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Tinubu Reaffirms Commitment to Revitalizing Road Infrastructure Tinubu Reaffirms Commitment to Revitalizing Road Infrastructure

2027: South West, Tinubu’s supporters playing with fire – Part 2

Our Reporters2 months ago2 months ago03 mins

By Mallam Nasir El-Rufai Driven by ego and the arrogance of power, these South South and PDP elements increasingly and I dare add naively went against the North, where the PDP still had considerable influence and support then, in the most condescending manner and in so doing gradually lost the support of the North to the advantage of Buhari and the APC coalition. The rest, as they say, is history. Today, as I Iook at the rambunctiousness of some APC members and fellow supporters of President Bola Tinubu, especially from the south west geopolitical zone, I wonder if people have any sense of history and if they truly understand Nigerian politics. I read some people say that President Tinubu is not former President Jonathan, Jagaban is a political juggernaut and master strategist, etc. All that I totally agree with. No question whatsoever. However, politics is not a one champion show. While fPGEJ lacked equivalent political gravitas and sophistication (with all due respect to him) as PBAT, he had the then formidable PDP behemoth which could have actually seen him through but for the grievous ‘political mistake’ of messing with the North. Love or loathe that fact, the North remains the kingmaker in Nigerian politics, at least, as of today. Any politician or political party that plays with that reality might pay a steep political price for it. People who ignore history are bound to fall victim and to repeat mistakes of the past. I just want to prod our political senses, in case some of us are forgetting, in the euphoria of tribal and geopolitical politics. I hope better sense will prevail and soon too. It is whom you love that you chastise. In all, I continue to wish PBAT and my party, the APC well. With almost exactly two years to the month to the 2027 general elections, let’s focus and continue to deliver the promised dividends of democracy to Nigerians. GodBlessNigeria

President Tinubu departs for France

Our Reporters2 months ago2 months ago01 mins

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will depart Abuja on Wednesday for Paris, France, on a private visit en route to Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital. In Addis Ababa, President Tinubu, according to Bayo Onanuga, will join African leaders at the 46th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council and the 38th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the AU Heads of State, scheduled from February 12th to 16th, 2025. The president will arrive in Addis Ababa early next week for the African Union summit. While in France, President Tinubu will meet with his French counterpart, President Emmanuel Macron.

