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Vice President, Kashim Shettima has said President Bola Tinubu had approved the construction of 1,000 houses across Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina, Zamfara, Kaduna, Niger, and Benue states.

Speaking on Friday September 8, the Director of Information, Office of the Vice President, Mr Olusola Abiola in a statement noted that Shettima stated this at the inauguration of projects executed by the Borno State Government in the last 100 days

Revealed that Tinubu approved N50bn to the National Emergency Management Agency to kick-start the Pulaku initiative which was a non-kinetic solution to the crisis confronting the people of the northwest, the vice President explained that the housing projects were part of a broad plan by the Federal Government to address conflicts in the North.

“President Tinubu has approved the construction of 1,000 houses in Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina, Zamfara, Kaduna, Niger, and Benue states with all the ancillary facilities of schools, clinics, veterinary clinics, and ranches for the Fulani community in Kaduna and Benue states

“President Tinubu insisted that all the victims must be carried along,” he said.

The Vice President assured that all parts of the country would benefit from the developmental strides of President Tinubu.

Shettima also stated that the Federal Government was planning to re-ignite wheat production in the country.

He noted that President Tinubu was aware of the challenges confronting Nigerians and would make efforts to address them.

“The issues confronting Nigerians will be addressed. We will use all available vehicles to fix things. President Tinubu means well for this country and he is determined to change the fortunes of the nation for the better.

“Tinubu is a person filled with a lot of empathy for the less privileged in society. Some of the painful decisions taken by the government were products of the circumstances we have found ourselves in.

“Rest assured in the coming weeks and months, this government will unveil a lot of projects and programmes that will touch the lives of many,” Shettima said.

He commended the vision and leadership of Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State, particularly in his capacity to address the welfare of the people.

“We are extremely lucky to have him as our leader, Governor, and brother at this time. Governor Zulum and I have the best of relationships.

Independent marketers branch of the National Union of Petroleum Marketers and Natural Gas Workers has charged President Bola Tinubu and the management of Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited to expedite action on the turnaround of the nation’s refineries.

The Independent marketers, appealing on Friday, September 8 through its chairman, Comrade Oluleye Olayemi, during a press briefing with reporters.

Notjng that the turn around of the refineries would help to reduce the hardship being faced by the fuel subsidy removal among the citizens, Oluleye rebuffed former president Olusegun Obasanjo’s comment.

The Leadingreporters had earlier reported that President Bola Tinubu chided former President Olusegun Obasanjo who said that the nation’s refineries might never work.

Describing Obasanjo’s statement as appalling, he said although there might be corruption in the system or process involved, with political will and sincerity, the government could see the turnaround of the refineries.

He said: “The branch is in support of the position of the Nigerian Labour and NUPENG National Executive Council on the deregulation policy of the oil and gas industry.

“While the subsidy removal can be said to be the right decision, the timing could have been deferred till the refineries become functional.

“The government should have built refineries in phases across the oil-producing states and gradually remove the subsidy. We are badly affected by deregulation. We appeal to the government that they should expedite action on the refineries’ turnaround and maintenance of our refineries.

“We are badly affected as many marketers are not loading and that affected our members who could not attend. Without renovation of the depot, many people will be jobless.”

Following a move by the faction of Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso to amend the party’s constitution and logo, the crisis rocking the leadership of the New Nigeria Peoples Party has taken a new twist.

In a interview with Punch, the National Auditor of NNPP, Ladipo Johnson confirmed the decision to amend the constitution.

This development is coming three days after the faction of the party under the leadership of Major Agbo expelled the presidential candidate of NNPP for alleged anti-party activities and misappropriation of party campaign funds.

Leadingreporters earlier reported the expulsion of Kwankwaso’s in a statement released on Tuesday by the NNPP’s factional National Publicity Secretary, Abdulsalam Abdulrasaq.

Abdulrasaq affirmed that the decision to expel Kwankwaso with immediate effect was taken after he failed to appear before the disciplinary panel to defend himself over the allegations levelled against him.

The expulsion of the former Kano governor caused disaffection within the party and saw chieftains from opposition camps trading blame.

Nineteen persons were, on Thursday, kidnapped in the Bwari Area Council of the nation’s capital, Abuja.

This was as it emerged that about 30 people were, few days ago, killed in a landslide caused by the activities of illegal miners in the Kuje Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory FCT.

News of the developments came to the fore on Thursday at a maiden meeting between the FCT minister, Nyesom Wike and the six Area Councils Chairmen.

The minister who was miffed at the developments said he would summon the FCT Director of State Services as well as the Commissioner of Police to receive adequate briefings on the kidnap and facilitate rescue operations.

While he asked the council bosses to set up surveillance taskforce in their areas to monitor mining activities, Wike said he would meet with his counterpart in Solid Minerals, Dele Alake to eliminate illegal mining in the FCT.

Speaking on the challenges confronting the councils, Kwali Area Council chairman, Danladi Chiya appealed to the minister and the Minister of Stare, Dr Mariya Mahmoud to come to their aide.

