Blog

President Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday, described the former Governor of Ondo State, the late Rotimi Akeredolu, as a fearless and courageous man. Mr Tinubu, accompanied by Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, eulogised the late Akeredolu when he paid a condolence visit to the immediate family of the former governor and the Olowo of Owo, Oba Ajibade Ogunoye. The president, who spoke at the Olowo’s palace, said all would forever remember the former governor’s legacy. He added that it was honourable to depart the world when the ovation was loudest, adding, “The space left by Akeredolu would be difficult to fill.” Mr Tinubu also praised the late Akeredolu’s passion for good governance. “God will be with you. Your children will do well in life. May you all end well. May God be with you and u...

The United Nations (UN) has declared its readiness to partner with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on production of news in local languages across Africa. Mr Ronald Kayanja, the Director, UN Information Centre (UNIC) disclosed this during his courtesy visit to the Managing Director of NAN, Malam Ali Muhammad Ali in Abuja. Keyanja identified inability by the media in Africa to project countries in the continent positively and promote the understanding of news content in vernacular as major challenge of Journalism within the continent. According to him, East African people promote Swahili as the biggest language on the continent, saying the UN wants to promote Hausa as it’s second indigenous African language because of figures. Kayanja said, “From Swahili you have Hausa as the ...

By Bridget Tikyaa Ikyado In spite of efforts of governments at various levels to diversify the economy, earn foreign exchange and create jobs, reports of illegal mining of solid minerals across many states of the federation are very disturbing. Data from the Ministry of Solid Minerals and Development show that illegal mining activities have continued to thrive in spite of government's repeated threat to prosecute culprits. Benue might not be the state with the highest number of mineral resources in Nigeria but the state has abundant mineral resources that have not been fully tapped and can be used to develop the state. Some of the minerals found in Benue State, both mined and untapped, include Baryte, Limestone, Gypsum, Natural gas, Lead, zinc, clay, coal, gold amongst several other...

The Senate has confirmed Hafsat Bakari’s appointment as the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) director. Her confirmation followed the adoption of the Committee on Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes screening report at the Committee of the Whole on Tuesday. The report was presented by the chairman of the committee, Emmanuel Udende (APC-Benue). Mr Udende, while presenting the report, said after a thorough screening of the nominee, the committee was satisfied with her capacity to be appointed as director of NFIU. He urged the Senate to confirm her appointment. Mohammed Monguno (APC-Borno) said her appointment was a square peg in a square hole, given her steering performance and experiences over the years in fighting financial crimes. He said Ms Bakari’s experien...

The Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) has recovered an additional corpse from the scene of the boat crash at Ikorodu. Wuraola Alake, the spokeswoman for LASWA, said in an update on the crash on Tuesday in Lagos the boat had been recovered. She also shed more light on the capsizing in the update. In continuation of the search and rescue operations on the current mishap involving Oluwaseyifunmi boat, one additional corpse has been recovered along with the submerged boat from the scene of the incident. “The exact cause of this incident is still being investigated, as some of the rescued passengers denied the claim that the affected boats were engaged in boat racing. “The passenger at the Addax Jetty filled out no manifest before passengers boarded the boat, but nine out ...

Some civil servants have lauded President Bola Tinubu’s decision to merge, scrap and subsume departments and agencies of federal ministries to reduce the cost of governance. The civil servants who spoke on Tuesday in Abuja said, “It is a right decision that came at the right time,” as the country is battling an economic downturn. They commended Mr Tinubu for his courageous and purposeful leadership in implementing the Steve Oronsaye reports on cutting down the cost of governance, which they said previous administrations failed to implement. The Oronsaye report was submitted in 2012 to former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, which released a white paper on the report. Ex-President Muhammadu Buhari inherited the report and released a second white paper on it in 2022 bu...

