FocalPoint Reports

Kogi: If Anything Happens to INEC Office, Hold SDP Responsible- APC The All Progressives Congress (APC) Governorship Campaign Council in Kogi has called on the general public to hold the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the state responsible, if anything untoward happens to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) office in Lokoja. The APC campaign council also called on security agencies to fortify security around INEC offices given the alarm raised by the SDP. Mr Kingsley Fanwo, the Director of Media and Publicity/Spokesperson for the APC campaign council, made the calls in a statement issued in Lokoja on Sunday night. The SDP had, in a statement issued on Sunday by its Director General, New Media, MuriSam Campaign Council, Mr Isaiah Ijele, claimed that it had uncovered plans to burn down INEC office in Kogi. Ijele alleged: “It has come to our notice via grave vines that there is an urgent need for security to be beefed around the Kogi INEC office in order to avert the ...

SDP Alleges Plot To Burn Down INEC Office Over Kogi State Governorship Election The Social Democratic Party, SDP, has raised alarm over an alleged plot by some suspected arsonists to burn down the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in Lokoja. This was contained in a statement issued on Sunday evening in Lokoja, by the Director General, New Media, MuriSam Campaign Council of SDP, Isaiah Davies. The statement which was titled: “The Plot to Burn Down INEC Office in Lokoja Exposed”, notified security agencies, the media and the general public. While urging security agents to beef up security around the INEC office in Lokoja, Ijele equally appealed to relevant security formations to secure all the electoral materials used in the just concluded gubernatorial election in the State. “They want to burn down the building housing those sensitive materials on the guise of a fire outbreak and with the aim of damaging all evidence of rigging. “We would like the whole worl...

Federal Government Intervenes In High Price Of Cooking Gas The Federal Government has intervened in the skyrocketing price of cooking gas in the country. The Minister of Petroleum (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, told producers that the country has to find a way to surmount the challenges in its domestic market. He further called on International Oil Companies (IOCs) and other producers to fulfil their domestic obligations to Nigerians before exporting products. He said President Bola Tinubu was concerned over how unaffordable gas was becoming to Nigerian households. A statement signed by the minister’s media aide, Louis Ibah, said the intervention followed the price of the product in recent months. Cooking gas is now sold per kilogram from about N700 to above N900 in some parts of the country. Key challenges identified as responsible for the LPG price increase, Ekpo said, include FX sourcing for imports and insufficient supply to the domestic market by producers. The meeting, at the mi...

ELECTRICITY: Delta, Edo, Ekiti, Ondo plan to take over BEDC The governments of Delta, Edo, Ekiti, and Ondo are tinkering with the option of taking over control of the Benin Electricity Distribution Company, BEDC, to access, distribute, and improve power supply in the four states of the South-South and South-West regions. Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State, who disclosed this in his address at the 37th Annual General Meeting of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, MAN, Edo/Delta branch, in Asaba, said the four states plan to reorganize and fund the BEDC to fulfill the Federal Government’s initial objectives of farming out electricity distribution to third party operators. Represented by his Senior Policy Adviser, Rt. Hon. Funkekeme Solomon, the governor said that with its abundant gas deposit, Delta intends to collaborate with the private sector to generate its own power. His words: “One of the options under serious evaluation by the four states – Delta, Edo, Ekiti, and Ond...

Olorogun Gbagi Congratulates Former President Jonathan at 66 Governorship candidate in the March 18th election in Delta State under the auspices of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Olorogun Barr. Kenneth Gbagi FNIM, OON, has felicitated with former President, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, as he marks his 66th birthday anniversary. Gbagi, a former Minister of State for Education, in a statement issued Monday November 20th 2023, by his Chief Press Secretary, Orusi Kenneth, noted the unique position of the former president in the growth and development of the nation. He said Jonathan sacrificed personal ambition for the greater good of the country, and successfully winning the hearts of Nigerians and the world as a man of peace, by carrying on his legacy of truce and amity to many countries. Gbagi who created one of the Federal Universities in Otueke, Jonathan's country home, joined the family, particularly his wife, Patience, and mother, Eunice, in celebrating another mil...

