Author: Adejuyigbe Francis

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has been inundated with barrage of complaints from well-meaning Nigerians concerning unauthorized withdrawals from their bank accounts, which investigations by the Commission have linked to Automated Teller Machine, ATM, Debit Card swapping or fraud. The modus operandi of fraudsters involved in this nefarious practice involves keeping a debit card of the same bank, and in the guise of helping a confused bank customer at any ATM point, swaps the card in such a hurry that the customer would not notice and at the same time memorises the pin used in trying the fake…

The Confederation of African football has announced the final shortlists for the women’s categories of the 2023 CAF Awards, with Asisat Oshoala and Chiamaka Nnadozie making the cut. In the Player of the Year zone, the Barcelona striker will battle with her France-based compatriot, Zambia’s Barbara Babanda, and South Africa’s trio of Andile Dlamini, Hilda Magaia as well as Thembi Kgatlana for the individual accolade. Others are Cameroon and Inter Milan star Ajara Njoya and the Morocco trio of Anissa Lahmari, Fatima Tagnaout, and Ghizalaine Chebbak who plays professional fooball at AS FAR. It is a double delight for goalkeeper…

President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of a new Board and Management team for the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), which would take effect from December 1, 2023. In a statement on Monday by the presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, the appointment complies with Section 59 (2) of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021. President Tinubu anticipates the fullest measure of compliance with the performance-driven and results-oriented mandate of his Renewed Hope administration in implementing an energy policy that will monetize all available oil and gas resources of today. The president added that the policy would pave the way for the total…

The Lagos State House of Assembly on Monday confirmed three of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s nominees of cabinet rank. This was made known in a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Eromosele Ebhomele. The House confirmed Abiodun Ogunleye for the position of Commissioner. It also approved two others for the positions of Special Adviser to the governor (cabinet ranks). Their confirmation took place during a plenary presided over by the Speaker of the House, Mudashiru Obasa. Earlier, Hon. Mojeed Fatai, chairman of the ad-hoc committee set up to screen nominees of the…

Veteran comedian, Bright Okpocha popularly known as Basketmouth, has set a five year plan to quit comedy. Basketmouth said he would be quiting comedy when he clocks 50 years to build his own empire and work in every aspect of the entertainment industry. The 45-year-old, during an interview on Arise TV, explained that he plans to retire after doing a run of yearly comedy shows for the following five years. He said even though he initially gave up a music career in the 1990s to pursue comedy, he had always known he would return to it. “In five years, I…

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the 2024 Appropriation Bill with aggregate expenditure of N27.5 trillion. The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Alhaji Atiku Bagudu, announced this on Monday after the federal cabinet meeting presided over by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The minister also said the targeted revenue for next year is N18 trillion. According to him, further details of the budget will be released when President Tinubu makes his presentation of the budget to the National Assembly. Bagudu also said FEC also approved the revised 2024 – 2026…

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has affirmed Ahmed Aliyu of the All Progressive Congress (APC) as the Governor of Sokoto State. In a ruling on Monday, a three-member panel of justices affirmed Aliyu as the winner of the March 18 governorship election after dismissing the appeal of the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Saidu Umar. Recall that Umar had challenged the outcome of the Sokoto governorship election, citing alleged falsification of certificates, variation of names, election fraud and non-compliance with electoral guidelines. Also, the court held that the subpoenaed witnesses failed to front-load their statement on…

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has sacked the Speaker of the Kaduna State House of Assembly, Yusuf Liman. The Appeal Court ordered a rerun in five polling units. The State Assembly Election Petition Tribunal had on September 30 nullified the victory of Liman representing Makera State Constituency and ordered a rerun in 42 polling units. This followed a petition filed before the Tribunal by the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Solomon Katuka, challenging the election of Liman of the All Progressives Congress (APC). In his petition, the PDP candidate alleged gross irregularities regarding the election of the…

Coach Justin Madugu has replaced forward Asisat Oshoala and midfielder Jennifer Echegini after the duo dropped out of the Super Falcons’ squad expected to face Cape Verde in their 2024 Women Africa Cup of Nations final qualifying fixture. NFF’s Assistant Director (Technical), Abdulrafiu Yusuf, said the two players had been sent their flight tickets to travel to Nigeria a whole week before they announced on Saturday that they would be unable to join the squad. “We were surprised that they had the flight tickets for so long and did not say anything, only for them to send different messages on…

The 10th National Assembly (NASS) has reportedly received a total of 32 bills requesting the creation of new universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education. The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), has cautioned the government against establishing new institutions due to insufficient funding for existing ones. Nigeria currently has 52 federal universities, 63 state universities, and 147 private universities, as stated by the National Universities Commission (NUC) in a recent publication. The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) reports that there are 40 federal polytechnics, 49 state-owned polytechnics, and 76 private polytechnics. Additionally, there are 70 federal and state-owned colleges of…

A former Managing Director of the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), Aliyu Abdulhameed, has been arrested almost a year after he was sacked. NIRSAL is a $500m non-bank financial institution, which was created by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). It was created to manage agribusiness-related credit risks in Nigeria. Recall that Abdulhameed was relieved of his duties following allegations of corruption, including a 2018 N5.6 billion wheat project meant for farmers in Kano and Jigawa States. The Board of the CBN endorsed his sack, following approval from the Presidency in December last year. Daily Trust, in…

The Nigerian Federal Government has begun efforts to address the challenges related to the supply and pricing of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), commonly used as cooking gas, following significant price increases. Louis Ibah, the spokesperson for the Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, reported that the minister intervened after the price of LPG per kg rose from around N700 to over N1,100 in some areas A recent meeting at the NNPC Towers in Abuja, convened by the minister, saw participation from senior officials of Chevron Nigeria Limited, Nigerian Midstream Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation…