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Seventeen National Population Commission commissioners took oath of office and allegiance before President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday in Abuja. NPC is Nigeria’s principal data mining commission, responsible for collecting, collating, analysing, and publishing data about the Nigerian people and economy. It is also mandated to undertake demographic sample surveys, compile, collate, and publish migration and civil registration statistics, and monitor the country’s population policy. A fortnight ago, the Senate screened and confirmed the 17 commissioners out of the 19 whose nominations were sent to it by President Bola Tinubu, as the two others did not appear for screening. On Wednesday, Emmanuel Eke (Abia), Clifford Zirra (Adamawa), Chidi Ezeoke (Anambra), Isa Buratal (Borno), Alex...

The House of Representatives has urged the federal government to hasten the investigation into the alleged misappropriation of public funds against Beta Edu, the suspended minister of humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation. Ms Edu was alleged to have misappropriated funds from the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) and was subsequently suspended by President Bola Tinubu. This followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance by Billy Osawaru(APC-Edo) during a plenary in Abuja on Wednesday. Presenting the motion, Mr Osawaru said her suspension and the halting of the NSIP had caused untold hardship for vulnerable groups in the country. He said the problem could lead to a rise in poverty and social unrest, ultimately negatively impacting the country’s o...

By Constance Athekame The Minister of Power, Mr Adebayo Adelabu says the Federal Government is addressing power deficit by using alternative energy sources, such as windfall, solar and mini-grids. Adelabu, represented by Mr Abdulrasheed Lawal, Director Procurement, Ministry of Power said this in Abuja on Wednesday at the presentation of the proposed 30 Megawatts (MW) Windfall And Solar Hybrid Project at Lekki, Lagos. The project after necessary appraisal would be executed by Crown Resources Development Company Limited (CREDCO) in collaboration with Vergnet a French Wind Turbine Company, based in France. He said,” We are aware that presently there is energy deficit in the country, so we are doing everything possible to address the issue by investing in alternative sources. ”...

By Joan Nwagwu The Nigeria Union of Agriculture and Allied Employees (NUAAE), has elected Mr Obafemi Oyenubi as its new National President. Oyenubi was elected with other National Executives at the end of the union’s Extra Ordinary Delegates Conference on Wednesday in Abuja. The new national executives would run the affairs of the union for the next four years. Oyenubi while speaking with newsmen after the swearing in ceremony, said the new leadership would partner with the Federal Government to address the hardship on Nigerians by ensuring foods availability and price control. ”Our efforts will not be left in doubt in supporting the government of President Bola Tinubu, to ensure large food production, effective extension services availability. “We will also ensure the p...

FCT minister Nyesom Wike says Abuja is safe and accessible for foreigners to conduct their businesses. Mr Wike stated this when Poland’s ambassador to Nigeria, Joanna Tarnawska, visited him in Abuja on Tuesday. He said the security in the city had significantly improved and was safe for everybody, including foreigners, to carry out their businesses without fear. We are happy to make sure all the foreigners are free to carry out their businesses. Abuja is the capital, and you can see how safe it is. It is one of the lovely cities that everybody will want to visit,” he said. The minister, who described the relationship between Nigeria and Poland as cordial, expressed the FCT Administration’s willingness to collaborate with Poland in developing its agriculture sector. He expla...

Governor Ademola Adeleke has raised the alarm over planned attacks on schools and rural farm communities in Osun. The governor raised the alarm in a statement by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, on Tuesday. Mr Adeleke said intelligence snippets, which he had been given, revealed a deliberate mobilisation of criminal elements to attack rural areas. He said such reports were alarming and posed serious concerns to the well-being of the people within the state. The governor said that his administration was worried about the reports, adding that those behind the plot are targeting disruption of farming activities through kidnappings and attacks on rural farm settlements. Mr Adeleke said the schools were targeted with abductions and attacks as a way of distracting the implementati...

The Abuja Division of the Federal High Court on Tuesday granted leave to Cyril Ndifon, the suspended dean of the Faculty of Law of the University of Calabar (UNICAL), to appeal the court’s decision dismissing his no-case submission in the charge against him. Justice James Omotosho also gave Mr Ndifon’s lawyer, Sunny Anyanwu, the go-ahead to file an appeal against the dismissal of the no-case submission. Mr Omotosho granted the leave following a motion filed by Messrs Ndifon and Anyanwu’s counsel, Joe Agi, which was not opposed by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC)’s lawyer, Osuobeni Akponimisingha. On March 6, the judge dismissed Messrs Ndifon and Anyanwu’s no-case submission, finding that the prosecution’s evidence constituted a prima ...

