THE Chairman of BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu, has pledged to further lower the prices of rice and other food items, which he said have already decreased over the past year. He commended President Bola Tinubu for granting waiver on imported food items, saying that his “foresight” helped crash food prices in the country. In July 2024, the Tinubu administration announced the suspension of customs duties on imported food items to stem food inflation. Speaking to State House Correspondents after meeting with President Tinubu on Thursday, Rabiu said BUA Foods keyed into that policy and was able to import quite…
Author: Sadiq Muhammad
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NIGERIA’s headline inflation rate eased to 23.71% in April 2025, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Thursday. The statistics office said the April 2025 headline inflation figure represents a 0.52% decline when compared to that of March 2025. On a month-on-month basis, inflation growth slowed considerably, printing at 1.86% in April compared to 3.90% recorded in March. “This means that in April 2025, the rate of increase in the average price level is lower than the rate of increase in the average price level in March 2025,” it…
TWO soldiers attached to the 135 Special Forces Battalion are under investigation for alleged collaboration with ISWAP terrorists and compromising national security in Yobe State. The soldiers’ telephone conversations were intercepted and analyzed by security operatives, revealing links to the May 9 kidnapping of commuters along the Gashua–Azare highway in Yobe State. A credible source privy to the ongoing investigation said the duo allegedly leaked the movements of their patrol team along the Buratai–Kamuya–Azare–Gashua axis, paving the way for ISWAP fighters to stage an ambush that briefly disrupted civilian movement before a successful counter-attack was launched to disperse the terrorists.…
THE operators of the helicopter that claimed the life of former Group Chief Executive Officer of Access Holdings Plc, Herbert Wigwe, alongside his wife, son, and three others in February 2024, and the pilot flying the aircraft will soon face criminal charges in the United States, aviation industry operators and experts have confirmed. The helicopter, an Airbus EC130B4 operated by Orbic Air, LLC, under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135, crashed near Halloran Springs, California, on February 9, 2024. On board were Wigwe, his wife, Doreen, their first son, Chizi, and former NGX Group Chairman, Abimbola Ogunbanjo, along…
NIGERIA has officially removed itself from the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) debtor list, following the full settlement of its outstanding credit obligations. Analysts say this significant step, confirmed by the IMF’s latest report, marks a turning point in the country’s fiscal journey, reflecting the success of a strategic debt reduction plan under President Bola Tinubu’s administration. As of May 2025, Nigeria no longer appears among the 91 developing nations with pending credit to the IMF, signaling the culmination of a two-year repayment initiative. This achievement, reported in the IMF’s “Total IMF Credit Outstanding” document, has been hailed as a defining…
THE U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its final report on the helicopter crash that killed Herbert Wigwe, former group chief executive officer of Access Holdings Plc, along with his family and others in February 2024. According to the report, investigators determined the “probable cause of this accident to be: The pilot’s decision to continue the visual flight rules flight into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in the pilot’s spatial disorientation and loss of control.” News Point Nigeria report that the crash, which occurred near the California-Nevada border on February 9, 2024, claimed the lives of all six…
FORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo; former Head of state, Abdulsalami Abubakar; governors are among those expected to grace the unveiling of the Political Memoir of former Governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido. The book entitled, “Being True to Myself,” is a political memoir by Lamido, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and will be formally presented to the public in Abuja next week. Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, Chairman of the Organising Committee, Senator Mustapha Khabeeb, described the event as one that will “unbundle the real story of Nigeria’s political trajectory”—from the tail end of…
THE United Nations Children’s Fund has said Nigeria now stands as the country with the highest burden of malnourished children in Africa. The international agency disclosed this on its website on Tuesday, adding that only two out of every 10 children affected currently have access to treatment. It said with an estimated two million children in Nigeria suffering from severe acute malnutrition, the world’s most populous black nation has the second-highest number of stunted children in the world. “Nigeria has the second highest burden of stunted children in the world, with a national prevalence rate of 32 percent of children…
THE Presidency has dismissed recent remarks by outgoing African Development Bank (AfDB) President, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, suggesting that Nigerians are worse off today than they were at independence in 1960. Responding via a post on his verified X handle, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, criticized Adesina’s assertion as being based on inaccurate data and a limited grasp of Nigeria’s long-term economic trajectory. Adesina had reportedly claimed that Nigeria’s GDP per capita had dropped from $1,847 in 1960 to $824 in 2024, implying a deterioration in living standards. But Onanuga countered this, stating: “According…
A FORMER Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, has debunked widespread rumours alleging that he is in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). News Point Nigeria reports that Kyari described the reports as “clear mischief” and a “calculated attempt” to discredit him. In a late-night Saturday statement posted on his X handle, Kyari said he is currently taking a “well-deserved rest” following the recent dissolution of the NNPCL board and management, and reiterated his willingness to answer to any lawful inquiry regarding his tenure. This newspaper earlier reported that…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu on Friday announced that the Federal Government has resolved to complete the 284-kilometre Kano–Jigawa–Katsina–Maradi railway project by 2026. The president disclosed this in Katsina State when he inaugurated the Katsina State Agricultural Mechanisation Centre and a 24-kilometre Eastern Bypass located at Tashar Bala Area of the State. The railway line project, which connects Kano State in Nigeria’s Northwest Region to Maradi in neighbouring Niger Republic, will according to the president ease transportation of persons and goods in the region, thereby reducing the pressure on Nigerian roads if completed. The president further announced that the Federal Government has…
