Author: Sadiq Abdullateef

THE growing influence of Aliko Dangote in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector is once again triggering controversy, legal confrontations, and fresh concerns among regulators, marketers, and industry stakeholders over fears that the country’s oil industry may gradually be tilting toward monopoly control. At the centre of the debate is the latest legal action filed by Dangote Petroleum Refinery against Nigeria’s Attorney General, challenging fuel import licences granted to marketers and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited. The dispute has reignited a wider national conversation about whether Nigeria’s oil sector is drifting toward a structure where one refinery could eventually dominate fuel…

AS the race toward the 2027 general elections gathers momentum, several former ministers in the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu who resigned from the Federal Executive Council to pursue elective offices are confronting an unexpected political reality — leaving the cabinet has not automatically translated into victory at the polls. What was initially perceived as a strategic political recalibration by powerful members of the administration has instead exposed the fierce internal contests, entrenched party structures, and deep succession battles within the ruling All Progressives Congress. So far, only two of the five former ministers who stepped down from the…

THE 15th Fulani Emir of Kano, Aminu Bayero, has formally notified security agencies of plans to conduct the 2026 Eid-Al-Kabir Durbar festivities from the Nasarawa Palace in Kano. In separate letters addressed to the Kano State Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Bakori, and the State Director of the Department of State Services, the emirate disclosed that preparations had commenced for the annual Sallah celebrations scheduled to begin on May 27, 2026. The letters, dated May 17, 2026, were signed by the Emir’s private secretary, Abdullahi Kwaru, and copies were made available to News Point Nigeria late on Friday. According to the…

THE ruling All Progressives Congress has produced its governorship candidates in Kwara, Adamawa, Benue and Yobe states ahead of the 2027 general elections, with Rt. Hon. Salihu Yakubu Danladi, Ahmad Tijjani Galadima, Governor Hyacinth Alia and Baba Malam Wali emerging victorious in fiercely contested primary elections. News Point Nigeria reports that in Kwara State, Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Salihu Yakubu Danladi, emerged as the APC governorship candidate after defeating 14 other aspirants, including an incumbent senator, in the party’s primary election. Danladi secured 94,990 votes in the exercise conducted across the 16 local government areas of the…

FORMER Governor of Adamawa State, Muhammed Umar Jibrilla Bindow, has formally announced his voluntary withdrawal from the race for the governorship ticket of the African Democratic Congress, citing personal reasons after what he described as deep reflection and careful consideration. In a press statement obtained by News Point Nigeria and personally signed by Bindow, he stated that his decision to step down from the contest was entirely based on personal grounds and should not be interpreted as a withdrawal of his support for, or commitment to, the party. Despite exiting the race, the former governor reaffirmed his loyalty to the…

THE All Progressives Congress has officially unveiled guidelines and committees for the conduct of its 2026 presidential primaries, adopting a direct primary mode that will allow all registered party members across the country to participate in the exercise. In a document obtained by News Point Nigeria, the APC disclosed that the direct primary election would be conducted nationwide across all 8,809 wards on May 24, 2026. According to the party, every registered APC member will be eligible to vote for the presidential aspirant of their choice during the exercise. The APC further explained that results from each ward would be…

ADC’s mass exodus warning is gaining renewed attention following the defection of a Kano State House of Assembly member to the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), amid a Federal High Court ruling that has stirred fresh political uncertainty within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). News Point Nigeria reports that member representing Gwale Constituency in the Kano State House of Assembly, Abdulmajid Isa Umar Mai Rigar Fata, has defected from the All Progressives Congress to the Nigeria Democratic Congress. The lawmaker represents Gwale Local Government Area, the home local government of Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf. He was formally received…

THE Presidency has dismissed as false and misleading a viral report alleging that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu plans to initiate constitutional amendments that would change Nigeria’s name to the “United States of Nigeria” and abolish Sharia Law in the Northern region. According to a statement sent to News Point Nigeria late  on Thursday by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President (Information & Strategy), the story, which cited anonymous sources, was part of a deliberate attempt by some desperate politicians to create disaffection in the country, stir political crisis, and heat up the polity ahead of the general elections. The…

A FRESH wave of uncertainty has emerged ahead of the 2027 general elections after the Federal High Court in Abuja nullified key aspects of the election timetable released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). News Point Nigeria reports that in a landmark judgment delivered by Justice Mohammed Umar, the court held that INEC exceeded its statutory powers by prescribing timelines for political parties to conduct primaries and carry out other pre-election activities outside the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026. The suit was filed by the Youth Party against INEC and marked FHC/ABJ/CS/517/2026. In the originating summons dated March…

GOVERNOR Dauda Lawal has emerged as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2027 governorship election in Zamfara State, while Lagos State Deputy Governor, Kadri Hamzat, and Katsina State Governor, Dikko Radda, also secured the party’s governorship tickets in their respective states. News Point Nigeria reports that the three politicians emerged through consensus arrangements adopted by the APC during its governorship primaries ahead of the 2027 general elections. In Zamfara State, Governor Lawal was unanimously endorsed by party members and supporters who gathered across various wards in the state to affirm him as the APC flagbearer…

