Author: Samuel Akpenpuun

The absence of the ninth defence counsel, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, on Tuesday stalled the hearing in a suit seeking to stop statutory allocations to the 44 local government areas of Kano State. The applicants in the suit are Abdullahi Abbas, Aminu Aliyu-Tiga, and the All Progressives Congress. They, through their counsel, Sunday Olowomoran, filed a motion exparte dated October 28 and filed November 1, 2024. However, the respondents in the suit are the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Federal Account Allocation Committee, Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, Accountant-General of the Federation, Minister of Finance, Auditor General of the…

President Bola Tinubu has appointed Shamsedeen Ogunjimi as the new Accountant General of the Federation. The appointment, announced on Tuesday, takes effect on March 7, 2025, coinciding with the retirement of the incumbent AGF, Oluwatoyin Madehin. Ogunjimi, 57, was first named as Madehin’s successor in December 2024. His selection was finalised after a competitive process overseen by a committee tasked with evaluating Directors of Accounts in the Federal Civil Service. The process included a written assessment, an ICT proficiency test, and oral interviews, underscoring Tinubu’s commitment to transparency and excellence in public appointments. In a statement issued on Tuesday, the…

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has intercepted 245,370 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, valued at N238.1 million. The Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adeniyi said the seizures were made in less than three months as part of its ongoing anti-smuggling operation tagged “Operation Whirlwind.” Adeniyi also highlighted recent seizures made by the operation at the Federal Operations Unit in Ikeja. He attributed the smuggling of petrol to significant price disparities across Nigeria’s borders, which encourage smugglers to divert fuel to neighbouring countries for higher profits.  “Our economic intelligence reveals that substantial price disparities across regional borders…

The World Health Organization acknowledged Tuesday that the US freeze on foreign aid funding has hit vital global health programmes but vowed to find a way to keep delivering to those in need. The United Nations health agency said it was still too early to determine the full impact of the freeze on foreign aid spending by the United States — traditionally the world’s largest aid donor. But WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris admitted that some programmes had clearly been affected, including the global measles surveillance network, which had been 100-percent funded by the United States. On measles, “there is a…

The Lagos State Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja has ordered the remand of Jude Okoye, the elder brother and former manager of Paul and Peter Okoye of the defunct music group, P-Square, for an alleged theft of $1 million and £34,537.59. Justice Rahman Oshodi remanded him at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre where he is being held, pending the hearing of his bail application. The judge adjourned the case until March 6 for a hearing of the bail application. The EFCC had arraigned the defendant alongside his company, Northside Music Ltd on a four-count charge. In one of the counts,…

Arsenal are up against Dutch side PSV in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League last 16, seeking to recover from a slump in form that has seen them fail to win their last two games.  The Gunners’ dream of a first league title in 21 years appears over after falling 13 points behind runaway leaders Liverpool. Conquering Europe for the first time now appears their only chance of ending a five-year trophy drought and a kind last-16 draw with PSV Eindhoven could buy Mikel Arteta time to get some of his key attackers back. Kai Havertz and Gabriel…

The husband of Dolly Parton, Carl Dean, died Monday aged 82, the country music superstar said, after nearly 60 years of marriage kept out of the spotlight despite the singer’s chart-topping fame. “Carl and I spent many wonderful years together. Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years,” Parton wrote in a post on X. The singer-songwriter and actor met Dean in 1964 outside the Wishy Washy Laundromat in Nashville, Tennessee on the day she moved to the country music capital. She was 18 and he was 21. “I was surprised and delighted that while…

Two persons have died in a tanker fire that occurred in a filling station at the Orita Challenge area of Ibadan, Oluyole Local Government Area of Oyo State. The Oyo State Fire Services Agency confirmed this in a statement on Tuesday. According to the agency’s General Manager, Yemi Akinyinka, a petrol tanker driver and his motor boy lost their lives in the incident. Akinyinka said the fire service immediately deployed its men to the scene after receiving information about the fire at 5:15 am. “We got information about the GABSTAB Mega Petrol Station, Orita Challenge, fire incident at 5:15 am…

The Bauchi State Police Command has arrested 20-year-old Safiyanu Dalhatu for allegedly beating his mother to death. This was disclosed in a press release issued on Tuesday by the command’s Police Public Relations Officer, Ahmed Wakil. He explained that, “On February 24, 2025, Peace and Security Committee members in the Abujan Kwata area of Bauchi reported an incident to the ‘A’ Divisional Police Headquarters. “At about 3pm, Safiyanu Dalhatu, a 20-year-old male resident of Abujan Kwata, allegedly assaulted his biological mother, Salama Abdullahi, a 40-year-old female of the same residence. “Safiyanu Dalhatu is accused of attacking Salma Abdullahi with a…

The House of Representatives, on Monday, extended the deadline for the submission of memoranda on the creation of new states and local governments to March 26, 2025. According to a statement issued by the House spokesperson, Akin Rotimi, this decision was arrived at following public demand for additional time to refine and resubmit their legislative proposals in compliance with Section 8 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). Recall that on February 7, 2025, the House Committee on Constitution Review announced that it had received memoranda to create an additional 31 states, stating, however, that none of the proposals met the…