Author: Atoyebi Adenike

By Atoyebi Nike Economic analyst and Managing Director of Financial Derivatives Company, Bismarck Rewane, has raised doubts about the credibility of Nigeria’s inflation data, citing inconsistencies in the latest figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). According to the NBS, Nigeria’s headline inflation rate declined slightly to 23.71% in April 2025, down from 24.23% in March. However, Rewane expressed skepticism, pointing to significant regional discrepancies—particularly between food-producing and food-consuming states. “The NBS data shows some food-producing states recording very high inflation, while major consuming states report much lower rates,” he said. He highlighted that Benue recorded an inflation…

By Atoyebi Nike The Nigerian film industry continues to make impressive strides, with cinema revenues in the first quarter of 2025 reaching an exceptional ₦3.48 billion, according to figures released by the Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria (CEAN). The earnings, recorded between 1 January and 31 March, mark a 54.7% increase on the ₦2.25 billion generated in the same period of 2024.Compared to the first quarter of 2023, the 2025 figures represent a staggering 132% rise, reflecting Nollywood’s growing cultural and commercial influence, as well as the increasing demand for cinema experiences across the country. Notably, Q1 2024 also witnessed…

By Atoyebi Nike The Emir of Daura, Alhaji Faruq Umar Faruq, has dethroned Iliya Mantau, the Village Head of Mantau in Yarmaulu, Baure Local Government Area, following serious allegations of kidnapping and rape involving a woman in the community. The action comes after months of public outrage and a recent youth-led protest in Yarmaulu, where locals accused the village head and others of abducting a woman, Zulaihatu, and her child, collecting a ₦20 million ransom, and allegedly raping the woman. The Emir announced the decision on Monday, citing the Emirate’s zero tolerance for abuse of power and injustice. “This Emirate…

By Atoyebi Nike Former Governor of Jigawa State and ex-National Secretary of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP), Sule Lamido, has disclosed that he asked General Ibrahim Babangida (retd.) to resign during the June 12, 1993 political crisis. The revelation is contained in Chapter 7 of his autobiography, Being True to Myself, launched on May 13. The chapter is titled “June 12 Consumes IBB.” Lamido said the meeting happened at the Presidential Villa, following a call summoning him early in the morning to see the Head of State. He was contacted by Col. Bamalli and then directly ordered by Babangida…

By Atoyebi Nike The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Charity Service Community Development Service (CDS) group is currently holding a live sensitization rally in Yola, Adamawa State, to raise awareness about rape, child abuse, and the growing crisis of out-of-school children in Nigeria. The rally, taking place on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, features dozens of NYSC corps members marching through local streets with banners and placards bearing messages such as “End Rape,” “Support the Girl Child,” “Say No to Molestation,” and “No Child Should Be Out of School.” Organized under the NYSC Charity Service platform, the event has attracted the…

By Atoyebi Nike The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced that results for 379,000 candidates who participated in the rescheduled 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) will be released on Wednesday, May 21. The candidates, mostly from Lagos and the South-East, were affected by what the Board described as “technical and human errors” during the original examination, prompting a nationwide outcry over the unusually high failure rate. Out of 1.9 million candidates who sat the UTME, over 1.5 million scored below 200 marks out of a possible 400—fueling concerns about the exam’s credibility. In response, JAMB conducted an…

By Atoyebi Nike The Adamawa State Police Command has confirmed the arrest of a 19-year-old man, Mohammed Umar, who was caught loitering around the premises of the LCCN Church in Ngurore while disguised in women’s clothing. Umar, a resident of Abuja Road in Yola South Local Government Area, was apprehended on Saturday, May 18, 2025, following a report by a church member, Sunday Andrawus, to the Ngurore Divisional Police Headquarters. Andrawus had raised concerns after noticing the suspicious behavior and appearance of the suspect. The police said the suspect wore clothing typically associated with women in an attempt to avoid…

By Atoyebi Nike The National Senior Secondary Education Commission (NSSEC) has announced that new national standards for senior secondary schools in Nigeria will be fully implemented by early 2026. Executive Secretary of NSSEC, Iyela Ajayi, said the nine-month implementation plan will begin immediately, following the official launch of the standards by Education Minister Tunji Alausa in February. The standards were approved at the 68th National Council on Education in October 2024 and aim to improve learning outcomes, teaching quality, and accountability across schools. Speaking at the launch of a nationwide quality monitoring exercise in Kaduna, Ajayi emphasized that the initiative…

By Atoyebi Nike Africa is one step closer to transforming its energy future as final preparations are underway for the launch of the African Energy Bank (AEB) — a new pan-African financing institution set to fund major energy projects across the continent. At a high-level review meeting held in, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, confirmed that the launch is on track, with all key milestones either completed or progressing as scheduled. “The AEB is poised to become a transformative financing platform for energy projects across the continent,” Lokpobiri said. “We remain fully aligned with…

By Nwaduba Gerald May 17th 2025 is indeed a day South London won’t be forgetting anytime soon, Crystal Palace Football Club won its first major trophy after 120 years thereby gaining automatic qualification to the Europa League next season thanks to an Eberechi Eze first half goal and an awesome performance by goalkeeper Dean Henderson including a penalty save. All through the game Palace showed great defensive organization in addition to some great individual defensive play Dean Henderson saved an Omar Marmoush penalty and also made 6 saves in the game. Right back Daniel Muñoz also put in a great…