Author: Festus Adeloye

President Bola Tinubu has extended his condolences to the family of the late Senator Ifeanyi Ubah. The deceased was a renowned businessman and politician. He was the senator representing Anambra South Senatorial District at the National Assembly. President Tinubu, in a statement by his spokesman, Chief Ajuri Ngelale, commiserated with the friends and colleagues of the late Senator, the National Assembly, and the government and people of Anambra State over this sad loss. The President prayed for the repose of the soul of the departed lawmaker, as well as for strength and comfort for his family.

General Christopher Musa, Chief of Defence Staff, has expressed concern over the ongoing insecurity in Northern Nigeria, citing banditry, kidnapping, and related crimes. During a speech at Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, Kaduna State, he highlighted both external and internal factors contributing to the problem, including the proliferation of small arms, political instability, and socio-economic issues like poverty and inequality. Musa noted that the region’s porous borders facilitate the movement of criminals, including Boko Haram and other militant groups. He also mentioned the impact of environmental changes, such as desertification and the shrinking of Lake Chad, which have intensified conflicts…

A former presidential candidate, Peter Obi has expressed shock and sadness over the the death of Senator Ifeanyi Ubah, who represented Anambra South Senatorial District. Ubah, who was the Chief Executive Officer of Capital Oil, died in a hotel in London, the United Kingdom, on Saturday. The late lawmaker, who was a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress, died at the age of 52. In a tribute on X.com on Saturday, Obi revealed that he met with Ubah just last week at the burial of Chief Pius Onwuzo in Nnewi, Anambra State, where they shared a warm moment. Despite…

Kazakhstan duo Alexandra Le and Islam Satpayev won the first medal of the Olympic Games on Saturday after claiming an upset bronze in the 10-metre mixed team air rifle event. Le and Satpayev cruised to victory over Germany’s Maximilian Ulbrich and Anna Janssen, outscoring their opponents 17-5 at Chateauroux. Janssen, ranked world number one in the event, and Ulbrich, the world No.19, had been favourites to prevail against Le and Satpayev, ranked 33rd and 95th in the world respectively.

A huge, fast-moving and rapidly growing wildfire in northern California has forced more than 4,000 people to evacuate as firefighters battle gusty winds and perilously dry conditions, authorities said Friday. Fueled by a crushing heatwave, the so-called Park Fire — the most intense wildfire to hit the state this summer — has rapidly devoured nearly 240,000 acres (97,000 hectares) as of Friday night and is continuing to gain strength. “This fire has been rapidly expanding 4,000 to 5,000 acres an hour,” incident commander Billy See said at a press conference Friday evening. For now, it is “zero per cent” controlled,…

The Imo State Police Command has arrested two suspected armed robbers, Ntosi Godfrey, and Nnamdi Raymond, en route to Owerri with a Green Toyota Golf, Reg No AA775BD Lagos, allegedly snatched from a victim in Umuahia, the Abia State capital. The command’s Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Henry Okoye, made this known in a statement on Friday. He said the arrest was made through the efforts of the operatives of the command tactical unit while on intelligence-led stop-and-search along Owerri-Aba road. The statement read, “The suspects opened fire on sighting police operatives but were given stiff resistance by the ever-gallant…

The Justice Department late Friday filed its response to TikTok’s civil suit aimed at derailing a law that would force the app to be sold or face a US ban. TikTok’s suit in a Washington federal court argues that the law violates First Amendment rights of free speech. The US response counters that the law addresses national security concerns, not speech, and that TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance is not able to claim First Amendment rights here. The filing details concerns that ByteDance could, and would, comply with Chinese government demands for data about US users or yield to pressure…

The Vice President, Kashim Shettima, on Friday said it is a time to solve problems and not protest as the Federal Government announced its participation in the Grand Challenges Nigeria project, a global health initiative aimed at combating malnutrition and food insecurity in Nigeria. He stated this during a high-level meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Shettima emphasised the need for constructive action over protest even as he acknowledged the hardship being faced by Nigerians due to recent economic reforms, particularly the removal of fuel subsidies. This was disclosed in a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President…

A former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, has said that the chances of restructuring the country under President Bola Tinubu’s administration are unlikely. Odinkalu noted that owing to the “mechanics of presidentialism,” it remains unlikely that a sitting president would champion the devolution of more powers to the federating units. The former NHRC boss said this on Friday when he was featured as a guest on Inside Sources with Laolu Akande, a sociocultural programme of Channels Television. Odinkalu said, “President Tinubu is now seeing Nigeria from the centre, not from the circumference. I’ve lived in…

The Spokesman to Osun State Governor, Olawale Rasheed, has said his principal is governing the state without drawing credit facilities and without taking security votes. Olawale, in a statement obtained in Osogbo on Friday, said the clarification was in response to figures credited to some opposition politicians, who had alleged governor Ademola Adeleke, of increasing Osun debt and of accessing security votes to the tune of billions of naira. Rasheed who said the allegation was mischievous, said Adeleke is pursuing his many governance initiatives within the confines of available resources from federal allocations and internally generated revenue. The statement partly…