The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has come under fresh scrutiny after a court document revealed that the anti-graft agency obtained an order to freeze three Osun State Government accounts, not one as earlier reported. The revelation has widened the controversy over the EFCC’s action and raised fresh questions about why the commission moved to restrict access to funds belonging to the state government, before President Bola Tinubu ordered the accounts unfrozen. The accounts comprised a federal allocation account with First Bank and two joint allocation accounts domiciled with Zenith Bank, according to the fresh court document. The development is…
Author: National Update
Lionel Messi has suffered a devastating personal loss with the death of his father and long-time adviser, Jorge Messi, who passed away at 68 after a prolonged illness in Rosario, Argentina, on Friday night. The death of Jorge, widely regarded as one of the most influential figures behind Messi’s remarkable football journey, brings an emotional end to the story of the father who stood by the Argentine star through his toughest years and helped him pursue the dream that ultimately made him a global icon.
At 70, Senator Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi’s political biography reads less like a single career than a passage through several Nigeria’s institutions — from the classroom and banking hall to the Kaduna Government House, the Senate and the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party. It is this breadth of experience that the Northern Senators Forum has chosen to celebrate as the former Kaduna State governor marks his 70th birthday. In a birthday tribute signed by Senator Abdulaziz Musa Yar’adua, Chairman of the Forum on behalf of members in Abuja on Saturday, the forum described Makarfi as a teacher, banker, governor,…
The economic debate under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration has taken a new turn, with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar arguing that the crisis is no longer confined to what Nigerians eat, but is increasingly reflected in what they can no longer afford to own. In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), said the latest Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Household Expectations Survey had exposed what he described as the erosion of the Nigerian dream, as households increasingly shelve plans to buy homes, vehicles…
Former Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung, has challenged the recent criticism of Catholic Bishops by Bishop Stephen Adegbite, questioning the independence of a government-appointed Christian leader who has repeatedly defended President Bola Tinubu’s administration. Dalung, in a strongly worded intervention, said Nigerians should scrutinise Adegbite’s relationship with the Tinubu government before accepting his portrayal of Catholic Bishops as politically motivated for criticising the administration. He said the issue was not about religion, denomination or ethnicity, but about the credibility and independence of public interventions by religious leaders. Adegbite is the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission,…
The House of Representatives has demanded answers over how President Bola Tinubu and several senior members of his administration came to be listed as governing board members of the embattled Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), an organisation later found not to be an authorised federal government agency. The question took centre stage on Thursday as the House ad hoc committee investigating the PFIPC summoned the Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Shehu Mohammed, to explain how the agency approved seven official vehicle number plates for the organisation. Committee Chairman, Yusuf Gagdi, said the documents presented by…
What was billed as a celebration of Faze’s 90s Lounge opening in Abuja reportedly turned tense on Friday night after the appearance of singer Innocent Idibia, popularly known as 2Baba, and his estranged wife, Natasha Osawaru. The development reportedly created an unexpected security situation at the venue, where 2Baba was scheduled to perform. Sources familiar with the event said Natasha arrived at the lounge with security personnel, an appearance that reportedly heightened tensions among those within the singer’s camp. A member of 2Baba’s team confirmed that a confrontation occurred at the venue, although details surrounding what triggered the incident remained…
By John Akubo Nigeria’s aviation authorities are facing renewed pressure to close persistent accessibility gaps at the nation’s airports as disability advocates and industry operators push for reforms that will make air travel safer, more independent and more predictable for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs). The renewed push followed an expanded stakeholders’ meeting between the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and Project Elevate, the National Aviation Accessibility Initiative, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja. Rather than focusing solely on the provision of wheelchairs, lifts and ramps, participants at the meeting placed emphasis on the need to overhaul the…
A rescued abductee from Woro community in Kwara State, Fatima Mohammed, has recounted the harrowing conditions she and 144 other victims endured during more than six months in terrorist captivity. Fatima said the victims were forced to sleep in the open, endured hunger and exposure to harsh weather, and wore the same clothes throughout their ordeal because they had nothing else to change into. The 145 abductees were recently rescued and handed over to the Niger State Government by the Federal Government. Speaking after regaining her freedom, Fatima said she spent six months and two weeks in captivity, describing the…
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has raised the alarm over a suspicious credit alert into one of his private bank accounts, alleging that the transaction could be part of a sinister attempt to set him up ahead of the 2027 general elections. Atiku, who said he neither solicited nor authorised the payment, described the transaction as deeply troubling and demanded scrutiny of how the sender obtained details of his supposedly confidential bank account. In a statement issued in Abuja by his Special Assistant on Media and Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former vice president said neither he nor his campaign organisation…