Author: Gbenga Olaleye

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Plateau State has rejected claims by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that Governor Caleb Mutfwang’s defection amounts to a betrayal of public trust, describing the accusation as ill-conceived and politically motivated. Governor Mutfwang officially joined the APC on Friday, a move that has triggered sharp reactions from his former party. In an immediate response, the Plateau State chapter of the PDP described the governor’s resignation and defection as “a slap on the face of the people who trusted him against all odds”. Speaking at a press conference in Jos shortly after Mutfwang received his…

The Nigerian military has identified one Shariff Umar, also known as Yusuf, as the suspected principal coordinator of a suicide bombing network linked to recent deadly attacks and attempted strikes across the North-East. The identification followed intelligence-led operations carried out by troops of the Joint Task Force North East, Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK), according to a statement issued on Saturday in Maiduguri by the task force’s Media Information Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Sani Uba. Uba said the breakthrough came after a series of cordon-and-search operations conducted in the Kalmari area of Maiduguri on 31 December 2025. During the operation, 14 suspects…

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Apapa Area Command, in collaboration with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), has intercepted 30.1 kilograms of cocaine at the Apapa Port in Lagos, marking a significant start to enforcement activities in the new year. The illicit drug, packaged in 30 slabs, was discovered aboard MV Aruna, a Marshall Islands-flagged vessel, at the Greenview Terminal on the first working day of the year. The seizure was confirmed in a statement issued by the command’s Public Relations Officer, Chief Superintendent of Customs Isah Sulaiman, and posted on the official X account of the Nigerian Customs…

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has projected that the country’s inflation rate will moderate to 12.94 per cent in 2026, driven largely by declining prices of fuel and food items. The projection was contained in the apex bank’s macroeconomic outlook for 2026, released on Wednesday. According to the report, Nigeria’s economy is also expected to record stronger growth, with gross domestic product (GDP) forecast to expand by 4.49 per cent in the year ahead. The CBN attributed the anticipated economic growth to continued gains from broad-based structural reforms and a gradual easing of monetary policy conditions. It noted that…

The Nigerian naira recorded a notable recovery in 2025, appreciating by nearly N100 against the United States dollar, while the country’s foreign exchange reserves grew by $4.6 billion, according to official data. At the close of trading on December 31, 2025, the naira exchanged at N1,435.76 to the dollar, compared with N1,535 at the end of 2024. The improvement represents an annual appreciation of 6.68 per cent, marking a significant turnaround after the currency suffered a sharp 40.9 per cent depreciation in the previous year. In parallel, Nigeria’s external reserves rose to $45.5 billion as of December 30, 2025, up…

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has announced a profit after tax (PAT) of N502 billion for November 2025, representing a 12.3 per cent increase compared to the previous month. The state-owned energy company disclosed the figures in its monthly financial and operational report released on Wednesday. According to the report, the profit was generated from a total revenue of N4.358 trillion recorded during the month under review. The November performance marks a notable improvement on the N447 billion profit after tax recorded in October 2025. This indicates an increase of about N50 billion, or 12.3 per cent, month-on-month.…

The National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr Ini Ememobong, has warned that governors who defected from the party will regret their decision when the results of the 2027 general elections are eventually declared. Ememobong said the anticipated regret would serve as a lasting reminder that political principle and loyalty remain important values in public life. He made the remarks on Friday during an interview on The Morning Brief, a programme aired on Channels Television and monitored by DAILY POST. Reacting to recent defections from the PDP and criticisms levelled against the party by former members, Ememobong…

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has responded sharply to a comment made by Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, further highlighting the deepening rift between the two former allies. Governor Fubara, who was widely regarded as Wike’s political protégé before their fallout, had made the remark during a New Year banquet held on Thursday. In what was seen as a veiled reference to the renewed hostility between them, Fubara asked, “If you have a dog in your house and it knows you, does it need to bark?” The statement was interpreted by many political observers as…

Ukrainian authorities have ordered the evacuation of thousands of children and their parents from frontline settlements in the Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions, as Russian forces continue to advance in parts of southern and eastern Ukraine. The decision was announced on Friday by Ukraine’s Restoration Minister, Oleksiy Kuleba, who said the move was prompted by a worsening security situation in areas close to the front line. Writing on Telegram, Kuleba disclosed that more than 3,000 children and their parents would be forcibly evacuated from 44 settlements considered to be at high risk. “Due to the difficult security situation, a decision was…

Chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State have rejected the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) exclusion of the party’s governorship candidate, Dr Wole Oluyede, from the list of candidates for the June 20, 2026 governorship election, insisting that the decision will not stand. Party leaders expressed strong confidence that Oluyede would ultimately be cleared to contest the election and would go on to secure victory for the PDP in the state. They spoke on Friday at Igede Ekiti in Irepodun/Ifelodun Local Government Area during a meeting of PDP leaders from across Ekiti State with party members drawn…