Author: Festus Adeloye

The co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Bill Gates, has pointed out that Nigeria’s tax collection rates are low, posing challenges to financing critical sectors like health and education. Gates made these remarks on Tuesday during Nutrivision 2024, a Pan-African youth dialogue on nutrition held in Abuja. The Cable reports that Gates spoke while responding to a question on potential financing mechanisms for large-scale public health interventions. “Over time, there are plans for Nigeria to fund the government more than it does today. The actual tax collection in Nigeria is actually pretty low”. “If citizens want the education…

Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has faulted comments made by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) that  President Bola Tinubu has betrayed them going by the increase in fuel pump price.Onanuga’s clarification came following speculations that the federal government was still paying fuel subsidies despite his declaration in May 2023.In a statement issued via his official X handle, Onanuga debunked claims that the current government had been unfaithful to its policy of not paying fuel subsidies since President Tinubu announced the deregulation of the PMS sector on May 29, 2023.“I have read a series of…

The Federal Government is set to arraign some of the organisers of the recent hunger protest today (Monday) before the Federal High Court in Abuja. In the six counts filed by the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, the Federal Government also named a British citizen, Andrew Wynne, aka Andrew Povich, a defendant. In the charge sheet marked, FHC/ABJ/CR/454/2024, the defendants were accused of “treason, destabilising the country, intimidating the President and destroying the NCC in Kano,” among others. The IG specifically accused the protesters of acting in concert and conspiring, with the intention to destabilise the country, to commit a…

A fire incident has been reported at the Lagos State Government Staff Quarters at Odunsanmi Street, off WEMPCO Road, Ogba area of the state. According to reports, the incident happened in the wee hours of today, precisely, around 2.20 am. It was gathered that one of the two-bedrooms in Flat 5, of Block 21, a two-winged, three-story building of 16 two-bedroom flats, was burnt. A preliminary investigation conducted by the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, revealed that the fire originated from an electrical surge in the children’s room. The Permanent Secretary, LASEMA, Dr. Femi Oke-Osanyitolu, said the fire completely…

The chairperson of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, has revealed the identity of a Canada-based woman who allegedly threatened to kill fellow Nigerians living in the country. Amaka Patience Sunnberger had gone viral following a TikTok video where she threatened to poison Nigerians from the Southwest region (Yorubas) and Edo State (Binis) because of their “hate for the Igbos.” According to the one-minute 50-second audio clip, Sunnberger said it’s high time the Igbos started going after their haters, adding that “the Yorubas and the Binis are of no use to the society.” Reacting, the NiDCOM boss said…

The International Criminal Police Organisation has arrested more than 300 people with links to one of West Africa’s most feared criminal networks, Black Axe, and other affiliated groups. The Black Axe is a secretive criminal network involved in trafficking, prostitution and killing operations around the world. However, cybercrime is the group’s largest source of revenue. According to a release by the organisation, the operation has led to hundreds of arrests, the seizure of assets worth $3m, and the dismantling of multiple criminal networks around the world. Operation Jackal III, which ran from 10 April to 3 July across 21 countries…

Police operatives attached to Angwan Lambu Division have arrested one Khadija Umar AKA Naira and two of her sons for housebreaking and theft. A statement by the Public Relations Officer, Nasarawa State Command, Ramhan Nansel on Wednesday, said Khadija uses two of her biological children and two other suspects still at large to carry out their nefarious activities. Upon arrest, two television sets, two 6×6 mattresses, a gas cooker, and 12kg cylinder, a standing fan, a Go TV decoder, cooking pots, an electric jug, a refrigerator and solar panels suspected to have been stolen items, were recovered from the suspects…

The Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Moji Adeyeye, says the agency has not advised Nigerians not to eat bread. In a statement on Tuesday, Adeyeye labelled as false, a video circulating on social media, which claims that the agency has raised concerns about bread safety in Nigeria. “The video which suggests that NAFDAC advised Nigerians to avoid bread due to the use of saccharine by some producers, does not reflect the observations of NAFDAC during the stakeholders’ engagement on August 16, 2024, in Ibadan, Oyo State,” she said. Adeyeye clarified that…

The Lagos Mass Transit Red Line Rail will begin partial operations today (Wednesday). This was announced by the spokesperson for the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority, Kolawole Ojelabi, in a statement on Tuesday. According to LAMATA, the Red Line Rail is one of the six rail lines and one monorail prescribed for Lagos in her Strategic Transport Master Plan. The trains will convey passengers freely and run four daily trips between Oyingbo and Agbado. It is also a transport project connecting Lagos with Ogun State, as many Lagos workers and business owners reside in Ogun. Ojelabi said the milestone marked…

Chief Of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila says there is no timeline yet for the implementation of the Steve Oronsaye’s Report. He stated this on Tuesday during an interview after an official visit to the headquarters of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) in Abuja. Gbajabiamila, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, debunked claims of the report being stalled. He said the Federal Government is working out all necessary modalities to ensure a smooth run of the policy when implemented. There were some motions without movement on the 12-year-old report during ex-President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight…