THE family of the late General Sani Abacha has rebuffed claims made by former Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida, that the late Abacha was responsible for the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election. In his recently launched autobiography, A Journey in Service, Babangida expressed regret over the annulment, acknowledging that the Social Democratic Party’s candidate, MKO Abiola, won the election. Describing the annulment as an “accident of history,” IBB blamed military officers led by Abacha, who was then his Chief of Defence Staff, for the controversial decision, alleging that it was done “without his permission.” Reacting in…
Author: Sadiq Muhammad
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THE Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa has emphasized that the construction of Renewed Hope Projects must be based on contractual terms to ensure durability, warning that he will not hesitate to revoke the contract of any substandard work. Dangiwa stated this when inspecting the ongoing construction of 1,500 and 500 houses in Kano, built via Public Private Partnership and Budgetary provision, respectively, urging the developers to maintain high standards and deliver quality work. He said, “We will not tolerate any substandard work found on any Renewed Hope Project Site anywhere in the country. We are very committed…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has congratulated former Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, on his 68th birthday. Tinubu described Osinbajo as a close ally, friend, and brother. The President’s congratulatory message was contained in a statement by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, on Saturday, March 8. The statement reads: “President Bola Tinubu congratulates his longtime ally and friend, former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, on his 68th birthday. “Professor Osinbajo was vice president of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023. “President Tinubu notes that Osinbajo, a professor of law and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, worked harmoniously with President Muhammadu Buhari to…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has turned down a N942bn proposal by the National Population Commission for the conduct of the national housing and population census, this newspaper gathered. Impeccable sources privy to the discussions between Tinubu and the commission’s top officials on Monday, February 24, 2025, at the State House, revealed that the President insisted on cost-cutting measures. According to the sources, the President proposed the deployment of members of the National Youth Service Corps for the exercise, a proposal that will most likely be implemented. After being briefed by officials of the NPC led by its Chairman, Nasir Kwarra, Tinubu…
NIGERIANS were plunged into darkness on Friday, March 7, 2025, following a major disturbance in the national electricity grid, marking the second collapse of the year. Two major electricity distribution companies, Ikeja Electric and Eko Electricity Distribution Company, confirmed the outage, which occurred at approximately 4:00pm In a statement on X, Ikeja Electric informed customers: “Please be informed that we experienced a system outage today, 07/03/2025, at 14:00 hrs, affecting supply within our network. Restoration of supply is ongoing in collaboration with our critical stakeholders.” Similarly, Eko DisCo attributed the outage to reduced power allocation from the Transmission Company of…
THE Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority has complained about the treatment meted out to Nigerian passengers by some international airlines, insisting that Nigerians can not be paying the highest fee across Africa and still get maltreated. The aviation regulator said Nigerians pay a humongous amount to fly more than any other country in Africa. The Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection of the NCAA, Michael Achimugu, disclosed this at a meeting with the management team of RwandAir over prolonged/delayed refund allegations levelled against the airline by many Nigerian passengers. He complained of the airline staff’s unprofessionalism, which, according to him,…
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…
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…