Author: Drum Africa Correspondent
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…
The 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has accused President Bola Tinubu of further entrenching Nigeria and its citizens in poverty while feeding them with wrong statistics. In a statement he posted on his X page on Monday, Peter Obi stated that under Tinubu’s leadership, Nigeria has become one of the world’s hungriest nations. The Labour Party leader recounted how Tinubu, as a presidential candidate in the 2023 election campaign, chastised him for regularly using statistics. Obi, on the other hand, said that Tinubu, after taking power, is now circulating false figures regarding Nigeria’s economic status in order to…
President Bola Tinubu has assured the Super Falcons of a befitting celebration upon their return from Morocco, where the team won the WAFCON title for a record-extending 10th time on Saturday. The Super Falcons staged a stunning comeback at the Olympic Stadium in Rabat, recovering from two goals down to beat hosts Morocco 3-2 and claim the 2024 title. Morocco took an early lead courtesy of the tournament’s highest goal scorer, Ghizlane Chebbak, in the 12th minute, and doubled their advantage when Sanaâ Mssoudy found the back of the net in the 24th minute. Nigeria responded with a spirited second-half…
Idris Inuwa, assistant national secretary for the north-west zone of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), says Nasir el-Rufai, former Kaduna governor, is not a member of the party and cannot speak on its behalf. Speaking at a press conference on Friday in Kaduna, Inuwa said El-Rufai is not on the party’s membership register and has never been assigned any role. “It has come to our attention that Malam Nasir El-Rufai has taken it upon himself to appear in various fora, including policy dialogues and stakeholder meetings, purporting to speak for the SDP.” “Let this be made unequivocally clear: el-Rufai is…
Ondo State Governor, Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, has expressed confidence that the emergence of Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, as the national chairman of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC), would pave the way for President Bola Tinubu’s overwhelming victory in the 2027 general elections. Prof. Yilwatda was nominated and unanimously endorsed as National Chairman by members of the National Executive Council of the party on Thursday in Abuja. In a congratulatory message on Friday, Aiyedatiwa described Prof. Yilwatda’s emergence as the new national chairman as a signal to re-engineer and reposition the party for greater success. The governor, in the message released…
A group of pensioners under the aegis of the Concerned Retirees of Abia State Hospitals Management Board (HMB) has appealed to Governor Alex Otti to urgently intervene in the payment of their 15-month unpaid salary arrears, inherited from the previous administration. The group acknowledged that while the arrears were not incurred by the current government, Governor Otti had earlier assured that the debts would be paid in tranches—a process that has since begun. Speaking on behalf of the group, spokesperson Ifeanyi Mbanefo lamented that despite repeated appeals and formal letters to the Office of the Accountant General and the Nigeria…