Author: Drum Africa Correspondent

Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has filed a lawsuit against the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, for alleged defamation. Recall that Akpoti-Uduaghan raised concerns after her Senate seat was reassigned following a reshuffle triggered by opposition members switching to the majority wing. She resisted the relocation, leading to a confrontation between her and the Senate President. However, in a suit filed before the Federal Capital Territory High Court on 25 February 2025, the President of the Senate, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and the Senior Legislative Aide to the Senate President, Mfon Patrick, were listed as the second and third…

Deputy Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu has been appointed as the Chairman of the Committee on Monetary and Financial Affairs of the Pan African Parliament (PAP). The PAP is the legislative arm of the African Union (AU) with 55 members States which represent all the countries on the African continent. Kalu takes over from Hon. Muntaka Mohammed Mubarak from Ghana, who has been nominated as a minister in the new government of Ghana. The Deputy Speaker’s appointment was announced by the Acting Chair of the Committee, Hon. Senator Tony Sibandze from Eswatini who has…

Former Abia State Governor, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, has called on President Bola Tinubu to officially recognize the late Chief MKO Abiola as one of Nigeria’s past presidents. The Senator representing Abia North, urged that Abiola’s portrait be placed alongside those of other former leaders in the Presidential Villa. Speaking to Senate correspondents before the commencement of plenary on Tuesday, Senator Kalu responded to recent revelations made by former military president, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (rtd.) admitting in his recently released memoir, that Abiola won the June 12, 1993, presidential election. In his words, “Yes, Abiola won the election. And I…

A Magistrate Court sitting in the Sabo area of Yaba, Lagos State, on Tuesday, cleared singer Azeez Fashola, popularly known as Naira Marley, and three others of any involvement in the controversial death of fellow singer Aloba Oladimeji Ileri-Oluwa,, also known as Mohbad. Magistrate Ejiro Kubenje, who gave the verdict based on the legal advice issued by the Lagos State Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP), also absolved and acquitted music promoter Samson Balogun Eletu, known as Sam Larry, as well as Owodunni Ibrahim, known as Primeboy, and Mohbad’s former manager, Opere Babatunde The court held in a ruling that based…

The United States has released its list of eligible countries for the 2025 Visa Waiver Programme (VWP), notably excluding all African nations and the United Kingdom. While the UK remains eligible under specific conditions, countries like Nigeria, Ghana, and South Africa are not included in the visa-free travel initiative. The 2025 VWP welcomes Romania as a new participant but otherwise largely maintains the existing list of eligible countries. The US has emphasised enhanced security checks and prioritised nations demonstrating strong diplomatic ties and robust border security standards in its selection process. The Visa Waiver Programme allows citizens of participating countries…

An All Progressives Congress chieftain, Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, has called on the Federal Government to release monthly allocations to the court-reinstated APC-elected local government chairmen in Osun State. Oyintiloye made this appeal in a statement issued on Tuesday after addressing newsmen in Osogbo, the state capital. While making the appeal, he insisted that the state government would, at the appropriate time, be held accountable for the funds spent on the recently conducted local government election, noting that it is a waste of taxpayers’ money. “I want to appeal to the Federal Government to start releasing the monthly allocation to the APC-reinstated…

Kachollom Gang, the Commissioner for Education in Plateau State, has decried the increasing proliferation of illegal schools and hospitals in the state. Gang made this statement on Tuesday in Jos during the inauguration of an investigative panel on the proliferation of private primary and secondary schools in the state. The commissioner explained that the exercise aimed to ensure that private schools operating in the state met the required standards. She particularly emphasized that the verification exercise was crucial to ensuring that children in Plateau received quality education. “There are so many illegal schools and hospitals in Plateau; the state is…

Abia State Government (ABSG) has shortlisted 9,371 applicants for the teachers’ recruitment exercise and informed that the shortlisted candidates would be invited for a Computer Based Test (CBT) on a soon-to- be- announced date. The Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu disclosed this while briefing the press on the outcome of this week’s State Executive Council meeting presided over by Governor Alex Otti. He said that the portal for application was shut down on 12th of February  and the applications processed. “The portal for the recruitment of teachers was shut down on the 12th February 2025 and at the last…

A member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Marvis Ossai, on Monday, urged the Federal High Court in Abuja to declare the Delta North Senatorial seat vacant, following the defection of the senator representing the district Ned Nwoko to the All Progressives Congress (APC). Mr Ossai filed the suit marked FCH/ABJ/CS/325/2025, seeking the lawmaker’s removal, having defected from the party on which platform he came into the Senate. The plaintiff also urged the court to direct the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to, within 60 days from the delivery of judgement in the matter, conduct a by-election for the Delta…

Lucky Aiyedatiwa has officially taken the reins as the governor of Ondo State, marking the start of his first full four-year term. This follows his initial assumption of the governorship after Governor Rotimi Akeredolu’s passing in 2023. Aiyedatiwa’s inauguration ceremony took place on Monday, February 24, 2025, at the Ondo State Sports Complex in Akure, the state capital, two months after his victory in the governorship election as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate. Aiyedatiwa’s journey to becoming the Governor of Ondo State is marked by a series of significant events. Initially serving as Deputy Governor under Akeredolu, Aiyedatiwa assumed…