Author: Soffiyyah Olamide

In a pointed plea for transparency, former presidential aide Laolu Akande has said that former Kano State governor, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje should take the opportunity he has now to squarely face corruption charges against him. He added that it does not matter if he remains as APC chairman in the process, dousing worries that Ganduje’s political opponents may use the charges to remove him from his current party position as the national chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Opening his popular TV talk show, ‘Inside Sources with Laolu Akande,’ with “My Take” segment Friday morning on Channels…

The Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, SAN has assured the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) that the Commission will assist the agency to tackle cases of tax evasion and financial crime in the revenue generating sector of the country. The ICPC Boss gave the assurance at the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at the Commission ‘s headquarters. The ICPC Chairman emphasized the importance of strategic partnership in the fight against corruption. He stated, “Corruption erodes the fabric of society and hinders economic development. By partnering with FIRS,…

By Temitope Ajayi Tracking many stories of remarkable progress currently taking place in Nigeria can be a challenging task. This is so because these important stories are lost to some who daily indulge in the cacophony of adverse reports. These negative news often dominates the headlines. With a 24-hour news cycle that tends to focus mainly on distasteful narratives, several Nigerians have been made to accept the view that nothing good is happening in their country. Those who rely on the mainstream media and social media as the only sources of news and information they consume are the worst hit…

By Abimbola Ogunnaike Following the killing of 12 people by gunmen in Tilengpat Pushit community in the Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State , women in Bokkos Local Government Area of the state have taken to the streets in protests over the renewed violent attacks by gunmen in their communities. Some residents in Bokkos town said that the protesting women were headed to the Council headquarters to register their grievances It was gathered that the attacks leading to the deaths of the victims occurred in the late hours of Thursday, 18 April, 2024 Recall that last week; gunmen killed no…

By Abimbola Ogunnaike The Federal Government has disclosed that it issued N8 trillion in government security, known as treasury bills, to stabilize and boost the economy. Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, made this disclosure in an interview with newsmen on Thursday, 18 April, 2024 during the International Monetary Fund, IMF/World Bank spring meetings in Washington D.C., United States of America. Edu noted that the fiscal authority and the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, have collaborated to attract foreign investment through securities issuance. “A large part of the securities that have been sold, the dollars come, and they get naira in exchange and use…

By Abimbola Ogunnaike International Monetary Fund(IMF) latest forecasts has revealed that Nigeria’s economy, which ranked as Africa’s largest in 2022, is set to slip to fourth place this year after a series of currency devaluations. The IMF’s World Economic Outlook as reported by Bloomberg, estimated the country’s gross domestic product at $253 billion based on current prices this year, behind North African powerhouses Algeria at $267 billion, Egypt at $348 billion, and South Africa at $373 billion. The report added that South Africa will remain the continent’s largest economy until Egypt reclaims the mantle in 2027. Nigeria however is expected…

President Bola Tinubu has appointed Mr Mairiga Aliyu Katuka as Chairman of the Board of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), reports thegazellenews.com The President also approved the appointment of Mr Emomotimi Agama as the Director General of the Commission. Others appointed to run the affairs of the Board are: Frana Chukwuogor, Executive Commissioner, Legal and Enforcement; Mr. Bola Ajomale, Executive Commissioner, Operations; Mrs. Samiya Hassan Usman, Executive Commissioner, Corporate Services; Mr. Lekan Belo, Non-Executive Commissioner; and Mr. Kasimu Garba Kurfi, Non-Executive Commissioner. “The President anticipates that all members of the Board of this critical commission will bring to bear their…

African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank or the Bank) (www.Afreximbank.com) announced on Friday, 19 April, 2024, that it has extended a $25 million term loan facility to Kensington Oval Management Inc. (KOMI), a major sports facility in Bridgetown, Barbados, ahead of the 2024 Cricket World Cup which is set to take place from June 4th to 30th in Bridgetown. The term loan facility is backed by a guarantee from the Government of Barbados given the importance of cricket to the country’s heritage. The Kensington Oval Cricket Ground in Barbados is one of the iconic centers for cricket around the world and has regularly hosted…

The Executive Secretary of the African Refiners and Distributors Association (ARDA), Anibor Kragha, will speak at the African Energy Week (AEW): Invest in African Energy conference – taking place from November 4–8 in Cape Town. Kragha’s return to the conference will not only improve the understanding of the state of play of Africa’s downstream industry but draw insight into strategies for addressing challenges to the sector’s development. Africa is advancing its downstream infrastructure under efforts to scale-up energy security continent-wide. As the sole pan-African organization representing the African downstream sector, ARDA is at the forefront of this expansion, advocating…

Insurance underwriter, LASACO Assurance Plc, has donated health recovery items to support the health initiative programme of the National Youth Service Corps members serving in the Ifako Ijaiye Local Government area of Lagos State. A statement from the firm said that the donation was to boost health development in the country. Some corps members, under the aegis of Local Government Initiative, for their first quarter Health Initiative, embarked on a project to provide health services to rural dwellers, whose access to quality health services was limited due to poverty, ignorance and superstition. LASACO Assurance supported the corps members to reach…