Probe missing N26bn in Ministry of Petroleum Resources, PTDF, SERAP tells Tinubu

Our Reporters2 months ago2 months ago012 mins

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged President Bola Tinubu “to direct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Mr Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, and appropriate anti-corruption agencies to promptly probe allegations that over N26 billion of public funds are missing, diverted or stolen from the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) and the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources in 2021.” These damning revelations are documented in the 2021 audited report published on Wednesday 13 November 2024 by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation. SERAP said, “Anyone suspected to be responsible should face prosecution as appropriate, if there is sufficient admissible evidence, and any missing public funds should be fully recovered and remitted to the treasury.” SERAP urged him to “use any recovered stolen funds to fund the deficit in the 2025 budget and to ease Nigeria’s crippling debt crisis.” In the letter dated 1 February 2025 and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said: “There is a legitimate public interest in ensuring justice and accountability for these grave allegations. Tackling corruption in the oil sector would go a long way in addressing the budget deficit and debt problems.” According to SERAP, “The allegations suggest a grave violation of the public trust, the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended), the country’s anticorruption legislation and international anticorruption obligations.” The letter, read in part: “Poor Nigerians have continued to pay the price for the widespread and grand corruption in the oil sector.” “Despite the country’s enormous oil wealth, ordinary Nigerians have derived very little benefit from oil money primarily because of widespread grand corruption, and the entrenched culture of impunity of perpetrators.” “According to the 2021 annual audited report by the Auditor-General of the Federation, the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) in 2021 reportedly paid over N25 billion [N25,607,890,403.11] for ‘contracts without any supporting documents.’” “The Auditor-General fears ‘the money may have been diverted.’ He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.” “The PTDF also reportedly failed to account for over N326 million [N326,065,638.00] deposited in two banks. The Auditor-General fears the money may be missing and wants it recovered and remitted to the treasury.” “The PTDF reportedly failed to account for over N107 million [N107,691,733.93] being money for ‘the supply, installation, and commissioning of Library automation system and RFID at the Petroleum Training Institute (PTI).’” “The contract for the library ‘was awarded without the prior approval from the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA). The Auditor-General fears ‘the money may have been diverted.’ He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.” READ ALSO CTC of Judgment ordering Buhari’s minister to account for N729bn payment to poor Nigerians“The PTDF reportedly paid over N46 million [N46,974,216.43] to ‘three companies for services without evidence of execution.’ ‘One of the contractors was engaged on 13th April 2021 but was paid for services rendered in March 2021. All the three contractors were paid for periods they had not rendered the services to the PTDF.’” “The Auditor-General fears ‘the money may have been diverted.’ He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.” “The PTDF also reportedly failed to remit over N60 million [N60,355,670.03] of ‘stamp duty from the capital expenditure contracts awarded in 2019 and 2020.’ The PTDF ‘provided no reason why the money was not remitted.’” “The Auditor-General fears ‘the money may have been diverted.’ He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.” “The PTDF also reportedly failed to account for over N64 million [N64,088,158.44] ‘being payment for store items not supplied.” The Auditor-General fears ‘the money may have been diverted.’ He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.” “The PTDF also reportedly paid over N41 million [N41,367,493.50] ‘for services not yet performed or goods not yet supplied.’ The payments were made ‘without relevant supporting documents such as invoices, receipts.’” “The Auditor-General fears ‘the money may have been diverted.’ He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.” “The Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources reportedly spent over N137 million [N137,751,789.85] ‘from the Capital Vote for expenditures which were recurrent in nature without any approval by the National Assembly and the Minister of Finance.’” “The Auditor-General fears the money may be missing. He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury. He also wants sanctions applied ‘for gross misconduct specified in paragraph 3129 of the Financial Regulations 2009.’” “The Ministry reportedly failed to account for over N232 million [N232,509,238.21] ‘being payments to seven companies for consultancy services for stakeholders’ engagement in the Niger Delta in January 2021.’” “According to the Auditor-General, ‘the type of engagements and the reasons for contracting the seven companies were not stated. The venue of the engagement remains unknown. This spending of public funds appeared fictitious.’” “The Auditor-General fears “the money may have been diverted.’ He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.” “The Ministry also reportedly failed to remit over N25 million [N25,516,938.00] of ‘taxes collected from payments of N137,929,394.58] made to contractors.’ The Auditor-General fears ‘the money may have been diverted.’ He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.” READ ALSO Xenophobia: African commission to ‘take appropriate action’ on SERAP’s request to sue South Africa for $10bn“The Ministry also reportedly failed to account for over N43 million [N43,533,036.65] ‘being irregular payments for the replacement of broken ceiling.’ The Auditor-General fears “the money may have been diverted.’ He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.” “The Ministry failed to account for over N74 million [N74,721,625.03] ‘being payments made as cash advances granted to officers between March and December 2021 without retirement.’ The Auditor-General fears ‘the money may have been diverted’, and wants it recovered and remitted to the treasury.” “We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within 7 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall consider appropriate legal actions to compel your government to comply with our request in the public…