Electricity consumers have decried the continuous drop in electricity supply to households and businesses within the Lagos metropolis. Several stakeholders in separate interviews on Tuesday in Lagos lamented that the development negatively impacted their socio-economic activities. According to them, many small-scale businesses have shut down due to erratic power failures without tangible explanations from providers. Power supply has dropped drastically in Lagos to as low as three to five hours of daily service and as low as three to five, with the business community continuing to lament the epileptic supply, respectively. Lagos is served by Ikeja Electric and Eko Electricity Distribution companies. Communities have been thrown into darkness for some time now, while residents o...

Vice-President Kashim Shettima has implored Nigerians to uphold truth and integrity in the face of misinformation and falsehood that threaten the fabric of society. Shettima made the call on Tuesday in Abuja at the presentation of a book titled "Beating All Odds: Diaries and Essays on How Bola Tinubu Became President". Sharpedgenews reports that the book is written by a veteran journalist and literary artist, Sam Omatseye. According to Shettima, Nigerians need more men (and women) of courage. "I hope that this marks the beginning of our commitment to truth, our dedication to integrity and our resolve to push for a nation that comes together to choose the truth over a lie." Shedding light on the challenges faced in the lead-up to the 2023 presidential elections, Shettima ext...

By Bridget Ikyado The wife of Benue State Deputy Governor, MrsChristy Sam Ode, has established a foundation with the aim of making at least one woman in every household in the state, an active farmer. Christy made this known in an interview on Tuesday that the 'Evergreen Women Farmers Foundation, has been registered and will commence full activities soon. The deputy governor's wife said she decided to focus on agriculture because it holds the biggest capacity to create chains of opportunities for women and the youth. "I want women to go into farming. God has blessed our land. I am telling the women that in whatever way they can, they should help each other and encourage each other. "We want to support women with seedlings, fertilizer and whatever we can, but the truth is th...

By Bridget Ikyado The Leadership Newspaper Governor of the Year Award conferred on Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State is a testament of the great strides by the administration within the few months of taking up the responsibility of providing purposeful leadership to a state that was practically grounded to its knees by the previous administration. This unprecedented honour is coming soon after the Benue State House of Assembly passed a vote of confidence on Alia for his effective management of state resources and purposeful leadership. In the words of the organisation, the governor was recognised for his “exceptional leadership” and tremendous transformative achievements. Indeed, when Alia was traversing the nooks and crannies of the state canvassing for votes, his message...

Governor Abba Kabir-Yusuf has urged President Bola Tinubu to open land borders to enhance food security. He stated this during a courtsey visit by the comptroller-general of customs, Adewale Adeniyi, on Monday in Kano. Mr Kabir-Yusuf, who lamented the harsh economic condition being experienced by Nigerians, said that reopening of the borders would check inflation and cut prices of food items. We wish to appreciate the president’s intervention in the ongoing national food initiative. He considers Kano as the host for the initiative ahead of its planned launch believing that the programme will cushion the effects of food scarcity if implemented. “Another immediate intervention that can make food available and affordable to our population is for the federal government to consider...

The comptroller-general of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, on Saturday, said that only President Bola Tinubu has the prerogative to reopen borders in the country. He stated this at an interaction session with members of the Kongolam border community in Mai’adua Local Government Area of Katsina State, who agitated for the reopening of borders. “Once consultations are concluded, a decision will be taken on the matter,” said the customs boss. According to Mr Adeniyi, the service will focus on removing obstacles against free trade in line with the present administration’s agenda of fostering economic prosperity. He said proactive measures had been employed to reduce the number of checkpoints along the border post and promote synergy between the service personnel and traders. “We are ...

