POPE Leo XIV resumed his work and daily activities Thursday while recovering from surgery at Gemelli Hospital, where his doctors said his postoperative recovery was progressing normally. The Pope concelebrated Mass in the morning in a room specially prepared for the purpose on the 10th floor of the hospital, according to the Holy See Press Office. He also met in the afternoon with Archbishop Paolo Rudelli, the Substitute for General Affairs, as he continued working during his hospitalisation. The Pope’s doctors, Dr. Luigi Carbone and Prof. Stefano Margaritora, said Thursday afternoon that he was carrying out his daily activities independently…
Author: National Record
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THE INDEPENDENT National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Thursday inaugurated an Electoral Logistic Committee (ELOC) to strengthen preparations for the 2027 general elections. INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, at the inauguration in Abuja, described the event as a proactive step to ensure that the 2027 general elections are defined by seamless execution and operational excellence. Amupitan said that as preparations towards the elections intensify, the primary focus of INEC was on strengthening the pillars that support the nation’s democratic process. He described logistic as one of the most critical of those pillars, noting that by inaugurating the committee, INEC was laying…
THE SENATE on Thursday passed a bill seeking to establish the Federal University of Medical and Health Sciences, Funtua (FUMHSF), Katsina State, to provide legal backing for the institution which had been in existence since 2023, to strengthen access to medical education. The upper chamber also passed the Federal Universities of Technology Act (amendment) Bill, 2026 following the consideration of a report of the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund during Tuesday’s plenary. Chairman of the Committee, Sen. Muntari Dandutse (APC-Katsina South) presented the report. Dandutse, who sponsored the bill on FUMHSF, said the committee recommended the passage of…
THE NIGERIA Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) has called for stronger inter-agency collaboration to improve workers’ welfare, productivity and social security. The Managing Director of NSITF, Mr Oluwaseun Faleye, made the call on Thursday during the Technical Retreat on Presidential Priority, Ministerial Deliverables and Performance Management System (PMS) in Abuja. Faleye, represented by his Technical Assistant, Dayo Alao, commended the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment for convening the retreat. He described the retreat as an important platform for dialogue, coordination and exchange of ideas among agencies with shared institutional responsibilities. “I commend the ministry for providing this platform for…
THE SENATE on Thursday passed the Nigerian Employees’ Compensation Trust Fund Agency Establishment Bill, 2026, and the Federal Polytechnics Act Amendment Bill, 2026. The bills were passed after the Senate recommitted them to the Committee of the Whole during plenary for further legislative scrutiny and consideration of necessary amendments. The Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, who moved the motion, said certain provisions of the bills required further review to ensure administrative clarity and a comprehensive legal framework. He urged the Senate to rescind its earlier decisions on the bills and recommit them to the committee of the whole for consideration and…
THE NATIONAL Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says Nigeria’s headline inflation rate dropped to 14.63 per cent in September. The NBS said this in its Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Inflation Report for September released in Abuja on Thursday. The report said that the September headline inflation rate showed a decrease of 0.65 per cent compared to the August headline inflation rate of 15.39 per cent. It said that on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in September was 0.06 per cent, which was 0.65 per cent lower than the rate recorded in August 2026 at 0.71 per cent. “This…
THE DEPUTY National Secretary of the African Action Congress (AAC), Kunle Ajayi, says the party will woo voters through detailed manifesto presentations, door-to-door engagements and grassroots mobilisation ahead of the 2027 general elections. Ajayi disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Thursday, noting that the party’s focus was on direct engagement with citizens to explain its policies and development agenda. According to him, a free, fair and credible election will provide an opportunity for Nigerians to assess political parties based on their programmes, records and commitment to the electorate. “In a free…
THE FEDERAL High Court in Abuja on Thursday discharged and acquitted Malabu Oil and Gas Ltd., the Chairman of AA Oil Ltd., Aliyu Abubakar, and others of an alleged one-billion-dollar money laundering charge. Justice Inyang Ekwo, in a judgement, held that the EFCC had failed to prove the allegations against the eight defendants as required by law in the charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/268/2016 and filed in 2016. Justice Ekwo also held that the investigation by the Investigating Police Officer (IPO) had not been concluded before the charge was filed against the defendants. “Concerning the evidence of the IPO in this case,…
OIL PRICES fell by about 2% on Thursday as potential US steps to ease restrictions on Russia’s “shadow fleet” tankers soothed price concerns, but attacks on ships in the Middle East and Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy infrastructure limited the decline. Brent crude futures fell $2.28, or 2.2%, to $103.78 a barrel by 0729 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down $1.34, or 1.4%, to $93.75, reversing gains from the previous session. Oil prices fell after a US official said on Wednesday that the US administration was considering easing sanctions on some of Russia’s unregulated tankers, a…
UKRAINE has resumed its attacks on Russian refineries with a strike at an installation in the Ryazan region, the regional governor said on Thursday, after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy voiced his anger at a “dangerous” withdrawal of US intelligence. Since US President Donald Trump’s surprise announcement of an energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine on Sunday, Kyiv had refrained from attacking Russian refineries, which the US leader had blamed for raising diesel prices on global markets. But Zelenskiy had voiced increasing frustration with Russia’s continued attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, which he said on Wednesday had left 600,000 people without…