THE visit of Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Hajj and Umrah, Dr. Tawfiq bin Fawzan Al-Rabiah, to Nigeria has triggered fresh controversy within the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) after the visiting minister failed to visit the commission’s headquarters, despite elaborate preparations allegedly costing millions of naira. Dr. Al-Rabiah arrived in Abuja on Tuesday, February 3, 2026, and was received at the airport by officials of Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs alongside some NAHCON board members. Instead of proceeding to the Hajj House, the Saudi minister headed straight to the Foreign Affairs Ministry headquarters in Abuja’s Central Business District, where…
Author: Hamza Rufai
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SENATOR representing Anambra Central, Victor Umeh, has clarified that the Senate unanimously approved electronic transmission of election results in the proposed Electoral Act amendments, contrary to public reports suggesting lawmakers endorsed only a “transfer” of results. Umeh spoke on Thursday while appearing as a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today monitored by News Point Nigeria amid growing public outrage over reports from the Senate’s consideration of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill. He explained that the legislative process on the amendment was extensive and deliberate, involving first and second readings, zonal public hearings, consultations with stakeholders, and reports from a joint…
SENATOR Enyinnaya Abaribe has insisted that the Senate approved the electronic transmission of election results in real time, dismissing media reports suggesting otherwise and saying his integrity is at stake over the issue. News Point Nigeria reports that speaking at a media briefing at the National Assembly on Thursday, accompanied by 13 serving senators, Abaribe asserted that the Senate did not pass the “transfer” of results as contained in the 2022 Electoral Act, but rather approved the electronic transmission of results, stressing that the distinction is deliberate and important. “I am concerned about reports in the media, and that is…
THE House of Representatives has constituted a bipartisan Conference Committee on the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill to harmonise areas of disagreement between the versions of the legislation passed by both chambers of the National Assembly. News Point Nigeria reports that the development was disclosed in a statement issued on Thursday by the spokesman of the House, Akin Rotimi, who said the decision followed a directive from the leadership of the House. According to Rotimi, the constitution of the committee was conveyed through an internal correspondence from the Clerk to the House of Representatives, Dr Yahaya Danzaria, in line with parliamentary…
THE Senate has passed the Electoral Act 2022 (Repeal and Reenactment) Amendment Bill 2026 through the third reading. News Point Nigeria reports that it, however, rejected a proposed amendment to Clause 60, Subsection 3, of the bill, which sought to make the electronic transmission of election results mandatory. The rejected provision would have required presiding officers of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to electronically transmit results from each polling unit to the IREV portal in real time, after the prescribed Form EC&A had been signed and stamped by the presiding officer and countersigned by candidates. Instead, the Senate adopted…
FORMER Chairman of the now-defunct Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT), Abdulrasheed Maina, has been hospitalised after he reportedly slumped outside his office on Tuesday in Abuja. News Point Nigeria reports that the incident was confirmed in a statement issued by his media assistant, Emmanuel Nweke, who said Maina collapsed while attempting to gain access to the office premises. According to the statement, Maina lost his balance on a staircase, fell, struck his head and briefly lost consciousness before help arrived. “The incident occurred following complications from an untreated knee injury, which caused him to lose balance and fall, resulting in…
PASSAGE of the Electoral Act 2022 (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill, 2026, again remained inconclusive on Tuesday as the Senate stalled on a decision after spending over four hours considering the report of a seven-member ad hoc committee behind closed doors. News Point Nigeria reports that the upper chamber had commenced deliberations on the consolidated report of the committee, which was constituted last week to collate and harmonise lawmakers’ contributions on the Electoral Act 2022 (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill, 2026, before dissolving into a closed-door session to review the documents. However, upon reconvening, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, declined to comment…
THE Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Professor Abdullahi Saleh Pakistan, has spent over N44.93 billion without President Bola Tinubu’s approval during the 2025 Hajj operation, investigations have shown. This investigation series is the outcome of weeks-long thorough analysis and review of official financial documents obtained from the Hajj commission that include the 2025 Proposal Hajj Budget, 2025 Approved Hajj Budget, 2025 Hajj Budget Performance, 2025 Hajj Weighing and Flight Manifest, Visa Numbers and Cost of 2023- 2025 Hajj, 2025 Makkah Accommodation Report, 2025 Masha’ir Report, Vouchers, Vote Books, Cashbooks, Financial Statements, among others.…
FORMER Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami (SAN), has told the Federal High Court in Abuja that he earned hundreds of millions of naira from salaries, allowances and traditional gifts, as he moved to stop the interim forfeiture of several properties seized by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). News Point Nigeria reports that Malami made the disclosure in a fresh legal challenge against the anti-graft agency, which had earlier secured a court order for the interim forfeiture of 57 properties allegedly linked to him and two of his sons. On January 6, Justice Emeka Nwite of the…
A SHARP public confrontation has erupted between Senator Ali Ndume (APC, Borno South) and the House of Representatives following allegations of discrepancies in recently passed tax legislation, raising fresh questions about legislative transparency and procedure. News Point Nigeria reports that the disagreement, which escalated into a heated exchange on Sunday, pitted Ndume against the Deputy Spokesman of the House of Representatives, Philip Agbese, who accused the senator of being “mischievous” for suggesting that the version of the tax laws signed by President Bola Tinubu differed from the version passed by the National Assembly. Ndume, however, fired back strongly, describing Agbese’s…
