Author: Safiu Kehinde

Farmers in Russia’s Saratov region have appealed to President Vladimir Putin for help in dealing with an invasion of saiga antelopes that have migrated from Kazakhstan and devastated their fields. The appeal, posted on several popular farmers’ channels on Telegram, said that the saiga population has grown uncontrollably in recent years, reaching up to one million in Russia alone. Saratov, located along the Volga River, is the country’s sixth-largest grain-producing region, with an annual harvest of about four million metric tons, accounting for 3.5 per cent of Russia’s total grain harvest. Farmers reported that about 500,000 saigas crossed into Russia…

Safiu Kehinde The All Progressives Congress (APC) has debunked the reports in circulation with claim that National Assembly members would be granted automatic tickets in the 2027 general election. Labelling the report as fake, Felix Morka, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja, held that the news should be disregarded. Morka maintained that the report did not emanate from the party. “The attention of the APC has been drawn to a purported breaking news report tagged “APC Grants Automatic Tickets to All National Assembly Members” in viral circulation. “The report is fake news and should…

Safiu Kehinde The Federal Government has condemned the assault on one Mr. Rotifa, the Vice Principal of Complete Child Development College, Aule, Akure, Ondo State, over the seizure of a student’s phone. NPO Reports gathered that Mr Rotifa was last week assaulted by thugs sent by the mother of an SS3 student he caught cheating during the ongoing West African Examinations Council Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE). The student, whose identity was not disclosed was allegedly caught using an Android phone to cheat, leading to the Vice Principal’s confiscation of the phone. Mr. Rotifa would however be subjected to…

By Wumi Raji I met Ngugi wa Thiong’o in person only once. This was at the Gothenburg Book Fair held on September 23-26, 2010. The focus of the Fair which took place in Sweden’s second largest city was Books and Publishing in Africa. Naturally then, a lot of African writers and publishers featured at the event. Ngugi was there, and so were Nadine Gordimer, the white South African female writer and 1991 Nobel Prize winner in literature, and, as well, Nawal El-Sadawi, the Egyptian feminist writer and activist. Each of the three literary guru drew huge crowds wherever s/he went…

Palestinians on their way to receive aid from a distribution site in southern Gaza have come under fire for a third consecutive day, with nearly 30 people killed and dozens wounded, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health and Nasser hospital. The ministry said Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinians as they made their way to the distribution site in Tel al-Sultan in Rafah early Tuesday. The Israeli military said its forces opened fire multiple times after identifying “several suspects moving toward them, deviating from the designated access routes.” “The troops carried out warning fire, and after the suspects failed…

Safiu Kehinde Another Nigerian pilgrim, Hajiya Jamila Muhammad, has died at Makkah at the ongoing 2025 Hajj Pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia. The death of the pilgrim who hailed from Plateau state was disclosed to newsmen in Jos on Tuesday by Daiyabu Dauda, the Executive Secretary of the State’s Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board. This is coming exactly a week after 75-year-old Nigerian female pilgrim, Mrs Adizatu Dazumi, died at King Fahad General Hospital, Makkah, following brief illness. According to Dauda, Jamila also died on Monday at the King Abdul’aziz hospital, Makkah due to complication from diabetes. “When the complications began, we…

Safiu Kehinde Another tug of words have ensued between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) as Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, took the Federal Government to the Supreme Court over alleged seizure of the state’s allocation. Recall that the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) had recently directed relevant stakeholders to withhold February, March, April and May allocations of the Osun State local councils over the protracted battle between the APC and the PDP chapters of the state. The crisis for the control of the LGAs could be traced back to Adeleke’s conduct of…

Safiu Kehinde The Federal Government has dismissed reports on decline in infrastructural development for the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), stressing that the initiative has attracted over $500 million investment with 10,000 direct employment opportunity. This was made known in a statement issued on Monday by the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative’s (PCNGI) Program Director, Michael Oluwagbemi. The PCNGI’s boss held that the reports decrying the infrastructure gap in the sector as published by the Vanguard newspaper not do justice to incredible vision of President Bola Tinubu and speed of implementation of the same by the PCNGI. He thereafter highlighted the…

Safiu Kehinde The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, has pledged to double the compensation fee of residents of Guzape and Kpaduma communities affected by road construction in the area. Wike made the pledge during a meeting with the traditional rulers and representatives of Kpaduma and Guzape communities in Abuja on Monday, over the road project. The Minister explained that the meeting was to address concerns over the delay in relocation of affected villagers living on the road corridor. While directing the Director of Resettlement to evaluate what it would cost to resettle the affected residents, Wike pointed out that…

Safiu Kehinde Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, has approved a special Sallah bonus for all civil servants and pensioners in the state. This was contained in a statement issued by the state Commissioner for Information and Culture, Mahmud Dantawasa, in Gusau on Monday. According to the statement, the governor’s gesture is a reflection of his deep commitment to the welfare and happiness of the people, especially during the sacred period of Eid-el-Kabir, a time of sharing, reflection, and prayer. “The gesture is aimed at easing the financial burden on families and enable them to celebrate the festivities with joy and…