I Got N2 Million, Not N2 Billion For Rechargeable Fans – Sanwo-Olu’s Deputy Reveals The Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Obafemi Hamzat, has distanced himself from the claim by the Public Procurement Agency that his office got N2 billion to purchase rechargeable fans, rechargeable lights and fridges. Hamzat in a memo addressed to the Director General of the procurement agency, said the approval for the project was N2 million. He also claimed that his wife got N2.5m each for her monthly outreach to indigents and empowerment programme as against the N30m captured by the agency.e It was reported that the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and his deputy, Hamzat, have come under criticism for approving N7.5 million to replace liquid fragrance in Sanwo-Olu’s office and N2 billion to purchase rechargeable fans for the office of Hamzat. Hamzat, however, in a memo signed by Director, Finance and Account, Tola Ekemode, on behalf of the Permanent Secretary in the office of the deputy g...

IYC President Lokpobiri Meets Al Gore, Seek Global Partnership On Climate Change President of Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide, Sir Jonathan Lokpobiri has met with the former Vice President of the United States of America, Al Gore to discuss mutual areas of cooperation on climate change as it affects the Niger Delta region. The IYC leader and Al Gore met on the sideline of the just concluded climate reality leadership training held at Accra International Conference Centre, Ghana. Sir Lokpobiri Led members of the ninth national executive council of IYC Worldwide and other critical Nigerian youth leaders and stakeholders from across Nigeria to participate in the event which took place between November 13 to 15 organised by the  Chief Executive Officer Climate Reality Project and Former President of USA, Al Gore. Key panelist’s at the event included Mr. Muhammed Adow, Prof. Chukwumereji Okereke among other renowned global green energy advocates. On the sideli...

Reactions As NLC, TUC Suspend Nationwide Strike Reactions have trailed the suspension of a two days old nationwide strike by the organized Labour, comprising the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) On Wednesday evening.  FocalPoint  Reports gathered that the organized labour called off the strike shortly after a joint National Executive Council (NEC) meeting between its leaders and government representatives, including the National Security Adviser (NSA),  Nuhu Ribadu. The concerned stakeholders had entered into the emergency meeting some minutes after 7 pm on Wednesday (today), where various affiliates and state chapters reviewed the outcome of the meeting between the organised labour leaders and Ribadu. The latest announcement by organized labour has since generated a barrage of reactions on social media as netizens share different views. “Very unfortunate that Labour is being swayed –  A netizen on X, @Opty_sam wrote. @biyikennie said...

Gov poll: Kogi APC demands arrest, prosecution of Dino Melaye The All Progressive Congress, APC in Kogi State has called on security agencies to immediately arrest the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in Saturday’s Governorship election, Senator Dino Melaye, for alleged cyber crime he reportedly confessed to in a live television programme. The Kogi APC Governorship Campaign Council said, for Melaye, who was defeated at the polls, to have claimed on national TV that he had access to the back-end server of the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) was “like walking into the prison yard and demanding to be locked up.” The Director, Media and Publicity/Spokesman of the Campaign Council, Kingsley Fanwo, who spoke at a “Thank You Press Conference” in Lokoja, the state capital, on Tuesday, said security agencies had no tedious job to do “on a suspect who confesses to a crime.” “Dino Melaye has openly confessed that he hacked into the back-end of the Independent National Ele...

President General Partners NUJ for Development in Delta Communities  As a proactive measure to attract sustainable development to Ughelli and its communities, the newly elected President General of the Ughelli Descendants Union (U.D.U), Chief Samuel Akpimegi has established a collaborative partnership with members of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ, Ughelli Correspondent Chapel in the Ughelli Kingdom,  Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State. The collaboration became successful on Monday, November 13th, 2023 as chairman of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, Ughelli Chapel, Hon. Sunday Apah, led Journalists in the chapel on a courtesy visit to Chief Akpimegi who was recently inaugurated alongside his executives in Ughelli. The NUJ chairman expressed gratitude to the President General and executives of the Ughelli Descendants Union over the initiative which was geared towards promoting reportage that will further attract mean...

Gbaramatu natural endowment , its fame handi-work of God---pst Ukuli Pastor, Sam Ukuli of the Redeemed Church of God said Gbaramatu kingdom endowment in human, natural resources and its fame attained within Nigeria and beyond were the handi-work of God. Ukuli stated this while reacting to contrary belief that the youths bodies from the kingdom were more engaged the worship of African Traditional Believe ATR with notion that their blessings comes from deities.  Ukuli, who is one of senior pastors in the Redeemed Church of God made this assertion en-route from Warri to Ogun State positing that God's mandate for the Gbaramatu people is for the youths to embrace Jesus Christ for more blessings to the kingdom. The cleric while wooing the youths admonished them to resist and reject devil, idolatry, fetish act noting ,' it is the blessing of God that endureth forever, but that of devil brings sorrow and anguished to his adherent' he stressed.  He explained that , to wi...

