Author: Festus Adeloye

The lawmaker representing Borno South Senatorial District, Ali Ndume, has called on Nigerians to remain calm and uphold democracy amid the Rivers State political crisis. In a post on his X page on Friday, Ndume wrote, “Nigerians must remain calm and uphold democracy amid the Rivers State crisis. Let’s trust our institutions and work for peace, unity, and stability. “In times of political tension, let us remain steadfast in our commitment to democracy and the rule of law.”

President Bola Tinubu has dropped Mr Idris Olorunnimbe as Chairman of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Board. A House of Representatives member from Lagos state who confirmed the development to TheScrutinyNG on Friday said no reason was given for Olorunnimbe’s removal. According to him, Olorunnimbe was not among the members inaugurated by the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa on Wednesday. Details later…

The suspended senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, on Friday, secured a court injunction barring the Independent National Electoral Commission from accepting the recall petition from her constituency. The push to recall the lawmaker intensified on Thursday, with more groups in her constituency throwing their weight behind the process. The move comes on the heel of her suspension from the Red Chamber, after a dispute with the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, over seating arrangements. READ ALSO: Natasha To Sky: Akpabio Kept Malice Against Me Because I Refused His Sexual Advances On Wednesday, constituents began the process for her recall but…

US President Donald Trump signed an order Thursday aimed at “eliminating” the Department of Education, a decades-old goal of the American right, which wants individual states to run schools free from the federal government. Surrounded by schoolchildren sitting at desks set up in the East Room of the White House, Trump smiled as held up the order after signing it at a special ceremony. Trump said the order would “begin eliminating the federal Department of Education once and for all.” “We’re going to shut it down and shut it down as quickly as possible. It’s doing us no good,” Trump…

Tunisian President Kais Saied has dismissed prime minister Kamel Madouri, his office said on Friday, as the North African country grapples with major economic issues. Madouri, a technocrat appointed last August as part of a cabinet reshuffle, was replaced by Sarra Zaafrani Zenzri, the former minister of public works, the presidency said. Zaafrani, 62, becomes Tunisia’s second woman premier after Najla Bouden, who was in the post from October 2021 to August 2023. She takes office as Tunisia also faces criticism from the United Nations over the imprisonment of Saied’s political opponents and as rights groups decry a rollback on…

Southern Africa’s desert nation of Namibia swears in its first woman president Friday after Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah won elections last year that extended the ruling party’s 35-year grip on power. Nandi-Ndaitwah, 72, will become one of the few women leaders in the region when she is inaugurated at a ceremony to be attended by heads of states of neighbouring countries including Angola and South Africa. Previously the vice president, she is a stalwart of the South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO) that led the sparsely populated and uranium-rich country to independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990. Popularly known by her…

The Supreme Court has nullified the judgments of the Court of Appeal and Federal High Court, which sacked Senator Samuel Anyanwu as National Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). A five-member panel of the apex court held that the issue of who is the National Secretary of the PDP borders on the internal affairs of a political party which is not justiciable. Justice Jamilu Tukur, who delivered the lead judgment of the Supreme Court, consequently struck out the judgment of the trial court delivered in October 2024 and also set aside the majority judgment of the court of appeal…

Rivers Sole Administrator Vice-Admiral Ibok Ibas (rtd) has given his mandate in the state, which is to restore law and order, stabilise the polity, and create the necessary environment for the full restoration of democratic institutions. Ibas, in his maiden statewide broadcast in Port Harcourt on Thursday evening, decried the state of affairs that led to the declaration of emergency rule by President Bola Tinubu. He said: “My mandate is clear: to restore law and order, stabilise the polity, and to create the necessary conditions for the full restoration of democratic institutions and representation. “My appointment comes at a difficult…

The Oyo State Government has officially withdrawn criminal charges against Naomi Silekunola, the former wife of the Ooni of Ife; Alhaji Oriyomi Hamzat, owner of Agidigbo FM; and Abdullahi Fasasi, principal of Islamic High School, Bashorun, Ibadan. These individuals were initially charged following the tragic stampede that occurred in December 2024 during a children’s festive party, which claimed the lives of at least 35 children. Following the court proceedings on Thursday, a video emerged showing the defendants visibly relieved, exchanging pleasantries, and smiling—an indication of their elation at being released from the charges. The State’s Attorney General, Abiodun Aikomo, confirmed…

The House of Representatives has approved the request of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for a state of emergency in Rivers State with an amendment.  The House resolved while the emergency lasted; it can be reviewed at any time without necessarily waiting for the six months prescribed in the proclamation. Minority Whip of the House, Ali Isa JC, moved the amendment to the request that when there are signs of resolution of the crisis, the President should review the emergency rule in the State. A total of 243 lawmakers attended the plenary session where the resolution was passed on Thursday.