FocalPoint Reports

Governor Dikko Umar Radda of Katsina State has vowed to play a pivotal role in combating malnutrition in Northern Nigeria. Speaking at a high-level dialogue on malnutrition held at the Lagos-Osun Hall, Transcorp Hilton in Abuja, hosted by the Athena Centre for Policy and Leadership in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health, Radda emphasized his commitment to the welfare of the people of Katsina State. Radda expressed deep concern over the alarming statistic of over 10 million children suffering from acute malnutrition in Northern Nigeria. He underscored the urgency of addressing this crisis, particularly in Katsina State, and called for immediate action to remedy the situation. The governor’s pledge to tackle malnutrition highlighted his dedication to improving the health and well-being of the region’s children and underscored the need for collaborative efforts to address this critical issue. He said: “The magnitude of this crisis demands our immediate and sustained attentio...

NSCDC nabs four suspects for alleged illegal mining in Anambra  The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps ( NSCDC ) Anambra State Command has arrested four suspects allegedly involved in illegal mining activities in the state. Commandant Maku Olatunde, while parading the suspects in Awka on Friday, stated that they were apprehended on Thursday at about 1300 hours at the Toll Gate Ogbunike in Oyi Local Government Area. He said the arrests were made in collaboration with the Federal Mines Officer from the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, in charge of Anambra State, in strict compliance with the Commandant General’s directive to end illegal mining activities across the country. He listed the exhibits recovered from the suspects to include a truck loaded with  lateriate with registration number LAGOS T- 13038 LA, 9 heavy-duty batteries, one heavy duty hydraulic jack, and  four fuel filters. “These suspects were caught mining latriate without approval from the releva...

Kestin Pondi supports Delta State creative, entertainment summit with N10m The Managing Director of Tantita Security Services Ltd Chief Kestin Pondi has supported the Delta State Creative and Entertainment Summit with the sum of Ten million Naira . Pondi received the Special Assistant to the Delta State Governor on Entertainment, Amb. Prayer Pemu, and praised the summit as a thoughtful initiative that will positively impact the people of Delta State. Tantita Security Services Ltd led by Managing Director, Chief Kestin Pondi donated Ten million naira to support the summit, which is scheduled to take place on July 18, 2023. Amb. Prayer Pemu expressed gratitude to Chief Pondi, acknowledging his leadership and philanthropy, and assured that the funds will be used to benefit more Deltans.

Food From The Gods’: Bayelsa Residents Feast on Whale Swept Onshore People take their share of meat from a whale swept ashore. In what was termed ‘food from the gods’, it was a feast of some sort yesterday at a seaside Bayelsa community in Okpoma, Brass Local Government Area, as residents scrambled and butchered a giant fish suspected to be a whale that washed ashore on the beach area of the Atlantic Ocean. It was gathered that the stranded fish was grounded on Tuesday night due to a low sea wave at the river bank. Residents met the stranded whale on Wednesday morning and trooped out with machetes, hawk shaws and axes to butcher the fish, which appeared dead. The whale measured about 15 meters long, five meters wide and three meters high Hundreds of youths in the area and neighbouring communities of Twon-Brass, Odioma, Fish town and Sangana were seen with implements and different containers to butcher the sea mammal. Some community chiefs and elders look on from the shore, ...

Pa Clark Urges Ijaw Publishers to Protect Support, Presidential Amnesty Programme, Dennis Otuaro Elder statesman, Pa Edwin Kiagbodo Clark, National leader of the Pan Niger Delta Development Forum, PANDEF, has tasked the Ijaw Publishers Forum  (IPF) with a mandate to protect and defend Dr. Dennis Otuaro, the Presidential Amnesty Programme, administrator, to ensure the successful implementation of his initiatives. Pa Clark, a respected leader in the Niger Delta region and Ijaw national leader urged the IPF to safeguard Dr. Otuaro from distractions and enemies of the region, who may seek to hinder his progress. The Niger Delta foremost leader gave the charge when a delegation of the Ijaw Publishers' Forum visited him in his Abuja residence to discuss burning issues in the Ijaw nation and Niger Delta region. Clark emphasised the importance of Dr. Otuaro's good initiatives in advancing the Presidential Amnesty Programme, which has brought hope and transformation to the lives of ...

