OPERATIVES of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Thursday quizzed the immediate-past Minister for Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy Ohanenye, for her alleged roles in the misappropriation, violation of procurement process and diversion of public funds of N138.4m in the course of disbursing the 2023 budgeted funds for the Ministry. According to authoritative sources, the ex-minister arrived at the Commission’s headquarters around 11am on Thursday and faced interrogators on her alleged involvement in the fraud. The sources claimed that investigations by the EFCC showed that funds donated for the funding of P- Bat Cares for Women Initiative were diverted…
Author: Sadiq Muhammad
Read More
THE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has appointed 16 new directors across key departments in a significant leadership shakeups. These appointments affect crucial areas such as Monetary Policy department, Trade and Exchange Department, Banking Supervision, Payment Systems and Consumer Protection among others. This new appointments are coming at a time when regulators are tightening oversight on banks and financial technology firms as it declared last week as well as the final leg of the banking sector recapitulation exercise. A source at the CBN told this newspaper that “the very best were selected as such, no one will complain about the…
THE Federal Capital Territory Command of the Nigeria Police Force has confirmed the death of ex-Comptroller General of the Nigerian Immigration Service, David Shikfu Parradang. In a statement on Tuesday, Josephine Adeh, Police Public Relations Officer of FCT Command, said reports of the deceased being kidnapped and killed are untrue. According to Adeh, Paradang died after receiving a female guest at a hotel he checked into in Abuja. The statement read: “In light of the recent reports alleging that retired Comptroller General of the Nigerian Immigration Service, David Shikfu Parradang, was kidnapped and subsequently killed, we wish to clarify the…
DAVID Shikfu Parradang, a retired Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Immigration Service, has been tragically killed by kidnappers in Abuja. News Point Nigeria gathered that Parrillo, was abducted in Area 1, Abuja, in the early hours of Tuesday after being trailed from a bank where he had withdrawn money. Report indicated that the unknown assailants took the cash from him before killing him in cold blood. The unfortunate incident has raised new concerns about security in the Federal Capital Territory, particularly regarding the rising incidents of kidnappings and targeted attacks. A source who verified the incident to News Point Nigeria expressed…
SENATOR David Jimkuta (APC), representing Taraba South Senatorial District at the National Assembly says 19 senators have been denied landing permit at the Kashimbilla airport in Taraba. News Point Nigeria reports that Jimkuta made the complain at his Senatorial Empowerment Programme in Wukari, Taraba, where he donated assorted items to the constituents. He explained that the 19 senators were selected by the Senate to accompany him and to witness his empowerment programme but were turned back. The senator lamented that he got the report that the Kashimbila air port was temporary shut down, after he had completed every procedure required…
THE Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) has announced a reduction in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, to N860 per litre. This decision comes amid an intensifying price war among major marketers and independent petroleum dealers, as well as fluctuations in global crude oil prices. The new price, which took effect on Monday, marks a significant drop from the previous average of N920 per litre, offering relief to millions of Nigerians grappling with the high cost of living. The reduction by NNPC, the country’s largest fuel supplier, has sparked a wave of competitive…
A FEDERAL High Court in Abuja has been told that Odoh Ocheme, an aide to former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele, and others named in the theft of $6,230,000 cash from the CBN are currently residing in the United Kingdom (U.K). A police prosecutor, Celestine Odo, revealed this in the court when an eight-count of theft pending against them was mentioned on Thursday. The others who are non-staff members of the apex bank are Adamu Abubakar and Imam Abubakar. Odo recalled that the court had on February 7, 2024, issued an arrest warrant on the trio and…
THE Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos has turned down a request by Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, to ban public officers from seeking medical treatment abroad. “It will be an infringement or breach on the Fundamental Right of Nigerians be they Public Officers or not to prevent them from seeking medical attention outside Nigeria when the need arises, and it will therefore be draconian to grant the request,” Justice Polycarp Terna Kwahar who read the judgment on behalf of the three man panel of justices held. The other justices of the court, Justice Mohammed Mustapha and Justice Paul…
SINCE the Supreme Court judgment granting autonomy to local governments and ordering states to organise elections, there has been confusion in states. The confusion arose out of either the misreading of the judgment or the misapplication of it. The Supreme Court on July 11, 2024 delivered a landmark judgment affirming the financial autonomy of Nigeria’s 774 local government councils. The seven-member panel, led by Justice Mohammed Garba, unanimously upheld a suit brought by the federal government aimed at reinforcing the independence of local governments across the country. The court also rejected the stance of state governments that sought to dissolve…
NIGERIA’s Creative Economy comprising 49 segments of entertainment, the arts, culture, tourism, music, theatrical arts, artifacts and museums, among others, has been identified as capable of contributing about $100 billion to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and no fewer than two million jobs by 2030. The Minister of Arts, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa, who said this at a media briefing, maintained that in more comprehensive terms, the ministry’s vision and plans for the country’s tourism and creative sectors, focuses essentially on the 2030 destination. This is as she disclosed plans for the Abuja Creative…