…Describes Him as a Transparent, Compassionate man The Edo All Progressives Congress (APC) Diaspora Council, has called for the support of Senator Monday Okpebholo, the party’s candidate for the September 21 governorship election in the state, describing him as someone who has consistently demonstrated transparency and integrity in his actions and decision-making, adding further that as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Hon. Okpebholo has always shown empathy and compassion towards the concerns and challenges faced by his constituents. In an open letter to the people of Edo state signed by Ambassador Osarodion Osagie, the group’s Director of Media and Publicity, the Edo APC Diaspora Council while congratulating Senator Ekpebholo, over his emergence as the party’s guberna...

The Nigerian Navy, Forward Operation Base, Ibaka, in Akwa Ibom has arrested two suspects and impounded their wooden boat laden with 5,100 litres of petrol. The commanding officer of the base, Navy Capt. Uche Aneke, handed over the suspects, the boat and the petrol over to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Ibaka on Sunday. Mr Aneke said a patrol team of the Navy arrested the suspects on February 22 following an intelligence report about suspected smuggling activities in the area. Patrolling Naval gunboats were deployed to intercept the wooden boat. “In the boat were the two suspected smugglers and 5,100 litres of petrol concealed under bags of yams, cartons of drinks, other beverages and several cartons of floor tiles, all covered with tarpaulin,” he said....

Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola, says England forward Phil Foden is now a world class performer in his own right. Gifted as he is, Foden has often been overshadowed by Manchester City’s big hitters but Guardiola noted after Saturday’s win at Bournemouth that he had grown into a top player. Foden’s ninth league goal of the season secured the unconvincing 1-0 win that pushed champions City to one point behind Premier League leaders Liverpool. With Erling Haaland not back to his best after injury and playmaker Kevin de Bruyne used as a late substitute on Saturday, Foden was the spark that kept City’s bandwagon firmly on track for a fourth successive title. The 23-year-old Foden has also contributed seven assists this season and has stepped up to be one of Manchester City’s...

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) arrested a 67-year-old grandfather on Thursday in Magbon, Ogun, while in possession of 57kg of Indian hemp. Also found in the suspect’s possession were 2,700 pills of tramadol and 231 bottles of Codeine syrup. NDLEA’s spokesman Femi Babafemi stated on Sunday in Abuja that its operatives also raided a drug joint in Benin on Tuesday, arrested a 24-year-old sales girl and recovered assorted illicit drugs. He added that a follow-up operation on Wednesday led to the arrest of the joint owner, a 36-year-old commander of a vigilance group in the area. He also stated that NDLEA operatives recovered 179kg of Indian hemp in Badagry, Lagos State, on Wednesday while it arrested a 25-year-old lady in Bagga, Borno, who had cocaine and heroin ...

By Bridget Ikyado The Benue State Governor, His Excellency Rev. Fr. Dr. Hyacinth Iormem Alia has sworn-in three new Local Government Council Committee Chairmen for some local government councils in the state with a call on them to justify the confidence reposed in them by being accountable and transparent while carrying out their responsibilities. The swearing-in is coming after the three former council chairmen were removed by the Benue State House of Assembly in one of their sittings on the grounds of mismanagement and appropriation of local government Internally Generated Revenue. Addressing the appointees during the swearing at Benue Government House on Saturday February 24, the Governor said with their appointments,they were to re-inject vibrancy in the administration of loc...

The police command in Yobe said suspected insurgents have destroyed two 330 KVA power transmission towers in the state, plunging residents of Borno and Yobe into darkness. DSP Dungus Abdulkarim, the spokesperson for the command, said this when he spoke with journalists in Damaturu on Saturday. Mr Abdulkarim said that the transmission towers supplied electricity from Gombe to Yobe and Borno. He said that the attackers were suspected to have used improvised explosive devices to blow up the facilities in the early hours of Saturday. “The transmission towers are located in Kasaisa in Damaturu Local Government Area of the state and supply electricity from Gombe to Yobe and Borno. “The destruction has plunged residents of the two states into darkness,” he said. The attack on t...

