Author: Drum Africa Correspondent
Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State has urged the new General Officer Commander (GOC) of the 82 Division, Nigerian Army, Enugu, Major General Oluyemi Olatoye, to intensify efforts to end the persistent sit-at-home protests enforced by non-state actors in the Southeast. Governor Nwifuru gave the charge during Major General Olatoye’s courtesy visit to Government House, Centenary City, Abakaliki, where he also called on security agencies to introduce a reward system to boost the morale of their personnel. “I am confident that you are familiar with the security challenges in the Southeast. God has been with us, alongside the dedicated military…
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, has issued a 48 hours ultimatum to the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to reverse the newly announced hike in Automated Teller Machine, ATM, transaction fees, calling it “unlawful, unfair, unreasonable, and unjust”. SERAP Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, in an open letter dated February 15, 2025, urged CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso to immediately reverse the policy. Recall that CBN in a circular dated February 10 announced that ATM withdrawals made at machines outside a bank’s branch premises will now attract a N100 charge per N20,000 withdrawn, while withdrawals at shopping centres, airports and…
The United States will temporarily shut its Embassy in Abuja and the Consulate General in Lagos on Monday, 17 February 2025, in observance of Presidents’ Day. This was disclosed in a post on X by the diplomatic mission. It assured the public that normal operations would resume the following day. “The U.S. Embassy in Abuja and the Consulate General in Lagos will be closed on Monday, February 17, 2025, in observance of Presidents’ Day. We will resume normal operations on Tuesday, 18 February 2025,” the mission said. The Presidents’ Day is observed in the United States annually on the third…
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has intensified its enforcement efforts against the sale of illicit and counterfeit pharmaceuticals, sealing over 3,000 shops within the Idumota Open Drug Market in Lagos in the first week of operations. This was made known in a statement shared on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday by NAFDAC. During the raid, officials uncovered alarming violations, including vaccines stored in dilapidated, unventilated rooms sealed with iron sheets, posing severe health risks. Large consignments of banned and dangerous drugs were also discovered, including Analgin injections, diverted HIV antiretroviral drugs, and expired medicines slated…
The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has told one of the frontline aspirants of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Obiora Okonkwo, to drop his ambition of unseating Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo. Okonkwo, during the inauguration of the new APC secretariat in Awka, last week Saturday and at different fora, had boasted of unseating Soludo, if given the APC ticket, insisting that only he has the capacity to govern Anambra in the next dispensation. Reacting to Okonkwo’s comments in a press statement issued on Saturday (Today), the National Coordinator of APGA Media Warriors Forum, Chinedu Obigwe, said that…
Nigeria’s Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, has been invited to join the Steering Committee of the Parliamentary Conference on the World Trade Organization (PCWTO), a significant development that will enable Nigeria to benefit from African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA) global trade policies and boost trade across Africa. The invitation was extended by Martin Chungong, Secretary-General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), in a letter dated February 12, 2025 and addressed to the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, PhD. Kalu who is also…
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, says many FCT projects would be inaugurated in May to celebrate President Bola Tinubu’s second in office. Wike stated this in Abuja on Saturday after inspecting the construction of a 30.4-kilometre road from Abuja-Lokoja Expressway to Gomani in Kwali Area Council of the FCT. The project was awarded in two sections — a 15-kilometre from Abuja to Lokoja Expressway (A 2) to Pai, and the other — a 15.4-kilometre from Pai to Gomani. He said details of the projects would be made public in due course. He expressed satisfaction with…
The PDP South-South Zonal Executive Committee has suspended its Zonal Secretary, Chief Felix Omemu, for one month over alleged misconduct and unauthorised media statements discrediting the ZEC meeting held in Benin on Saturday. Omemu had earlier issued a statement in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State declaring the meeting convened by the party’s South-South Vice Chairman, Chief Dan Orbih, as illegal. He argued that, according to the PDP constitution, a ZEC meeting requires approval from the Zonal Working Committee, which, he claimed, had neither deliberated nor agreed to convene such a meeting. At the South-South Zonal Executive Committee meeting in Benin, Edo State,…
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has described their 3-0 defeat at Brighton on Friday night as “the worst performance” since he arrived at Stamford Bridge. The Blues lost 2-1 at the Amex in the FA Cup last weekend and were seeking revenge in their Premier League clash. But Kaoru Mitoma scored a splendid goal to open the floodgates, before a Yankuba Minteh brace sealed the win. “Probably since I arrived that is the worst performance, especially in the moment we are in,” Maresca told reporters. “We are fourth in the league and winning tonight you can go one point from third…
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare Ali Pate says the country can cater to its citizens’ health despite the US Agency for International Development (USAID)’s exit. US President Donald Trump ordered the closure of USAID, leaving many countries, especially in Africa in limbo and thousands who benefit from the humanitarian agency’s work shocked. But Pate has said the Federal Government is not bothered about the move and is capable of funding healthcare for the people. “So for us, we are not complaining. We are full of appreciation to the US government for the contribution they have made,” the…