NIGERIAN NOTCH

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the appointment of Mr. Ola Olukoyede as the executive chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The president also approved the appointment of Muhammad Hammajoda as secretary of the EFCC on a renewable term of five years. Olukoyede takes over from Mr. Abdulkarim Chukkol who has served as the acting chairman of the EFCC since the removal of Abdulrasheed Bawa.  Before his appointment, Olukayode has previously served as chief of staff to the former acting executive chairman, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, and was later appointed secretary to the commission. A seasoned lawyer with over 22 years’ experience, Olukayode is a regulatory compliance consultant and specialist in fraud management and corporate intelligence with extensive experience in the operations of the EFCC. Reacting to his appointment, senior special assistant to the president on Public Engagement, Fredrick Nwabufo, said the president followed due process before a

Reports have it that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has lifted the ban on 43 items imposed under the Godwin Emefiele era. The current lifting was disclosed in a circular by the apex bank released on October 12, 2023.   According to the central bank, it will also boost liquidity in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market and intervene from time to time, stating that interventions will decrease as liquidity improves. The 43 Items are Rice, Cement, Margarine, Palm Kernel/Palm oil products/vegetable oils, Meat and, Processed Meat Products, Vegetables and Processed Vegetable Products, Poultry – chicken, eggs, Turkey Private Airplanes/Jets Indian Incense Tinned Fish In sauce (Gelsha)/Sardines Cold Rolled Steel Sheets Galvanized Steel Sheets Roofing Sheets,Wheelbarrows Head Pans Metal Boxes and Containers Enamelware Steel Drums Steel Pipes Wire Rods (deformed and not deformed) Iron Rods and ReInforcina Bars Wire Mesh Steel Nalls Security and Razor Wire Wood Particle Boards and Pan

Senator Ifeanyi Ubah representing Anambra South Senatorial District has dumped the Young Progressives Party (YPP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC). According to a letter read by Senate President Godswill Akpabio during a brief plenary session on Thursday,  Ubah’s defection was due to irreconcilable differences in the YPP. The letter further explained that Ubah’s decision is in the interest of his constituents.

In its reaction, the All Progressives Congress (APC) said like a befuddled mind jolted out of deep slumber, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi hugged a podium to echo a script authored by Atiku Abubakar, his senior partner and co-traveller on a dark ignominious alley to nowhere.   In a statement by its national publicity secretary, Felix Morka, APC said that in his drivel, Obi demanded that the President reintroduce himself to Nigerians, as though the 8.9 million Nigerians who voted him last February were all groggy when they made their free democratic choice.   “Mr. Obi must know that President Tinubu does not need a re-introduction. He does not have any identity problem, except the one contrived by the Atikus and Peters of our political firmament. “The 8.9 million Nigerians who voted him into office were, and remain, aware of his outstanding record and accomplishments as a defender of democracy, freedom, social and economic justice for over three decades

The BBC’s Global Disinformation Team has said it found no evidence that the Chicago State University (CSU) diploma certificate President Bola Ahmed Tinubu submitted to the country’s electoral commission was forged. Allegations that President Tinubu’s certificate was faked went viral on social media following the CSU’s release of his academic records last week. The BBC Team comprising Olaronke Alo, Fouziyya Tukur and Chiagozie Nwonwu – all bearing Nigerian names – said it had looked at some of the most widely circulated claims. Following February’s presidential election, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has approached the Supreme Court in Nigeria seeking to have President Bola Ahmed Tinubu  disqualified after accusing him of submitting a forged CSU diploma certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). To obtain evidence for his case in Nigeria, Abubakar had approached a US court in August, requesting it to compel CSU to release Tinu

The presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to reveal his true identity. According to Peter Obi, Tinubu should not leave his identity to be defined by his aides, adding that even the international community will want to know his true identity. Speaking during a world press conference at the LP campaign office in Abuja, yesterday, Obi said Tinubu should save Nigeria from this present kind of embarrassment by revealing his true identity. “Tinubu should humbly and respectfully reveal his identity. Let the world know your name, nationality, certificates. You should indicate clearly where you did your NYSC. If there was a change of name, make it clear. The task is for Tinubu to urgently reveal his identity. People want to know your true identity. A leader cannot leave his identity to be revealed by proxies,” Obi said. Obi disclosed that having followed the prolonged identity crisis that recen

Meanwhile, the Adamawa State Emergency Management Agency (ADSEMA) has said 33 people have died as a result of the flooding witnessed due to release of water from the Lagdo Dam in Cameroon. Muhammed Suleiman, the executive secretary of the agency, gave the figure at stakeholders meeting in Yola yesterday, adding that 1,600 households were displaced, comprising 9,960 individuals Suleiman said 11 camps across four local government areas of Yola-North, Yola-South, Lamurde and Demsa LGAs provide temporary shelter for the victims. The deputy governor, Prof Kaletapwa Farauta, reiterated government’s commitment to address the plight of those affected by the flood.

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has disclosed that over 603 people have died and 1.3 million displaced in 31 states across the country from 2022 to date as a result of flooding caused by climate change. The representative of NiMet, Blessing Aganbi, disclosed this in a presentation on Understanding Climate Change at a one-day training of farmers by Women Environmental Programme Nigeria (WEP) on Actions to Combat Climate Threats (ACCT) held in Makurdi, the Benue State capital. While attributing the inability of farmers to seek ways of adopting and complying to climate change to untimely access to weather and climate change information, Blessing disclosed that during this period under review a whopping $6. 681 billion were recorded as economic losses between June and November. According to her, “to overcome the threat to food security associated with climate change, the Benue State government has to take into cognition agro-climatic information and pass it to citize

Former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon has denied rumours making the rounds that he died on Monday. The death rumour is currently trending on all social media platforms. But his Personal Media Aide, Adeyeye E. Ajayi said in a terse statement on Monday night that the former military leader is not dead. According to the Ajayi, Gowon said “I am still around and well. I am not in a hurry”. There were speculations in a section of the social media that the General passed on aged 89. However, when contacted by this Newspaper over the telephone, the General refuted the claims stating that he is alive and in good health. Also reacting to the rumours, the Delta State Governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), during the 2023 election, Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi who is said to have close ties with the war hero, described the speculations as the handiwork of mischief makers. Gbagi, a former Minister of State for Education, spoke through his Chief Press Secretary, Orus

Bigly Oil & Gas Services, over the weekend shed more light on the scope and mode of its operations across the state, as revenue collectors and partners of the Anambra Internal Revenue Service. Giving insight into their operations, the Project Manager, Mr. Chukwuma Nwabuikwu, cleared the air that Bigly Oil & Gas Services is not the only AIRS partner or authorised revenue collector in the state. He hinted that there are other companies in charge of revenue on granite, inter-state buses, stickers and other areas. Mr. Nwabuikwu said, “Bigly Oil & Gas Services is just one firm out of the many partners of AIRS and authorised revenue collectors in Anambra State. We are primarily in charge of revenue on haulage”. “As a responsible partner of the AIRS, before the commencement of our primary task, we recruited, trained our personnel and educated them on the rules of engagement. For instance, no member of our field team is to be found anywhere on official duty without bein