Author: Hamza Rufai

THE Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB), Professor Is-haq Oloyede, has defended the decision of the commission to employ 300 staff without advertising the positions. Professor Oloyede, who appeared before the House of Representatives on Monday, said the decision was to fill vacancies created due to retirement. The House of Representatives ad-hoc committee is investigating employment racketeering by Ministries, Departments and Agencies and mismanagement of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS). Meanwhile, the committee also observed that 14 individuals at the Federal Character Commission (FCC) received salaries through IPPIS without being placed in any federal…

DOZENS of farmers in villages in Wushishi and Lavun LGAs have reportedly fled their homes since Friday night due to the movements of bandits across the two local governments. Some farmers who spoke with our correspondent via telephone said they fled their homes in heavy rain on Friday night to escape the onslaught of the bandits whom they noted moved in large numbers with cattle. Residents said the bandits passed the night in Akare and Cheji in Wushishi LGA on Friday after the villagers had fled to Wushishi town and the ancient town of Zungeru. The Chairman, Niger State Vigilante…

GOVERNOR Uba Sani of Kaduna State has denied a social media story that he opposed the ministerial nomination of his predecessor, Nasir El-Rufai, or his recommended replacement. El-Rufai is among the 48 ministerial nominees sent to the Senate by President Bola Tinubu, but he is yet to be cleared by the Senate on the basis of pending security reports against him. Following the withholding of his nomination, El-Rufai reportedly met with President Bola Tinubu within the week and told him he was no longer interested in being a minister and recommended that his former commissioner, Jafaru Sani, should replace him.…

THE death toll from a mosque collapse in Zaria, in Kaduna State, has risen to 10, with seven injured. The incident occurred at 4pm on Friday when Muslim worshipers were observing their evening prayer. The Emir of Zazzau, Ambassador Nuhu Bamali, who confirmed the incident, said the worshipers were in the second Sujud prayer when suddenly the affected portion of the mosque collapsed on those sitting directly at the section. The royal father further explained that the victims were covered by debris from the wall built with mud which had been in existence for the past 150 years. He, however,…

SCORES of worshippers are feared dead while a dozen others sustained injuries as the Zaria Central Mosque in Kaduna state collapsed on Friday. Confirming the incident, the Emir of Zazzau, Mallam Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli, said the victims were observing the Asr prayer around 4pm when the incident occurred. He said, “We had earlier observed a crack on the wall of the mosque yesterday, and was planning to deploy team of civil engineers to effect repairs, when this unfortunate incident happened.” While condoling the family of the deceased, the Emir directed that people should pray outside the mosque pending the repairs.…

THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has taken receipt of some gadgets and systems from the European Union aimed at enhancing in the country’s electoral system. The INEC National Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, delivering a speech on Thursday at a handover event in Abuja, noted that there were several components under the Phase II Project. He stated that the first components focused on support to INEC administered through the Development Alternatives Incorporated (DAI). “This support is designed to address 5 thematic areas i.e. enhancing and strengthening planning and operational capacities; (and) improving the Commission’s internal communication and external engagements with stakeholders,”…

THE Presidential Committee on Tax Policy and Fiscal Reforms says the Nigeria Customs Service and 62 other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government will stop direct collection of revenue. The Chairman of the Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, who spoke on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily breakfast programme on Wednesday monitored by News Point Nigeria, said the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) will now collect revenue for the MDAs. Oyedele, a former Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader at PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC), said Nigeria’s revenue collection from taxes is one of the lowest in the world but the cost of…

THE All Progressives Congress has disclosed that the unceremonious exit of its former National Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, and National Secretary, Iyiola Omisore, has nothing to do with alleged financial impropriety. Rising from its 128th National Working Committee meeting, the APC explained that its proposed appointment of external auditors was not to probe any member of the party. A former APC National Vice Chairman for North-West, Salihu Lukman, had accused Adamu and Omisore of squandering N30bn realised from the sale of nomination forms for the 2023 elections. But addressing journalists on Tuesday, the new National Secretary of the party, Senator…

THE Senate President Godswill Akpabio and the leadership of the upper-lawmaking body are meeting the organised labour at the National Assembly complex in Abuja. According to the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) president Comrade Joe Ajaero, labour visited the lawmakers at the invitation of the Senate over their grievances about the subsidy removal. Asides from the NLC chief, the President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) Comrade Festus Osifo and some members of the unions, are also in the meeting. Organised labour is pushing for a reduction in the pump price of petroleum following the removal of subsidy on the product.…

WEST African bloc ECOWAS said its leaders would meet on Thursday on the crisis in Niger, whose military rulers have defied its ultimatum to cede power or face possible military action. “ECOWAS heads of state (will) hold another extraordinary summit on the political situation in the Republic of Niger,” the 15-member bloc said in its first official reaction after Niger ignored Sunday’s deadline to reinstate democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum. The summit is to be held in Abuja, Nigeria, whose president Bola Tinubu is the current ECOWAS chairman. Earlier on Monday, an ECOWAS source said West African nations were not…