Off-season poll: Deployment already paying off in Bayelsa –Police The Nigeria Police Force said deployment of police officials has already been paying off ahead of the governorship election in Bayelsa state. The Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, stated this in an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today. He said, “I am sure that the DIG in charge of election in Bayelsa State has reacted to that. There was a protest in Bayelsa, but I don’t know much about it. Every Nigerian read it in the news and the DIG had reacted to that. So there is no cause for alarm. Everybody has the right to protest. “There are very senior officers on the ground. The senior officers on the ground were able to assess the situation and respond properly. I am sure that they have taken a right decision in Bayelsa. I can assure you that our deployments are already paying off.” The Force PRO was speaking on the heels of the recent protest in Bayelsa State. On Friday Police officers disper...

INEC SPO abducted, 12 others escape death in Bayelsa boat mishap A Supervisory Presiding Officer, SPO, assigned for the Saturday’s governorship election in Bayelsa State has been abducted by unknown persons. Also, twelve election personnel narrowly escaped death when the boat conveying them ro Koluama on the Atlantic fringe of Southern ljaw LGA capsized. However, the result sheets, power banks and luggage containing personal effects of the INEC staff were lost. HOD Voter Education & Publicity of INEC, Bayelsa State, Mr. Wifred Ifogah confirmed this in a statement issued late Friday night. The statement reads, “The Independent National Electoral Commission, Bayelsa State Office commenced the movement of Personnel and electoral materials to the Registration Area Centers (RACs) on Friday 10th November, 2023. “However we wish to confirm that a boat carrying election personnel to Registration Area-17 (Koluama) in Southem ljaw LGA capsized. “Fortunately no life was lost as all the electi...

Communities threaten to shutdown oil production over 3% pia fund In a statement signed by community leaders across Bayelsa, including, a foremost leader, Christopher Tuduo; His Royal Highness, Theophilus Moses; chairman Dodo River Rural Development Authority, Francis Amamogiran; Target Segibo of Oporoma Rural Development Authority and former Chairman of Koluama Clan Oil and Gas Committee, Ebimielayefa Dick- Ogbeyan, the communities expressed anger over the handling of the host community fund by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC). Already facing oil theft and vandalism, Nigeria has been unable to increase its oil production to meet the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) quota or the production benchmark in the 2023 budget. The development has escalated foreign exchange crisis and pushed the country towards perpetual borrowing. The communities criticised NUPRC’s intention, which was outlined in a letter dated October 9, 2023, and s...

Bayelsa Poll: Journalists, observers, security personnel, others face difficulty travelling to creeks With a few hours to the governorship election in Bayelsa State, there is increasing logistics challenge in the state, particularly in the creeks. Election observers, journalists, security personnel and others accredited by INEC to report or observe the election are facing huge challenges moving from Yenagoa, the state capital and other mainland towns to the creeks. Some residents of the mainland have also been travelling in the last couple of days to the creeks where they registered to vote. On Friday morning, the pier at Nembe waterside was filled with passengers trying to cross to Brass Local Government Area, where the candidate of the  All Progressives Congress   (APC), Timipre Sylva, hails from. The local government area, located on Brass Island, is a 50-minute boat ride from the mainland. It has yet to be linked by road with the mainland. When this reporter ar...

Your investments are safe in Nigeria, Tinubu tells Saudi investors President Bola Tinubu has assured potential investors that their investments are safe in Nigeria. He gave the assurance at the Saudi-Africa Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Friday. President Tinubu reiterated his position that Nigeria is ready for business while assuring investors of some of the world’s highest returns on investment. He said Nigeria is desirous of enhancing collaboration with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on combating terrorist organisations such as Boko Haram, ISWAP, and other violent extremist groups that have been terrorising the Lake Chad and Sahel regions. A statement issued by Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President (Media and Publicity), quoted him as saying: “Nigeria and Saudi Arabia have always enjoyed a special relationship at both the bilateral and multilateral levels. Within the past six decades, our bilateral cooperation, which was initially hajj-centric, has witnessed d...