FORMER Kano State Governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has dismissed allegations that he is secretly working for the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election, describing those spreading the claims as people telling lies to confuse Nigerians. Kwankwaso said only “foolish people” would believe the allegation that he is indirectly supporting Tinubu, insisting that his political camp is fully committed to the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC). The former governor spoke on Wednesday night during an interview with Global TV monitored by News Point Nigeria, where he reacted to recent comments made by Sanusi Bature, spokesperson to…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has appointed Professor Segun Aina as the new Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, succeeding Professor Ishaq Oloyede, whose tenure expires on July 31, 2026. The appointment was announced in a statement sent to News Point Nigeria on Thursday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga. According to the statement, Aina is a professor of Computer Engineering at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, with expertise in digital infrastructure, national examination systems and institutional reforms. “Professor Aina, who will be 40 in July, is a distinguished academic and systems expert with extensive experience…

A SUSPECTED coup plotter has told the Federal High Court in Abuja how plans were allegedly made to penetrate the Presidential Villa through an ambulance entrance as part of an alleged coup operation targeting Aso Rock. News Point Nigeria reports that the revelation came on Wednesday during the trial before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, where a video evidence involving one of the defendants, Zekeri Umoru, was played in open court. Umoru, a staff member of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc attached to the Maintenance Department at the Presidential Villa, alleged that discussions surrounding the operation also included plans to switch off electricity…

OPERATIVES of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have arrested former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, after weeks of surveillance, intelligence gathering, and a painstaking manhunt, which investigators said was complicated by his constant use of multiple SIM cards, frequent changes of phone numbers, and movement between different residences, News Point Nigeria gathered. Mamman, who had remained in hiding even after being convicted and sentenced in absentia to 75 years imprisonment by a Federal High Court in Abuja, was eventually tracked and arrested in the Rigasa area of Kaduna State at about 3:30am on Tuesday. The EFCC also arrested…

FORMER Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon (retd.), has declared that Nigeria will not collapse despite its numerous political, economic and security challenges, expressing confidence that the country still possesses the resilience to overcome difficult times and fulfil its potential as the giant of Africa. News Point Nigeria reports that Gowon made the declaration on Tuesday in Abuja during the launch of his 859-page autobiography titled My Life of Duty and Allegiance, where he also warned the political class against the desperation driving what he described as “do-or-die politicking.” The former military leader, who turned 91 in February, criticised the…

ARSENAL are confirmed Premier League champions for the first time since 2004 as Manchester City fail to win at Bournemouth. City needed to win their final two games, and hope Arsenal failed to win their final match, but were held to a 1-1 draw on Tuesday. The result put an to end Pep Guardiola’s title challenge with one round of the season go as the draw left Arsenal with an unassailable four-point lead at the top, ending its 22-year wait for the title. Arsenal fans celebrated wildly outside its Emirates Stadium as news of the score line came through. City…

VICE President Kashim Shettima has revealed how, barely three months after the current administration came into power, some individuals allegedly attempted to create tension between him and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu by accusing him of plotting to eliminate the president and assume power. News Point Nigeria reports that Shettima made the disclosure while speaking at the public presentation of My Life of Duty and Allegiance, the autobiography of former Head of State, Yakubu Gowon. According to the Vice President, the individuals, whom he said he would not name but described as people from Borno State—told President Tinubu that he was…

THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested a former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, who was recently convicted and sentenced by the Federal High Court, Abuja, for financial misappropriation. News Point Nigeria reports that the EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, while adressing a press conference at the agency’s headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday, confirmed that Mamman was arrested in the early hours of Tuesday. A Federal High Court in Abuja had last week sentenced Mamman to 75 years in prison in absentia. He was convicted of 12 counts of money laundering and fraud amounting to N33.8 billion, connected to the…

FORMER Nigerian military Head of State, Yakubu Gowon, has revealed that several northern military officers believed Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu was complicit in the January 1966 coup and were prepared to move against him in the tense aftermath of Nigeria’s first military takeover. The revelation is contained in Gowon’s memoir, My Life of Duty and Allegiance, which is scheduled for public presentation in Abuja on Tuesday (today). An advance copy of the book, published by the Havilah Group in Lagos, was obtained by News Point Nigeria. In the memoir, Gowon revisits one of the most turbulent periods in Nigeria’s history, the…

SADIYA Umar Farouq, former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development, is currently in Egypt and medically unfit to appear before court, according to her counsel, Oladipo Okpesheyi. News Point Nigeria reports that Farouq, alongside Bashir Nura Alkali, a permanent secretary in the ministry, and Sani Mohammed, is standing trial on a 21-count charge bordering on breach of trust and abuse of office filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The anti-graft agency alleged that the former minister and her co-defendants misappropriated about $1.3 million and ₦746.6 million. The charges were instituted before the Federal Capital Territory (FCT)…