He said; “When we had about your appointment, we were happy because you have been a Council Chairman and therefore understand our challenges.

“Our challenges are inadequate funding of the local government system.

“We have the major challenge of insecurity across the six Area Councils. Just today (Thursday), about 19 people were kidnapped in Bwari Area Council. I just received about five in my council who were in captivity for about six days.

“The next is the development of satellite towns. The issue of sanitation is one of the major challenges confronting us.

“There is also no efficient transport facility. The Abuja Urban Mass transit buses are no longer functional.

“Then there is the issue of land allocation. You sit in your council, and your backyard will be allocated to someoje you don’t even know. Your graveyards and worship centres would be allocated and we are saying that we should be carried along in terms of land allocation.

“The responsibility of primary school teachers is on the local governments. The UBE’s payment of salaries lies on the council which by law is supposed to be the 60-40 percent. We are pleading that you help us so that this issue can be looked into”.

Kuje Area Council Chairman, Abdullahi Sabo lamented the menace of illegal miners.

He said; “The issue of illegal mining in the FCT. There is indiscriminate mining licences given out and this has led to insecurity. They give letters of consent to Chinese people.

“Just few days ago, there was a land slide that took the lives of 30 people as a result of the activities of illegal miners. We appeal to you to engage the Minister of Mines to stop mining in the FCT”.

On his part, Chairman, Bwari Area Council, John Gabaya advocated greater inclusion of council chairmen in land allocations.

“Sometime ago in 2017, I was a Council Staff then. All the Council lands department are centralized in Area 11 and since then there is no way of checkmating their activities. If you look at Dutse, you will see unplanned developments and you would be wondering who is controlling them. We only watch. We can’t do anything because we can’t control them”.

Reacting to the issues, Wike promised to address them, saying as a former council boss, he understood their predicament.

He said; “I am here to work for the FCT, not to work for any political party. I am here to support the administration of Asiwaju to realize the dreams of the founding fathers. It doesn’t matter your political affiliations or religion, I am here to serve all.

“We cannot achieve anything without support from the Councils. We are not struggling for power and so we have to collaborate.

“It is in your interest as council chairmen to work for the people and that you can do by collaborating with us. What affects you affects me and so I will not be anywhere and allow Area Councils to be shortchanged.

“I will want to advise that we manage what we have but we will work to ensure that what you are supposed to get, that you get it and nobody will shortchange you.

“Insecurity is a major problem all over and those of you who are outside the Municipality, you have to work hard. Information is key. The incident of kidnap you talked about, nobody has reported that to me. It is a serious issue and we need to call an emergency security meeting. I have to call the Director of SSS and the CP now to give me more details because it is every embarrassing to me. Though, I am happy you said the SSS official and the DPO in the affected council are informed and on the situation.

“On sanitation, we have a problem. Sanitation is a big issue. It is the duty of the council not just to collect the fees but to dispose refuse. We have to sit down and work together on this by adopting a common template.

“On illegal mining, I will talk to the minister. Ordinarily, I would say you should also form your own surveillance taskforce as Chief Security Officers of your councils and make arrests and we will support you. However, I will meet with the minister”.

Eko Electricity Distribution Company has reassured its customers of its preparedness to begin a mass metering initiative for prepaid meters across its service network.

Speaking on Thursday, September 7 during a customer engagement forum in Lagos, the Chief Executive Officer, EKEDC, Tinuade Sanda, reiterated the company’s assurance and readiness to install over 50,000 prepaid meters before the end of the year.

The Chief Executive Officer represented by the Chief Commercial Officer, Mrs Rekhiat Momoh, Sanda stressed that the company aimed to install over 150,000 meters throughout the year, noting that 475,000 customers had been metered within its network.

Addressing the recently announced 40 per cent increase in meter prices, Sanda explained that customers supported the price increase as it reflected the current economic situation of the country.

She noted that the company had not been able to meter customers recently, but with the new price, they would start rolling out meters promptly.

“It is obvious that the customers are happy based on their responses at today’s customer consultative forum,” she added.

A couple in Anambra State, South-east Nigeria allegedly tried to starve their five-year-old daughter to death after labelling her a witch.

The couple, Michael Wosu, 47, and Blessing, his 23-year-old wife, allegedly carried out the act in Adazi-Ani, a community in Anaocha Local Government Area of the state, where they reside.

Disclosing this in a statement on Thursday, September 7, Chidinma Ikeanyionwu, a media aide to the Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare in the state, Ify Obinabo said the couple had been arrested by the commissioner.

The media aide noted the arrest followed a report to the commissioner from the Chairperson of the council area, Ikechukwu Ozoh, and Chinwe Uba, the State Coordinator of a group, Ladies of Good Governance.

Mrs Obinabo, while speaking to the couple in her office, said her primary assignment was to protect the rights of every child in Anambra State, Ms Ikeanyionwu said.

The commissioner applauded a resident, Ikenna Anoliefo, for rescuing the child and drawing the attention of authorities from the council area.

She vowed to prosecute the couple and others who commit such acts in the state.

