Author: Drum Africa Correspondent
Ebonyi State Governor, Francis Nwifiru last night suspended Commissioners, senior special assistants, special assistants and permanent secretaries. The governor wielded the big stick against 87 officials for allegedly staying away from a function organized by the state government. In a statement last night signed by his Chief Press Secretary Monday Uzor, the governor said they were suspended for failing to attend an important government function. The statement noted that the affected officials have been asked to proceed on a one-month working suspension without salary. Affected are 25 commissioners, 14 senior special assistants, 24 special assistants and 22 permanent secretaries. According…
Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, has suspended his Special Adviser on Oil and Gas, Felix Isere, for alleged unauthorised fundraising over an upcoming Oil and Gas summit in Edo. Following this development, Senator Okpebholo also directed that the oil and gas summit, earlier scheduled to kick off on August 7, be put on hold. The suspension was announced in a statement signed by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Umar Ikhilor, on Tuesday. “In view of the foregoing, the proposed summit is hereby suspended, and Felix Isere has been ordered to refund all monies collected to the various donors.”…
Some Ghanaians have protested against Nigerians for allegedly engaging in mass prostitution and ritual killings in their country. In a viral video on Tuesday, the protesters in their large numbers, were seen wielding placards with various inscriptions such as “Armed robbery and violent attacks must stop; “Our health at stake due to mass prostitution; “Who protects the right and freedom of Ghanaians; “Nigerians are kidnapping and using people for rituals; “Our kids are getting missing because of Igbos,” among others. They also displayed a picture of a man who was allegedly killed by a Nigerian in the Accra area of…
Former Governor of Borno State and a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, has dismissed the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as a fragile political experiment driven by clashing presidential ambitions. He predicted that the party will ‘die down in three months.’ He spoke in an interview yesterday on a national television. Sheriff laughed off speculation linking him to the ADC, stressing that the party lacks political weight, institutional structure, or staying power. “You said people are mentioning my name, that I was going to the ADC. Wrong. Which ADC? Do they have a political party?”…
Presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, has defended the national honours and financial rewards given by President Bola Tinubu to Nigeria’s Super Falcons following their victory at the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations. In a post shared on his official X (formerly Twitter) account on Tuesday, Onanuga took a swipe at critics, who claimed the rewards were either excessive or insufficient. He drew a comparison with the ₦150 million grand prize offered to the winner of the Big Brother Naija (BBNaija) reality show. He wrote, “When you remember that Multichoice, the organiser of the BBNaija reality show, is offering the winner…
Minister of Works, David Umahi, has lambasted Kano State governor and presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in the 2023 general election, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, over claims of Northern neglect, describing it as false, misleading and politically self-serving. In a statement issued over the weekend, the works minister maintained that the North accounts for 52 per cent, while the South has 48 per cent out of the total length of Tinubu’s legacy projects, stressing that Kwankwaso’s claims were aimed at deceiving northerners and stirring unnecessary regional sentiments. Umahi appealed to Nigerians to disregard Kwankwaso’s claims, assuring them…
The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) says it will commence mandatory and comprehensive psychiatric evaluations for 18 drivers recently arrested for driving against traffic. In a statement, Adebayo Taofiq, LASTMA director of public affairs, said the directive from the Lagos state government is a “strategic effort to curb the menace of one-way traffic violations” in the state. Olalekan Bakare-Oki, general manager of LASTMA, said the psychiatric tests aim to protect the public from “dangerously reckless” road users. The agency said it has finalised prosecutorial frameworks for the immediate arraignment of the 18 vehicle owners apprehended for “wilfully driving against…
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has stated that it is not prioritising zoning ahead of the 2027 presidential election. The disclosure was made by ADC Interim National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, who added that the party is focused on building a strong, grassroots-based political structure nationwide. According to Abdullahi, ADC’s approach to the 2027 election would be based on merit and national interest over traditional zoning. “As for 2027, let me be clear: we are building the party to be a serious contender, not just a participant. But we are not fixated on the presidency as though it were the…
The Lagos State Government has appealed to medical doctors to shelve their three-day warning strike scheduled to begin today, saying negotiations and engagements with the Medical Guild are ongoing. This is contained in a statement issued by the Director, Public Affairs in the Lagos State Ministry of Health, Tunbosun Ogunbanwo. The government assured that all grievances of the doctors were being looked into with utmost sincerity and urgency. The Medical Guild is an association of doctors under the employment of the Lagos State Government on July 26 declared a three-day warning strike. The warning strike, scheduled to begin on Monday,…
The Yobe University Academic Staff Union of Universities has said it has not called off the strike it embarked upon on July 11. The state varsity ASUU Chairman, Dr Ahmed Karage, made this known in a statement in Damaturu on Monday. He said that although the consequential adjustment for the N70,000 minimum wage was implemented in July, the union’s other demands had not been met by the state government. Karage listed the unaddressed demands to include the implementation of academic staff promotions as approved by the university council and payment of promotion arrears from 2018 to 2025. Others are the…