Author: Atoyebi Adenike

By Atoyebi Nike Health workers in Kaduna State have expressed relief after Governor Uba Sani approved the implementation of the 2024 Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) and hazard allowance, set to take effect in September 2025. The announcement was confirmed on Wednesday by Ishaku Yakubu, chairman of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), Kaduna chapter, who described it as “long overdue” after years of strikes and unfulfilled promises under past administrations. Yakubu said the decision would boost morale, improve service delivery, and ease long-standing labour disputes that had plagued the state’s health sector. He also commended the…

By Atoyebi Nike Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State has declared that he could eliminate banditry in two months if security agencies were placed under his direct authority. In an emotional video that went viral on Wednesday, the governor broke down in tears while recounting deadly attacks, accusing federal control of security forces of hindering swift action. Lawal said he has detailed knowledge of the terrain and locations of criminal leaders but lacks the power to deploy security operatives without clearance from Abuja. He cited the recent Shinkafi massacre, where dozens were killed as security forces on standby failed to…

By Atoyebi Nike President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Wednesday met with the Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd), at the State House in Abuja. The closed-door meeting comes less than two weeks before the September 18 expiration of the six-month state of emergency declared in the oil-rich state. Tinubu had suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and all members of the State House of Assembly on March 18, citing Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution during a nationwide broadcast. The President later appointed Ibas, a former Chief of Naval Staff, to oversee Rivers State…

By Atoyebi Nike Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Wednesday led the official opening of the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2025) in Algiers. The week-long event, organized by Afreximbank, the African Union Commission, and the AfCFTA Secretariat, is expected to attract 35,000 delegates and 2,000 exhibitors and generate more than $44 billion in trade and investment deals. Speakers include WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote, MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita, and AfCFTA Secretary-General Wamkele Mene. The programme features Global Africa Diaspora Day, the Algeria Investment Forum, and a Dangote Pavilion, among others. Afreximbank’s Kanayo…

By Atoyebi Nike Borno State Governor Babagana Umara Zulum on Wednesday led his counterparts from the North East to a meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, where they pressed for urgent action on critical infrastructure and energy projects. The session, attended by Governors Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya (Gombe), Bala Mohammed (Bauchi), Mai Mala Buni (Yobe), Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri (Adamawa), and Agbu Kefas (Taraba), focused on the completion of 17 major road networks across the region and the resumption of oil exploration at the Kolmani and Lake Chad frontier basins. Zulum, who chairs the North East…

By Atoyebi Nike Nigerian crude oil blends held firm above the $71 mark at midweek trading, with Bonny Light and Brass River settling at $71.4 per barrel on Wednesday, even as global benchmarks trended downward. On Thursday, Brent crude slipped 1 percent to $67 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell by the same margin to $63.4. The declines extend losses from earlier in the week as investors brace for an OPEC+ meeting on Sunday, where producers are expected to discuss another round of output increases. OPEC+ has already raised output targets by 2.2 million barrels per day…

By Atoyebi Nike The United Nations has suspended a vital air service in northeast Nigeria, warning that the shutdown could severely undermine humanitarian access in one of Africa’s longest-running crises. The U.N. Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS), managed by the World Food Programme (WFP), ceased its fixed-wing operations last week after nine years of transporting aid workers, medical supplies, and cargo into remote conflict zones in Borno and Yobe states. U.N. spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric announced the decision in New York on Wednesday, noting that $5.4 million is urgently required to sustain the service for the next six months. “Without this funding,…

By Atoyebi Nike President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered the compulsory implementation of health insurance for all Ministries, Extra-Ministerial Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) in line with the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) Act, 2022. The directive was announced on Wednesday in a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga. The NHIA Act mandates health coverage for all Nigerians, with the Authority responsible for ensuring universal access. Tinubu instructed the Secretary to the Government of the Federation to issue a service-wide circular compelling MDAs to enroll their employees in NHIA health insurance plans. Agencies…

By  Atoyebi Nike The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has released a three-day weather forecast predicting widespread thunderstorms and moderate to heavy rainfall across much of the country between Wednesday, September 3, and Friday, September 5, 2025. According to the Central Forecast Office, northern states including Kebbi, Zamfara, Sokoto, Gombe, Bauchi, Taraba, Adamawa, Jigawa, Borno, Katsina, Kano, Kaduna, and Yobe will experience thunderstorms with varying intensities, beginning in the morning and continuing into the afternoon and evening periods. In the central region, thunderstorms with intermittent rains are expected in Abuja, Niger, Plateau, Benue, Nasarawa, Kwara, and Kogi during the three-day period.…

By Atoyebi Nike The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested Mr. Ahamba Tochukwu, Chief Executive Officer of Gavice Logistics Limited, for allegedly running a Ponzi-style investment scheme that defrauded hundreds of Nigerians of more than ₦2 billion. According to the EFCC, Tochukwu presented Gavice Logistics as a diversified enterprise involved in haulage, courier, and e-commerce services, enticing investors with mouthwatering returns of up to 50 percent. Investigations revealed that more than 400 people committed funds to the scheme, but since November 2024, neither their capital nor the promised profits were returned after the CEO allegedly vanished with the…