Author: Olamide Obayemi

The Supreme Court on Wednesday, 8 February, 2023, temporarily halted the move by the Federal Government through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to ban the use of old 200, 500 and 1000 naira notes from Friday, 10 February, 2023. A seven-member panel led by Justice John Okoro halted the move of the Federal Government in a ruling in an exparte application brought by Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara states. Moving the application on Wednesday, 8 February, 2023, counsel to the applicants, Mr A. I. Mustapha, SAN, urged the Apex Court to grant the application in the interest of justice and…

Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has put a lie to the claim made by his predecessor that he renovated a Model School built for N830m with N3b. A statement issued in Abeokuta by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Kunle Somorin, said: “Little doubt he is called Irokunle (a house full of lies) because he is known for dishing out putrid lies all the time. “As a governor he promised to do everything and did virtually nothing. He abandoned most of them after claiming to have paid 100 percent for them. We are known as a promise-keeping administration.…

Epe township came alive on Wednesday, 1 February, 2023, for the Lagos East Senatorial District mega rally of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Party faithful converged on the suburb’s recreational centre to woo voters in support of the party’s Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s re-election. A large crowd of residents and supporters attended the rally from all towns and villages in the Epe Division, including Ibeju Lekki, Ikosi Ejirin, Awoyaya, Langbasa, Lakowe, Eredo, Ilara and others towns. APC’s Apex Leader in the Lagos East, Chief Shakiru Seriki Bamu led other party leaders to the event,…

In continuation of his engagement with strategic stakeholders in Lagos Central Senatorial District, the All Progressives Congress (APC) Candidate for the District in the forthcoming general elections, Rt. Hon. Wasiu Eshilokun-Sanni, met with leaders of Eti Okun Communities and residents of Abraham Adesanya Estate on Saturday, 28 January, 2023. At the meeting, he got the assurance of massive votes from the residents having been adopted as their candidate. His endorsement, according to the residents, was based on his display of uncommon humility, being the first high ranking political office seeker to ever visited them. At the engagement with the Eti…

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on Wednesday, 1 February, 2023, arrested a woman, Omosehin Oluwadarasimi Esther, with the Twitter handle Simisola of Lala, offering new naira notes for sale on social media. The arrest was as a result of intelligence received which led the ICPC operatives to seek out and promptly arrest the suspect. Oluwadarasimi Esther, a social media “serial entrepreneur” who deals in skincare, sales of fuel, facilitation of foreign travels through visa acquisitions, and other businesses, seized the opportunity of the scarcity of the new naira notes to openly market the new notes.…

The Federal Government has lamented the inability of the country to produce enough millets to meet the needs of Nigeria, noting that there is a shortfall of 4.4 million metric tons in production of the crop. Speaking at the weekend at the Millet Food Festival 2023 organised by the Indian High in Nigeria, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Mohammad Abubakar said: “Presently, millet production in Nigeria has not met the national demand and it is attributed to low productivity of the crop. “Our national demand for millet as at 2022 was 6.4 million metric tons while our…

Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-rufai has pledged to support the families of slain officers and men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) who paid the supreme price in the course of protecting miners and mining sites in the state. The support is to cushion the effects of the hardship that the loss of their breadwinners may have created. El-Rufai made the pledge when he hosted the Commandant General of NSCDC, Dr Ahmed Audi, recently at the Sir Kashim Ibrahim Government House, Kaduna, where he condoled with the CG on the death of the men who died…

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has decried the alleged bombing of over 40 herdsmen in Doma local government area of Nasarawa state, saying that the incident is highly regrettable. A press statement on Monday, 30 January, 2023 by the spokesperson of NHRC, Fatimah Mohammed said the Executive Secretary of the Commission, Chief Tony Ojukwu, made the statement in Abuja over the weekend, while reacting to media reports on the alleged erroneous bombing of civilians, including herdsmen by the Nigerian Air Force. Ojukwu demanded urgent action by the government by way of compensating the victims and holding erring officers accountable…

The Chief Observer European Union Election Observation mission for 2023 General Election, Mr. Barry Andrews has appeal to stakeholders to ensure that the upcoming elections are peaceful, free and fair. He also disclosed that 40 long term observers would be deployed by the mission to observed the upcoming elections in all the states of the country. Andrews, who is a member of the European Parliament, while making the appeal in Abuja at the official launch of the observation mission on Monday, explained that all observers are guided by a code of conduct which requires strict impatiality and non interference in…

Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum on Monday, 30 January, 2023, commissioned 300 units of resettlement houses built for citizens affected by Boko Haram attacks in Rumirgo town of Askira-Uba Local Government Area of the state. The project is one of several housing interventions from which about 10,000 resettlement houses were freshly built by the Zulum administration for IDPs and refugees. Rumirgo was one of the communities affected by the over decade old crisis which left many homes and public structures destroyed. During the commissioning, Zulum addressed residents who gathered to witness the brief ceremony. He promised to rehabilitate vandalized…

