Author: Hamza Rufai

A FEDERAL High Court in Abuja has granted N100m bail each to a former Minister of Aviation Hadi Sirika, his daughter, and two others. They are being tried over an alleged fraud to the tune of N2.7bn. According to the court, they are also to provide two sureties who must have landed properties in Abuja. The sureties, the court said, must also be responsible citizens. The sureties must depose to an affidavit of means. The court also restricted the defendants from traveling abroad without its permission. Justice Oriji ordered that the defendants should be remanded in prison custody if they…

THE Ministry of Defence, on Wednesday, handed over 20 newly acquired Armored Personnel Carriers to the Defence Headquarters to enhance the professional capabilities of troops of the Nigerian Armed Forces. This is contained in a statement by Dr Ibrahim Kana, Permanent Secretary of the MoD in Abuja on Thursday. The APCs were handed over to the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, by the PS. In his remarks at the handing-over event, Kana said that the step was geared towards bolstering the nation’s defence capabilities to effectively address emerging security challenges. He also that it was geared towards enhancing…

AT least 295 people were killed in road accidents during the first quarter of this year; a data-based survey conducted by Daily Trust has shown. Although the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) said this figure does not tally with its statistics, it failed to avail this newspaper with the official figure. The survey, which is based on incidents reported in major national dailies within the period in review, indicated that the accidents that occurred in 24 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) between January and March also left 315 people with various degrees of injuries. The states where the…

THE Central Bank of Nigeria has released a comprehensive list of licensed Deposit Money Banks operating within the country. The list, which was made public on the CBN’s official website on Tuesday, provides insights into the banking landscape in Nigeria. Banks with international authorisation include: Access Bank Limited Fidelity Bank Plc First City Monument Bank Limited First Bank Nigeria Limited Guaranty Trust Bank Limited United Bank of Africa Plc, and Zenith Bank Plc Commercial banks with national authorisation include: Citibank Nigeria Limited Ecobank Nigeria Limited Heritage Bank Plc Globus Bank Limited Keystone Bank Limited Polaris Bank Limited Stanbic IBTC Bank…

THE Federal Government on Tuesday vowed to pursue the criminal case against the crypto platform, Binance, and its officials, to a logical end. Speaking against the backdrop of a bribery allegation made by the Binance Chief Executive Officer, Richard Teng, in a blog post published by the New York Times, top officials of the President Bola Tinubu administration described as false and unfounded the accusation that some individuals demanded $150m bribe in cryptocurrency to settle the criminal charge against the firm. The ew York Times on Tuesday reported that on a trip to Nigeria in January, Tigran Gambaryan, a compliance…

SENATE President Godswill Akpabio has said Nigeria has experienced more jailbreaks since the change of name from prison service to correctional centers. He stated this during plenary on Tuesday in Abuja, while commenting on two legislations billed for concurrence. They are the bill to repeal and enact the law establishing Revenue Mobilsation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, and bill to repeal the Fire Service Act and enact Federal Fire and Rescue Service. Senate Minority Leader, Abba Morro argued that there was no need to change the name because the “rescue component” is already part of the responsibility of the fire service.…

A FORMER Minister of Communication Adebayo Shittu claims that there were manipulations and fraudulent approvals under the immediate past government of ex-President Muhammadu Buhari. Shittu served as a minister under the Buhari government but believed many persons close to the former Nigerian president manipulated things to their favour, plunging the country’s economy into a downward slide. “Let me tell you, there were a lot of manipulations and we even heard that a lot of the so-called approvals did not emanate from President Buhari,” he said on Tuesday’s edition of Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily monitored by News Point Nigeria while responding…

THE Central Bank of Nigeria on Monday directed all banks to commence charging a 0.5 per cent cybersecurity levy on all electronic transactions within the country. The apex bank stated this in a circular signed by the Director, Payments System Management Department, Chibuzo Efobi; and the Director, Financial Policy and Regulation Department, Haruna Mustafa; a copy of which was obtained by PUNCH Online. The circular, which was directed to all commercial, merchant, non-interest, and payment service banks, among others; noted that the implementation of the levy would start two weeks from Monday, May 6, 2024. “The levy shall be applied…

VICE President Kashim Shettima, originally scheduled to represent President Bola Tinubu at the 2024 US-Africa Business Summit hosted by the Corporate Council on Africa, has been forced to make a detour. Shettima was expected to join other political and business leaders across Africa, the United States of America and beyond for the summit featuring high-level dialogues, networking business sessions and the plenary. The summit is scheduled to be held from May 6 to May 9, 2024 However, a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communications, Stanley Nkwocha, on Monday, revealed that a technical fault with the VP’s…

THE Federal Government has clarified that there were no discussions with foreign countries regarding the establishment of foreign military bases in Nigeria. The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, made this known in a statement on Monday. Giving further clarification on the issue, Idris said the FG was not engaged in any discussions with foreign countries regarding the establishment of military bases in Nigeria, nor has it received any proposals for such. The minister urged the public to disregard false alarms and emphasised the government’s commitment to existing foreign cooperation in addressing security challenges. He said, “The Federal…