SAUDI Arabia announced on Friday that the holy month of Ramadan will begin on Saturday, March 1, following the sighting of the Ramadan crescent moon in the Kingdom. The month of Ramadan is the ninth of the 12 months of the Islamic calendar. Also, countries including Qatar, Oman officially announced that Ramadan would be observed on Saturday, March 1. Meanwhile, Nigerian Muslims are set to begin the Ramadan fast tomorrow if the President of the Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs and leader of the Muslim Ummah in Nigeria, Alhaji Saad Abubakar, announces the sighting of the crescent moon this evening.…
THE Federal Government has inked a deal with Saudi Arabia’s Halal Products Development Company (HPDC) to make Nigeria a leading player in the global halal market valued at $7.7 trillion. At the signing of the deal in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, Vice President Kashim Shettima said the agreement is a game-changer. According to him, it will transform Nigeria into a global halal economic powerhouse. “This agreement aligns perfectly with the Renewed Hope Agenda by creating new jobs, attracting foreign direct investment, and diversifying our economy. “The halal economy extends beyond Muslim consumers. Non-Muslim majority countries like Brazil, Australia, and Thailand…
BAYO Onanuga, an aide to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has advised former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, to move past his failed ministerial nomination, urging him to stop acting like a child. El-Rufai was initially nominated as a minister by Tinubu while the president was forming his cabinet but was eventually screened out by the Senate. With the fallout of the ministerial appointment, El-Rufai has in recent times become critical of the Tinubu administration and the All Progressives Congress. In a recent interview, El-Rufai claimed that it was not the Senate that rejected him as a Minister but President Tinubu…
THE family of Sambo Dasuki, Nigeria’s former national security adviser, have been denied a visa to enter the United States over links to property – a $1 million 127-acre horse farm in South Carolina. According to a new investigation by the Platform to Protect Whistleblowers in Africa (PPLAAF), Dasuki purchased a $1 million 127-acre horse farm in South Carolina in 2002 using alleged questionable funds. At the time, Dasuki was leading Nigeria’s Security Printing and Minting company (NSPMC), responsible for printing the nation’s currency. The investigation, conducted in collaboration with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Initiative (OCCRP), The Post…
A RECENT report has revealed that nearly 50,000 foreign students failed to enrol in their designated institutions after arriving in Canada, with Indian students accounting for the largest share of untracked cases. According to data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), 19,582 Indian students did not enrol, followed by 4,279 Chinese students, 3,902 Nigerian students, and 2,712 Ghanaian students. The missing students, who arrived between March and April last year, represent 6.9% of the 717,539 international students monitored at the time. While 89.8% were confirmed to be compliant, the status of 23,514 students remained unrecorded. Concerns have been raised…
FORMER military president Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida has revealed details about his marriage to his late wife, Maryam, including her conversion to Islam, in his newly released autobiography, A Journey in Service. The book, launched on Thursday alongside a fundraiser for his presidential library, provides insight into their love story, from their early days in Kaduna to their life as a married couple. Babangida recalled meeting Maryam, formerly Maria Okogwu, in their younger years while living in the unmarried officers’ quarters on Kanta Road, Kaduna. He described being captivated by her beauty, calling her “stunning” with an enchanting smile. Their bond…
IBRAHIM Badamasi Babangida (IBB), former Nigerian military president, has come under intense criticism following his recent account of the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election. Nigerians, from those who lived through his regime to younger generations who learned about it from history, have dismissed his explanations as an attempt to rewrite history and evade accountability. In his newly launched autobiography, ‘A Journey in Service’, Babangida finally admitted that Moshood Abiola of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) won what was widely regarded as Nigeria’s freest and fairest election. “Although I am on record to have stated after the elections…
AFRICA Independent Television (AIT) and Channels Television have issued public apologies to the Department of State Services (DSS) over their reports on the agency’s alleged involvement in the Lagos State House of Assembly crisis on February 17. During its News Hour program, AIT News formally retracted its initial report, clarifying that it was based on eyewitness accounts. The station admitted that the information was incomplete and inadvertently misrepresented the role of the DSS. In an official statement, AIT stated: “AIT News wishes to apologise to the Department of State Services, DSS, for the news item broadcast during our bulletin on…
THE results of the June 12, 1993, presidential election have been made public nearly 32 years after the poll. The election, which was contested between MKO Abiola of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Bashir Tofa of the National Republican Convention (NRC) was annulled by Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida (IBB), the head of state at the time. In his autobiography titled ‘A Journey in Service’ launched in Abuja on Thursday, IBB affirmed that Abiola won the poll, which has been adjudged to be the most free and fairest election in Nigeria’s history, despite his initial denial. The former military dictator published…
FOUR states have been allocated N400 billion in the 2025 national budget for light rail projects to improve the transportation system countrywide. The N400 billion for the light rail was allocated to projects in Lagos, Ogun, Kaduna and Kano states. The National Assembly last Thursday passed the N54.99 trillion 2025 Appropriation Bill. The N400 billion, this newspaper learnt, was not part of the N54.2 trillion revised proposal that President Bola Tinubu presented to the assembly two weeks ago, seeking approval from the Senate and the House of Representatives. This newspaper gathered that the N400 billion for the light rail is…