Author: Drum Africa Correspondent

The Chairman of the Osun State Peoples Democratic Party, Mr Sunday Bisi, has urged the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Abdullahi Ganduje, to avoid making statements that could incite political unrest in the Southwest region. Bisi, in a statement issued on Monday, was responding to Ganduje’s remarks at a political gathering in Ondo State, where he reportedly claimed his party had a strategy to “capture” the entire Southwest. The PDP chairman cautioned Ganduje that such utterances, which he claimed could inflame public sentiment, might destabilise the country. He also stressed that the people of Osun would decide who…

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has hit back at the senator representing Kwara South Senator, Yisa Ashiru after he accused the agency of being the most corrupt in the country. Ashiru, on October 15, while contributing to a bill seeking to establish a National Institute for Drug Awareness and Rehabilitation, accused the NDLEA as the most corrupt and compromised government agency in Nigeria. He added that NDLEA has failed woefully in its mandate. Reacting to the claims on Monday, the NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, said the senator’s comments were borne out of vendetta. He noted that the senator’s residence…

The Confederation of African Football will on Wednesday announce its decision on the botched AFCON qualifying Group D between Libya and Nigeria, which was scheduled for Benina Martyrs Stadium on October 15. According to Libya Al-Ahrar Channel, the apex continental football body will announce the final decision regarding the players’ ordeal during the first leg in Nigeria in October, which ended 1-0 in favour of the Super Eagles and the reverse fixture that would have held at the 10,550-capacity, Libya’s first all-seater stadium. The outlet also revealed that the Libyan Football Federation submitted all the documents it collected with a…

Katsina State Government on Monday directed the immediate closure and revocation of registration and licenses of all private health training institutions operating in the state. This directive followed the recent findings by the State Ministry of Health about the operations of numerous unregistered private health training institutions, many of which operate under questionable standards in the state that have raised serious concerns. The Special Adviser to the Governor on Health Institutions, Umar Mammada, while addressing a press conference at the Katsina State Secretariat Complex, revealed that some of these institutions do not meet the necessary requirements to operate as private…

The Anambra State Police Command said it remains committed to the ongoing investigation to arrest the perpetrators of the cult-related killings in Nibo, Anambra State on Sunday. A statement by the Police Public Relations Officer, Anambra State Police Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga on Monday, said the command also frowns at the act of some deceased relatives to bury evidence, suppress information and disrupt the ongoing investigation. Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police CP Nnaghe Itam on Monday, led a team of police operatives to the scene on a spot assessment and stated that the command had redoubled its efforts to leave…

A Federal Government panel constituted to probe bribery allegations regarding controversial crossdresser Idris Okuneye, widely known as Bobrisky, says the social media sensation served his six-month jail term in prison but he enjoyed several privileges. A member of the panel, Uju Agomoh, who read the initial report of the probe at the Ministry of Interior on Monday, said the panel “did not find any evidence thus far that suggested that Mr Okuneye slept outside the custodial centre during the period of his imprisonment, which was from 12th April 2024 to the 5th August 2024, which is a six-month correctional sentence…

Cameroonian President Paul Biya landed on Monday at the capital Yaounde’s international airport, after several weeks out of the country amid rumours about his health, state broadcaster CRTV showed. The West African nation’s 91-year-old leader appeared on television after the presidential plane landed, shaking hands with officials next to his wife Chantal, as a jubilant crowd waited to greet him. Supporters wearing outfits displaying his portrait chanted to the beat of a drum and lined the roads as his motorcade swiftly left the airport for the presidential palace, according to CRTV, which dedicated a programme to his return. Questions about…

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has recalled how he revoked the certificate of occupancy (C of O) of some plots of land allocated to German construction giant, Julius Berger, in the Katampe District of Abuja. The minister spoke on Monday at the official Flag-Off Ceremony of the Design and Construction of 40 Judges’ Quarters at the nation’s capital. The event was attended by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun; and the President of the Court of Appeal of Nigeria, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem; among other dignitaries. Wike said 70% of funds for the project…

In a surprising twist of events, the Dangote Group says it will withdraw its ₦100bn suit against the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) for granting import licenses to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Matrix Petroleum Services Limited, AA Rano Limited, and four other companies despite local production of petroleum products. The Dangote Group, in a statement late Monday, said the suit filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja on September 6, 2024, was “an old issue” and that events have overtaken the suit. A spokesman for the group, Anthony Chiejina, said the parties involved…

The Nigerian Army has dismissed media reports suggesting that there is a leadership vacuum following the absence of the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja. It also issued a warning to those calling for a military coup, describing it as a treasonable offence under the law. The clarification comes in a statement signed by the Director Defence Information, Brigadier General Tukur Gusau on Monday, after a viral video where some persons were aggrievedly calling for a military takeover surfaced online. It also clarified that there was never an appointment of an acting Chief of Army Staff (COAS) to…