Author: Farida Usman

Nigeria has been thrust into darkness yet again as the national electricity grid, centrally managed from Osogbo, Osun State, suffered a collapse at approximately 4:30 pm on Thursday, leaving millions of homes and businesses without power. This development marks the fourth time the grid is collapsing since in the first three months of the year, adding to challenges that have long plagued Nigeria’s power sector. According to reports from various distribution companies spanning the nation’s 36 states, their feeders were rendered inactive, resulting in widespread blackouts across the country. The grid’s output, which stood at 2984 megawatts as of…

Joe Ajaero, President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), has voiced deep concern over the surge in living expenses attributed to President Bola Tinubu’s decision to scrap fuel subsidies. Speaking at the 13th quadrennial national delegates conference of the National Union of Textile Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria in Abuja, Ajaero emphasized the crippling impact of escalating living expenses on working families, suggesting that even an income of N1 million might prove inadequate. Ajaero stressed the urgent need to address various economic factors influencing the determination of minimum wage, citing the persistent devaluation of the currency and unchecked…

President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday conferred national honours on 17 members of the Nigerian Army who were killed in Delta State on March 14, 2024. This was as he announced the provision of housing facilities for the surviving family members and scholarships for all their children to the university level. He also directed the payment of death benefits to the family members within 90 days. He announced these during the burial ceremony of the slain servicemen at the National Military Cemetery in Abuja. Tinubu posthumously conferred the national honour of Member of the Order of the Niger on the…

Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf has forwarded the names of a fresh list of commissioners designated to the State Assembly for confirmation. Confirming the executive list at the plenary on Tuesday, Speaker Kano State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Jibril Falgore said the list contains the names of four persons designated for the state executive council members. According to the speaker, the list includes Adamu Aliyu Kibiya, Usman Shehu Aliyu, Abduljabbar Garko and Mustapha Rabiu Kwankwaso, son of the presidential candidate of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso. (PEOPLE’S PEN24)

A Kano state high court no. 11 on Monday admitted the embattled social media influencer, Murja Ibrahim Kunya on bail in the sum of N500,000.00. As part of the bail conditions, the court restrained Kunya from making any comment or post on her social media handles including TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms. The court directed the Commissioner of Police to ensure full compliance and observance of the bail conditions relating to the prohibition of posts or comments on social media. In case of any breach of such condition, the court ruled that the Police is directed to immediately…

Kano State High Court has ordered the immediate release of the controversial TikToker Murja Ibrahim Kunya. In a ruling delivered on Monday, Justice Nasiru Saminu admitted Kunya to bail with the sum of N500,000 with two sureties in like sum. One of the surety, close relation and second surety must be a property owner within the jurisdiction of the court. Subsequently, the court directed the Kano State Hospital Management Board and the Psychiatric hospital to ensure the immediate discharge of the applicant after meeting the bail condition. The court has adjourned till 16th May, 2024 for a hearing on…

The police has arrested a suspected bandit kingpin linked with a Catholic church attack and the killing of a seminarian Stephen Naaman in the Zangon Kataf area of Kaduna State. The Kaduna State Police Command says it arrested the suspected mastermind of the September burning of Saint Raphael’s Catholic Church at Fadan Kamanta during which the seminarian was killed. According to the spokesman of the Kaduna Police Command Mansir Hassan, the suspect Yakubu Saidu was arrested on Thursday by police operatives at Zangon Urban. The police in a statement said the suspect has also confessed to his involvement in…

Kano State Government has vowed to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s initiative to decimate the menace of insecurity destabilizing the peace of the country. Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf gave the commitment on Friday when he received the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Muhammad Idris on a courtesy visit to the government house. In a statement by the governor’s spokesperson, Sanusi Bature Dawakin Tofa the governor said it is pertinent to join heads with the central government to curtail the excesses of criminalities to restore national development. Alhaji Yusuf appreciated President Tinubu for heeding his appeal to reopen…

Gov. Yusuf has expressed dissatisfaction with the arrangement of the government’s Ramadan Feeding Programme. Besides, Governor Yusuf alleged mismanagement of resources earmarked for the annual feeding of the less privileged in the holy month of Ramadan. A statement issued by Sanusi Bature Dawakin Tofa, the Governor’s Spokesperson, Friday evening said the Governor raised the concern during an unscheduled inspection of one of the feeding centers in the metropolis. According to the statement “The governor was disappointed with the program during an impromptu visit to one of the feeding centres in Gidan Maza, Municipal Local Government area. “Governor Yusuf also…

In a recent press briefing with State House Correspondents, President Bola Tinubu declared the Federal Government’s commitment to promoting locally made products to boost the Nigerian Naira. Special Adviser Ajuri Ngelale conveyed the President’s message, emphasizing the crucial need for collective action in patronizing indigenous goods across all sectors. Tinubu’s initiatives aim to sustain the Naira’s value amidst global currencies. Furthermore, the government unveiled interventions such as the Presidential conditional grant scheme, offering non-repayable grants to micro-enterprises, and substantial funding for large-scale manufacturers. These measures seek to alleviate economic burdens on families and ensure prudent spending within the public…