The Peoples Democratic Party coming out of its National Executive Council meeting today threw tantrums against the All Progressives Congress and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, accusing the president and his party for all its notorious inadequacies when it reigned for 16 years, until it was shoved out of power in 2015. We believe the party’s NEC members must have been habiting another planet, as all the accusations contradicted the reality on ground and completely ignored the stellar achievements recorded by the Tinubu Administration in less than one year. Unlike the PDP administration of 16 years, the Tinubu administration has been…

By Abimbola Ogunnaike Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso, has confirmed that Nigeria received $600 into the country’s foreign reserves. The development will see the Naira appreciate further below N1,074 per Dollar at the official market in the coming days. The CBN Governor made this disclosure at the International Monetary Fund’s spring meetings in Washington, D.C, Wednesday, 17 April, 2024. The Apex Bank clarified that the shifts in the country’s reserves have nothing to do with defending the Naira in the FX market. “In the next couple of days, I think between yesterday and today, we had about $600…

By Abimbola Ogunnaike The immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello was absent at the Federal High Court Abuja on Thursday, 18 April, 2024. The former Governor was to be arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged money laundering offence involving N84 billion. Counsel for the EFCC, Kemi Phinero, earlier told the court that Bello was absent from court for his arraignment because he was being protected by someone with immunity. Justice Emeka Nwite subsequently adjourned the suit to to April 23rd.

By Abimbola Ogunnaike The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has directed parents to stay away from all Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres during the 2024 UTME exercise. The directive was issued at the final briefing of the Computer-Based Test (CBT) centre owners, held virtually. JAMB spokesperson, Dr Fabian Benjamin, said parents who flout the directive should be arrested while their wards should be disqualified from sitting for the examination. According to Benjamin, this became necessary following the intrusive disposition of some parents during the board’s previous exercises. “Some miscreants also disguise as parents to infiltrate the centres to perpetrate all…

By Abimbola Ogunnaike As part of measures to deepen monetary policy tightening and improve lending in the real sector of the economy, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reduced deposit money banks’ Loan-to-deposit Ratio, LDR, to 50 per cent from 65 per cent to boost lending capacity. This is according to a letter by Dr Adetona Adedeji, CBN’s Acting Director of the Banking Supervision Department, addressed to all banks. According to Adedeji, the reduction was similar to the Cash Reserved Ratio of banks, which is 45 per cent. “Following a shift in policy stance towards a more contractionary approach, it…

By Abimbola Ogunnaike The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has appointed Kogi State Governor, Usman Ododo; and former Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege; to superintend the Ondo governorship primary election slated for Saturday, The PUNCH gathered. Ododo will head the seven-man Primary Election Committee set up to conduct the shadow poll while Omo-Agege will serve as the Secretary. Other members are: a former Oyo Deputy Governor, Iyiola Oladokun; Senator Lekan Mustapha; former member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Princess Adefunmilayo Tejuoso; Margaret Duru and Dr. Sani Danjuma. The committee has been saddled with the responsibility to conduct a…

By Abimbola Ogunnaike The Kogi State governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) in the 2023 election, Senator Dino Melaye, engaged in a altercation with former Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, at the PDP North Central Zone leadership meeting on Wednesday, 17 April, 2024. In a post on his X handle on Thursday, 18 April, 2024 Melaye stated that the confrontation stemmed from Ortom’s declaration of support for President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, ahead of the 2027 election. Melaye wrote, “Why will Ortom attend a PDP meeting after declaring support for Tinubu in 2027. Hence, my altercation…

By Abimbola Ogunnaike The Court of Arbitration in Italy on Wednesday, 17 April, 2024 ordered Juventus Football Club to pay Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo 9.7 million euros ($10.4 million) in back wages for the 2020-21 season. The Court of Arbitration, to which Ronaldo appealed, “orders Juventus Turin to pay the sum of 9,774,166.66 euros”, plus interest and procedural costs, it stated in its decision. The sum equates to the difference between the salary actually received by Ronaldo and that which he should have received after tax and other deductions. Ronaldo, who spent three seasons in Italy with Juventus (2018-21) before…

By Abimbola Ogunnaike Popular disc jockey Obianuju Catherine Udeh, aka DJ Switch, has debunked reports that she was arrested in Lagos. Reports on Thursday, 18 April, 2024, emerged that DJ Switch was arrested and taken to the magistrate court in Eti Osa over an alleged complaint of fraud and assault. Writing on X, DJ Switch said the report was false and the perpetrators intended to tarnish her image. Reacting to the news via her X handle on the morning of Thursday 18 April, 2024, the disc jockey denied reports of her arrest. She noted that while she is “not a fan…

By Abimbola Ogunnaike The Lagos State Police Command has tendered a public apology for a mix-up following the alleged arrest of a popular Nigerian disc jockey, Obianuju Catherine Udeh, aka DJ Switch. The State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, made the apology via his X handle Thursday,18 April, 2024 stating that the arrested DJ was “DJ Commissioner Wysei, not DJ Switch.” “There is a mixup from our end. The arrested person is DJ Commissioner Wysei, not DJ Switch. “Apologies for all the inconvenience to a few media outfits like Linda Ikeji, BBC and TVC that I gave confirmation this…