NSC inaugurates Elites Athletes Devt. and Podium Board

Our Reporters3 months ago3 months ago07 mins

In his avowed commitment towards taken sports to a podium height, the Chairman National Sports Commission Mallam Shehu Dikko has inaugurated the Elite Athletes Development and Podium Board charging them to be proactive and ensure Nigerian sports meets up with global success. Speaking during the inauguration held recently at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium Abuja, the Chairman said, globally sports has gone technical, hence the need for crucial measures to be able to meet up with global practices; “Setting up the Board is a crucial step towards strengthening Nigeria’s Sports Development and ensure our athletes achieve global success.” Mallam Dikko noted that Members of the board, are seasoned sports technocrats who were carefully selected to bring in their wealth of experience, to drive sports and prepare Atheletes to podium performance internationally. “Their collective expertise will be instrumental in the development and success of our athletes, together we will create an environment that nortures talents, promotes excellence and delivers results”. As a Commission, he stated further that we are working hard to bring back all the key areas in sports especially in grassroots sports development through re introduction of school sports and and setting up of center of excellence in various tertiary institutions where our young talents can be nortured. The Chairman expressed his optimism in his leadership, to drive sports to an enviable level and with the line of budget put in place for the various tiers of the sector, the pace has been set for the private sector to come in, this way the Renewed Hope Agenda of the President for the creation of a sports industry can also be achieved,” he said. Earlier, the Director General of the Commission, Honourable Olapade olubukola, commended the initiative of forming the board which he said is a significant step towards achieving its vision of making Nigeria a force to be reckoned with in the world of sports. “With your support and guidance we believe that our athletes will have the best possible preparations, training and resources to achieve podium success and bring glory to the nation.” He expressed confidence in the board and assured them of the full support of the commission, encouraging them to work closely with relevant stakeholders to ensure the success of their mandate. In his remark, the media aide to the President and former Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Sunday Dare congratulated the newly inaugurated board members and urged them to see the job as a service to the Nation. He commended the President for his commitment in seeing to the development of sports in the country while encouraging the sports leadership to take the podium performance seriously stressing that; “Your achievements cannot be measured by beautiful stadium built, but by podium performance and you can have all the money, if podium performance does not have gold medals coming in you have achieved nothing,” he said. The Board is to be headed by Mr Yusuf Ali, other members are; Prof. Ken Anugweje, Bambo Akanni, Dr. Emmanuel Igbinosa, Mallam Salisu Abubakar, Aku Aghazu, Tunde Adelakun, Prof.Sadiq Abdulahi, Mary Onyeali, Hauwa Kulu Akinyemi, Suleiman Isah, Olumide Oyedeji and Bamiduro Olumide. The Terms of Reference among othing things includes Developing a robust and sustainable high performance system for podium success, identify and defining the broad range of roles and responsibilities of the entire high performance chain, construct an organogram for establishment of various roles, design and implement talent identification, development and progress as well as see to the selection preparation and participation of Atheletes for major international tournaments. They are to be giving monthly annual report to the Commission. Responding on behalf of the inaugurated members ,the Chief Executive of the Board Mr Yusuf Ali thanked the Commission for finding them worthy to serve the country in that capacity. He appreciated the opportunity given them to serve, but assured that they will deliver on the mandate given.

IGP’s continuous stay in office legal, lawful -AGF

Our Reporters3 months ago3 months ago02 mins

The continuous stay in office of the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, is legal and lawful. The appointment of Egbetokun, according to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) took effect from 31st day of October, 2023 would have come to an end on his attainment of 60 years of age on 4th day of September, 2024. “However, before his retirement age, the Police Act was amended to allow the occupant of the office to remain and complete the original four year term granted under Section 7 (6) of the Act, notwithstanding the fact that he has attained the age of 60 years. This has, therefore, statutorily extended the tenure of office of Egbetokun to and including 31st day of October, 2027 in order to complete the four year tenure granted to him. “For the avoidance of doubt, Egbetokun’s continuous stay in office is in line with the provisions of the Police Act amended in 2024 which allow the occupant of the office to enjoy a term of four years effective from the date of his appointment as IGP, in this case, 31st day of October 2023. “This advisory is necessary for the guidance of the general public,”Fagbemi stated.

IJF Handball: Nigeria draw USA, Azerbaijan, Moldova in Group B

Our Reporters3 months ago3 months ago03 mins

Nigeria’s Under-23 Men Handball team has been drawn against United States of America (USA) and Azerbaijan in Group B of the 5th IHF Emerging Nations Championship slated between 11 and 16 of March, 2025 in Vana, Bulgaria. The International Handball Federation revealed the championship groupings on Wednesday following the completion of the Draw at the IHF Headquarters in Basel, Switzerland. It can be recalled that the Nigerian side lost to the Americans in one of the group games in the first edition of the Emerging Nations Championship held in Georgia in 2019 and they defeated Azerbaijan in another group game in the 2023 edition hosted in Bulgaria. According to the President of the Handball Federation of Nigeria (HFN) Mr. Samuel Ocheho, assured that the Federation will ensure they succeed at the championship. “This is a tricky group for our boys but i see opportunities as it is an opportunity for the team to improve on their previous 7th place standings in the championship. “We also know our opponents in this competition and we will give all the necessary support for the team to succeed because we believe they will thrive in the championship,” he said. Ocheho also appealed to the National Sports Commission to also support the efforts of the HFN in their continued push to put Nigeria handball in the global space. The IHF Emerging Nations Championship is a competition organised by the World Handball governing body, the International Handball Federation (IHF) for countries participating in the four-year plan of the European Handball Federation and some of the best ranked countries that didn’t qualify for the World’s Men Handball Championship.