NIGERIANS studying abroad on scholarship have lamented the non-payment of their stipends for the past 11 months by the Federal Government. The students, under the Union Nigerian Bilateral Education Agreement Scholars, in a statement sighted by a correspondent on Sunday, stated that the situation has left them in serious financial hardships which have also affected their academic performances. “Some students in China have not received any stipends since they arrived in April and May 2023. In Russia, students are struggling with the increased cost of living due to sanctions. “This pattern of delayed payments has persisted for years, diverting our…

A CHIEFTAIN of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dele Momodu, has faulted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s conduct in its attempt to prosecute the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello. He said he had expected the anti-graft agency’s boss, Ola Olukoyede, to have learnt from the cases of his predecessors, who he said were “booted out ignominiously”. Momodu, who spoke on his Instagram Live show, while responding to questions on the burning topic by viewers, also frowned at the issue of selective prosecution, saying “a situation where EFCC would have to be told who can be touched…

THE federal government has disclosed that it will flush out persons in public and private organisations working with fake certificates. The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamma, disclosed this on Friday when he received the report of an Inter-Ministerial Investigative Committee on Degree Certificate Milling from the Chairman of the committee, Prof. Jubrila Amin. Mamman, who expressed sadness over what was uncovered during the investigations, said the ministry would work with relevant agencies to sanitise the education sector and rid it of any fake tendencies. “We can’t afford to have the integrity of our education soiled by some few persons.…

THE Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) insists the proposed N615,000 minimum wage is realistic, dismissing claims that some states cannot pay such an amount if approved. Recent reforms in Nigeria including the removal of fuel subsidy and the unification of the foreign exchange market have pushed the cost of living to newer levels. Inflation figures hit 33.2 per cent in March, further compounding a troubled economy. Labour unions and the Federal Government have since been locked in negotiations over measures including a new minimum wage to cushion the impacts of the harsh economy. The NLC is proposing a N615,000 monthly salary…

THE National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) says Nigeria’s inaugural flight to Saudi Arabia for this year’s hajj will take off on May 15, 2024. This was made known by NAHCON Chairman/CEO, Malam Jalal Ahmad Arabi, in his opening remark at the first National Stakeholder Summit of Nigeria’s Hajj and Umrah Industry held at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja. Arabi said close to 65,500 Nigeria pilgrims would participate in the 2024 Hajj, adding that they would be airlifted by the approved airlines from 10 departure centres across the country. The NAHCON boss said the commission had decided that…

THE House of Representatives Committees on Petroleum Resources (Downstream and Midstream) have urged security agencies to clamp down on fuel marketers hoarding petrol and engaging in the arbitrary increment in the price of the premium commodity. In a statement on Wednesday jointly signed by the Chairmen of the two committees, Ikenga Ugochinyere and Henry Okojie, the lawmakers said they reached out to the stakeholders in the petroleum distribution value chain to end fuel queues in the country. The lawmakers said they have engaged the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the Petroleum…

THE Federal Government had declared Wednesday, May 1st, 2024 as a public holiday to mark this year’s Workers’ Day event.  Nigeria’s Minister of Interior Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo made the declaration, according to the ministry’s Permanent Secretary Aishetu Ndayako. “The Federal Government has declared Wednesday, 1st May 2024 as a Public Holiday to commemorate this year’s Workers’ Day Celebration,” Aishetu said in a Tuesday statement. She quoted the minister as re-echoing the need for excellence, efficiency, and equity in all spheres of labour. “In alignment with this year’s theme, which focuses on ensuring safety and health at work in a changing climate,…

A FORMER Governor of Sokoto State, Attahiru Bafarawa, on Monday lamented the activities of bandits in the north. He revealed how bandits made him abandon his 10,000 hectares of land in Kaduna State. Speaking tp newsmen on the backdrop of the high cost of foodstuff in the country, Bafarawa noted that people now seek permission from bandits before going to the farm. He said bandits were the ones who decided which farm to cultivate or not in his community. “I used to have farmland, which is over 10,000 hectares in Birni Gwari of Kaduna State. I have been cultivating that…

THE Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has assured that any customer not currently enjoying 20 hours of electricity would not pay the new tariff. The minister stated this on Monday while appearing before the Senate Committee on Power, for a one-day investigative hearing on the need to halt the proposed increase in electricity tariff by eleven successor electricity distribution companies amid the biting economic situation in Nigeria. According to him, the government had introduced a new policy to save the drowning sector, assuring Nigerians that the pains were temporary. The clarification comes as electricity consumers grapple with the recent increase…

A FORMER Governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, says the Northern governors’ recent United States trip to discuss insecurity in the region exposed their ignorance of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Lamido stated that embarking on such a journey to discuss insecurity, which he said is a matter on the exclusive legislative list, showed the substance of the governor. “But to engage on issues which are on the Exclusive Legislative List such as security says a lot about the substance they are made of. “Security is a very wide subject which their excellencies must have the capacity…