The federal government said it has implemented some strategic reforms to restore economic stability in the country. Abbas Tajudeen, Speaker, House of Representatives, disclosed this on Saturday during the opening ceremony of the 45th Kaduna International Trade Fair in Kaduna. The fair has the theme “Sustainable Economic Recovery Through the Deepening of Local Content Value Chains.” The speaker, represented by Rep. James Barka (PDP-Adamawa), said recently that the federal government, major stakeholders and the National Assembly were determined to restore macro- and microeconomic stability in the country. He said, “This year’s edition of the fair came at the right time, when efforts are being channelled towards achieving sustainable economic recovery in the country. “There ha...

SThe Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has decided to remove some sanctions imposed on Niger Republic following the 2023 unconstitutional takeover of government. ECOWAS Commission President, Omar Touray, disclosed this at the end of the Extraordinary session of the Heads of State and Government on Saturday in Abuja. According to him, the decision is based on humanitarian considerations, security of the region and socio-economic impact of the sanctions on citizens, especially in view of the month of L​ent and the upcoming Holy month of Ramadan​. "The authority calls for the immediate release of his excellency Mohammed Bazoom, former President of the Republic of Niger​. "The authority also calls on the transition authorities in Niger to provide an acceptable tra...

By Perpetua Onuegbu Shelter Afrique and the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) have formed partnership to address housing gaps and revamp abandoned projects across the country.Shelter Afrique is the only pan-African finance institution that exclusively supports the development of the housing and real estate sector in Africa.This was disclosed when a delegation of Shelter Afrique, an African continental bank, paid a courtesy call on the new management of FMBN on Thursday in Abuja.The Managing Director of the continental bank, Mr Thiemo-Habib Hann, said the bank was focused on affordable housing and urban development across the continent.He said it was ready to collaborate with FMBN and other institutions across Nigeria to really address housing gaps.According to him, there are both...

By Diana Omueza Cleen Foundation, an NGO, has called for the establishment of a central digital complaint platform on human rights violations to assist law enforcement agencies address and speed up the justice process. Mr Nnamdi Odo, the group's Programme Officer, made the call on Friday in Abuja at the Human Rights coordination meeting for oversight agencies in Nigeria. Odo said that there were usually delays in the administration of justice in cases of human rights violations due to lack of synergy amongst law enforcement agencies. He therefore stressed the need to create a centralised digital platform for the public to easily report cases of violations and for law enforcement agencies to collectively access, disburse complains and address them speedily. "We commend the l...

The family members of Olugbesan, Oke-Agbeni, Ibadan have petitioned to Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Moshood Olalekan Balogun, accusing former Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Hazeem Gbolarunmi and one Prince Adeyemi of Mich Royal Company of selling their ancestral family illegally. The family in a letter titled: A SAVE OUR SOUL PLEA TO OLUBADAN OF IBADANLAND, OBA MOSHOOD OLALEKAN BALOGUN ON THE ILLEGAL SALES OF OLUGBESAN FAMILY LAND BY HAZEEM GBOLARUNMI USING PRINCE ADEYEMI OF MICH ROYAL COMPANY, and signed byAlh. Lukman Durosomo Olugbesan, Tunbosun Durosomo Olugbesan, Chief Taofeek Durosomo Olugbesan, Akibu Durosomo Olugbesan and Monsurat Durosomo Olugbesan, called on Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Moshood Olalekan Balogun to call on the duo of Hazeem Gbolarunmi and Prince Adeyemi of Mich Ro...

President Bola Tinubu has reiterated his commitment as the Chairman of the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government to advancing judicial reforms with determined support. He added that an accountable judicial system with integrity would strengthen democracy across West Africa. The President made these remarks at a meeting with the ECOWAS Judicial Council led by Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, Chief Justice of Nigeria and Chairman of the Council, at the State House in Abuja. “We are committed to transformative democracy because we believe the judiciary can protect democracy. “We are ready to support you as learned minds who have the requisite experience and institutional memory to comprehensively reform our institutions. “I assure you as Chairman of ECOWAS Authority of ...