THE Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has urged all Nigerians both individuals and employers to comply with the law by filing their annual tax returns on or before March 31, warning that widespread non-compliance remains a major challenge to Nigeria’s fiscal system. News Point Nigeria reports that Oyedele made the call during a webinar organised for human resource managers, payroll officers, chief financial officers and tax managers, in collaboration with the Joint Revenue Board. The session, which was later shared on YouTube on Friday, focused on improving tax compliance and clarifying obligations…
A FEDERAL High Court sitting in Ibadan, Oyo State, has nullified the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Convention held in the city on November 15, 2025, dealing a major legal blow to one of the rival factions battling for control of the opposition party. News Point Nigeria reports that in a ruling delivered on Friday, Justice Uche Agomoh barred all officials elected at the Ibadan convention, including former Minister of Special Duties and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, from parading themselves as leaders of the PDP. Turaki had emerged as National Chairman of the party at the…
THE Senate has constituted a seven-member ad hoc committee to harmonise and distil senators’ inputs on the proposed amendment of the Electoral Act, as lawmakers intensify efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s electoral framework ahead of the 2027 general elections. News Point Nigeria reports that the decision followed a three-hour closed-door executive session held on Thursday, during which senators further scrutinised the Electoral Act (Repeal and Enactment) Bill currently before the National Assembly. Announcing the outcome of the session, Senate President Godswill Akpabio said the committee was set up to synthesise lawmakers’ views and address outstanding concerns on the proposed amendments. He…
THE Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has denied allegations that its leadership deliberately withheld staff promotions, salary arrears and welfare funds, insisting that the Commandant General, Abubakar Audi, has no direct control over such payments. News Point Nigeria reports that the clarification follows complaints by some personnel of the Corps who accused the leadership of failing to pay promotion arrears between 2022 and 2024, despite repeated assurances that the funds had been released. Some affected officers claimed that arrears attached to their promotions had remained unpaid for years, fuelling frustration and speculation within the service. However, in a…
FORMER Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Bolaji Abdullahi, has disclosed the circumstances surrounding his removal from the cabinet of former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2014, saying his refusal to publicly attack former Senate President Bukola Saraki cost him his job. News Point Nigeria reports that Abdullahi, who served as a Federal Executive Council member representing Kwara State during the Jonathan administration, was relieved of his appointment in March 2014 amid a political realignment that saw Saraki defect from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the then newly formed All Progressives Congress (APC). Speaking 12 years after the incident, Abdullahi,…
THE Senate has announced plans to convene an executive session to brief lawmakers on the United States air strikes carried out on terrorist targets in Sokoto State on December 25, following concerns over the alleged exclusion of the National Assembly from prior consultations. News Point Nigeria reports that the decision followed a point of order raised during plenary on Tuesday by Senator Abdul Ningi, an opposition lawmaker representing Bauchi Central, who argued that the operation raised serious constitutional and sovereignty issues. Raising the matter under Order 42 (Matters of Privilege), Ningi contended that the air strikes constituted an infringement on…
THE Zamfara State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has dismissed claims that notorious bandit leader Bello Turji is a registered member of the party, describing a viral APC membership card bearing his name and photograph as a crude forgery designed to damage the party’s image. The party said it uncovered a fake APC membership card allegedly issued to Turji during its ongoing electronic registration exercise, insisting that the document was fabricated by mischievous elements opposed to the success of the exercise in the state. The disclosure was made on Tuesday in a statement issued by the Zamfara APC…
THE National Assembly has introduced a proposal in the ongoing amendment of Electoral law that would give prison inmates in Nigeria the right to vote in elections. News Point Nigeria reports that the Leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, gave the hint ahead of resumption of the National Assembly from Christmas break, adding that the proposed law would mandate release of fund for general elections at least one year before the day of the elections. Bamidele further revealed that Electoral Bill, 2025 introduces no fewer than 20 defining highlights that would eventually differentiate it from the previous electoral regimes.…
THE Nigerian military has firmly denied allegations of a slow or ineffective response to the mass abduction of worshippers in Kurmin Wali community, Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State, insisting that sustained and carefully coordinated rescue operations are ongoing to secure the release of the victims. News Point Nigeria reports that more than 100 worshippers were reportedly abducted by armed criminals last Sunday during an attack on the community, triggering outrage, fear, and growing frustration among residents and displaced families. Some community members accused security forces of responding sluggishly to the incident and alleged that troops retreated after making…
THE House of Representatives Minority Caucus Ad-hoc Committee on Tax Laws on Friday said it had confirmed that illegal alterations were made to some tax reform laws passed by the National Assembly and assented to by the President, raising concerns about legislative integrity and constitutional breaches. The committee made the disclosure in its interim report on allegations of discrepancies between the laws passed by parliament and versions later published in the official gazette. The controversy began after a member of the House, Abdulsamad Dasuki, raised the alarm during plenary over the circulation of an “authorised” tax law version that differed…