Cholera Outbreak: Highly Contagious Strain Spreads in Lagos The Lagos State Government has raised concerns over a particularly aggressive and contagious strain of Cholera that has been identified in the state, posing a significant risk of widespread transmission. Prof. Akin Abayomi, the State Commissioner for Health, disclosed this in a recent post on his Instagram page @profakinabayomi. He confirmed through laboratory tests that the recent outbreak in Lagos is indeed Cholera, with 17 cases confirmed out of 350 suspected cases resulting in 15 deaths so far. In response, the commissioner highlighted that suspected cases are receiving free treatment at public health facilities across the state as part of the established public health response protocols. He noted that community-based case finding and contact tracing efforts have contributed to a peak in case numbers, which are now showing signs of decline. Abayomi mentioned the state’s collaboration with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Con...

President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday departed Lagos at 11.06 a.m. for Pretoria. Tinubu is to attend inauguration of  re-elected South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa. The president will return to Nigeria after the ceremony. Lagos State Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu and other dignitaries saw Tinubu off at the Muritala Muhammed International Airport,  Ikeja. The president was transported in a Dassault Falcon 8X aircraft with registration number 9H-GRC. Tinubu had arrived Lagos on Friday for the Eid-el Kabir festivities. He had called on Nigerians to make sacrifices that would make the nation great. (NAN) 

Zik Gbemre Berates Foul Mouthed Emmanuel Arodovwe over Hate Speech Against Gbagi in Death  Late Olorogun Barr. Kenneth Gbagi, OON,  It would not have been my place to respond to the malicious smear campaign by a certain foul mouthed Emmanuel Ogheneochuko Arodovwe, directed against Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi, if the highly accomplished Ughievwen son, lawyer, investor and politician were still alive. Gbagi would have cleared the air. He fended off bigger character assassinations against his name before he joined his forbearers recently. Besides if left to fester, the erroneous impression Arodovwe has created about Gbagi in death might be interpreted as the position of the Urhobo Historical Society, UHS.  Clearly from tone of Emmanuel Ogheneochuko Arodovwe, this hate against Gbagi in death is a hatchet job for his paymaster. What it is intended to achieve still beats my imagination. Gbagi contested and lost the 2023 Delta guber election under SDP. It is not proper to...

IPF Pays Condolence Visit to Shedrack Agediga Over Brother's Death in Warri The Ijaw publishers Publishers' Forum, IPF, has sympathised with the chairman of the Delta State Bursary and Scholarship Board, Amb. Shedrack Agediga, over the sudden death of his brother, Hon. Wilson Gege Agediga. The IPF, led by its President Comrade Ozobo Austin, urged the Founder of the Shedrack Agediga Foundation, SAF, and a one-time Executive Director, Planning, Research and Statistics in the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, DESOPADEC, to take solace during its condolence visit on Thursday, June 13. Recall that the late Hon. Wilson Gege Agediga passed away on Sunday, June 2, 2024, at First Rank Hospital off Giwa Amu Road, Warri, after a brief illness. While delivering the condolence message, Comrade Ozobo said, "We are here to sympathise with you and the entire family over the sad loss of your dear brother, Hon. Wilson Gege Agediga.  "While we acknowled...

Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general elections, His Excellency, Peter Obi pays a Condolence visit to Honorable Justice Sybil Gbagi JCA on the demise of her Husband Chief Kenneth Gbagi FNIM OON

Delta State Governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori pays Coa condolence visit to Honorable Justice Sybil Gbagi JCA on the demise of her Husband Chief Kenneth Gbagi FNIM OON

Painful Exit of Blessing Oghale Gbenekama: Burial to Commence With Service of Songs June 12 in Warri   It is with profound sorrow and acceptance of God's will that the families of Gbenekama of Azama and Benikrukru Communities in Gbaramatu Kingdom, Warri South-West LGA, and the family of the late Mr. Sunday E. Odeh of Uruto Quarters, Ozoro in Isoko North LGA, announce the sudden passing of their beloved wife, sister, mother, and aunt, **Ambassador (Mrs.) Blessing Oghale Gbenekama (JP)**. Aged 40, is survived by her husband, three children, and numerous other relatives. Burial Arrangements Service of Songs: Date: Wednesday, June 12, 2024 Time: 2 PM Location: Her husband's residence at Charlisco, NPA Expressway, after NigerCat, Warri, Delta State Funeral Service and Interment:** Date: Friday, June 14, 2024 Time: 7 AM Details:  The body will leave Safe Haven Mortuary, 2 Eyiangho Street, Off Aruoture Street, beside Williamz Square Event Centre, O/L Warri, Delta State, t...

