The Senate has intensified its oversight of the oil and gas sector with the launch of an investigation into the alleged non-remittance of $71.64 million and ₦30.74 billion in statutory contributions by NEMBE Exploration and Production Company (NEPL) to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). The Senate Committee on the NDDC gave the company two weeks to appear before it to explain the alleged default, warning that the matter concerns funds earmarked for the development of oil-producing communities in the Niger Delta. The investigation followed a petition alleging that the company failed to remit its mandatory three per cent contribution…
Author: National Update
Douglas Baye- Osagie dbayeosagie@yahoo.com Every four years, the FIFA World Cup arrives with a familiar script for African football. Hope rises, talent shines, and for 70, 80, even 88 minutes, the continent believes. Then the final whistle comes, and with it another chapter of heartbreak. The story is no longer just about losing. It is about how we lose. This is the “Nearly Syndrome.” African teams do not just get beaten. They lead, they raise hopes, they control, they dominate, and then they let it slip. They come agonizingly close to history, only to watch it evaporate in the dying…
The Social Democratic Party (SDP) has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to disregard a Federal High Court judgment being relied upon by its expelled former National Chairman, Shehu Musa Gabam, insisting that the decision cannot stand because the Supreme Court had already nullified the legal authority on which it was founded. In a statement issued on Friday by its National Publicity Secretary, Araba Rufus Aiyenigba, the party said a letter dated July 9, 2026, was submitted to INEC by Messrs White Chambers & Co. on Gabam’s behalf, forwarding the judgment delivered in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/402/2026 between Salawu Adeniyi…
Oluwabukolami Adeyemi, the Nigerian student who gained international recognition after emerging as the overall best performer in the 2023 Cambridge IGCSE and Cambridge AS Level examinations, has graduated with a First-Class degree in Law from a university in Newcastle, United Kingdom. The Kogi State indigene attributed her academic success to the scholarship support provided by former Governor Yahaya Bello, describing the intervention as instrumental to the realization of her dream of studying abroad. Adeyemi came into the national spotlight after recording the highest scores in the Cambridge examinations among candidates from more than 100 countries. Her outstanding achievement attracted commendations…
By Friday Idachaba, Lokoja Kogi State Governor, Ahmed Usman Ododo, has reinforced his administration’s commitment to safer roads by donating 10 electric patrol motorcycles to the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and promoting his Senior Special Assistant on Road Safety Matters, Dr. Suberu Yusuf-John, to Special Adviser. The announcements were made on Thursday during Governor Ododo’s investiture as Patron of the FRSC Special Marshals at the Strategic Stakeholders’ Conference on Road Safety in Lokoja. Ododo said the electric patrol motorcycles would strengthen the FRSC’s operational capacity, improve emergency response, and enhance traffic management, particularly along Kogi’s busy highways. He described…
The Chairman of the Governing Board of the South-South Development Commission (SSDC), Rt. Hon. Prince Chibudom Nwuche, OFR, on Wednesday, 8 July 2026, attended the public hearing organised by the House of Representatives Committee on the South-South Development Commission on the Bill to amend the South-South Development Commission (Establishment) Act, 2025. The public hearing, held at the National Assembly Complex, Abuja, was convened by the House Committee on the South-South Development Commission, chaired by Hon. Julius Gbabojor Pondi, PhD. The proposed amendment Bill (HB. 2674), sponsored by Hon. Julius Gbabojor Pondi and 27 other lawmakers, aims to strengthen the Commission’s…
The Senate on Thursday approved the continuation of the proposed $1 billion acquisition of Lafarge Africa Plc by China’s Huaxin, despite unresolved concerns over the identity of shareholders controlling 66 per cent of the company’s equity, a question that remained unanswered before lawmakers endorsed the transaction. The approval followed the presentation of the report of the Senate Ad Hoc Committee chaired by Senate Minority Leader, Senator Abba Moro, seven months after the upper chamber suspended the deal to scrutinise the planned divestment by Swiss cement giant Holcim AG. Presenting the report, Moro said the committee found no legal obstacle to…
***Issues 25 Letters of Authorisation The Federal Government has intensified efforts to unlock domestic financing for Nigeria’s carbon market, declaring that local funding is critical to accelerating climate projects and reducing dependence on lengthy international validation processes. The government disclosed this at a stakeholders’ workshop held in Abuja under the Policy and Regulatory Innovations for Scaling Markets (PRISM) Nigeria Initiative, where officials also revealed that Nigeria has issued 25 Letters of Authorisation (LoAs) to facilitate the monetisation of carbon assets. PRISM Nigeria is a policy and regulatory engagement programme implemented by the Clean Cooking Alliance (CCA) in partnership with the…
The Social Democratic Party (SDP) has stepped up preparations for the 2027 general elections, unveiling a fresh agenda focused on internal reforms, grassroots mobilisation and organisational restructuring aimed at positioning the party as a formidable electoral force. The resolve emerged at the party’s second National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Abuja, where leaders reviewed progress made since assuming office and adopted measures to strengthen the party’s structures across the country. Addressing journalists after the meeting, SDP National Chairman, Professor Sadiq Gombe, said the party had recorded notable achievements within the last four months, including the successful conduct of two NEC…
As Nigeria battles persistent terrorism, kidnapping and banditry, the Senate on Thursday approved a combined N404.07 billion budget for the Nigeria Police Trust Fund (NPTF), describing the expenditure as a critical investment in strengthening the country’s internal security architecture. The approvals, covering the 2025 and 2026 fiscal years, are expected to finance the procurement of operational equipment, rehabilitation of police facilities, personnel training, welfare programmes and other interventions designed to improve the operational effectiveness of the Nigeria Police Force. The upper chamber approved N170.10 billion for the 2025 budget and N233.96 billion for the 2026 fiscal year after adopting reports…