Federal government on Saturday condemned Monday’s abduction of Internally-Displaced Persons (IDPs) at Wurge Community in Borno and Thursday’s kidnap of school children at Kuriga community in Kaduna State and vowed to free the victims. Government also vowed to bring the assailants to justice. Terrorists abducted not less than 40 girls and women on Monday when they struck three IDP camps in Ngala in Gamboru Ngala Local Government Area of Borno. security source said the victims went to fetch firewood from the bush when the insurgents whisked them away from the Babban Sansani camp, Zulum Camp and Arabic camp. On Thursday, assailants attacked Kuriga community located on Kaduna Birnin-Gwari Road in Kaduna State, abducted 100 pupils including the head teacher in a primary school and ...

Members of the Association of Resident Doctors at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Oyo State, on Saturday suspended the strike they began on Wednesday. The association embarked on a three-day warning strike following an assault on a colleague by a patient’s relation on Sunday. But, their President, Dr John Oladapo, and General Secretary, Dr Gboyega Ajibola, and other executive members, disclosed in a communiqué to call off the strike. The strike, having run its full course of a maximum of 72 hours, has ended on Saturday morning. All members are to commence work and be at their duty posts Saturday morning,” the association stated in the communiqué. It added that the two men who assaulted one of their members at the hospital’s Emergency Department had been remanded at th...

The Nigeria Customs Service says it is deploying new strategies to tackle hunger and food insecurity in the country. The comptroller-general of the service, Wale Adeniyi, disclosed this while addressing journalists as part of his visit to Kano State on Friday. Mr Adeniyi said that, as part of the strategies, the service was also engaging big grain markets across the country to ensure that they shun illegal exportation and hoarding of foodstuffs. He said President Bola Tinubu had given a matching order to the service to ensure that excessive hoarding and illegal exportation of grains were curtailed. “Apart from policing the borders, our mandate is to also ensure the protection of agricultural inputs as very essential elements to ensure food security,” said Mr Adeniyi. He sai...

The Iyaganku Magistrates’ Court, Ibadan, on Friday, ordered the remand of a hospital owner, Dupe Ademuyiwa, 48, for allegedly causing the death of a pregnant woman through surgery. Ms Ademuyiwa, whose residential address was not provided, is charged with murder. The magistrate, Oluwabusayo Osho, did not take her plea for want of jurisdiction. Ms Osho said she needed advice from the Oyo State Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). She said the defendant should be kept in the Agodi correctional facility, Ibadan, pending the DPP’s advice. The magistrate adjourned the case until April 23 for mention. The prosecutor, Insp Olalekan Adegbite, had told the court that Ms Ademuyiwa committed the offence on February 23 and 24. Mr Adegbite alleged that the defendant, who owns a h...

By Diana Omueza The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) says there has been significant improvement in security of lives and property in the conduct of elections in Nigeria. Dr Chris Kwaja, USIP Country Director, said this on Thursday in Abuja at a National Dialogue on Election Security Management in Nigeria.Kwaja said that destructions of electoral materials, injuries and casualties of citizens had declined which was commendable. “We have seen some improvements in the elections from the perspective of elections security, the number of causality, injuries, death, destruction of election materials and in the issues around hatred of ethnic, religions and politics lines. “We see a decline in this areas which is a significant improvement because you can never have 100 per cent...

Ms Diana Omueza, NAN correspondent, with the MD of Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital Kaduna. By Diana Omueza Dr Aishatu Yusha’u-Armiya’u, the Medical Director of the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Kaduna, has called for the mainstreaming of mental health and psycho-social support into the Nigeria’s electoral process. Yusha’u-Armiya’u said this at a National Dialogue on Election Security Management in Nigeria, organised by Cleen Foundation in Abuja on Thursday. She said that attention must be given to the manifestation and consequence imposed on the mental health of citizens from the backlash of hate speech and psychic injury caused before, during and after elections. “Voters’ behaviour in the context of the resort to hate speech and violence, constitutes a major secur...

More than 40 people, including a family of seven, were feared killed in clashes between militia gangs in the Gbagir community in Ukum Local Government Area of Benue on Tuesday. On Wednesday, a reliable military source said in Makurdi that security operatives had been deployed to restore normalcy. However, he said locals in the area would need to furnish the operatives with credible information to succeed in the operation. It was militiamen that were killing themselves. One or two people might have been caught in the crossfire, but the majority of the people that were killed were members of militia gangs in the area. “The villagers know those carrying out this dastardly act but are shielding them. We saw several corpses. The attack was not carried out by suspected armed herdsme...