Headlines

A coalition of concerned civil servants in Rivers State, alongside the Rivers Solidarity for Good Governance, has issued a deadline to the state House of Assembly, demanding the immediate receipt of the 2025 budget from the executive arm by Wednesday, March 19, 2025.

At a media briefing in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, the coalition condemned what it described as “reckless inaction and obstruction of governance,” warning of mass resistance if the delay persisted.

Speaking on behalf of the group, Opu-Oyibo Lilly-West criticized the state assembly for its continued failure to receive the budget, stating that the delay has created economic uncertainty for thousands of workers, market traders, and residents.

“Your blatant disregard for the urgent needs of our state has placed critical contracts and salaries at risk. By choosing spectacle over service, you have endangered the future of our public institutions and betrayed the trust of every citizen who depends on a stable, functioning government,” Lilly-West said.

The coalition insisted that the budget be submitted without further delay and fully presented before the Assembly by March 19, 2025, in accordance with the request made by Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has threatened to embark on a nationwide strike if the federal government fails to remove 10,699 Indian expatriates employed by Sterling Oil Exploration & Energy Production Company Limited.

Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, PENGASSAN President, Comrade Festus Osifo, accused the company of violating Section 32 of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) Act by employing an excessive number of expatriates. He alleged that the Ministry of Interior, along with other government officials, facilitated the allocation of the expatriate quota, thereby limiting job opportunities for Nigerians.

Osifo warned that the association would shut down the company’s plants if the government failed to act.

“We will engage all stakeholders, but if the government does not take action, those plants will be shut down. We will declare a nationwide strike, and once our members withdraw, upstream operations will be grounded,” he said.

While he did not specify a timeline for the planned strike, Osifo stated that PENGASSAN had already instructed its members within the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) to take action, affecting lifting operations.

“As of today, their operations are already under lock and key. They cannot lift,” he added.

PENGASSAN, which represents about 90 percent of workers in the upstream oil sector, maintains that it can effectively disrupt activities in the industry through industrial action.

The Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) has refuted claims that the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, is plotting to Islamise Nigeria.

In a statement issued on Tuesday by its Deputy National Legal Adviser, Imam Haroun Muhammad Eze, the council described the allegation as “baseless, unfounded, and malicious.”

“The attention of the NSCIA has been drawn to a piece of mischievous information being circulated on social media, falsely ascribing to the Sultan a statement linked to the now-popular propaganda of Islamising Nigeria. This spurious information is not only false but entirely fabricated. The Sultan, who was purported to have made the statement, has been out of the country for the last two weeks,” the statement read.

The NSCIA stressed that the Sultan leads a diverse Muslim community across Nigeria and dismissed the notion that he could have made such remarks.

“While the council would ordinarily not respond to such a malicious act, it sees the need to educate the public to prevent misinformation from misleading undiscerning minds,” it added.

The council urged Nigerians to disregard the publication and verify information before sharing it.

President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday met with the nation’s service chiefs, led by the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, at the Aso Villa in Abuja.

Also in attendance were the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun; the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; and the Director General of the Department of State Services, Oluwatosin Ajayi.

The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, and Senate Majority Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, later joined the meeting, which was held in the president’s office. Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, and his deputy, Ben Kalu, were also present.

While the agenda of the meeting was not disclosed as of press time, it is believed to be related to the country’s security situation.

The Nigerian Senate has established an ad-hoc committee to investigate the alleged annexation of the country’s mangrove islands and maritime territories by Cameroon. The committee is expected to submit its findings and recommendations within two months.

In its resolutions, the Senate urged President Bola Tinubu to take immediate steps to secure Nigeria’s territorial waters, including the protection of over 2,560 oil wells located within the disputed mangrove islands in Akwa Ibom State. Senate leaders also committed to engaging directly with President Tinubu to explore diplomatic solutions to the issue.

During plenary on Tuesday, lawmakers emphasized the need for urgent action to prevent further escalation, describing the situation as a “provocation by the Republic of Cameroon.”

The motion, sponsored by Senator Aniekan Bassey under Orders 41 and 51, raised concerns over the economic and territorial implications of Cameroon’s alleged encroachment. Senator Bassey noted that the affected islands in Efiat, Mbo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, were not part of the territories ceded to Cameroon under the 1913 Anglo-German treaties or the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling of October 2002.

He further alleged that Cameroonian security forces, known as the Gendarmes, had imposed foreign laws on Nigerians residing in 16 ancestral villages within the disputed area, calling the development a “monumental national embarrassment.”

Lawmakers argued that the reported annexation violates multiple international agreements and called for a review of the ICJ judgment. They also urged the federal government to escalate the matter to the United Nations Convention.

In a stunning move, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, has officially revoked the land allocation for the new Secretariat of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the Central Area of Abuja. The decision, announced earlier today, is expected to have significant political and administrative repercussions.

Political analysts have suggested that the move could signal a deepening rift between the ruling administration and the opposition party, especially as the 2027 general elections approach. It remains unclear what legal recourse the PDP will pursue, but the political landscape in Abuja is likely to be further complicated by this latest development.

The FCT Administration has yet to confirm any plans for the reallocation of the land, but sources within the government suggest that the site may be repurposed for other public or developmental use.

As the situation unfolds, all eyes will be on the PDP’s next move, as well as the political implications of Wike’s decision on the upcoming electoral cycle.

According to a statement released by the FCT Administration, the land allocation for the PDP’s proposed new headquarters, which had been a subject of controversy since its approval, has now been rescinded. The Minister cited “inconsistent documentation and non-compliance with regulatory procedures” as primary reasons for the revocation.

Wike, who has been at the forefront of several administrative reforms in the FCT, emphasized that the move aligns with his administration’s commitment to transparency and the enforcement of land-use policies in the capital. “The decision was taken in the interest of the public good and to uphold the integrity of our land administration system,” Wike said in a brief statement to the press.

The revocation of the PDP’s new Secretariat land comes as a surprise to many, considering the proximity of the land to the heart of Abuja’s political and commercial districts. The PDP had previously lauded the land allocation as a major step toward consolidating its administrative presence in the nation’s capital.
In response, the PDP condemned the action, describing it as politically motivated and an attempt to undermine the party’s growth and operations. “This decision is an outright attack on the PDP and an attempt to stifle the opposition in the country,” the party said in a statement, vowing to challenge the revocation in court.

A fire outbreak has destroyed properties worth millions of naira at the Wurukum rice mill market near the River Benue bridge in Makurdi.

The fire, which started in the early hours of Monday, was quickly contained by firefighters, preventing it from spreading to other shops. However, several shops were affected, with processed and unprocessed rice, milling machines, and other goods completely destroyed.

One of the victims, Mercy Hanmaikyur, said she lost about N10 million in the fire. “I opened this shop last December after investing about N10 million. I had three machines—a de-stoning machine, a rice polishing machine—and many bags of processed and unprocessed rice. Everything was burnt,” she said.

Another victim, Iorwa Jeremiah, also lamented his loss. “I got a call in the early hours of today. By the time I arrived, I saw other shop owners with firefighters who were trying to put out the fire. Unfortunately, the damage had already been done,” he said.

Chairman of the Wurukum rice mill market, Terva Igyar, confirmed that a few shops were burnt, along with a motorcycle, about six milling machines, and several bags of rice.

He added that he had spoken with officials of Makurdi Local Government and other stakeholders, who promised to visit the market to assess the damage before estimating the total loss.

The traders ruled out electricity as the cause of the fire, stating that their shops were not connected to any power supply.

Victims of the incident have appealed to Governor Hyacinth Alia for assistance to help them recover from their losses.