The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has re-arraigned the Chief of Staff to Kogi State Governor, Alli Bello, and Daudu Suleiman for allegedly diverting about N100 billion belonging to the state government, including former Governor Yahaya Bello. The charges, involving seventeen counts, were presented before Justice James Omotoso of the Federal High Court in Abuja. Both Alli Bello and Dauda Suleman pleaded not guilty to the amended charges, denying any involvement in the alleged fraud. However, objections were raised by Alli Bello’s counsel, Abubakar Aliyu, regarding the service of the amended charge as required by the Administration of Criminal…
Author: Omolemi Eboisetale
In response to the recent abduction of over 280 students and teachers from Government Secondary School and LEA Primary School in Kuriga, Kaduna State, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has pledged its commitment to quickly rescue the victims. NSCDC’s Commandant General, Ahmed Audi, reiterated this promise during his meeting with Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani. The abduction, which occurred on March 8, 2024, in the Kuriga area of Chikun Local Government Area, sparked national outrage. Expressing concern over the abduction, which occurred on March 8, 2024, in the Kuriga area of Chikun Local Government Area,…
The internet observatory Netblocks reports on Thursday that a major internet outage affected West and Central Africa, citing information from operators of multiple subsea cable failures. This outage, has caused severe connectivity issues in several countries, including Ivory Coast, Liberia, Benin, Ghana, and Burkina Faso, according to Netblocks data. The exact cause of the cable failures remains unclear, leaving affected nations scrambling to address the widespread outage. Cloudflare, a prominent internet firm, has also corroborated the extent of the disruptions, stating ongoing connectivity issues in Gambia, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Benin, and Niger. Cloudflare’s monitoring accounts suggest a pattern in…
In response to the recent directive from President Bola Tinubu to state governors to provide land for ranching purposes, The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has opposed any attempt to introduce ranching in the South-East region of Nigeria. In a press statement released by IPOB’s spokesperson, Emma Powerful, the group expressed adamant refusal to allow any governor in the South-East to cede land for ranching or agricultural ventures to external entities. They said that the South-East lacks sufficient land for such endeavors and allocating land for ranching would exacerbate food scarcity and insecurity in the region. President Tinubu’s…
Kaduna Electric has announced the completion of refunds to overbilled customers, following a directive from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). The refunds cover the period from January to September 2023 and aim to address concerns over estimated billing practices. Estimated billing, a system used to charge unmetered electricity consumers based on previous usage rather than actual consumption, has been a contentious issue in Nigeria’s energy sector. The NERC recently sanctioned 11 electricity distribution companies, including Kaduna Electric, for overbilling customers by approximately N105 billion over nine months. In response to this, NERC issued Order No: NERC/2024/004-01 4,…
President Bola Tinubu has appointed Dr. Temitope Ilori as the new and first female Director General of the National Agency For The Control of AIDS (NACA). In a press statement issued by Toyin Aderibigbe, the Head of Public Relations and Protocol of NACA, Dr. Ilori officially assumed her role on February 22, 2024, succeeding Dr. Gambo Aliyu, who served as DG from June 2019 to February 2024. With her background in medicine and public health, Dr. Ilori brings a wealth of experience to her new position. Prior to her appointment, she served as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of…
Kogi State Governor, Ahmed Usman Ododo, champions for enhanced funding in education to drive rapid human capital advancement across Nigeria. During a recent courtesy visit to the Executive Secretary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND), Architect Sonny Echono, in Abuja, Governor Ododo applauded TETFUND’s support for tertiary institutions in Kogi State while stressing the need for additional resources to bolster high-impact projects in these institutions. Expressing gratitude for TETFUND’s intervention in Kogi’s tertiary education landscape, Governor Ododo stated the significant progress witnessed in institutions like Kogi State University, Kabba, which recently matriculated over 1000 students. However, he stated the…
A new bill proposing power rotation among Nigeria’s geopolitical zones has passed its first reading in the Senate. Sponsored by Senator Abba Patrick Moro, representing Benue South Senatorial District and serving as the Senate Minority Leader, the “Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (Alteration) Bill, 2024” aims to amend the constitution to enforce rotation of power at various levels of government. The bill outlines provisions for the rotation of the presidency among the six geopolitical zones, with each state holding the office for a maximum of two terms of four years each. It also restricts zones that…
Civil society and rights groups in Nigeria have criticized the Accountant General of the Federation, as well as commissioners of finance from the 36 states, for opting to conduct a workshop in the United Kingdom amidst the country’s economic challenges. The workshop, titled “Public Financial Management and IPSAS,” was organized by the Office of the AGF and took place at the Copthorne Tara Hotel in Kensington, London, from March 4 to March 9, 2024. Participants included state commissioners of finance and officials from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation. Despite Nigeria grappling with persistent foreign exchange crisis,…
Aigboje Aig-Imoukhede, the pioneering Managing Director Access Bank Group, has been appointed as the chairman of Access Holdings. This comes in the wake of a tragic event earlier this year, that claimed the life of his friend and co-founder, Herbert Wigwe, alongside his wife and son in a helicopter crash in California near the Nevada border. Aig-Imoukhede, who left the group a decade ago following Wigwe’s demise, now returns to lead Access Holdings. According to a statement from the financial institution, his appointment follows extensive consultations with key stakeholders, and the board unanimously decided to invite him to the…
The House on Wednesday passed bipartisan legislation to force TikTok’s Chinese parent company to sell the wildly popular social media platform or face a ban in the U.S. If enacted, the bill would give ByteDance six months to divest from TikTok before app stores would start prohibiting access. The final vote was 352-65, surpassing the two-thirds majority threshold needed to pass the legislation under a suspension of the rules. The bill passed despite an eleventh-hour lobbying push from TikTok’s supporters and some opposition from former President Donald Trump, who reversed his position on the app. It’s unclear if it will…
The Federal Government of Nigeria has filed terrorism charges against Bello Bodejo, the detained President of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore. This comes in response to allegations of Bodejo’s involvement in establishing and arming an ethnic militia group without proper authorization, posing a threat to national security. According to court documents dated March 12, Bodejo stands accused of undermining Nigeria’s national security by establishing the ethnic militia known as Kungiya Zaman Lafiya without legal authorization. The charges specify that Bodejo committed an act prejudicial to national security and public safety, contravening Section 29 of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act,…