NBBF releases programme of activities for 2025

Our Reporters3 months ago3 months ago05 mins

The Nigeria Basketball Federation has released a comprehensive programme of activities for 2025, coming on the heels of its board meeting held earlier in January, 2025. The programmes of basketball activities which was ratified by the board of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), led by its President Engr. Ahmadu Musa Kida, has been termed by stakeholders and enthusiasts as ‘Consolidation Time’. Beginning from February 5-9, 2025, the Nigeria Senior Female Basketball team, D’Tigress are expected to feature in a friendly invitational tournament billed for Belarus; February 17-25, 2025, would see the D’Tigers participate in the 2025 FIBA AFRO Basket qualifiers taking place in Tripoli, Libya. Activities for March, 2025, include the 1st Phase of NBBF Divisions 1&2 2024 season; Finals of NBBF Divisions 1&2 2024 season, as well as, the 1st Phase Women Zenith Bank league Division 1. Also, there would be the NBBF Annual General Meeting (AGM) and stakeholders Forum, to hold between February/March at a venue to be decided. April 2025, begins with BAL Season 5, with Nigeria’s representatives Rivers Hoppers competing with other 11 teams in the championship holding respectively in Rabat, Morocco; Dakar, Senegal; Kigali, Rwanda and Pretoria, South Africa. Also in April 2025, there would be refresher courses for Technical Officials, in Lagos and Abuja. The 1st Phase of NBBF Men Premier Basketball League would hold across the country; there also would be the 1st Phase of Zenith Bank Women Premier league in two conferences. Activities for May-June 2025, includes the 1st Phase U19 Girls National camps in Nigeria/USA, for the World championship; followed by the National U16 & U18 Boys and Girls championship; the NBBF Board Meeting would also hold during this period. This period would also have the 2nd Phase of NBBF Men’s Premier Basketball League; 2nd Phase of Zenith Bank Premier Women league; as well as, national camp for U16 boys and girls, and FIBA Zone 3 U16 African Championship qualifiers (Boys & Girls). Between July- August, 2025, D’Tigress would open camp in Nigeria/USA for the FIBA Women’s Afro Basket 2025; followed by the National U19 Girls; And in July 25th – August 3rd, 2025, D’Tigress would be in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire to compete for the FIBA Women’s Afro Basket and Zenith Bank Women’s Premier league Conference finals would also hold. FIBA Men’s Afrobasket 2025, also holds 12th-24th August in Luanda, Angola, there would be also, the NBBF Men’s Premier league Conference finals and the FIBA African U16 championship (Boys & Girls) September, 2025, begins with finals of State preliminaries for Total National Division 2 championship; also in the month, there would be the NBBF Men’s Basketball League Final 8; Zenith Bank National Division 1, female national league eliminations. In October 2025, the NBBF Board Meeting would hold and also the Zenith Bank Women’s Premier league finals. There shall be also the 1st Phase of BAL Qualifiers and FIBA Africa 3 AWBL Qualifiers. November-December, 2025, begins with the Total National Divisions 1&2 league Divisional playoffs; knockout phase of the 2027 FIBA Men’s World Cup. And then in December, 2025, we shall have the Total National Division 2 Conference playoffs; Elite 16 BAL Qualifiers 2025; FIBA AWBL 2025 finals; Total National Division 1&2 league finals; the NBBF AGM and Awards Night and lastly, the NBBF Board Meeting.

Al-Nassr reaches agreement to sign Victor Boniface

Our Reporters3 months ago3 months ago02 mins

Al-Nassr have reached an agreement worth around €60m to sign Bayer Leverkusen forward Victor Boniface, according to Sky Germany. The Nigerian becomes the club’s second most expensive departure in their history after Kai Havertz’ move to Chelsea for €80m in 2020. Boniface has already passed a medical with the Saudi club and will earn a reported €15m per season. Although an official confirmation from the club’s is still pending, this transfer should be made official before Friday’s deadline. It’s brings an to Boniface’s time in Germany after joining Die Werkself from Union Saint-Gilloise for €21.7m in July 2022. In his 18 months at the club, Boniface has scored 29 goals and created 11 in 49 games across all competitions, but has also missed a substantial amount through injury. Although not a like-for-like replacement, Bayer 04 are working on a deal to sign Aston Villa’s Emil Buendia on loan for the remainder of the season with a reported purchase option, while Brighton’s Evan Ferguson is also an option for the Bundesliga champions.