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A brave serving Nigerian Air Force (NAF) officer, Air Commodore John Ijudigal, has foiled a robbery/kidnapping attempt by a suspected ‘one-chance’ robbery syndicate in Abuja and rescued two victims. A statement by the NAF director of Public Relations and Information, Air Vice Marshal Edward Gabkwet, on Saturday, said the incident occurred on Wednesday, February 14, 2024, at Accra Street, Wuse Zone 5, Abuja, leading to the arrest three suspects. He said the incident took place at about 7.28pm on the fateful day as Air Commodore Ijudigal was commuting home in his official car after work when he suddenly came across…

Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Bello Muhammed Matawalle, has cautioned Nigerians making inflammatory comments against the government to desist or face the consequences. A statement by the director of information in the ministry, Mr Henshaw Ogubike, said the minister made the call against the backdrop of utterances from some sections of the populace. The statement did not state which comment the minister was referring to. He said such comments are incisive and destructive and could exacerbate tension and lead to violence. Matawalle said President Bola Tinubu has the capacity and political will and was working round the clock to…

Ahead of Saturday’s governorship primary of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Edo State, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, one of the front-line aspirants has withdrawn from the race. Pastor Ize-Iyamu’s letter of withdrawal dated February 16, 2024, was addressed to the National Chairman of the party, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and copied the Edo State Acting chairman of the party, Jarrett Tenebe. Ize-Iyamu, who described his decision to withdraw from the contest as painful, noted that the decision was taken after exhaustive consultations with family, friends, political associates and supporters. He opined that he made the sacrifice to withdraw in the…

Nigerians will face more economic hardship as the inflation rate jumps to 29.90 per cent, up from the previous month’s 28.92 per cent. The 0.98 per cent increase showed that the inflation rate in the country is still on the rise. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released the new rate in its ‘Consumer Price Index’ published on Thursday, February 15. According to the NBS, “In January 2024, the headline inflation rate increased to 29.90 per cent relative to the December 2023 headline inflation rate which was 28.92 per cent. “Looking at the movement, the January 2024 headline inflation rate…

Following the directive by President Bola Tinubu to security agents to tackle factors responsible for food crisis in the country by clamping down on hoarders and speculators, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has sealed off a well-known supermarket in the Area 11 Garki area of Abuja on Friday. The management of Sahad Store Supermarket was accused of shortchanging customers by charging prices other than the official price tag on their shelves. The FCCPC enforcement team was led by Acting Executive Vice Chairman of the agency, Adamu Ahmed Abdullahi. Briefing journalists thereafter, Abdullahi said the commission’s preliminary investigation…

An elder-statesman and business mogul, Aminu Dantata, has thrown his weight behind the move by some members of the House of Representatives to return to parliamentary system of government in Nigeria. A bill seeking to abolish the presidential system of government and return to a parliamentary system had passed the first reading in the green chamber during Wednesday’s plenary. The bill, titled: ‘The Bills proposing constitutional alterations for a transition to a parliamentary system of government’, was sponsored by sixty lawmakers. Speaking on Thursday when a delegation of the sixty members paid him a consultation visit at his residence in…

President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of his son-in-law, Oyetunde Oladimeji Ojo as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Federal Housing Authority (FHA). Ojo is a former member of the House of Representatives. He is married to Folashade Tinubu-Ojo, the Iyaloja of Lagos. He represented Ekiti west, Ijero and Efon Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives. Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity on Thursday announced the appointment of Ojo and other executive management teams of parastatals under the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development. The statement read, “As part of…

President Bola Tinubu has asked the Senate to screen and confirm five persons appointed as directors of the board of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The president’s request was contained in a letter read by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, during the plenary on Tuesday. The appointed board directors are; Robert Agbide, Ado Wanga, Murtala Sagaley, Urom Eke and Olayinka Aliyu. In the letter, Mr Tinubu said his request was in compliance with the provision of section 6(1a) and section 10(1)(2) of the CBN Act, 2007. “In compliance with the provision of section 6(1a) of the section 10(1)(2) of…

The United Abia Artistes and Patriots Forum (UAAP) has appreciated the development strides of Governor Alex Chioma Otti of Abia State in less than 9 months of piloting the affairs of the state. Members of the UAAP who passed a vote of confidence on the governor during their hybrid extraordinary annual general meeting on the 10th of February 2024, urged the governor not to relent, but to continue in his quest to rewrite the history of Abia State. The meeting, which had more than 50 diasporan Abian, connected via Zoom, also had numerous others present in the physical meeting in…

The House of Representatives has taken a major step to scrap the current presidential system of government being run in Nigeria and replace it with the parliamentary mode of government. This is as the House introduced three Bills, seeking to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 to allow transition from the current presidential system to a parliamentary system at all levels of government – federal, state, and local government. The Bills, namely ‘Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (Alteration) Bill, 2024’, HB.1115, HB.1116 and HB.1117 sponsored by Hon. Kingsley Chinda, the Minority Leader and…