Author: Samuel Akpenpuun

Renowned leadership coach and former presidential candidate of the defunct Alliance for New Nigeria, Fela Durotoye, has revealed how he rejected an opportunity to siphon N5bn in a fraudulent government deal, despite immense pressure from an official who claimed to be a pastor. Speaking on Tuesday, at the ongoing biannual conference of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria in Abuja, Durotoye recounted the experience, which he described as a test of integrity. This is according to a Church Times Nigeria report on Wednesday. According to him, the official approached him with a lucrative training contract, insisting that he had already been…

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals has dropped the cost of its diesel product to ₦1,020 per litre, down from ₦1,075 per litre at the gantry price. In a statement, the $20bn company said the reduction was part of its effort to better serve its customers and Nigerians in general. “Since it began diesel production in January 2024, the refinery has reduced the price of diesel more than three times, from an initial N1,700 per litre to the current rate, thus providing much-needed relief to manufacturers and consumers alike,” the company stated. Recently, the private refinery slashed its ex-depot price…

Conservative firebrand Steve Bannon, a former advisor to US President Donald Trump, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to defrauding donors who gave money to a private scheme to build a wall on the US-Mexico border. Bannon, 71, entered a guilty plea to New York state charges in a Manhattan court in an agreement with prosecutors that spared him prison time. Bannon was indicted in 2022 for his role in a project called “We Build the Wall,” which involved private fundraising of more than $15 million to help build the southern border barrier championed by Trump. He had been scheduled to go…

Chelsea striker Sam Kerr was Tuesday found not guilty of causing racially aggravated harassment after calling a British police officer “stupid and white”. A jury at Kingston Crown Court in London cleared the Australian captain in relation to the incident in southwest London on January 30, 2023. Kerr, 31, and her partner, West Ham midfielder Kristie Mewis, had been out drinking when they were driven to Twickenham Police Station by a taxi driver who complained they had refused to pay clean-up costs after one of them vomited, and one of them had smashed the vehicle’s rear window. At the police…

The Abia state chapter of the  Peoples Democratic Party has suspended the chairman of the party’s Board of Trustees Adolphus Wabara, over anti-party activities. The chairman of the party in the state, Abraham Amah, disclosed this to the State Executive Committee in Umuahia, the state capital on Tuesday. He said Wabara was suspended for endorsing Governor Alex Otti for a second tenure barely five months into the governor’s administration in October 2023. Amah said the party could not afford to be distracted by those who wear its badge but do not uphold the party’s values and as well, those who are…

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has sealed the Idumota open drug market in Lagos State. This, NAFDAC said was part of its ongoing efforts to eliminate fake and substandard medicines in the country. NAFDAC’s Director of Investigation and Enforcement, Shaba Mohammed, told journalists during an enforcement exercise on Tuesday, that the market was sealed on Sunday. Mohammed said the action also affected the Ariaria drug market in Aba and the Onitsha drug market in Anambra. He explained that the week-long enforcement exercise was happening simultaneously in the three markets, which distribute over 80 per cent…

The Federal Government of Nigeria has pledged to take diplomatic action and engage with relevant authorities to address the suspension of the drop box service for Nigerians renewing their US visas. The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, Oluwole Oke, revealed this when he featured on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Tuesday. “I am in the US. I will take this matter up. After finishing my meeting in New York, I will also be in Washington. We have a chargé d’affaires there, and I will discuss this issue with him to find a way to…

The House of Representatives on Tuesday asked the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy and the Nigerian Communications Commissions to suspend the impending hike in telecommunications tariffs until the services offered by the telecom companies improved. This followed a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by Oboji Oforji (PDP, Bayelsa), on the need to halt the recent increase in tariffs by the telecom companies. Leading the debate on the motion, Oforji recalled the announcement by the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani that telecommunication tariffs will soon increase. He said, “According to the Minister, consultations are ongoing…

The Peoples Democratic Party has lost another member in the House of Representatives to the All Progressives Congress. The member, Amos Magaji, who represents Jaba/Zango Kataf Federal Constituency,  Kaduna State, premised his defection on the crisis rocking the major opposition party in the country. Speaker Tajudeen Abbas who presided over the plenary session on Tuesday read Magaji’s letter of defection on the floor of the house. “The unresolved crises in the PDP from the national to the state level has made it difficult for me to remain in the party,” Magaji said. Magaji is the third member of the PDP…

Warren Gatland is set to leave his role as Wales’s head coach midway through the Six Nations after a record 14 consecutive international defeats, it was widely reported on Tuesday. Wales, who finished bottom of the Six Nations last year with five defeats, are on course for another embarrassing whitewash after a 22-15 loss in Italy at the weekend. They face champions Ireland on February 22 in Cardiff before a trip to Scotland and a home fixture against England. The Daily Mail said official confirmation of Gatland’s departure was likely to come from the Welsh Rugby Union later on Tuesday.…