FG Seeks Private Sector Collaboration To Unlock Economic Potential Of Sports The federal government has expressed its determination to continue to collaborate with the corporate and private sector organisations to unlock economic potentials of sports in the country. The minister of sports development, Senator John Owan Enoh, gave the assurance today in his office at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium Abuja, when he met with the members of the  Dream Sports Africa led by its country director, Mr Michael Anejo. Senator Enoh stated that the new vision and thinking of the government under the leadership of  President Bola Ahmed Tinubu now is that sports is seen as both recreation and business. This, he said, was the right approach to jumpstart the desired transformation of sports in our country. He stated that with this new vision of government, the Federal Ministry of Sports Development under his watch, will continue to keep its door open to collaboration with releva...

Ndiomu Urges Ex-Agitators to Appreciate Federal Government, PAP Management Team  The Interim Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) Major General Barry Ndiomu has told ex-agitators of the Niger Delta region to be appreciative of the Federal Government’s efforts and support towards sustaining the amnesty programme.  General Ndiomu who was speaking when he received the national exco of the Third Phase Ex-agitators of the amnesty programme in his office in Abuja, implored them to also cherish the efforts of the PAP management team for the innovations and initiatives it has introduced to address the welfare needs of beneficiaries in a sustainable manner. The delegation was led by its National Chairman, Mr. Elaye Slaboh.  General Ndiomu noted the efforts of the Federal Government to fund the PAP adequately and consistently in the face of scarce resources amidst competing demands and said, “We need to understand that these are financially difficul...

Nigeria can’t experience devt without quality data – ICT don A Professor of Social Informatics, Knowledge Management and ICT Policies, Wole Olatokun, has said Nigeria will continue to experience development as a mirage unless the problem of data is solved. Olatoku, then, urged the government to find solutions to the problem of unreliable data for Nigeria’s development. The don stated this in Ibadan on Thursday during the 534th inaugural lecture he delivered on behalf of the Department and Faculty of Multidisciplinary Studies, University of Ibadan. According to NAN, he underscored the importance of data to various fields of human endeavour as well as its significance to Nigeria’s future. The don called for improvement in the quality and integrity of data generated in the country. Olatokun, who spoke on the theme: “Information and Data Science: The Siamese Twin Shaping the New World Order,” said amidst the unprecedented magnitude of the digital revolution, information and data science we...

Dry Season: FG To Cultivate 500,000 Hectares Of Irrigable Land Federal government said it planned to cultivate 500,000 hectares of irrigable land for dry season farming as part of effort to boost food security in the country. The minister of water resources and sanitation, Prof Joseph Utsev made the disclosure in Benin when he flagged off the 2023 dry season farming of the Benin Owena River Basin Development Authority (BORBDA). The minister therefore solicited for the cooperation of state governments and communities to make land available to the 12 Basin Authorities across the federation to boost food production. Utsev declared the readiness of the Ministry of Water Resources to partner with stakeholders to key into the president‘s pronouncement. He said the BORBDA had commenced the cultivation of about 700 hectares of land for this year‘s dry season farming. He said with the Clay Pot Irrigation System (CPIS) and Drip irrigation facilities available to the ministry and smal...

Amnesty: group calls for Ndiomu’s replacement A group under the aegis of Ijaws in Oil and Gas (IOG) has called on President Bola Tinubu and his National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, to replace the Interim Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Major-Gen Barry Ndiomu (Rtd). A statement by the National Coordinator of the group, Comr. Ebipams Johnny, Momday asserted that the PAP boss is out of ideas to run the Office and his tenure has expired, hence the need for his replacement.  Expressing concern that the pattern of corruption that bedeviled the Niger Delta Development Commission was “now unfolding within the Amnesty office,” the group appealed for swift action noting that several ex-agitators are miffed by the development. Alleging “incompetence,” the statement said: “The Amnesty programme, led by Maj-Gen Barry Ndiomu (Rtd), has lost its effectiveness in disarming, rehabilitating, and reintegrating former militants and agitators into the soc...

Off-cycle guber polls: INEC has no reason to fail — ADC The African Democratic Congress (ADC) says the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has no reason to fail in Saturday’s governorship elections in Kogi, Imo, and Bayelsa. The Lagos State ADC Chairman, Mr George Ashiru, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos while speaking on the chances of the party in Kogi. Ashiru said that the electoral umpire must not fail if it has learned anything from the mistakes of the previous elections. “When you are conducting elections in 36 states, you can give excuses for having a lot of data, manpower, logistics, and others to deal with. “There is no reason for failure now that we just have three states. INEC has the resources it uses for 36 states now to focus on three states. “We expect that this time around, technologies will not fail and security forces will be able to ensure that people, INEC staff, and materials are protected to make votes count,” he said. He said that INEC ...

