Author: Amina Mohammed

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says three drug kingpins and 16 other offenders have been convicted and sentenced to a total of 302 years in prison. NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, in a statement on Friday, said they were sentenced for trafficking and dealing in illicit drugs. They were convicted for trafficking cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, cannabis, and opioids among others. To Babafemi, the 19 convicts lead the list of 414 drug traffickers and dealers convicted by the Federal High Court across Benue, Bauchi, Edo, Lagos, Ogun, Gombe, and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, between July 1st and 31st, 2024,…

Nigeria’s senior women’s football team, the Super Falcons, have retained their 36th position in the latest global ranking by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association. The Falcons also maintained their position as the top-ranked women’s football team in Africa, according to the ranking released on Friday, 16th August 2024. This ranking follows their disappointing performance at the recently concluded Women’s Summer Olympics football event in Paris, France. The Falcons failed to progress to the quarterfinals after suffering three consecutive defeats, losing 1-0 to Brazil and Spain, and a heavy 3-1 defeat to Japan, finishing at the bottom of Group C.…

Diego Moreira has completed a permanent transfer to RC Strasbourg from Chelsea. In a statement obtained from Chelsea Football Club’s website on Friday, the Portugal Under-21 international officially joined Chelsea in July 2023 from Benfica and made his first-team. The statement said, “Over the remainder of the campaign, Diego established himself as an important figure for our Under-21s and helped the side reach the Premier League 2 play-off semi-finals with a match-winning hat-trick away at Arsenal. “Everyone at Chelsea would like to thank Diego for his contributions throughout his time with the club and wish him well as he begins…

Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Limited, a Chinese firm that recently obtained a court injunction to ground three Nigerian presidential jets in Europe, is now pursuing plans to seize additional Nigerian assets in the United Kingdom, United States, and six other countries. The firm has initiated legal proceedings in approximately eight jurisdictions worldwide, including Belgium, Canada, France, Singapore, and the British Virgin Islands. The Federal Government of Nigeria has pledged to defend its foreign assets against what it terms as “predators.” This situation arises from a controversial court ruling that allowed Zhongshan to ground three presidential jets belonging to Nigeria.…

The Executive Secretary, Universal Basic Education Commission, Hamid Bobboyi, has disclosed that over 30 per cent of the Nigeria’s teaching workforce left the service within the past three years. Bobboyi made this known during a six-day training workshop organised by the Kano State Universal Basic Education Board, in collaboration with UBEC, for 30 School Support Officers on SMASE and Jolly Phonics in Kano on Thursday. Bobboyi, who described the situation as frightening, said some teachers retired while others left the service searching for greener pastures without being replaced. However, he commended the Kano State Government for the proactive measures it…

Nigerian singer, Oladapo Oyebanjo, popularly called D’Banj, paid a courtesy visit to the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, at the State House on Thursday. The governor’s Special Assistant on New Media, Jubril Gawat, disclosed this in a video on X.com on Thursday. Gawat’s caption read, “Between Governor #jidesanwoolu and #iamdbanj earlier today. “Dbanj called Mr. Governor ‘the real Koko Master.” The visit comes ahead of the launch of his new album, “The Entertainer: D’Sequel”, scheduled for release on Friday. During the visit, D’Banj was said to have presented a commemorative plaque marking the album’s launch to Sanwo-Olu. “The Entertainer: The…

Kamala Harris’s campaign said Thursday that she would debate her Republican rival Donald Trump twice, while their running mates would do so once, seeking to draw a line under weeks of election brinkmanship. The two camps had already agreed to one presidential debate on September 10 and a vice-presidential face-off on October 1, but the Trump campaign had been pushing for two further presidential debates in September and an extra VP encounter. “The debate about debates is over. Donald Trump’s campaign accepted our proposal for three debates — two presidential and a vice presidential debate,” the Harris campaign said in…

The Vice President, Kashim Shettima, has backed the recent Supreme Court judgement which granted full financial autonomy to local government councils, noting that the move will enhance the nation’s universal basic education system. The vice president, who warned against abuse of LG autonomy, stated this at the public presentation of a book titled ‘Navigating the Politics of Universal Education Policies in Nigeria’, written by former Deputy Governor of Ekiti State, Modupe Adelabu, held in Abuja on Thursday. “The autonomy of local governments, which are directly responsible for providing primary education, will address the financial limitations that have hindered the alignment…

No fewer than 37,000 women across the country are expected to benefit from the Renewed Hope Initiative re-capitalisation grant of the wife of the President, Senator Oluremi Tinubu. Tinubu stated this on Thursday during the symbolic presentation of food items to Internally Displaced Persons Living with Disabilities and vulnerable people in Benue State. Represented by the wife of the Vice President, Mrs Nana Shettima, the president’s wife said 1000 women from each state and the Federal Capital Territory would get a N50,000 recapitalisation grant from the RHI economic empowerment programme. She said, “I am pleased to inform you that the…

The Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, on Thursday, rejigged his cabinet and assigned portfolios to the newly appointed commissioners who were sworn-in on Wednesday. The governor had, during the swearing in, disclosed his plans to effect a minor reshuffle of his cabinet and create a few more ministries. As a result therefore, some new ministries were created and others carved out from the existing ones. The new composition of the state Executive Council saw the Commissioner of Finance, Mike Akpara, reassigned to Industry and SMEs Ministry, while Dr. Chimezie Ukaegbu was moved from Trade and Commerce to Transport. Others are…