Author: Amina Mohammed

Suspected political thugs on Monday took over the Oredo Local Government Area secretariat in Edo State, preventing the Chairman, Tom Obaseki, from gaining access to his office. Armed with weapons, the hoodlums took up strategic positions at the secretariat, chanting war songs. The development forced the embattled council boss, who had resumed work for the day, to retreat. Obaseki spoke to journalists outside the council premises, saying, “I came here to continue my work as elected chairman of Oredo Local Government. I met a whole lot of thugs who have already overtaken the council. “This is a very disturbing trend.…

President Bola Tinubu donned his bragging hat on Monday when he announced that for three straight months, he has fulfilled Nigeria’s financial obligations without touching remittance by Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) or exploring Ways and Means from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). “Push me to my brag mode, in the last three months, I’ve not taken a penny from NNPC before I meet my other obligations. To me, that is excellent,” a gleeful Tinubu told reporters on Monday during a chat at his Bourdillon residence in the highbrow Ikoyi area of Lagos State. The former Lagos governor…

Honda shares soared more than 16 per cent on Tuesday after the Japanese auto giant announced a buyback of up to 1.1 trillion yen ($7 billion) the previous day. The buyback announcement came as Honda and its struggling rival Nissan agreed on Monday to launch talks on a merger seen as a bid to catch up with Chinese companies and Tesla on electric vehicles. Honda will buy back its own shares worth up to 1.1 trillion yen, or 23.7 per cent of the total issued shares, to improve “efficiency of its capital structure”, the company said on Monday. “Even with…

Former Oyo State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mutalubi Adebayo, has cautioned against unconstitutional investigations following Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke’s intervention in the controversial death sentence of a young man, Segun Olowookere, in the state. Justice Oyejide Falola of an Osun State High Court in Okuku had convicted Olowookere and Sunday Morakinyo of armed robbery and sentenced them to death by hanging, after finding them guilty of charges involving theft and armed robbery in December 2014. The two convicts, armed with firearms, were reported to have forcefully entered the residence of a police officer, Balogun Tope, attached to…

The 2024 Edo Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal witnessed a sharp disagreement on Wednesday as the All Progressives Congress urged the tribunal to dismiss the petition filed by the People’s Democratic Party challenging the victory of Governor Monday Okpebholo. APC counsel Ferdinand Orbih, SAN, argued during a pre-hearing session in Benin that the PDP’s petition was incompetent, claiming it was not filed in accordance with legal provisions. He asserted that the tribunal lacked jurisdiction to entertain the matter, citing grounds for dismissal outlined in a motion dated 30 November and supported by a seven-paragraph affidavit. In response, PDP counsel Ken Mozia,…

President Bola Tinubu has approved the reconstitution of the Executive Management of 12 River Basin Development Authorities under the Federal Ministry of Water Resources. This was disclosed in a press statement released by Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, on Wednesday. The Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority, based in Abeokuta, covers Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, and Osun States. The new appointments include Hon. Odebunmi Olusegun as Chairman (Oyo), Engr. Dr. Adedeji Ashiru as Managing Director (Osun), Ayo Oyalowo as Executive Director, Finance (Oyo), Dokunmu Olufemi Oyekunle as Executive Director, Planning and Design (Ogun), Suleiman Oris…

Winners have emerged in the ongoing 2024 oil licensing bid round. The winners emerged at the licensing round commercial bid conference held in Lagos on Wednesday. SIFAX & OceanGate won PPL 300-DO; OceanGate Engineering Oil and Gas Ltd won PPL 302-DO and PPL 3007; Homeland Integrated won PPL 304-DO; Hakilat Oil & Gas Consortium Ltd defeated NNPC E&P to clinch PPL 305-DO; BISWAL Oil & Gas Ltd also defeated NNPC E&P to win PPL 306-DO. After having a tie, MRS Oil & Gas later defeated NNPC E&P to win PPL 303-DO. Similarly, Petroli Energy Marketing and Supply Ltd got PPL…

A banner displayed at the entrance of the Lekki Central Mosque in Lagos State has generated varied reactions on social media. The banner, which went viral on Wednesday, bore the inscription: “Jesus Christ is not God. He is a Prophet and Messenger of God!” The message has sparked a wave of reactions, with many criticising it as blasphemous. Some social media users have voiced their concerns, arguing that the banner’s message is offensive and disrespectful. On the other hand, a few individuals defended the inscription, stating that similar views have been affirmed by pastors in the past. Nigerian actress Wumi…

President Bola Tinubu has arrived in Lagos State for this year’s Christmas and New Year holidays. Tinubu arrived at the Presidential Wing of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, at exactly 3:23 pm on Wednesday. Before departing Abuja, the President presented the 2025 Appropriation Bill to a joint session of the National Assembly for consideration and passage.

Security and defence, infrastructure, health and education were some of the sectors with high allocations in the N47.9tn Budget Proposal presented by President Bola Tinubu before a joint session of the National Assembly on Wednesday afternoon. “It is with great pleasure that I lay before this distinguished joint session of the National Assembly, the 2025 Budget of the National Assembly of Nigeria titled, ‘The Resurrection Budget’ security peace, building prosperity,” Tinubu said as he concluded his 30-minute speech at 1:10pm on Wednesday. Earlier in his presentation, the President listed some of the highlights of the budget as defence and security…