JUST IN!!! Naira Slumps Further Against Dollar Nigeria’s currency, the Naira, slumped further against the US Dollar in the foreign exchange markets on Thursday. Data from the official FMDQ market indicated that the Naira closed on Wednesday at 996.75 Naira per US Dollar, reflecting a decrease of 122.01 Naira from the previous day when it traded at 874.71 Naira per US Dollar. In the parallel market, the Naira was exchanged for 1140 Naira per US Dollar on Thursday from 1100 naira the previous day. Dayyau Mistila, a Bureau de Change operator at Zone 4 Abuja, disclosed that Nigerians bought Dollars at N1400 on Thursday from N1100 on Wednesday. “We sold dollars at N1140 on Thursday and bought it at 1130 per Dollar, the figure remained the same this morning(Friday)”, He said. NAIJALOADED recalls that the Naira strengthened against the Dollar when the Central Bank of Nigeria cleared forex backlogs to some commercial banks and airlines last week.

Make government tertiary institutions tuition-free, ECWA urges Tinubu The Evangelical Church Winning All has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to make all the Federal Government tertiary institutions tuition-free to mitigate the hardship caused by fuel subsidy removal in the country. The ECWA President, Rev. Stephen Panya, made the appeal on Thursday at a news conference to announce the church concert and convention in Lagos. While commending Tinubu for the restoration of the value of the naira, Panya said measures must be put in place to mitigate the current hardship on Nigerians. He said “The current effort to revamp the economy, especially the restoration of the value of the naira, is commendable. “However, immediate and far-reaching intervention measures are necessary to mitigate the current hardships on Nigerians following the removal of fuel subsidy and floating of the naira. “This has already exacerbated the high rates of inflation, unemployment, and multi-dimensiona...

DHQ, DSS, IGP read riot act as Bayelsa, Imo, Kogi polls hold tomorrow LAGOS — To ensure peaceful conduct of tomorrow’s governorship elections in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi states, the Defence Headquarters, Department of State Service, DSS, and the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, yesterday, read the riot act to troublemakers, warning them of dire consequences if they dared foment trouble during the polls. On a day IGP Egbetokun posted and redeployed 14 Assistant Inspectors- General of Police (AIGs), and 26 Commissioners of Police, CPs, with immediate effect, the Defence Headquarters said the military is aware of plans by some persons working for some candidates to disguise in military gear to disrupt the polls. Also, the DSS warned individuals and groups against making incendiary statements, ahead of the polls, saying resort to violent language could upset conduct of peaceful and orderly elections in the three states. The security agencies’ warning came as South-Ea...

European refiners prefer Nigeria’s crude oil grades – NNPC The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited said Nigeria’s crude oil grades have become the most preferred choice for refiners in Europe. The Executive Director, Crude Oil and Condensate, NNPC Trading Limited, Maryamu Idris, said this at a panel presentation at the Argus European crude conference in London, United Kingdom. She noted that the nation’s crude flow to Europe increased after the ban on Russian crude caused a supply gap, adding that six months before the war, 678,000 bpd of Nigerian crude grades went to Europe, compared to 710,000 bpd six months later and 730,000 bpd so far this year. Idris said: “This trend makes it evident that Nigerian grades are increasingly becoming a significant component in the post-war palette of European refiners,” Idris said. “Several Nigerian distillate-rich grades have become a steady preference for many European refiners, given the absence of Russian Urals and dies...

5,000 foreign scholarship applicants take NDDC test The Niger Delta Development Commission has commenced a computer-based test for 5,000 applicants from the Niger Delta region for its Foreign Postgraduate Scholarship programme. The commission said it was part of its efforts to provide more opportunities for the youth. The NDDC Director, Education, Health and Social Services, George Uzonwanne, disclosed this at the Information and Communication Technology Centre of the Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, where the tests were conducted. Uzonwanne said over 20,000 graduates registered on the commission’s portal for the Foreign Postgraduate Scholarship programme, out of which 5,000 applicants were selected for the test.. The commission said it was part of its efforts to provide more opportunities for the youth. The NDDC Director, Education, Health and Social Services, George Uzonwanne, disclosed this at the Information and Communication Technology Centre of the Rivers State...