Author: Samuel Akpenpuun

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has released the updated register of voters in Rivers State, along with the list of registered political parties in Nigeria, ahead of the forthcoming Local Government Council elections. In a letter dated March 13, 2025, and signed by the Administrative Secretary, Odor Napoleon Emezuiruke, INEC formally notified the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) of the release. The letter, addressed to the RSIEC Chairman, confirmed that a soft copy of the voters’ register had been provided in response to the commission’s request. READ ALSO: Fubara Reschedules 2025 Budget Presentation After Assembly Standoff Following this…

The prestigious Johns Hopkins University said Thursday it is being forced to lay off more than 2,000 employees in the aftermath of the Trump administration’s massive reduction in foreign aid funding. “This is a difficult day for our entire community. The termination of more than $800 million in USAID funding is now forcing us to wind down critical work here in Baltimore and internationally,” the school, a leading institution of scientific research, said in a statement. Hopkins, in Maryland’s largest city an hour’s drive north of the US capital, is eliminating more than 2,000 positions — 1,975 in projects across…

The British government said Friday that it would increase its export credit facilities for weapons manufacturers by two billion pounds ($2.6 billion) to boost overseas sales. The new funds “will see billions of pounds unlocked for UK defence companies that export overseas, driving economic growth and creating jobs across the UK,” it said in a statement. Already the UK Export Finance agency has a lending capacity of eight billion pounds specifically for government clients of defence contractors, bringing the new total to 10 billion pounds. READ ALSO: Trump Takes Birthright Citizenship Battle To Supreme Court Like other countries across Europe,…

President Donald Trump took his contentious bid to end birthright citizenship in the United States to the Supreme Court on Thursday. Trump’s executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship, which he signed on his first day in office, was blocked by federal district courts in Maryland, Massachusetts and Washington state. Birthright citizenship is enshrined in the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution, which decrees that anyone born on American soil is a citizen, and Trump’s order seeks to end it for children whose parents are in the country illegally. READ ALSO: Trump Threatens 200% Tariffs On EU Wine, Champagne Over…

Ex-President Muhammadu Buhari has restated his loyalty to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), pledging to popularise it among Nigerians. Buhari said this in a statement by his spokesman Garba Shehu on Thursday. “I am an APC member and I like to be addressed as such. I will try to popularise the party by all means,” the president was quoted as saying amid rumours of defections from the ruling party. Buhari ruled under the APC from 2015 to 2023. READ THE FULL STATEMENT BELOW: I AM APC MEMBER, I LIKE TO BE ADDRESSED AS ONE-BUHARI. Without referring to any individual,…

The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has struck out the suit against four bloggers who were accused of cyber stalking Guaranty Trust Bank, its holding company, GTCO Plc and its Group Chief Executive Officer, Segun Agbaje. Justice Olayinka Faji struck out the suit following the withdrawal of the criminal charge filed against them by the police after reaching terms of settlement. This reprieve for the bloggers is coming after they have been held in custody for six months. The four bloggers, Precious Eze, male (38), Olawale Rotimi male (47), Rowland Olonishuwa, and Seun Odunlami, were arraigned before the court…

Social media giant Meta on Thursday announced it would begin testing its new “Community Notes” feature across its platforms on March 18, as it shifts away from third-party fact-checking toward a crowd-sourced approach to content moderation. Meta’s chief executive Mark Zuckerberg announced the new system in January as he appeared to align himself with the incoming Trump administration, including naming a Republican as the company’s head of public policy. The change of system came after years of criticism from supporters of US President Donald Trump, among others, that conservative voices were being censored or stifled under the guise of fighting…

Captain Kylian Mbappe returned to the France squad named Thursday for this month’s UEFA Nations League quarter-final against Croatia, as Paris Saint-Germain teenager Desire Doue earned a first call-up. Mbappe, 26, was left out of the last two France squads by coach Didier Deschamps for the Nations League group stage in October and November. The Real Madrid superstar was initially dropped because of fitness concerns, before later being left out amidst headlines about his private life. Deschamps said at the time that his decision to do without Mbappe was “for the best” due to the noise surrounding the striker. Mbappe…

The House of Representatives on Thursday approved the tax reform bills forwarded by President Bola Tinubu to the National Assembly. The bills include the Nigerian Tax Bill, the Tax Administration Bill, the Revenue Tax Board Bill, and the Nigerian Revenue Service Establishment Bill. This followed clause by clause consideration of all relevant amendments on the bills at the Committee of the Whole. READ ALSO: I’m Ready To Work With Peter Obi For A Stronger Opposition – Bala Mohammed Some of the amendments include retention of the Value Added Tax rate at the current 7.5 percent as opposed to a staggered…

Operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) have intercepted $1,154,900 and SR135,900 undeclared foreign currency at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) in Kano State. NCS spokesman, Abdullahi Maiwada, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday. He said the seizure was made recently during a routine baggage check on an inbound passenger, Hauwa Ibrahim Abdullahi, who arrived on Saudi Airline Flight No. SV401 from Saudi Arabia. According to Maiwada, during the physical examination of the passenger’s luggage conducted by NCS Officers, the undeclared currency was discovered concealed within palm-date fruit packs locally referred to as Dabino. He stated that…