Author: Safiu Kehinde

Safiu Kehinde Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, has reinstated the full statutory rights of the Benin Monarch, Oba Ewuare II, abolishing the new traditional councils in Edo South created by the last administration. This was contained in a statement released by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Fred Itua, on Sunday. The governor, according to the statement, also backed the Federal Government’s Gazette, which gave the ownership of the returned artefact to the Oba’s palace, which was looted during the 1897 Benin massacre by the British colonial forces. Also, the state government is withdrawing the letter revoking the concession of the…

Safiu Kehinde Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has bursted drug syndicates led by a Chinese man, 58-year-old Tianzhen Yen (alias Jackie). This was disclosed in a statement issued on Sunday by the agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi. Yen was reportedly arrested at his hotel in Ikeja area of Lagos following a tip off from one of the drug syndicates earlier arrest Officers of the Seme Special Area Command of the Agency had on Thursday 21st November intercepted a 40-year-old suspect, Yakubu Emmanuel Mark in a commercial bus going to Ghana at the Gbaji checkpoint along Badagry-Seme expressway…

Safiu Kehinde Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted a 50-year-old businessman, Osuoha Christian Iheanacho, at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, AIIA, Enugu, for ingesting 90 wraps of cocaine. This was disclosed in a statement issued on Sunday by the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi. According to the spokesperson, Osuoha was intercepted on Wednesday 20th November 2024 at the arrival hall of the Enugu airport during the inbound screening of passengers arriving from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on an Ethiopian airlines flight following months of intelligence and surveillance on him. He was subsequently placed…

Agency Report A Financial Expert, Prof. Uche Uwaleke, says the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is likely to raise interest rates again. Uwaleke, the Director, Institute of Capital Market at the Nasarawa State University, is also the President, Capital Market Academics of Nigeria. He said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja, against the backdrop of the 298th MPC meeting scheduled to hold on Monday and Tuesday. According to him, for the first time in many months, both core and food inflation went up last month.…

Safiu Kehinde Ebonyi State governor, Francis Nwifuru, has ordered the arrest and prosecution of six state Ministry of Health members of staff over alleged diversion of materials meant for the ministry. As contained in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Dr Monday Uzor, on Sunday, Nwifuru ordered the arrest of one Ndukwe Ayansi and five others over the issue. The statement indicated that the governor while inspecting projects cited an articulated vehicle loading registers, books and other materials from the warehouse of the Ministry of Health. “Nwifuru stopped and made inquiries but not satisfied with answers given to…

Agency Report The Police Command in Nasarawa State has arrested a man over alleged employment racketeering and name-dropping. DSP Ramhan Nansel, the command’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), disclosed this to newsmen on Sunday in Lafia. Nansel said that the suspect was arrested by personnel attached to the State Intelligence Department. The PPRO said that the suspect defrauded unsuspecting job seekers of their money under the guise of securing jobs in the police and Nasarawa State Hospital Management Board. “Preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect had fraudulently obtained the sum of N300,000 from one Monday Akinde of Obi Local Government…

Safiu Kehinde Dangote Refinery has dropped fuel price from N990 to N970 for marketers. This was disclosed in a statement issued on Sunday by Dangote Group’s Chief Branding and Communications Officer, Anthony Chiejina. According to the statement, the reduction is part of the company’s effort in appreciating Nigerians for their support in t eh establishment of the refinery. Dangote assured Nigerians of maintaining the quality of the petroleum product regardless of the price reduction. The statement read in part; “Dangote Petroleum Refinery has effected a reduction in the prevailing price of its Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) from N990/litre to N970/litre…

Countries at the COP29 summit in Baku adopted a $300 billion a year global finance target on Sunday to help poorer nations cope with impacts of climate change, a deal its intended recipients criticised as woefully insufficient. The agreement, clinched in overtime at the two-week conference in Azerbaijan’s capital, was meant to provide momentum for international efforts to curb global warming in a year destined to be the hottest on record. Some delegates gave the deal a standing ovation in the COP29 plenary hall. Others lambasted wealthy nations for not doing more and criticised the Azerbaijan host for hurriedly gavelling…

A massive Israeli air strike on central Beirut has killed at least 20 people, Lebanese officials say, in the latest attack on the capital amid an escalation of Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah. The strike happened without warning at about 04:00 (02:00 GMT) on Saturday, and was an attempt to assassinate a senior Hezbollah official, Israeli media reported. The attack was heard and felt across the city, and destroyed at least one eight-storey residential building in the densely populated Basta district. Lebanon’s National News Agency said a so-called bunker buster bomb was used, a type of weapon previously used by Israel…

Agency Report Bendel Insurance FC of Benin on Saturday dismissed Kwara United FC of Ilorin 3-1 in one of the Match Day 13 of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL). Insurance bounced back from their poor outings to advance their position on the 2024/25 NPFL log. The hosts went into the match, played behind closed doors at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin, sitting at the bottom of the league table. Though, the visitors dominated the game, hoping to replicate the victory recorded in their last away match against Nasarawa United, Insurance, however, showed resilience and redeemed themselves from the poor…