Author: Safiu Kehinde

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has claimed that Nigeria is winning the war against terror and banditry. He said this at the opening ceremony of the News Agency of Nigeria’s (NAN) 1st Annual International Lecture on Thursday in Abuja According to the Idris, over 300 Boko Haram and bandit commanders have been eliminated by the Nigerian Army. ”Our target is to eliminate all the threats of Boko Haram, banditry, kidnapping for ransom, and the scourge of all forms of violent extremism. ‘’Within one year, our government has eliminated Boko Haram and bandit commanders faster than ever.…

Agency Report An Israeli drone attack targeted and destroyed a weapons depot in the coastal Syrian city of Jableh before daybreak Thursday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. The attack carried out via drones and warplane missiles leveled the depot and caused massive explosions heard from long distances, said the UK-based watchdog group. It added that the Syrian air defences and Russian forces responded to the attack within 40 to 50 minutes. The depot is situated near the Hmeimim Air Base, the largest Russian air base in Syria, located in the northwestern province of Latakia. No immediate reports of…

Safiu Kehinde Former Nigeria President, Muhammadu Buhari, has congratulated Leadership Newspaper over their 20th anniversary. In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Garba Sheu, on Thursday, Buhari lauded the media outlet for their contribution to national progress. Buhari also expressed his gratitude to the newspaper for their support all through his eight years tenure. He applauded Leadership newspaper for their consistency while paying tribute to the late founder, Sam Nda-Isaiah. The statement read; “Leadership continues as a personification of the ideals that the late Sam had for a platform celebrating positivity. I have always cherished the Leadership newspapers over the…

Safiu Kehinde Sequel to the new regulations of the ongoing fiscal policy and tax reforms, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has announced the commencement of tax reduction and exemption in January 2025. The announcement was made in a statement issued on Thursday by the agency. As contained in the statement, the reviewed Witholding Tax (WHT) Regulations will take effect from next year. However, current (WHT) will be sustained till December 31st 2024. “The Federal Inland Revenue Service (“the Service”) hereby notifies taxpayers, tax practitioners and the general public as follows: “The Deduction of Tax at Source Withholding (WHT) Regulations,…

Safiu Kehinde  Former Nigerian Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar has claimed that over 7000 people were killed in two years across the Sahel Region. Abubakar made this claim on Thursday at the ongoing Inaugural Annual International Lecture organized by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). The ex-military ruler said 4660 people were killed in 2020, while another 2660 civilians lost their lives in 2021 in the Sahel region due to insecurity. The Lecture with theme, ““Insecurity in the Sahel (2008-2024): Dissecting Nigeria’s Challenges – Genesis, Impacts and Options” was conceived by the management of NAN as part of efforts…

Safiu Kehinde  A Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court has granted N150 million bail to former Taraba state governor, Darius Ishaku. The ex- Taraba governor, who was arraigned to court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged N27 billion fraud, was prosecuted on 15 counts charge alongside former Permanent Secretary, Bello Yero. The charge bordered on criminal breach of trust, conspiracy and conversion of public funds. However, both defendants pleaded “not guilty” when all the charges were read to them at the court session on Thursday. Their counsels moved their bail applications which was granted by the…

Safiu Kehinde Rivers state governor, Siminalayi Fubara,  has declared Thursday and Friday as public holidays ahead of the Oct. 5 local government council elections in the state. Fubara made the announcement during a broadcast on Wednesday, stressing that the holidays would enable residents of the state to prepare for the election. He also placed ban on vehicular movement between 12.00am on Friday and 5.00p.m on Saturday. Meanwhile, the governor maintained that the council poll was in compliance with Supreme Court’s judgment which ordered elections to be conducted in local government councils across the country. “It was on the strength of…

Safiu Kehinde  Benue state governor, Hyacinth Alia has declared Friday as work-free day ahead of the October 5th local government elections. Alia made the declaration in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Tersoo Kula, in Makurdi on Thursday. The work-free day, according to Alia, was to give the electorate the opportunity to travel to their respective local government areas to exercise their franchise. He emphasized the importance of active participation in the electoral process and encouraged all citizens to take advantage of this work-free day to exercise their civic duty. The governor further expressed confidence that with the right…

Agency Report The Federal Government has inaugurated its Conversion Incentive Programme (CPI) in Kogi and donated of ten Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) commercial buses to ease transportation in the state. The Minister of Steel Development, Mr Shuaibu Audu, while speaking during the inauguration ceremony on Wednesday in Lokoja, said the initiative by the federal government was meant to reduce the current hike in transportation fare in the country. The minister said that the federal government had signed agreement with two companies in the state to deliver on its mandate on the P-CNGi, CIP and business handover initiative. Audu explained that…

Safiu Kehinde  Protesters have, on Thursday, stormed the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) Secretariat in Rivers ahead of the state’s local government election. This came hours after the Rivers State Independence Electoral Commission (RSIEC) disclosed that the 2023 Voters Register is yet to be released to the commission by INEC. According to the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Johnson Alalibo, who spoke at a press briefing in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, said RSIEC had applied for the Register, but it was yet to be released to them because of administrative reasons. Alalibo further confirmed that the Commission received the court judgement from Abuja…