Author: Drum Africa Correspondent
The House of Representatives on Thursday announced plans to submit the sum of N704.91m for the use of vulnerable Nigerians owing to the economic hardship occasioned by the removal of subsidy from petrol on December 31, 2024, to President Tinubu. Recall that on July 18, the House resolved to slash 50 per cent of their salaries for six months to address the challenges faced by ordinary Nigerians, following the adoption of a motion moved during a plenary session. Addressing his colleagues during Thursday’s plenary, Mr Speaker said, “If you recall, about five months ago, we decided to contribute half of…
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Ogun Command, has successfully destroyed a six-hectare hemp farmland in Alaka village, Ogun. The agency’s state commandant, Mr Tijani Rabe, revealed the tactical operation at a news conference organised in Abeokuta on Thursday while presenting the agency’s 2024 scorecard. Rabe said four persons were arrested and being investigated in connection with the hemp farming. He said the command also recorded other significant success stories in its efforts to curb the hard drug trade. According to him, the command arrested 675 drug offenders with 9.7 tons and 537.81 litres of liquid-base illicit drugs. He…
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has revoked the ownership of 762 plots of land in the Maitama 1 District of Abuja due to the non-payment of statutory fees. This revocation by the minister comes months after he made several pleas to residents of the FCT, particularly those residing in hybrid areas of the nation’s capital, to pay outstanding fees owed to the FCTA or risk revocation of their lands. “The Federal Capital Territory Administration wishes to inform the allottee(s)/title holder(s) of plots of land in Maitama 1 who have failed to make payment for their…
The Ekiti State Government has called on residents to dismiss circulating claims about a N25,000 Christmas cash grant allegedly being distributed by Governor Biodun Oyebanji. In a statement released on Thursday, the governor’s Special Adviser on Media, Yinka Oyebode, described the information as baseless and cautioned the public against falling prey to fraudulent schemes. The statement read: “This is to inform the general public that the information circulating regarding a ₦25,000 Christmas cash grant from the Governor of Ekiti State, Mr Biodun Oyebanji, is false and should be disregarded. “The governor does not engage in any form of cash grant…
In a bid to offer Nigerians some relief as the holiday season approaches, Dangote Refinery has announced a reduction in the price of Premium Motor Spirit to N899.50 per litre. This was contained in a statement issued by the Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer of Dangote Group, Anthony Chiejina, on Thursday. The latest reduction aims to ease transportation costs during the festive period, a time when Nigerians often face increased travel expenses. Announcing the special purchase offer, Chiejina said consumers can now buy an additional litre of fuel on credit for every litre purchased in cash, provided they secure…
The National Assembly has extended the implementation of the 2024 Budget by six months, Senate President Godswill Akpabio said on Wednesday during the 2025 Budget presentation by President Bola Tinubu. “We shall continue on the part of nationalism and service to our country,” Akpabio said before a joint sitting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. “Your Excellency, we have noted the 2024 Budget performance. “Given this great achievement, we have deemed it necessary to extend the life span of the 2024 Budget to June 30th, 2025. “The enabling law for this extension will soon be placed before you…
President Bola Tinubu has arrived in Lagos State to spend the Christmas and New Year holidays. Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the deputy governor, Obafemi Hamzat, and cabinet members received the President at the Presidential Wing of Murtala Mohammed International Airport. Before his departure to Lagos, President Tinubu presented the 2025 budget, totalling N47.9trn, before a joint session of the National Assembly in Abuja.
The Governor of Anambra State, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, on Tuesday, expressed doubt that the release of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, would bring an end to the insecurity challenges in the South-East. Speaking during a press briefing at the Governor’s Lodge in Amawbia on Tuesday, Soludo said that criminals are now exploiting the Biafran struggle. He noted that under the guise of agitation, these individuals had turned to “lucrative criminality,” engaging in armed robbery, kidnapping, cultism, and idolatry. He insisted that their activities have nothing to do with the genuine liberation struggle, stating that…
Nigerians shelled out a staggering ₦2.23 trillion in ransom payments to kidnappers over a 12-month period, from May 2023 to April 2024. This alarming figure comes from the National Bureau of Statistics’ (NBS) latest Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey report. What’s even more concerning is that 65% of households affected by kidnapping opted to pay ransom to secure the release of their loved ones, highlighting the desperation and fear that grips families in these situations. “The average amount paid as ransom was ₦2,670,693, with an estimated total ransom of ₦2,231,772,563,507 paid within the reference period,” the NBS report read.…
The family of David Ogbonnaya, the missing student of Kingdom College, Ozu Abam, Arochukwu LGA of Abia State has appealed to Governors Alex Otti and Francis Nwifuru to help them in locating the whereabouts of their missing son, David who was abducted on March 5, 2024 during a land dispute inside Kingdom College farm. David, from Amagu Ishiagu, Ikwo LGA of Ebonyi State, according to his family, was allegedly kidnapped by some youths of Ndi Okorie community who invaded Kingdom College’s farm to attack the students of the institution who were working in their school farm, abducting 8 of the…