By Our Reporter, With Agency Reports NIGERIA has destroyed 2,819 illicit and obsolete firearms recovered from criminal groups and security operations across the country, as authorities intensified efforts to curb the proliferation of illegal weapons fuelling terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and other violent crimes. The destruction exercise, carried out in Abuja by the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW), forms part of the Federal Government’s broader strategy to prevent recovered weapons from re-entering circulation and to strengthen national security. Mr Kokumo, Director-General of NCOSALW, delivers a speech during a public destruction exercise at the Muhammadu…
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MORE than 1,500 people have died from Ebola in the latest outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), as health authorities battle one of the fastest-growing epidemics on record. The Congolese government said on Thursday that 1,521 people had been confirmed dead from the virus since the outbreak began in late April, while laboratory-confirmed infections rose to 3,442 cases. Official figures showed the fatality rate stood at 44 per cent, indicating that nearly half of all confirmed Ebola cases recorded during the outbreak had resulted in death. Health experts believe the actual number of infections could be significantly…
By Our Reporter, With Agency Reports THE MINISTER of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, has said the fiscal gains from removing petrol subsidies and liberalising the foreign exchange market have been largely absorbed by rising debt-servicing obligations and increased public spending, as he defended sweeping economic reforms that have come under mounting public scrutiny. The Finance Minister, speaking at the African Emerging Markets Forum in Abuja on Thursday, said fuel subsidies and what he described as an implicit foreign-exchange subsidy had cost Nigeria roughly 5% of GDP before their removal. He said part of the…
THE DOMESTICATION of critical laws in line with the provisions of constitutional amendments by the National Assembly, is yet to be fully implemented in the South-South region. A survey by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on domestication of the critical laws, especially the local government autonomy, state electricity, and state police, was conducted in Rivers, Cross River and Akwa Ibom. The survey revealed that only Rivers has domesticated two of the laws, the local government autonomy and state electricity, while others are yet to key in. In Rivers, a politician, Mr Anchor Ume, commended the Martins Amaewhule-led House of…
THE NATIONAL Universities Commission (NUC) has recognised the Jigawa State University of Medical and Allied Sciences as Nigeria’s 70th state-owned university, marking a milestone in efforts to strengthen healthcare education. The recognition also represents the first instance of a state government acquiring an existing private university and converting it into a public institution within Nigeria’s university system. Speaking at the recognition ceremony in Abuja on Thursday, NUC Executive Secretary, Prof. Abdullahi Ribadu, said the development would expand access to quality medical education and address healthcare workforce shortages. Ribadu said that Nigeria’s doctor-to-population ratio remained significantly below the World Health Organisation’s…
Dangote Says Manufacturing Fastest Route To Jobs, Prosperity THE FEDERAL Government has described the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals as a cornerstone of Nigeria’s ambition to build a $1 trillion economy, pledging deeper collaboration with the private sector to accelerate industrialisation, job creation and economic transformation. Minister of State for Industry, Senator John Owan Enoh, made the declaration on Thursday after leading a high-level delegation from the Ministry on an extensive tour of the 700,000 barrels-per-day Dangote Petroleum Refinery, Dangote Petrochemicals complex and Dangote Fertiliser Limited in Lagos. The Minister described the integrated industrial complex as one of the most…
TO ASK whether Bola Tinubu has lived up to expectations since he stepped into office as Nigeria’s President three years ago will definitely attract mixed reactions. Having started with a series titled: “If I were Tinubu” before the president took the oath of office in 2023, which culminated in my book: ‘Tinubu: Audacity to Hope’, foreworded by the Afenifere leader, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, one perspective through which I can review his third year is to reflect on questions that can also serve as warnings, for our country not to allow ‘stomach infrastructure’ dictate to the conscience and the purpose that…
BY LAWAN MUSA DANLAMI WHEN the Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) met at their 69th Ordinary Summit in Lungi, Sierra Leone, they did more than reaffirm a date. By maintaining their commitment to launch the ECO in 2027, they reignited one of West Africa’s most ambitious economic aspirations—a single regional currency designed to deepen economic integration, expand intra-regional trade, and strengthen the region’s long-term economic future. For decades, the idea of a common currency has remained one of the cornerstones of the ECOWAS integration agenda. While previous target dates came and…
BY ZAINAB SULEIMAN OKINO FOR YEARS, insecurity has cast a long shadow over governance in Nigeria, particularly across the northern states. Banditry, insurgency and communal conflicts have not only claimed lives and displaced communities, they have also crippled farming, disrupted rural economies and threatened the nation’s food supply. Vast stretches of fertile farmland have been abandoned, farming communities have lived in fear, and food inflation has become an inevitable consequence of shrinking agricultural output. These realities are undeniable. Yet, even amid insecurity, governance cannot be suspended. The primary responsibility of government remains the welfare and prosperity of the people. Security…
BY IDUH ONAH THE POLITICAL history of Benue State remains one of the most delicate yet unavoidable conversations in the contemporary discourse on justice, inclusion, equity, and democratic balance in Nigeria’s Middle Belt. Since the creation of the state in 1976, the structure of political power has largely reflected an entrenched pattern of ethnic domination in which one ethnic nationality: the Tiv, has maintained overwhelming control over the political architecture of the state, often to the exclusion or marginalisation of other indigenous ethnic nationalities. This reality, though politically sensitive, is historically evident and statistically difficult to dispute. The Tiv constitute…