Author: Alade Adisa

Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE’s) team of technologists is using artificial intelligence to surveil at least one federal agency’s communications for hostility to President Donald Trump and his agenda. Two Trump administration officials have told some U.S. government employees that the surveillance would mark an extraordinary use of technology to identify expressions of perceived disloyalty in a workforce already upended by widespread firings and severe cost cutting. The DOGE team, which activities remain shrouded in secrecy is also using the Signal app to communicate, according to one other person with direct knowledge of the matter, potentially violating federal…

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) minister, Nyesom Wike hosted suspended Rivers House of Assembly members to a dinner in the United Kingdom on Monday. Senior special assistant on public communications and social media to the minister, Lere Olayinka, in a video shared on X, said the lawmakers, “who are in the UK for legislative capacity building” were hosted to a dinner by the minister. He said, “Wike left Nigeria on Sunday night after visiting his political friends and associates in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.” Also, a statement last week by special assistant on media to Martin Amaewhule, speaker of the…

The All Progressives Congress (APC) governors held a closed-door meeting with former President Muhammadu Buhari at his residence in Kaduna State on Monday. The governors elected on the platform of the ruling party were led by the Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State, who is the Chairman of the All Progressives Governors Forum. Uzodimma, who fielded questions from journalists after the meeting, said they were in Kaduna to look after Buhari’s well-being, describing him as the father of the nation and APC. However, the meeting comes amid the defection of some of Buhari’s loyalists from the APC to the Social…

Pascal Dozie, a former chairman of MTN Nigeria and founder of the defunct Diamond Bank Plc, has passed away. He was aged 85 and would have turned 86 on Wednesday. The former banking legend died in the early hours of Tuesday, a statement issued by the family said. His son, Uzoma Dozie, also a banker said in a statement, “With deep sorrow, but with gratitude to God for a life well spent, we announce the passing of our beloved father, Pascal Gabriel Dozie, on 8th April 2025. “He was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, and a man of unwavering Catholic…

Providing what could be regarded as the first official response three days after the announcement, the Federal Government has admitted that US President Donald Trump’s newly imposed tariffs will adversely affect several of Nigeria’s oil and non-oil exports. While several governments of the world had been reacting and bracing for the much-vaunted tariffs even before they were finally imposed last week, the Nigerian government has offered its first take on the global development, admitting that the adverse effects of the tariffs, will disrupt trade relations, and weaken the competitiveness of Nigerian products in the U.S. market. According to a PUNCH…

Fearing a possible breakdown of law and order, the Northern Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) has dissociated itself from the nationwide protest, tagged ‘Take-It-Back’ planned for today. In a statement issued on Sunday in Kaduna, NYCN President, Isah Abubakar, warning that such demonstrations could inflame tensions and destabilise the country. Abubakar said while the council acknowledges the frustrations of many young Nigerians, it believes that the current atmosphere calls for restraint, dialogue, and national unity, not street protests. His statement read, “We are deeply concerned about the rising tension across various regions and the increasingly fragile socio-political climate. “As an…

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Sunday that President Trump’s reciprocal tariffs will take effect later this week, suggesting they aren’t open to negotiation after the announcement sent shockwaves through the investment world and sparked recession fears. “The tariffs are coming. He announced that, and he wasn’t kidding,” Lutnick said of Trump on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.” Last week, the president announced 10% tariffs on imports from all countries, along with increasing levies on dozens of countries that charge higher taxes on American exports, which are set to go into effect this week. Meanwhile, financial markets saw their worst…

Senator Magnus Abe has urged Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, to reconsider his efforts in stopping the April 12th rally organized by supporters of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief Nyesom Wike. In a post on his verified Facebook page, Abe expressed disbelief over the Bayelsa government’s deployment of resources aimed at preventing Wike from visiting the state, despite the minister’s public statement that he had no plans to attend the event. Abe stated that the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria guarantees every citizen, including Wike, the right to freedom of movement within the country.…

Senior officials within Donald Trump’s administration officials gave conflicting messages on Sunday about the US president’s global tariffs that have caused a meltdown in stock markets, prompted warnings of a world recession and provoked rare expressions of dissent from within his Republican party. Cabinet members fanned out across Sunday’s political talk shows armed with talking points on Trump’s 10% across-the-board tariff on almost all US imports, with higher rates targeted at about 60 countries. If the intention was to calm nerves with a clear statement of intent, then it backfired as top officials gave starkly contrasting signals. Howard Lutnick, the…

The Bayelsa State Command of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) has denied reports that its facility at the Okaka Custodial Centre is illegally holding former First Lady, Patience Jonathan’s 15 former domestic staff. Making the denial in a statement on Sunday, the Okaka Custodial Centre spokesman, Isari Gbosi Tombara, dismissed the reports as false and aimed at tarnishing the image of the service. The statement read, “The rumour has been in circulation, purporting that the former first lady detained the said domestic staff since 2019 for theft, and that there was a closed-door meeting between the former first lady and…