Obasanjo decries Nigeria’s debt profile, demands fiscal prudence Former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has decried the size of debt being owned by the country, years after he left office in 2007. The former president, who recalled he left the nation with about $70 billion, including a $45 billion reserve and $25 billion in a designated “excess crude” account, stressing that there is an utmost need for the government to show more prudence in spending. The former President spoke on Thursday in an interview with Kayode Akintemi of News Central Television. Obasanjo, who lamented the poor quality of leadership in the…
Author: Agency Reporter
President Bola Tinubu on Friday found himself in strange company when he met the 2023 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar at the Jumat and wedding of the daughter of Senator Danjuma Goje, which took place at the National Mosque. While many expect some drama and shocking moments, the meeting however, went well and devoid of any controversy. The must have prompted Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu, Tunde Rahman to have said politics should not be about bitterness. Commenting about the meeting on his X page, Rahman: “President Tinubu meets former VP Atiku, his main opponent…
Another two bodies of the passengers of the ill-fated helicopter that crashed in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital on Thursday have been found.The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) said on Friday that after an intensive search involving several agencies, they have found the remains of two of the passengers of the tragic eight-member voyage.New Daily Prime reported on Thursday that an helicopter, operated by East Wind Aviation and hired by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, crashed on its way from the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) base in Port Harcourt to the national oil company’s floating production storage…
The Nigerian Senate has approved 15 percent from the Consolidated Revenue Fund as source of funding for the newly created zonal development commissions by member-states.The approval followed consideration and adoption of the report of the Senate Committee on Special Duties on the bills establishing the commissions on Thursday.The lawmakers were earlier divided over the source of funding for the newly created zonal development commissions, which emerged during the clause-by-clause consideration of the South-South Development Commission Establishment Bill 2024, which serves as the structural template for other zonal commissions.What sparked the debate was the Senate Committee on Special Duties’ recommendation that…
Following allegations of revenue leakages totaling N32,151,775,466.87 accrued to the coffers of the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) on behalf of the Federal Government between 2015 and 2022, the House of Representatives has issued a 96-hour ultimatum to the Chief Executive Officer of the commission, Engineer Gbenga Komolafe to appear before them. Chairman of the House Committee on Public Accounts, Hon. Bamidele Salam, during the investigative hearing on Thursday, expressed grave concerns regarding reported revenue leakages and non-compliance with standard operating procedures. During the review of the documents submitted to the Committee, the lawmakers alleged that the sum of…
Nigeria, alongside 12 other nations have joined the BRICS bloc as partner countries, enhancing their economic linkages with the intergovernmental alliance. BRICS, initially composed of Brazil, Russia, India, and China, expanded in 2010 to include South Africa. In 2024, the alliance admitted Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates as full members, all of whom participated in the Kazan summit. The announcement was made during the 16th annual BRICS summit, which took place in Kazan, Russia from October 22 to 24, 2024. The summit, which had the theme “Strengthening Multilateralism for Fair Global Development and Security,” underscored the bloc’s…
The All Progressives Congress (APC), National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, has declared that Rivers State would soon become an APC state. Ganduje, who spoke at APC national headquarters in Abuja when welcoming the 2023 governorship candidate of Action Alliance (AA), Dr. Dawari Ibietela George, and others back to APC, also said the Rivers State chapter of the party would be rebuilt and repositioned. Discussing the rebuilding and strengthening of the party as a platform to serve the people of the state and Nigeria in general, the leaders also agreed to make the party accommodate broad interests and dispense substantial justice. Ganduje…
Following allegations of lopsided recruitment process in the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), and Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), the House of Representatives has resolved to probe the agencies. The resolution was passed during plenary on Thursday, following the adoption of a motion by Ali Isa, the minority whip. Moving the motion, Isa said there are allegations that staff recruitment processes in the agencies are “marred by irregularities of favouritism” and non-compliance with the federal character principle. He said the allegations also include extra-budgetary expenditures with funds earmarked for statutory operations being used for non-statutory items…
All eight passengers inside the helicopter crash that occurred in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital on Thursday, may have died, the Rivers State Police Command, has said. In earlier reports, three persons have been confirmed dead. The state Public Relations Officer, SP Grace Iringe-Koko disclosed this in a statement, noting that all the passengers may have lost their lives in the tragic incident after a day of search. This comes after President Bola Tinubu ordered an intensified search, and directed the military to join search for the passengers involved in the crash. The statement reads, “The Rivers State Police…
The humanitarian crisis in the northern Gaza Strip deepened on Saturday as an Israeli bombardment killed at least 20 people, trapped thousands more and prompted one of the area’s last functioning hospitals to issue desperate pleas for assistance. Israeli airstrikes overnight and into Saturday hit the Jabaliya area of northern Gaza, even as the Israeli military is pressing ahead with its campaign in Lebanon, where it warned residents of 23 more towns to evacuate on Saturday. The Israeli military also reported that about 320 projectiles were fired into Israel on Saturday by the militant group Hezbollah, the focus of its…
