The Senate will on Thursday, October 16, 2025, screen Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan (SAN) — the nominee of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the position of Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). This was disclosed in a statement issued on Wednesday by Bullah Audu Bi-Allah, Director of Information, Office of the Secretary, Research and Information, National Assembly. According to the statement, the screening exercise will hold at the Senate Chamber, National Assembly Complex, Abuja. President Tinubu had, in a letter read during plenary by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, requested the Senate’s confirmation of Amupitan’s appointment in line with Section 154…
Author: National Update
***Passes Factoring Regulation Bill for Second Reading The Senate on Wednesday advanced deliberations on the Factoring Regulation Bill, 2024 (SB.474), approving it for second reading — a major step toward easing cash-flow bottlenecks for small businesses and unlocking over $1 billion in annual financing for Nigeria’s micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Sponsor of the Bill, Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong (Cross River South), said the legislation seeks to tackle one of the most stubborn challenges facing MSMEs — delayed payments that leave many small firms cash-strapped, stifling growth and job creation. Ekpenyong noted that Nigeria’s over 40 million MSMEs — the…
Nigeria’s economic outlook took centre stage at the G24 Meetings on the sidelines of the IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings in Washington D.C., as the Honourable Minister of State for Finance, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite, and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Olayemi Cardoso, led the country’s delegation in high-level discussions on global economic stability, domestic reforms, and sustainable growth. The Nigerian team made a strong case for the country’s ongoing fiscal and monetary reforms, which are already delivering measurable results. Speaking during the sessions, CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso announced that Nigeria’s trade surplus has risen to 6%…
***Commends Army’s swift response as residents return home Former Senate Leader, Ali Ndume, has commended the Nigerian Army for its swift and decisive response in restoring peace to Kirawa, a border community in Borno State, recently overrun by Boko Haram insurgents. Residents of the town, located near the Nigeria–Cameroon border, were forced to flee into Cameroon after militants attacked the community, burning the palace of the district head, a military outpost, and several homes. However, the insurgents were repelled following the deployment of reinforcements by the Army, paving the way for displaced residents to return home. In a statement on…
****Pushes for urgent re-award, inclusion in Renewed Hope Infrastructure Fund and 2026 budget The Senate has stepped in to rescue the abandoned Anyigba–Dekina–Shintaku Road in Kogi East, urging the Federal Government to urgently re-award the project and list it among key national priorities under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Infrastructure Fund. The upper chamber’s resolution followed a motion sponsored by Senator Isah Jibrin (Kogi East), who described the road as a “lifeline artery” linking Kogi’s eastern communities to Lokoja, Abuja, and the Southeast and South-South regions — now reduced to a nightmare stretch of potholes and erosion. “What was once…
Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, has reportedly resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and joined the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in what appears to be another major political realignment ahead of the 2027 general elections. According to Arise Television, Governor Diri made the move alongside 23 members of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, signalling a massive shift in the state’s political landscape. The development comes barely 24 hours after Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah, also defected to the APC — a trend observers say may be part of a wider strategy to strengthen the ruling party’s base…
***Hail Tinubu for Promoting Inclusion, Merit The Northern Nigeria Minorities Group (NNMG) has condemned attempts by certain individuals and groups to ethnicise the nomination of Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, SAN, as Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). In a statement issued in Abuja and signed by its Convener, Chief Jacob Edi (Kakaki Bassange), the group described the ongoing criticisms as unwarranted and divisive, warning that such sentiments threaten national cohesion. Edi noted that Professor Amupitan, a distinguished legal scholar and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, hails from the Okun ethnic group in Kogi State — one of the minority…
By: Lamara Garba Azare In the past decade, ASUU’s unpaid warnings and indefinite strikes have shut down public universities for hundreds of days—at tremendous cost to students, families, towns, and the nation. The most recent two-week warning strike is yet another chapter in a story of promises broken and education betrayed. Once again, the gates of Nigeria’s public universities are shut — not by the will of teachers who love to teach, nor by students who yearn to learn, but by a government that has turned deceit into policy. The two-week warning strike declared by the Academic Staff Union of…
The Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, has lamented that the economic policies and governance style of the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration have plunged millions of Nigerians deeper into poverty within just two years. Citing the latest World Bank report released on October 8, 2025, Obi noted that 139 million Nigerians are now living in poverty—an alarming rise from 87 million in 2023, when President Bola Tinubu assumed office. “What this means,” Obi said, “is that in just two years under the APC regime, over 50 million Nigerians have been pushed into…
The FCT Minister of State, Dr. Mariya Mahmoud, has called for deeper collaboration among stakeholders in the ongoing fight against cancer, describing it as one of Nigeria’s most pressing public health challenges. Dr. Mahmoud made the call at the opening ceremony of the 2025 International Cancer Week, held at the Nigerian Army Conference Centre, Maitama, Abuja. Her Special Assistant (Media), Austine Elemue in a statement quoted her to have noted that this year’s theme — “Redefining the Future of Cancer Prevention, Access, and Equity for All” — highlights the urgent need to ensure that every Nigerian, regardless of background or…