata have rejected the planned defection of a former Governor of Kano state, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso from his New Nigeria Peoples Party NNPP into the APC. Speaking shortly after a closed-door meeting with the APC National Chairman, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, who is himself a former Governor of Kano State, the minister said Kwankwaso’s red cap is gradually going extinct in Kano State. He said unless the National Chairman, who is the leader of the party in Kano, takes a…

FORMER Vice President Atiku Abubakar has fired back at the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, saying he does not need “validation from political opportunists”. Bwala, who previously served as spokesperson for Atiku’s 2023 presidential campaign under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had advised the former vice president to accept that “the presidency may not be part of his destiny.” “If I have the opportunity to meet him face to face, what I will tell him is just this: ‘Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, you have to believe in destiny. God gives power to whomsoever He chooses.…

THE Nigerian Senate has constituted an 18-member committee tasked with overseeing the activities of the Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd.), in a bid to strengthen transparency and accountability in the state’s governance. Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, was named as chairman of the committee. The announcement was made on Tuesday by the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, during the resumption of plenary. He highlighted the importance of the committee’s mandate, stating that its role is critical in ensuring effective legislative oversight in Rivers State. Akpabio also hinted that the composition of the committee…

JUSTICE S.C. Oriji of the FCT High Court, Maitama on Monday, admitted more evidence against former Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting the former minister alongside his daughter Fatima Sirika, son in-law Jalal Sule Hamma and Al Buraq Global Investment Limited on amended six-count charge, bordering on abuse of office to the tune of N2.7billion. A statement by the EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, said that during Monday’s proceeding, prosecution counsel, A.O Atolagbe, presented the Ninth Prosecution Witness, PW9. Led in his testimony by prosecution counsel, the witness, a retired General Manager, Administration and…