Author: Khadijah Olowode

Justice Yusuf Halilu of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, High Court, , Maitama, Abuja on Thursday, February 1, 2024, admitted new evidence against former Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), Ahmed Idris in a trial-within-trial. Idris, first defendant in a 14-count charge bordering on gratification, abuse of office and money laundering to the tune of over N109 billion, in a sudden twist, claimed that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) obtained his statement under duress, necessitating a trial-within-trial to determine the veracity of his claim. He is standing trial alongside three others: his company, Mr. Godfrey Olusegun Akindele and Mohammed…

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Thursday,1 February, 2024 said his administration has procured additional rolling stocks for the Blue Line and Red Line rail operations, to bring more relief to millions of Lagos residents. He said the additional rolling stocks are expected to arrive in Lagos before the end of the year. The Lagos State team through its partners was able to secure an agreement for the additional rolling stocks for the Blue Line and Red Line rail lines to be ready within a year and delivered before the end of the year as against the normal two-year…

Lagos State Government on Thursday, 1 February, 2024, visited the Household of David Church after the fire incident that engulfed the church yesterday to commiserate with the management and members of the church. The Government enjoined churches and other stakeholders to embrace government’s engagement going on to reduce the spate of fire incidents in the State. Addressing senior church management, members and pressmen during the visit to the church premises on Adeniyi Jones Industrial Estate, Ikeja Lagos, the state Commissioner for Special Duties and Inter-governmental Relations, Mr Olugbenga Oyerinde expressed sadness at result of the fire outbreak while extending the…

By Abimbola Ogunnaike A Nigerian actress named Oluwadarasimi Omoseyin has been sentenced to six months imprisonment by a Federal High sitting in Lagos for spraying and stepping on the new naira notes at a social event in Lagos State. The court presided over by Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke handed down the judgment on Omoseyin on Thursday, 1 February, 2024. The convict was first arraigned on February 13, 2023, by the Lagos Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,( EFCC), on two-count charges, to which she pleaded “not guilty,” just as he was subsequently granted bail on February 15, 2023.…

Ekiti State Government has presented the breakdown of the N159.6Billion 2024 Budget signed into law by Governor Biodun Oyebanji on 27th December, 2023 to the public. At a public presentation of the breakdown and analysis of the budget tagged “ Budget of Sustainable Growth and Development”, held at Jibowu hall, Governor’s office, Ado- Ekiti, the state’s Commissioner for Budget, Economic Planning and Performance Management, Mr Niyi Adebayo, who gave a breakdown of the budget estimates, said the thrust of the fiscal document is to sustain the administration’s policy of shared prosperity through the six-pillar agenda of the government. According to…

By Mark Adebayo “At the root of real honor is always the sense of the sacredness of the person who is its object.” – Marilynne Robinson. WHEN the highest decision-making authorities on Islamic matters in Egbaland zeroed in on Lateefat Oyeyemi Kolapo as the next Iyalode of Egba Muslims, they scored a bull’s eye. Judging by the constellation of great Muslim personalities of Egba origin who permeate the Egba landscape home and abroad, equally qualified for this exalted title, I can only imagine the complex labyrinth of choices that they had to navigate before deciding that this…

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has traced N7 billion, suspected to be proceeds of fraud to a religious organisation. The Chairman of the anti-graft agency, Ola Olukoyede disclosed this on Wednesday, 31 January, 2024, the Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja, during a one-day dialogue on “Youth, Religion, and the Fight against Corruption.” He said the EFCC was investigating a N13 billion fraud case when it discovered N7 billion linked to a religious body. He added that the organization quickly obtained a restraining order to prevent the EFCC from inviting its leaders. Olukoyede further said the commission will not give…

The Lagos Waste Management Authority, (LAWMA) and the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), have met to discuss ways of implementing sustainable waste management strategies, following the recent ban on usage of styrofoam packs in the state. Addressing the stakeholders, managing director/CEO of LAWMA, Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin reiterated the Authority’s commitment to the Lagos State Government’s T.H.E.M.E.S Plus agenda, stressing that the state government had to ban styrofoam to protect the environment and safeguard public health. He said: “It is necessary to establish that lack of access to a good environment, lack of awareness about the dangers of some of the…

The ECOWAS Court has dismissed a case filed by a former employee of the ECOWAS Commission on the ground that she filed her case beyond the time limit. Mrs. Dorothy Etim filed suit ECW/CCJ/APP/44/21, alleging that the ECOWAS Commission and its President wrongfully dismissed her on 8 September 2015. She stated that the incident was based on an allegation that she produced forged documents to access ECOWAS education grant for the benefit of her four children. She told the Court that she was not invited by the Respondents to respond or react to the allegations of “fraud” and “forgery”. She…

The Ogun State Police Command has dismissed three officers over alleged armed robbery and extortion. The state Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alamutu disclosed this on Tuesday, 30 January, 2024, while parading suspects at the state headquarters in Eleweran, Abeokuta. The police officers were paraded alongside 27 other suspected kidnappers, armed robbers and cultists. Alamutu told newsmen that the three police officers and a civilian were arrested following a report by one Kashimao Emmanuel, a student at Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED), Ijagun, Ijebu-Ode. The suspects are: Inspector Taiwo Kolawole, Inspector John Ogbe and Cpl Idowu Sunday, all attached to…