THE Nigeria Police Force (National Cybercrime Centre-NPF-NCCC) has arrested one Dauda Samuel, a 28-year-old male, for impersonating the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, (DIG) Frank Mba, on Facebook. Samuel was also arrested for alleged involvement in Police recruitment scam, computer-related fraud and identity theft, following credible intelligence and multiple complaints from members of the public. A statement on Saturday by the Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi said: “The arrest stems from reports that the individual had been impersonating the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, DIG Frank Mba, on Facebook. “The suspect allegedly exploited this false identity to promote a fictitious…
PRESIDENT Bola Ahmed Tinubu has called on governors across Nigeria to remain focused on delivering tangible results that improve the lives of their people, urging them to disregard armchair critics who merely seek to distract from the work at hand. During a two-day visit to Katsina, the President told the governors that the accurate measure of leadership is a positive, visible impact. “Let the people be at the heart of your programmes. Your hard work and concrete achievements will answer any criticism. Ignore distractions—your results will speak for you,” the President said. The President commissioned a 24km road, which Governor…
THE President of MAAUN Group of Universities, Prof. Adamu Abubakar Gwarzo, has been admitted as an Honorary Fellow of the International Association for Quality Assurance in Pre-Tertiary and Higher Education (QAHE). The Academic Committee of the Association bestowed Prof. Gwarzo with the distinguished fellowship, given his outstanding contributions to the field of education. QAHE Honorary Fellows are highly esteemed individuals who the Academic Committee of the Association has recognised for their exceptional contributions to the field of education. As distinguished members of the International Association for Quality Assurance of Pre-Tertiary and Higher Education (QAHE), these Honorary Fellows play a crucial…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has issued a firm warning to those he described as “domestic collaborators or foreign agents” seeking to destabilise Nigeria, declaring that the country will not yield to fear, terror, or treachery. During an official visit on Friday to frontline troops of the Nigerian Armed Forces in Katsina State, the president reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to national security and the wellbeing of its soldiers. “To those who seek to destabilise our nation—be they domestic collaborators or foreign agents—hear this: Nigeria will not bow. Not to fear. Not to terror. Not to treachery,” Tinubu declared. Speaking directly to the…
THE Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) informed a U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Thursday that they require an additional 90 days to produce investigation reports related to an alleged drug case involving President Bola Tinubu from the 1990s. News Point Nigeria gathered that the two U.S. federal agencies made this request in a Joint Status Report submitted to the court, along with the plaintiff in the case, Aaron Greenspan. However, Greenspan, an American, rejected the proposal and instead suggested a 14-day extension for the FBI and DEA to produce the…
THE Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has commenced an investigation into discrepancies in the disbursements of the student loan, saying ₦71bn has been unaccounted for in the scheme. ICPC’s move came after reports that some institutions were involved in illegal deductions and exploitations related the the student loans scheme under the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFund). The schools were alleged to have made illegal deductions ranging from ₦3,500 to ₦30,000 from each student’s institutional fees obtained via NELFUND, prompting ICPC to begin an investigation into the matter. “The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission…
IN what is a departure from previous practice, the Tinubu Administration is making a spirited move to enable several State Governments receive hundreds of billions of Naira in federal funds dating back to 2020 through the Univeral Basic Education Fund, clearing a five year backlog. Empowered Newswire reports that the plan by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa is part of a broad reform agenda to revive basic education across the country through an innovative funding mechanism which aggregates critical data and statistics of how the funds can transform basic education in each of the over 30 states that…
THE British High Commission on Wednesday refuted claims circulating in the media that a serving member of the United Kingdom Armed Forces is involved in an alleged illegal arms procurement operation in Nigeria. In an official statement released by the commission, a spokesperson for the High Commission clarified that the individual identified in recent reports is not currently serving in the UK military. “The individual identified in recent Nigerian media reporting is not a serving member of the UK Armed Forces,” the statement read. Further information provided by the commission revealed that the individual previously served as a junior rank…
STRONG reactions have trailed an allegation that no fewer than 51 tertiary institutions are engaged in illegal deductions, double institutional fees collection by beneficiary institutions, and attendant exploitation of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) student loan scheme. In a chat with this newspaper Wednesday morning in Abuja, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Student Engagement, Sunday Asefon, condemned heads of tertiary institutions for engaging in illegal acts of deductions and double fee collections from students benefiting from NELFUND. Asefon, a former President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), disclosed that he would liaise with student bodies…