The couple, according to the statement, released by the commissioner that they were starving their daughter in obedience to their unnamed pastor’s prophecy that the girl was a witch.

They said they felt that there was no need to give the daughter food because, as a witch, she does not deserve to live.

The mother Blessing, who hails from Akwa Ibom State, South-south Nigeria, claimed that the daughter, through “her witchcraft”, was responsible for the collapse of her father’s business, Adding that she equally forced the daughter to be sleeping on a plank because she frequently urinated and defecated on their bed.

The father, Mr Wosu, who comes from Rivers State, another state in the South-south, claimed he was not aware that his wife was maltreating the daughter.

The child, the statement said, has been taken to a hospital for medical treatment.

Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State is on his way to Nigeria from Germany after over 90 days spent on medical leave.

The wife of the governor, Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu disclosed this via her social media handle, X, on Thursday, September 7, when she posted a picture of him in an aircraft with the caption “Homebound.”

Akeredolu became noticeably ill some months after his mother’s death in September 2022.

There were speculations that the governor was battling a life-threatening ailment, and in January 2023, Akeredolu admitted to being ill.

He stated that he was in recuperation and the illness was not hindering him from carrying out his duties as governor.

“Since the Governor is not a superhuman and the immunity his office enjoys does not extend to physical wellness or otherwise, the health issue is therefore not an unusual one. However, contrary to speculations and insinuations making the round, the Governor, though frail, is discharging his official functions,” a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Richard Olabode, read.

Although inspite of the assurance that he was getting better, Akeredolu applied for a three-week medical leave in June, and Deputy Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa took over governance in his stead.

He, however, failed to return upon exhaustion of the 21 days, and a letter he addressed to people of the state disclosed that only his doctors could determine when he would be discharged.

Stakeholders in the state, including the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), expressed concerns over the governor’s health and called for his resignation.

A statement by the Publicity Secretary of the PDP in the state, Mr Kennedy Peretei, said the state should not be grounded because of the governor’s health conditions.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has lambasted ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo over his comments on the petroleum refinery in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

In an interview with TheCable, the ex-president had stressed his opinion that the nation’s refineries would not be functional and efficient as long as they remained under government ownership.

Obasanjo noted, “Someone told me Tinubu said refineries would work by December. I told the person the refineries would not work. This is based on the information I received from Shell when I was president.”

However, responding to Olusegun Obasanjo’s comment, a Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to Tinubu, Tope Ajayi said Obasanjo is not an engineer, therefore he shouldn’t make such comments.

“Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, with due respect to him, is not an engineer. He’s not the engineer working at the refineries. So, the engineers and the NNPC gave the president a report and they have said that it will work by December this year,” he had said while speaking on Daily Trust space themed: ‘Analysing the First 100 Days of President Tinubu’.

“We still have like four months to go. I will say that with all due respect to the former president, who is an elder statesman and our father, that what he said is his personal opinion and view.

“I will rather rely on the judgment of the engineers who are working at the refinery. So, I think we should wait until December.”

NNPCL had earlier stressed that it is working to revamp the refineries, which were shut down entirely in 2021 and produced little or no fuel over the past decade.

Ekiti State Police Command says it has arrested 10 suspects in connection to the death of a nursing student of the Federal University, Oye Ekiti, Modupe Deborah.

The command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Abutu Sunday, made the announcement via the command’s handle on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, September 7.

Sunday disclosed that the late 200-level nursing student of the institution was declared missing within the school premises on 5/09/2023.

The PRO stated that Deborah’s body was found in a shallow grave at a distance of about 30 meters behind the nursing Lecture Hall.

According to the Ekiti Police Spokesperson, “This is to inform the general public that the Ekiti State Commissioner of Police, CP Ogundare Dare, has ordered a thorough investigation into the cause of the death of one Atanda Modupe Deborah, a 200-level nursing student of Federal University, Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), who was declared missing within the school premises on 5/09/2023 but found dead in a shallow grave at a distance of about 30 meters behind the nursing Lecture Hall.”

He promised that the police would ensure the perpetrators of the crime face the full wrath of the law.

Appealing to the public to be calm, the commissioner vowed that the command will do everything possible to unearth the identity of the perpetrator(s) and ensure they are made to face the full wrath of the law.

“The command enjoins anyone with useful information concerning the ugly incident to visit Oye Divisional Police Headquarters, Oye-Ekiti or State CIID or call 09064050086/08053499199.

“Meanwhile, the body of the deceased has been deposited in the morgue for autopsy while 10 suspects are currently in custody undergoing investigation.”

Earlier, the school management announced the death of the student in a statement signed by the Registrar, Mufutau Ibrahim.

Ibrahim said, “It will be recalled that earlier today, the Management had made public the disturbing development of the missing of the deceased and assured that investigation was ongoing as to unravel the whereabouts of the poor students.

“But current information reaching the security outfit of the University has disclosed that the said student is dead.

“While the University Management condoles with the deceased family and the generality of the University community, particularly our dear students, the Management reiterated that investigation is still ongoing and this is being done in collaboration with national security agencies to get to the root of the sad development and bring to book the culprits.”