AS the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) gears up for a nationwide protest, the union decries the mass exodus of its members “every day” to other African countries over “better” working conditions and infrastructure. This comes barely 24 hours after NARD announced its intention to picket the Federal Ministry of Health, Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, as well as all federal and state tertiary health institutions nationwide from Wednesday. The move is the latest in the resident doctors’ efforts to speed up the implementation of a prior agreement with the Federal Government, including the…

THE Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Nigerian Army (NA) Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja has declared that ‘the only thing better than democracy for Nigeria in this modern era, is more democracy’. The Army Chief made the declaration today Saturday 5 August 2023, while addressing Officer Cadets at the Passing Out Parade and Commissioning cum Oath Taking Ceremony for Executive Commission Course 1/2023, held at the Major Bulama Biu Parade Ground, Military Cantonment, Jaji, Kaduna. Speaking further, Gen Lagbaja averred that all officers and men of the Nigerian Army must be reminded that subordination of the military to constituted authority remains…

SENATE President, Godswill Akpabio, on Friday, jocularly told ex-Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong, that he would be biased if he asked the ministerial nominee any question during ministerial screening. A two-term governor of Plateau, Lalong was the Director General of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council during the 2023 general elections. Lalong was one of the nine former governors that made the 48-man ministerial list of President Bola Tinubu which was submitted to the red chamber for screening. Appearing before the upper chamber on Friday, the ex-Chairman of the Northern Governors’ Forum applauded Akpabio as an “uncommon…

AFTER 51 years of operation in Nigeria, British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has announced plans to end its prescription medicines and vaccines in the country. In a statement sent to the Nigerian Exchange Limited, the multinational pharmaceutical company said it would transition to a third-party direct distribution model for its pharmaceutical products. At the same time, the company said it is now working with its advisers to agree on the next steps, while it plans to submit a scheme of arrangements to the Securities and Exchange Commission for the possible return of cash to its local shareholders. GlaxoSmithKiline was incorporated…

POWER supply from Nigeria to the Republic of Niger was stopped on Wednesday, as sanctions against the neighbouring country by the Economic Community of West African States increases. On Sunday, ECOWAS, led by Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, decided on sanctions against the military personnel in Niger who toppled President-elect Mohamed Bazoum’last week. On July 26, officers of the Presidential Guard arrested Bazoum and declared him deposed. In addition to a one-week ultimatum to restore constitutional order and the suspension of financial transactions with Niger, ECOWAS decreed the freezing of “all service transactions, including energy transactions.” Impeccable sources in Nigeria’s power…

THE Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) says it is not backing down on a nationwide protest over the hike in the pump price of petrol and other issues, describing reports suggesting otherwise as the handiwork of “fifth columnists”. In a statement late Tuesday, the body said though it held a meeting with the Federal Government, the mass action will hold as earlier planned. “We want to inform all Nigerians that we have just risen from a meeting with the Federal Government where we sought to get them to listen to the demands of the people and workers of Nigeria,” NLC president…

THE Acting Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Dr. Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, has expressed deep concern regarding the impending nationwide protests announced by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC). While recognizing the constitutional right to peaceful protests, Egbetokun has appealed to the involved parties to ensure the demonstrations remain peaceful and not be hijacked by miscreants. The IGP, acknowledging the labour unions’ grievances, emphasized the importance of constructive dialogue in resolving the issues. In this regard, he has directed the Commissioners of Police across various commands and supervisory Assistant Inspectors-General of Police to engage with the NLC and…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has approved provision of buses to the students’ bodies of all universities, polytechnics and colleges of education across the country. Dele Alake, Special Adviser to the President on Special Duties, Communications & Strategy, disclosed this in a statement on Monday. He said the development was in furtherance of the President’s desire to ease the burden of the fuel subsidy removal on students of higher institutions of learning, “The desire of the President is to see that students can access their campuses without much difficulty as a result of higher transportation costs. “The provision of the buses will…

SUPER Falcons sealed a spot in the round of 16 of the 2023 Women’s World Cup after a goalless draw with their European contingents, Ireland Randy Waldrum’s team needed a draw to be sure of the next round passage and made history by avoiding defeat in three consecutive World Cup matches for the first time. The Falcons had to endure an early minute of pressure from the Irish captain, Katie McCabe almost gave her side the lead when she attempted a low driving show which fizzled past the post. However, in the 14th minute, Asisat Oshoala had the chance to…

MAX Air will resume its domestic flight operations on Sunday, July 30, two weeks after its operations were suspended. The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority suspended the airline’s operations on July 13 over safety concerns. Announcing the resumption in a statement made available to News Point Nigeria, Sunday morning, Max Air assured its passengers that the safety issues raised had been addressed. The statement reads: “Max Air Limited is pleased to announce the resumption of domestic flight operations from Sunday, July 30, 2023, following a temporary suspension due to safety concerns. “We want to express our gratitude to our valued customers…