The National Human Rights Commission Commission (NHRC) has revealed the plan to inaugurate a Special Independent Investigative Panel on Human Rights Violations in the Implementation of Counter Insurgency Operations in the North East (SIIP-North East). According to a signed statement on Tuesday, 31 January, 2023, by the spokesperson of the commission, Fatimah Mohammed, the inauguration will take place on Tuesday (7th February 2023) at Bukhari Bello Auditorium at the NHRC Headquarters. She said the Executive Secretary of the commission, Tony Ojukwu while making the disclosure stated that the panel will among other things focus on investigating Reuters report which alleged…

Ahead of the February 2023 general elections, the National Human Rights Commission said it would be organising a town hall for gubernatorial candidates in 18 states of the federation beginning from 1st to 3rd February 2023. A statement on Tuesday, 31 January, 2023, by the NHRC, Fatimah Mohammed said the Commission will be organising the town hall in collaboration with Civil Society Organisations, United Nations System in Nigeria and the Media, noting that this is “targeted at making human rights issues part of the election discussion, improving citizens’ participation in the general elections, deepening our democracy and the overall safety…

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has successfully concluded the two-year conflict mitigation activity ‘Building Community Resilience to Violent Extremism and Conflict in Northeast Nigeria’, also known as Northeast Connection, that worked to counter violent conflict. Since 2021, Northeast Connection promoted nonviolent conflict resolution from the grassroots to state government levels in Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe states. The activity provided over $2.1 million in small grants to almost 40 local organisations to strengthen local civil society capacity and promote local solutions to violence. Speaking at the close out event, Conflict Specialist USAID/Nigeria, Mukhtari Shitu said: “USAID is committed to…

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament is deploying observer mission to Nigeria for the forthcoming general election. The Parliament also plan deploying observer missions for the elections holding in Sierra Leone in June and Liberia in October, this year. The deployments was part the decision taking by the fifth Legislature of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament which adopted an Activity Plan for 2023 due for execution throughout the year. The adoption followed a formal submission of the Activity Plan by the Secretariat of the ECOWAS Parliament and deliberations by members of parliament, who…

Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum has unveiled a water project with capacity to store and distribute 1,250,000 litres of water at Mboa village in Chibok Local Government Area of the state. Mboa village is located five kilometres away from Chibok town, headquarters of Chibok LGA, and according to the spokesman of the governor, Mallam Isa Gusau, the proximity, of the commissioned water project to Chibok town would allow for over 40,000 residents of Mboa village, Chibok town and other neighboring communities to have access to potable water. According to the statement, the water facility was designed with a storage…

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has emerged as the best Leadership Government Agency of the year 2022. The Corps on Tuesday received the award during the 14th Edition of the Leadership Annual Conference and Awards, themed “Credible Elections and An Economy in Transition” in Abuja. The NSCDC Commandant General (CG), Dr. Ahmed Audi, after receiving the award, said that the recognition will further encourage personnel to work effectively in ensuring adequate security during the forthcoming elections. Audi said that the Corps had embarked on training and retraining of personnel to ensure proper electoral conduct during the elections.…

The British Council has indicated its willingness to continue to support Nigeria’s creative industry, insisting that with the right investment and support it has the potential to be the highest employer of labour and contributor to the nation’s wealth. Speaking at the Creative Enterprise Showcase Programme (CESP) in Abuja, Project Manager Arts and Creative Industry, British Council SSA, Uju Dubas-Agbasi noted that the creative industries in Nigeria are rapidly growing economic powerhouses that are increasingly being recognised as pathways for sustainable livelihoods for young people across art forms. Dubas-Agbasi while noting that: “However, most (creative artists) are faced with obstacles…

The French government has been accused of moving against the adoption of a single currency for the entire West Africa region. The adoption of the single currency, ECO would have wiped out CFA franc which is currently used by the Francophone countries that are more than have of the members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the regional bloc The CFA franc was created in the 1930s on the eve of the Second World War, and many critics see it as a neo-colonial device and a form of French monetary imperialism in Africa that continues to destroy…

As part of its commitment to supporting peaceful, credible, free and fair general elections in Nigeria, the United Nations convened a meeting to listen to and discuss civil society perspectives on the ongoing general election process. The meeting, attended by representatives of some twenty civil society organisations, discussed both positive developments and potential threats to peaceful and credible elections such as vote buying, insecurity across the country, mobile phone usage in polling booths, slow PVC collection and election materials distribution in some parts of the country, Naira redesign and swap, as well as violent attacks on women engaging in politics.…

The Think Tank on Nigeria (TTON) organisation, a policy advocacy platform has called on Nigerian Government to get more serious about recovery of gold assets in the mining sector through transparent national and international bidding. This was contained in a-19 point resolution reached after a deliberation which focused on the theme, ’The mining sector and national development’, adding that the recovered gold can be put in a secured vault The organisation in the communique endorsed by 79 members pointed out that a national mining company should be created to own the assets and be listed on the gold stock exchange…