Author: Samuel Akpenpuun

Russia on Monday said it had downed 39 drones fired by Ukraine overnight mainly targeting border regions. “The anti-air defence systems intercepted and destroyed 19 drones in the Kursk region, nine above Belgorod, three over Voronezh and five over Bryansk,” all bordering Ukraine, the Russian defence ministry said on Telegram. Three others were neutralised in the northwestern Leningrad region near Saint Petersburg in an “attempted terrorist attack”, it said. Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian fuel depots, refineries and energy facilities are frequent, particularly in the border regions. Russia has also launched massive attacks on Ukraine’s power plants, causing severe electricity…

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, is mobilising Abuja youths and other stakeholders against joining the planned August 1 to 10 nationwide protests over hunger and hardship. Speaking during a ministerial engagement with FCT youths from Abuja South Federal Constituency, in Kwali Area Council of the FCT on Sunday, Wike said, ”Youths and other stakeholders in Bwari and Gwagwalada Area Councils will also be engaged on the same issue in the coming days.” The News Agency of Nigeria reports that a similar interaction was held with stakeholders in Abuja Municipal Area Council, in Abuja on Saturday. The…

The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, on Monday, advised students in Nigerian universities to remain on campus during the planned nationwide protests to avoid risking their lives. The minister, through the acting Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, Chris Maiyaki, made this known in a letter addressed to Vice-Chancellors of universities. Certain activists have organised a nationwide protest slated for August 1 to 10, 2024. The planned protest has gained traction on social media, trending under the hashtags ‘#EndBadGovernance,’ ‘#TinubuMustGo,’ and ‘#Revolution2024.’ The presidency and police authorities have called on youths to abandon the plan. “The Honourable Minister…

Minister of Interior Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo has appealed to displeased Nigerians to give President Bola Tinubu more time to address the country’s economic woes. The minister, who was a guest on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, appealed to intending participants of the August protest to be patriotic. He said Tinubu should not be judged with the expectation to solve a 100-year-old problem in one year. He said an economy is not built overnight. “What you see today is an accumulated mismanagement over the last 100, 60, 30 years,” he said. Tunji-Ojo said, “Mr President, to the best of my knowledge, never campaigned…

The Senator Danjuma Laah-led Kogi State Caretaker Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party has suspended the state ward congress of the party earlier scheduled for Saturday. The caretaker committee explained that the decision to suspend the ward congress became necessary when hoodlums invaded the state secretariat and made away with sensitive electoral materials. According to a statement issued by the Publicity Secretary of the committee, Dayo Akande, on Sunday, the decision was taken in collaboration with the congress committee chairman, Boyelayefa Debeleme. According to the statement, the impersonators came with an 18-seater bus and other vehicles without any means of…

A UK-based company, LH Telecommunication Limited, has acquired a majority stake in Emerging Markets Telecommunication Services Limited, the parent company of 9mobile. According to a statement on Sunday by the company, the acquisition, approved by the Nigerian Communications Commission and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, allows a new board to take over the struggling telecom operator. Although the deal’s financial terms were not disclosed, the company indicated that the takeover is subject to regulatory approvals. “The investment, approved by the African Export-Import Bank (AFREXIM), the senior lender to 9mobile in May 2023, has resulted in a change in…

Suspected Boko Haram terrorists on Sunday attacked Jakana Police Station in the Konduga Local Government Area of Borno State, killing a police driver and a woman. The terrorists also set ablaze two patrol vehicles which belonged to the police and members of the Civilian Joint Task Force as well as a motorcycle, even as some arms and ammunition were carted away by the rampaging insurgents. Located 35 km along the Maiduguri-Damaturu Road, Jakana has been a pathway for the insurgents for years. Sources in Jakana said the terrorists stormed the police station at about 1 am and engaged security troops…

Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State says that widespread anger and hunger across the country could be responsible for the planned protest. Makinde said this while speaking at the grand finale of the 2024 Ibadan Cultural Week, organised by Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII). Recall August 1 has been fixed as the day for a nationwide protest against hunger across the country. Makinde stressed that people have the right to protest but cautioned that such movements should be done in a peaceful and not destructive manner. Makinde said, “Nigeria could be in this situation for now. We could be…

The Chairman of the Southern Governors’ Forum and Governor of Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has described the death of Senator Ifeanyi Ubah as shocking and a great loss to the country. Governor Dapo Abiodun, in a condolence message to the people and government of Anambra State, said the lawmaker’s demise, coming just a few hours after that of the President-General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, has left a great void that will be difficult to fill. Ubah, representing Anambra South Senatorial District, died in London on Saturday. The SGF Chairman described Senator Ubah as a self-made man, a…

Ahead of the planned nationwide protests, Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, will on Monday meet with organisers and stakeholders from the security and civil societies. Disclosing this in a statement on Sunday, the governor’s spokesman, Mallam Olawale Rasheed, said his principal has instructed his team members to reach out to representatives of various civil society groups and student bodies for a dialogue session on the state of the economy. Adeleke also asked key commanders of police and other security services to attend the session where stakeholders will be free to make recommendations on grievances and expected responses from the…