Author: Drum Africa Correspondent
Former Abia State Governor Theodore Orji has condemned a recent publication linking him to an interim forfeiture of N228.4 million and the fraudulent activities linked to a company, Effdee Nigeria Limited. In a statement yesterday by his liaison office, the former governor said the publishers were out to tarnish his hard-earned reputation. He described the publication as “baseless” and “malicious,” accusing the publishers of spreading defamatory content without proper fact-checking. Orji said the report falsely claimed that he served as Abia State governor between 2016/2017, even though his tenure had ended in May 2015. The former governor also refuted the…
The Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, says the new minimum wage will be reviewed in less than two years from now. Onyejeocha said this on Thursday in Umuahia while addressing newsmen after a meeting with labour leaders in Abia. She said that President Bola Tinubu was committed to his promise to Nigerian workers by ensuring the minimum wage was reviewed after three years. She said that the president was deeply concerned about the welfare of workers and would keep to every promise he made to them. “We are not going to allow minimum wage review to…
Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, on Thursday, said his administration plans recruitment of additional 2,000 teachers under the Ogun Teach initiative this year. The governor said the move would increase the number of teachers in the initiative to 6,000. Abiodun said the recruitment would help to close the gap in the student-to-teacher ratio in the state. Speaking at his Oke-Mosan office when he received the management team of Teach For All and the Teach For Nigeria programme, Abiodun noted that his administration, in line with current realities, had increased the wages of the Ogun Teach interns in the state to…
The Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, has raised alarms about the increasing security challenges in Nigeria, particularly the rise in kidnappings and killings. Obi, in a tweet posted on Thursday, described the situation as worrisome, stating that the pervasive nature of these crimes is causing huge apprehension across the country. Obi said no one is currently spared from the dangerous wind of many kidnappings and killings blowing through many parts of the nation. Obi tweeted, “The frequent occurrence of crimes, especially kidnapping, in the country today is worrisome, and it’s causing a lot…
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control on Thursday said the agency is extremely under-staffed. The Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, disclosed this at a news conference organised in Lagos to outline the agency’s focus for 2025. According to her, “The number of staff that an agency has or should have depends on the population of the country because it is easier to regulate a country with one million than a country with 300 million people. “I’m just giving an example based on our population; we are supposed to have nothing less than 10,000 staff; we…
The Federal Government has confirmed plans to increase telecoms tariffs but assured Nigerians it won’t be by 100% as requested by operators. The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijan, made this known at a stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja on Wednesday. He said the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) would come up with modalities for tariff adjustment in the telecoms industry. Tijani said, “We’ve look at a number of things in terms of how to ensure that can meaningfully contribute to the development of Nigeria. “Some of those things include implementing the Executive Order around ensuring that we can…
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Thursday, signed the ₦3.366 trillion 2025 appropriation bill into law. Sanwo-Olu gave his assent to the budget tagged ‘Budget of Sustainability’ at Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja. After signing the budget, the governor stated that the budget aims to address infrastructure, economic diversification, and other critical sectors in the state. He said, “The Lagos State government will also live up to the responsibility of delivering governance that is respectful of and responsive to the people at all times.” The governor charged the civil service and all other concerned stakeholders to deliver an impressive level of…
The Police Service Commission (PSC) has announced the appointment of Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) Jonathan Towuru as AIG Zone 6, Calabar. PSC Head of Press and Public Relations Ikechukwu Ani, who made this known, stated that Towuru will be replacing DIG Daniel Sokari Pedro, DIG ICT, and will represent the South-South Geopolitical Zone in the Police Management Team. Born on 6th December 1965 at Ouwodo Kpokpo Olomu town, Ughelli South LGA, Delta State, Towuru previously served as Assistant Commissioner of Police, State CID Enugu (2011), Deputy Force Secretary II, Force Headquarters Abuja (2012), Deputy Commandant Police College Maiduguri,…
A Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday ordered the interim forfeiture of over ₦228.4 million, linked to former Abia State Governor Theodore Orji, to the Federal Government. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, represented by its counsel Fadila Yusuf, filed an ex-parte application alleging that the funds were proceeds of money laundering. Justice Emeka Nwite, in his ruling, directed the EFCC to publish the forfeiture order on its website and in a national newspaper, calling on any interested parties to show cause within 14 days why the funds should not be permanently forfeited. The EFCC’s application, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/03/V/2025, was…
Gov. Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State has converted three of the five commissioners recently dropped to special advisers. This is contained in a statement on Tuesday by the Special Adviser to the state governor on Media and Publicity, Mr Mukhtar Gidado. Gidado recalled that the governor had earlier dropped the five commissioners while nominating eight new appointees as commissioners to strengthen his administration’s service delivery. Affected commissioners dropped include Dr Jamila Dahiru, Education; Abubakar Bununu, Internal Security and Home Affairs; and Usman Danturaki, Information and Communication. Others are Prof. Simon Yalams, Agriculture; and Alh.Yakubu Hamza, Religious Affairs and Societal Reorientation.…