Author: TheScrutinyNG

President Bola Tinubu has cancelled all his official events in Lagos on Saturday, including his attendance at the 2024 Lagos Boat Regatta, in honour of the stampede victims in Abuja and Okija, Anambra State. The two tragedies claimed many lives and left many others injured. President Tinubu was scheduled to watch the boat parade and other activities of the Boat Regatta from the waterfront of his Queen’s Drive residence in Ikoyi. Dignitaries, including top officials of the Lagos State government and white cap chiefs from the State, were already seated when the President cancelled his appearance following briefings on the…

It as tragic as seventeen people.lost their lives during a free rice distribution in Enugu on Saturday. Similarly, about 10 fatalities were recorded in Abuja where palliatives were being distributed. Eyewitnesses described the scenes as chaotic and tragic. One said at least seven of the deceased in the Abuja tragedy were children. In Anambra, the seventeen people were confirmed dead and several others sustained injuries at Okija, Ihiala Local Government Area, following a stampede during the distribution of Christmas rice by officials of Obijackson Foundation. The Foundation has been distributing such gifts annually for many years and people in the…

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has slashed the ex-depot price of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, also known as petrol by 12 per cent to ₦899 per liter, from ₦1,020 per liter. The National President of Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria, PETROAN, Dr. Billy Gillis Hary, who confirmed the development, said the N899 per litre is for Lagos while Warri, Oghara, Port Harcourt and Calabar have N970 as their ex-pot price. Dr. Harry, who described the price reduction as a welcomed development, said: “The reduction in the PMS price by NNPCL is a demonstration of the…

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has refuted reports claiming the revived Port Harcourt Refinery has been shut down, saying the facility is fully operational. The nation’s oil company, in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye, and made available on Saturday, described the reports as false. According to the statement, the operational status of the refinery was recently verified by former Group Managing Directors of NNPC, adding that the lifting of petroleum products is still ongoing at the 60,000 barrels per day refinery. “The attention of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) has been drawn…

A Delta State High Court has sentenced one Obinna Eze to death for the murder of a six-month-old baby boy, Chimaobi Igwe. Eze was arraigned before the court, sitting at Akwukwu-igbo, presided over by Hon Justice Marcel Okoh, on a three-count charge bordering on attempted murder, murder and causing grievous bodily harm, punishable under sections 320, 319 and 335 respectively of the Criminal Code Laws of Delta state. The prosecution was conducted by the State Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice, Mr Omamuzo Erebe, who led other counsel, namely J.A. Otite, Solomon Funkekeme Jnr, M.C Okafor, and Mrs Betty…

The Federal Government announced that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project will be revised from ten lanes to six lanes and will be undertaken at a lower cost. The Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, made the announcement during a tour of the highway on Friday. He stated that the revision will soon be presented to the Federal Executive Council. Umahi explained that the review has become necessary due to design variations and interventions, such as the removal of refuse at a depth of ten meters and backfilling. He also mentioned that President Bola Tinubu’s generosity had allowed for the salvaging…

Labour Party presidential candidate in 2023, Mr Peter Obi, has pledged to fulfill the bail conditions of human rights lawyer Dele Farotimi. Farotimi was granted bail by an Ekiti Magistrate Court in a defamation case involving Afe Babalola. The bail conditions require a N30 million bond, two sureties (one of whom must own a house), surrendering his passport, and refraining from granting media interviews. Peter Obi’s decision was announced by Tanko Yunusa, a former spokesperson for Obi’s 2023 presidential campaign, in a statement shared on Friday via his X account. Yunusa explained that Obi, as a proponent of the rule…

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has given owners of the 762 plots of land in Maitama II District, Cadastral Zone, A10, Abuja, a fresh two-week ultimatum to pay for their Certificates of Occupancy (C-of-O) or risk final revocation of their allocation. According to a statement on Friday, by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, the FCT Minister reiterated that the primary interest was not for people to lose their lands, but to get them to make necessary payments to the government. The statement read; “It should be recalled that on…

Newcastle United legend, Alan Shearer, has said he is “not convinced” Chelsea will maintain their Premier League title charge. The Blues were expected to struggle this season following a chaotic summer window and the arrivals of new manager Enzo Maresca. Chelsea finished in sixth place last term under Mauricio Pochettino and were widely expected for a similar finish in Maresca’s first year. But they have lost just once in the league to emerge as genuine title contenders. Maresca’s men have amassed 34 points from 16 games and their tally of 37 goals is comfortably the most in the Premier League.…

The Enugu State Government has expressed dismay over a report in the December 19, 2024 edition of the Punch Newspaper stating that the government earmarked N55bn for the construction, reconstruction, and rehabilitation of urban and rural roads in the state’s 2025 budget proposal by Governor Peter Mbah, while allocating N50.27bn to the Office of the Governor. The government in a statement signed by the senior special assistant to the governor on mainstream media, Dan Nwomeh, described the report authored by Punch’s reporter, Raphael Ede, as misleading and borne out of deliberate mischief, pointing out that the actual provision for urban…