Protest rocks Ondo over EFCC arrest of groom, 127 suspected internet fraudsters Akure-Youths in Akure, the Ondo State capital, have protested the arrest of 127 persons suspected to be internet fraudsters, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, operatives at the weekend. Recall that security personnel raided two nightclubs in the metropolis , arresting a groom-to-be and his friends who were at one of the clubs for a bachelor’s eve. Vehicles, telephones, and laptops belonging to the fun-seekers were reportedly confiscated during the early morning sting operation. The protesters stormed major streets in Akure metropolis, expressing their displeasure over the anti-graft agency’s action. They marched to the governor’s office in Alagbaka to show their grievances and called for the release of those arrested. Speaking with journalists, their leader, Oluwaseun Ogunmola, said the raid by the anti-graft agency was against its ban on night operations. Ogunmola demanded ...

Labour rejects FG’s N62,000 minimum wage offer, may resume strike on Tuesday The organised labour says it will not accept N62,000 or N100,000 as the minimum wage for workers. Speaking on ‘Morning Brief’, a Channels Television programme, on Monday, Chris Onyeka, assistant general secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), said the union will not negotiate a ”starvation wage”. On June 4, the NLC and Trade Union Congress (TUC) “relaxed” their nationwide strike for one week. The labour unions had embarked on the strike after negotiations with the federal government on a new minimum wage hit a brick wall. The organised labour had repeatedly proposed N615,500 and N494,000 as the new national minimum wage, which the government said was unrealistic. On June 7, the federal government increased its offer for the new minimum wage for workers from N60,000 to N62,000; the labour unions insisted on ₦250,000 at the last meeting of the tripartite committee on minimum wage as the livin...

Western Zone IYC Issues Eight Point Communique at Maiden Zonal Executive Council Meeting  1. The 9th Zonal Executive Council of the Ijaw Youth Council, Western Zone expresses gratitude to the national officers of council, stakeholders and pmembers of council for the massive turn out at the elective convention at Odimodi Community, Iduwini Clan, Delta State. 2. The Zonal Executive Council commends the Emmanuel Akpule-led Zonal Electoral Council (ZECO) for the conduction of a peaceful, free, and credible election. 3. Western Zone remains a united and formidable zone, and the 9th Zonal Executive Council led by Nicholas Igarama will consolidate and strengthen the existing peace in the zone by way of appropriate stakeholder/members engagement.  4. We reiterate that Western Zone is an indivisible entity, and as such, the leadership of the zone will not condole any attempts by unscrupulous elements to cause division among members of council. 5. Ijaws of eligible age shoul...

ABUJA—A Deputy Commissioner of Police, DCP Abubakar Guri, the DC in office of COMPOL MOPOL, Force Headquarters, Abuja, on Monday slumped and gave up the ghost. Sources said the late DCP, who was in uniform, slumped on his seat in his office and was quickly taken to the clinic inside Police headquarters for medical assistance, where he was confirmed dead. No reason has been adduced for the death of the officer, who was said to have looked hale and hearty and exchanged pleasantries with officers and staff of the Mopol department when he reported for duty. However, a source, who spoke in confidence, suggested that the senior officer’s sudden collapse and death may not be unconnected with heart failure, noting that in recent times, many police officers out of fatigue have suffered the same fate, because they work round the clock, even at night, without rest.

The updated list of members of the Edo Governorship Election National Campaign Council has been released by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the September 2024 polls. In a statement issued by the party’s National Publicity Secretary,  Debo Ologunagba , the updated list was released in line with the NWC’s commitment to ensuring the party’s victory in the upcoming Edo election on September 21. T he Governor of Adamawa State, Ahmadu Fintiri, has been appointed as the chairman of the council, with Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta and Governor Kefas Agbu serving as Deputy Chairmen. Other notable members of the council include former vice president Atiku Abubakar, Namadi Sambo, BoT Chairman, Senator Adolphus Wabara, and governors elected on the PDP platform. The inauguration of the 144 council members is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, June 4, at the PDP National Secretariat in Abuja at noon. recalls that the PDP had ...

Ondo state governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa as ordered all DisCos in the state, including the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) to stop giving estimated billing to electricity consumers in the state. Governor Aiyedatiwa asked them to immediately provide their customers with meters. Aiyedatiwa spoke when he rolled out low cost electricity meters for residents in the state tagged O’datiwa meters under the Ondo State Mass Metering Programme The Ondo governor said his order would take effect from June 1, 2024. He said the mass metering programme was in compliance with the Ondo State Electric Power Sector Law 2020 Part XII Section 77 (2)(a). Aiyedatiwa, who spoke through the state Coordinator of the Ondo State Electricity Regulatory Bureau [SERB] Engr. Stephen Bolawole, said all DisCos were expected to meter all the facilities within 12 months with effect from June 1, 2024. He urged DisCos to give customers currently being issued estimated billing priority in the mass metering program...