The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) National Research Fund has awarded N34 million grant for research on cancer treatment to Yaba College of Technology Research Team. The grant is to enable the researchers to develop an artificial intelligence-based precision medicine solution for prostate cancer treatment with a solution that has the potential to significantly improve outcomes for prostate cancer patients in Nigeria and the world at large. The grant is meant to develop a technique that uses AI to predict optimal drug combinations for individual prostate cancer patients based on analyzes of biopsy tissue samples. Experts in Computer Engineering, Medical…

In a bid to fulfill his promise of delivering a multimodal transportation system for the populace, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu will, on Tuesday, 30 January, 2024, depart Lagos for Beijing, the Capital of China. While in China, Governor Sanwo-Olu will visit the headquarters of China Civil Engineering Construction Company, CCECC for trade and investment discussions with the top officials of the company. He will inspect the headquarters of the Chinese construction giants and some ongoing projects undertaken around Beijing. The Governor is scheduled to inspect the Signaling System (CBTC etc.) and Metro projects, being undertaken by CCECC around Beijing. He will…

By: Adewale Ajayi I have traveled round the world with the Super Eagles, I have sat at table, wining and dining with these players at major continental and global events, I have shared in their agonies and participated in their protests. I have seen the sweet romance between players and officials go sour and from the sidelines, I remember the ugly memories. Need I remind you of the unpalatable incidences of the World Cup in France 98, or the shameful incidences of the 2010 Nations Cup in Angola? Years after, other events have come with it’s good and bad sides…

Traditional rulers in Ekiti State under the aegis of Ekiti State Council of Traditional Rulers, have called on the Federal Government to deploy more security personnel to Ekiti in order to beef up security in the state. The traditional rulers who stated that the state is under-policed also demanded that the State Government should empower them with adequate resources to police and secure their respective domains to compliment the efforts of the security agencies. They also all traditional rulers to take necessary measures to ensure all forets currently occupied by bandits and kidnappers are flushed out immediately and that no…

Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, has presented N6m cheques to the six public school students who recently won the presidential debate competition in Abuja. That was a fulfillment of his administration’s pledge to give the great six one million naira each alongside a full scholarship for their first degree in any public tertiary institution in Nigeria. The six public school students are: Mashood Kamaldeen (Government Secondary School, Ilorin East LG); Jatto Ramatallahi (Offa Grammar School, Offa); Jimoh Abayomi Emmanuel (Tanke Community Junior Secondary School, Ilorin South); Emmanuel Chioma (St. Anthony Junior Secondary School, Ilorin East); Dolapo Mariam (Offa Grammar School,…

Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq on Monday received applause from the National Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) for his administration’s investments in critical infrastructure and projects that can drive rapid economic growth and make the state a hub. President of the NIPR, Dr Ikechukwu Neliaku, gave the commendation in Ilorin, the state capital, when he led a delegation of the Institute to Government House on a courtesy visit. Neliaku said some of the ongoing legacy projects in the state, such as Innovation Hub and International Conference Centre, are strategic and would place Kwara on the global map. “We have noted…

Ekiti State Governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji, has expressed his readiness to rally all security apparatus available to fight and flush out criminal elements who might want to make Ekiti a killing field and a safe haven for blood -sucking criminals. The State government, according to Oyebanji will also reinvigorate the local security outfits to work in synergy with conventional security networks to break the ranks of those perpetrating heinous crimes in the facets of kidnapping, banditry and killings in the state. Governor Oyebanji gave these assurances while addressing Ekiti people in a statewide broadcast aired on Tuesday night, in response…

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) have signed an agreement paving the way for the 16th session of the Convention’s Conference of the Parties (COP16) in Riyadh from 2-13 December 2024. According to a statement, the Riyadh COP16 will be the largest-ever meeting of UNCCD’s 197 Parties, the first to be held in the Middle East region and the largest multilateral conference ever hosted by Saudi Arabia. 2024 also marks the 30th anniversary of the UNCCD, one of the three major environmental treaties known as the Rio Conventions, alongside climate change and…

Ogun State Governor Prince Dapo Abiodun has congratulated the new Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Oludaisi Elemide and other lawmakers for ensuring a rancour free process. The Governor, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Engr. (Mrs.) Noimot Salako-Oyedele spoke when he received 19 members of the House who accompanied the new Speaker on a courtesy call on him on Tuesday, 30 January, 2024 in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta. He commended the seamless manner in which they elected the new speaker, reaffirming that the lawmakers have the right to decide who would lead them in…

By Seun Oloketuyi Sixty-one-year-old Olufemi Hakeem Gbajabiamila CFR is one man whose political and life story makes a long-lasting – if not a lifelong – impression. Truth be told, Gbajabiamila’s trajectory in life and politics can be intimidating but should not be enough for many of his peers in politics, and even technocrats, to covertly abhor his person, office, success and consistently seek his downfall. Though his antecedents and emergence in the world of politics, and governance may seem like only a lofty idea to many of his peers, who are yet to phantom the secret to his continued rise,…