After months of closure following a coup d’état and subsequent ECOWAS sanctions, Niger Republic has finally reopened its border with Nigeria in the regions of Diffa, Tahoua, Maradi, and Dosso. The decision, announced via a radio message broadcast on social networks by the Nigerien Ministry of Interior, instructed the governors of these border regions to authorize the reopening precisely at 12:00 midnight. Despite Nigeria’s earlier reopening of its border weeks ago, following the lifting of ECOWAS sanctions, Niger had delayed reciprocating the gesture until now. The reopening comes with directives to strengthen controls and security along the 1,500-kilometer land…

The Nasarawa state Governor Abdullahi Sule has ordered a probe into the incident that left two state university students dead and 23 others receiving treatment on Friday. The university received palliatives from the state government to distribute to the students to cushion the effect of the economic hardship. However, some students overpowered the security on the ground, causing a stampede which resulted in death and injuries of the students while they carted away the food items. READ ALSO: Palliatives: Two Nasarawa Varsity Students Die In Stampede, 23 Hospitalised Governor Suke in a…

An outbreak of Diphtheria disease has reportedly killed four children in villages in Mingibir local government area of Kano state. A statement issued by Information Officer of the local government Tasiu Yahaya Dadin-Duniya, made available to Arewa radio, said another 28 suspects are on hospital admission. According to the release ” Four children have died of Diphtheria and 28 children have contracted the disease in Kwarkiya, Kuru, Kunya and Minjibir Villages in Minjibir local government area of the state. “The Interim Management Officer of the local government, Muhammad Yakubu Kunya, has called on the authorities and stakeholders to immediately…

Justice A M Liman of the Federal High Court Kano has ordered Kano State Hisbah to produce the controversial TikToker, Murja Ibrahim Kunya before the court in one hour. The court at the last hearing granted an exparte application directing the board to produce Kunya for an enforcement of her fundamental right. However, the respondent (Hisbah) failed to comply with the order, citing late service of the process. Kunya is challenging Hisbah Board, Kano State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, and Sharia court Judge, Kano State for violation of his rights. At the resumption of hearing on the…

The Senate on Wednesday approved the 2024 Students Loan Access to Higher Education Act (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill sent by President Tinubu. The new bill aims to improve the implementation of the Higher Education Student Loan Scheme by addressing issues such as the management structure of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELF), applicant eligibility, loan purpose, funding sources, disbursement, and repayment procedures. The resolution of the Senate followed its consideration of the report of the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND that considered the Bill. The chairman of the committee, Senator Muntari Dandutse (APC – Katsina South) presented…

The Abuja Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has handed over documents of property and 324 houses recovered for Kano State pensioners to the affected individuals. The development was a result of an investigation carried out by the EFCC over N4.1 billion Pension Trust Fund contributed by some pensioners to own houses; which were denied by two successive Kano State Government administrations. The EFCC’s probe followed receipt of a petition by a group known as “Concerned Kano State Workers and Pensioners,” over the alleged misappropriation of pension funds in the state. The spokesperson for the anti-graft…

Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, through Aliko Dangote Foundation, has launched distribution of free meals to no fewer than 10,000 fasting Muslims in Kano state, his state of origin. In a statement signed by Samira Sanusi, an official of the foundation in Kano, the gesture was also extended by distributing one million bags of rice, worth over N13 billion across the 36 states of the federation and Abuja to alleviate hunger in the country. The gesture, according to her is to ease hardship for millions of Nigerians amidst economic challenges in the country. This is in addition to…

The Sokoto Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC has arraigned the duo of Jamilu Nabunkari and Bashar Sani before Justice Mohammed Mohammed of the Sokoto State High Court for obtaining the sum of N2,900,000.00 (Two Million Nine Hundred Thousand Naira) fraudulently in a land fraud. They were arraigned on two-count charges bordering on obtaining by false pretence. Count one reads “That you Jamilu Nabunkari adult,male, and Bashar Sani adult, male, on or about the 31st day of May, 2023 at Sokoto within the Judicial Division of this honourable Court did conspire amongst yourselves to commit…

President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Brigadier-General Lawal Ja’afar Isa (Rtd) as Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-School Children Education. The President has also approved the appointment of Alhaji Tijani Hashim Abbas as Senior Special Assistant to the President on Chieftaincy Matters. General Ja’afar Isa is a respected leader and was Military Administrator of Kaduna State from 1993 to 1996, while Alhaji Tijani Hashim Abbas is the Sarkin Sudan Kano. A statement by President Senior Adviser on Media and Publicity, Chief Ajuri Ngelale on Friday evening says the President anticipates that the new…

Independent Hajj Reporters, a faith based Civil Society Organization (CSO) has said that the seemingly slow progress being recorded in pre-Hajj pilgrims’ preparations and documentation ahead of this year’s holy pilgrimage calls for concern. IHR in a statement signed by its national coordinator Ibrahim Muhammed on Friday said Nigerian intending pilgrims are very apprehensive as to what will become of their intention to fulfill the fifth pillar of Islam owing to the ongoing slow pace of developments. “For example, with less than 60 days to the commencement of airlift of pilgrims to Saudi Arabia, NAHCON is yet to execute…