Author: TheScrutinyNG

­The Federal Government has said the country needs $10 billion in investment in the power within five to ten years to achieve a 24-hour electricity supply. The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, disclosed this when the Director General of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Dr Jobson Ewalefoh, paid him a visit in Abuja on Wednesday. According to him, the Nigerian government alone cannot solve the backlog of challenges facing the country’s power sector, which is why it is calling for private partnerships. “Government cannot do it alone; this is why we have to look for organised private sector funding…

National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Wednesday, expressed its worry over the alarming increase of kidnappings, killings and child abandonment in the country. Mr. Hillary Ogbona, the Senior Human Rights Adviser to the Executive Secretary of the Commission presented the data at a civil society consultation on human rights, organised by the NHRC with support from the European Union in Abuja. The event, which also marked the inauguration of the Human Rights Defenders Forum, underscored the urgent need for systemic reforms to protect Nigeria’s vulnerable populations. The data released by the Commission, revealed an unrelenting wave of violent crimes and…

New governor of Edo State, Senator Monday Okpebholo, has firmly taking charge of affairs in the state as he has sacked political appointees of the last administration, as well as dissolved all boards of government agencies and parastatals in the state. The governor also sacked all Permanent Secretaries appointed from outside the state public/civil service and all other political appointees. The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Fred Itua, disclosed this in a statement made available to newsmen in Benin City on Wednesday. Okpebholo said the dissolution of the affected concerns was with immediate effect. He, however, advised the affected…

There is growing tension among states yet to implement the N70,000 new minimum wage, following the December 1 strike notice given by the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, to workers in defaulting states to commence the indefinite strike. As of the end of October, 24 states had yet to start implementation, despite the Federal Government’s promise to organise labour for it. It will be recalled that during the meeting on October 17 in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, the government promised to summon a meeting of the economic council to impress governors on implementing…

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has warned against election malpractice during Saturday’s governorship election in Ondo State. Atiku warned that the PDP would firmly stand against any form of election malpractice during Saturday’s poll. In a statement by his media aide, Paul Ibe, the PDP chieftain urged the people of Ondo State to come out in large numbers to cast their ballots and ensure that their ballots count. According to Atiku, the All Progressives Congress, APC, must not be allowed to suppress electorates in Ondo State. “This is also a sound warning to all election management officials and volunteers that…

On September 9th 2024, N1.7 billion was spent to purchase 10 units of Toyota Camry V4, 2023, to the State House.  Document from the public payments portal, Govspend, has shown that the Nigerian presidency under Bola Tinubu spent N5.1billion on buying cars between August 18 and September 9, representing 21 days or three weeks. SaharaReporters reports that Data published on the Govspend website showed that the State House paid N3.4billion on August 18, for the purchase of sixteen numbers of 2023/2024 model Toyota Prado, to the State House, Abuja. This would mean that each Prado costs N212million.  On September 9th…

Some Civil Society Organisations have demanded that the defamation lawsuit brought against the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) by the Federal Government should be dropped. The CSOs, which described the lawsuit as “bogus”, made the demand in a statement they made available to media houses on Tuesday. Among the groups that signed the statement were Amnesty International, Accountability Lab, BudgIT, Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development, and CISLAC. Others were Human and Environmental Development Agenda, Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre, Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre, and YIAGA. The statement reads in full: “We, the undersigned civil…

United States President-elect Donald Trump has announced that tech billionaire Elon Musk will serve in the Department of Government Efficiency. Musk will be joined by American patriot Vivek Ramaswamy, and together they will lead the department. This was disclosed in a statement issued by Trump on Tuesday, 12th November 2024, which was shared via Musk’s X handle early on Wednesday. The Republican noted that their appointments will help his administration “dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excessive regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies.” Trump, 78, who defeated Vice President and Democrat Kamala Harris in the 2024 US presidential election, added…

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) said it has intercepted 189 gallons and two trucks loaded with premium motor spirit otherwise known as petrol, that were being smuggled outside the country. NCS said the huge seizures were made by the Operation Whirlwind led by Compt. Hussaini Ejibunu in charge of the Kwara and Niger axis. The process of auctioning the product to the general public had commenced, it said. Zakari Chado, the state Public Relations Officer and National Coordinator of Operation Whirlwind, disclosed this in a statement in Ilorin. He said the exercise, which is coordinated by the Office of the…

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said it would investigate the electricity companies to unravel the mystery behind the constant collapse of national grid. EFCC chairman, Mr Ola Olukoyede, stated this in Abuja on Tuesday when the House Committee on Financial Crimes visited the headquarters of the anti-graft agency on oversight function. The EFCC boss identified one of Nigeria’s problems in the last 15 to 20 years to below 20 per cent budget performance. He also accused some electricity companies of buying substandard goods for power operations, noting that this has been responsible for the frequent collapses of the…