Author: Drum Africa Correspondent

The U.S. Senate has approved the White House’s request to cancel 9.4 billion dollars in federal spending on foreign aid and the NPR and PBS broadcasters. The late Wednesday vote of 51-48 sent the bill to the House of Representatives, which is expected to give its final approval by July 18, CNN reported. If passed, the draft law would go to President Donald Trump for a signature. In early June, House Speaker Mike Johnson announced that the White House had sent a request to Congress to cancel 9.4 billion dollars in previously approved spending. It was identified as “wasteful’’ by…

A group of young political leaders on the platform of South-South Emerging Leaders’ Forum (SELF) has cautioned the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr Peter Obi, against threatening the coalition-backed opposition party, African Democratic Congress (ADC) for its presidential ticket. According to the forum, Mr Obi would most likely dump coalition like he did before presidential primary election of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2022, if the ADC does not hand over its ticket to him on a platter. In a statement issued on Thursday in Abuja and signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Benjamin Kolowei,…

The Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire and Immigration Services Board has temporarily suspended its recruitment application portal to improve system efficiency. The Secretary to the Board, Maj. Gen. AM Jibril (retd.), made this known in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja. He stated that the suspension affects the portal dedicated to the recruitment of personnel into the board’s paramilitary agencies. Jibril stated that the board announced that the portal will reopen on Monday, July 21, 2025. He explained that the move was necessary to handle the surge in applications and ensure a smooth recruitment process. “This development will ensure that the…

Dele Momodu, publisher of Ovation magazine and former presidential candidate, has resigned his membership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Momodu announced his resignation in a letter dated July 17 and addressed to the PDP ward chairman in Ihievbe, Owan East LGA, Edo state. The publisher said his decision to resign is “simple and straightforward” and that the party has been hijacked by “antidemocratic forces, from within and outside, in broad daylight”. Momodu announced his intention to join the African Democratic Congress (ADC), the platform adopted by opposition coalition politicians to unseat President Bola Tinubu in 2027. “I wish to…

Paul Ibe, Media Adviser to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has said that the letter announcing his principal’s resignation from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was leaked. Ibe stated this during an interview on Wednesday night on Arise News, while reacting to the controversy surrounding the timing of Atiku’s exit from the PDP, which coincided with the nation’s mourning of former President Muhammadu Buhari, who was buried on Tuesday. Ibe claimed that individuals opposed to Atiku’s political ambition, including some members within the PDP and their allies in the All Progressives Congres (APC) orchestrated the leak and not voluntarily released.…

The Federal Government has said that it has not received any formal communication from the United Arab Emirates, UAE, authorities regarding the new conditions for issuing transit visas to Nigerian nationals. This is as President Bola Tinubu has assured all Nigerians that his administration will continue to pursue the best possible outcomes for citizens abroad, ensuring that Nigerians can travel, work, and live with dignity and respect in any part of the world. These among others were contained in a statement issued on Tuesday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga. President Tinubu according…

Senate President Godswill Akpabio, has filed a notice of appeal to challenge the ruling of the Federal High Court, which ‘ordered’ the recall of suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan to the Senate. In a notice of appeal dated July 14, 2025, filed by Akpabio—through his lead counsel, Kehinde Ogunwumiju, SAN, Akpabio is seeking to overturn the July 4 judgment delivered by Justice Binta Nyako. The High Court had described Akpoti-Uduaghan’s six-month suspension as “excessive” and without legal justification. The appeal, marked CA/2025, arises from suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/384/2025, which was instituted by Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan to challenge her suspension from the Senate. Akpabio’s…

The Northwest Governors Forum has declared Tuesday, July 15, 2025, a public holiday across all seven states of the region in honour of the late former President Muhammadu Buhari, who passed away on Sunday in a hospital in the United Kingdom. In a statement personally signed by the Forum’s Chairman and Governor of Katsina State, Malam Dikko Umaru Radda, the governors expressed profound grief over the demise of the elder statesman, describing it as a colossal loss to Nigeria. “The Northwest Governors Forum receives with shock and deep sorrow the news of the passing of our beloved former President, General…

Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election, says he leads a modest lifestyle without domestic staff and personally serves guests in his home. Obi made the remarks on Sunday in a post via his X handle, while reacting to the viral photos and videos of him serving food at a recent charity event in Imo state. “I am genuinely surprised that this simple act has become a topic of discussion. As governor, I always served others whenever we had events,” he wrote. “Even now, in private life, I do not have a house help.…

Vice President Kashim Shettima, on behalf of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has paid a condolence visit to the family of late former President Muhammadu Buhari in London, following the elder statesman’s death in a UK hospital on Sunday. This was revealed in a statement issued on Monday by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications, Office of the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha. Upon his arrival in the British capital on Monday morning, the Vice President met with members of the bereaved Buhari family to convey the President’s heartfelt condolences and solidarity during their time of grief. Shettima…