Author: Opalim Lifted

President Bola Tinubu and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike are facing mounting criticism after Abuja’s 50th anniversary passed with little or no official celebration, triggering outrage among residents and indigenous communities. February 3, 2026, marked 50 years since Abuja was proclaimed Nigeria’s capital. While seven states created on the same day rolled out lavish golden jubilee celebrations, the nation’s capital was met with silence — a move critics have described as insulting, careless and historically damaging. Under Nigeria’s constitution, President Tinubu is effectively the governor of Abuja, with executive authority delegated to the FCT Minister. Many argue that…

Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has declared that his political camp does not require the backing of a sitting governor to mobilise support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in Rivers state ahead of the 2027 polls. Speaking on Saturday in Port Harcourt during the inauguration of the headquarters of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors, Wike said his political structure is strong enough to deliver Rivers for Tinubu without external support. The former Rivers governor praised Desmond Akawor, coordinator of the group in the state, for what he described as extensive grassroots mobilisation across all local government areas.…

Bolaji Abdullahi, the national publicity secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has declared that the recent wave of deadly attacks across Nigeria is “concrete proof that Nigeria has no government”. Abdullahi made the remark on Saturday via his X account, citing a 2014 statement by President Bola Tinubu, who at the time was governor of Lagos State. In that post, Tinubu had blamed the Boko Haram insurgency and the killing of innocent citizens in the North-East on the absence of effective governance. More than a decade later, Abdullahi says the same words now apply to Tinubu’s own administration. “The…

Bayo Ojulari, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, says state-owned refineries have failed to work in Nigeria because too much attention was placed on financing and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC), rather than on long-term operations. Speaking at the just-concluded Nigerian International Energy Summit (NIES), Ojulari said the refineries failed largely because operators did not focus on running the facilities after construction. “The reason our refineries have not worked is that we are focused on the first two: EPC and financing. Anybody who wants to do the financing will get value for it,” he…

The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) says it delisted more than 400,000 inactive and non-compliant companies from Nigeria’s official companies register in 2025, as it intensified efforts to improve transparency and restore confidence in the business environment. Hussaini Magaji, registrar-general of the commission, disclosed this on Saturday in Abuja during a Celebration Walk organised by the CAC. According to Magaji, the mass de-registration exercise was aimed at cleaning up the national companies database and safeguarding the integrity of the corporate register. “In 2025 alone, the commission de-registered over 400,000 companies,” he said, adding that the affected entities had failed to meet…

The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has returned $23,000 recovered from an alleged international romance scam to the British High Commission in Abuja, marking another cross-border cybercrime crackdown. The funds were traced to Achufusi Obioma Ikenna, a Nigerian suspect accused of defrauding a resident of the Cayman Islands through an online romance scam. In a statement issued on Friday, Benjamin Hundeyin, the Force Public Relations Officer, said the case was handled by the INTERPOL National Central Bureau (NCB) Abuja following a formal request from the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service. According to the police, intelligence-led investigations led to the arrest of…

Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation, has dropped below $63,000 — its lowest level since October 2024. The digital currency traded 13.9 percent lower on Thursday, falling to $62,965 as of 10:20 pm, according to data from CoinMarketCap. The latest downturn comes as investor confidence in bitcoin’s utility as a store of value, an inflation hedge, and a digital currency continues to weaken. Bitcoin is reportedly down about 45 percent over the past year. The cryptocurrency has been on a steady decline for more than three months and is now over 45 percent below its October peak, when…

The Netherlands has returned a 3,500-year-old Egyptian sculpture to Egypt after investigators confirmed it was looted and illegally exported during the unrest that followed the 2011 Arab Spring. The ancient artefact, a stone head from a block statue, resurfaced at a Dutch art fair in Maastricht in 2022, triggering an investigation by Dutch police and the country’s cultural heritage inspectorate. Authorities concluded in 2025 that the sculpture had been unlawfully removed from Egypt and later circulated on the international art market. Experts say the sculpture originated from Luxor, in southern Egypt, and depicts a high-ranking official who served during the…

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has confirmed ongoing discussions with a Chinese firm over a potential partnership involving one of Nigeria’s state-owned refineries. Speaking on Wednesday at the Nigerian International Energy Summit (NIES) in Abuja, NNPC’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, said the talks are centred on attracting an experienced refinery operator rather than a contractor. Ojulari declined to disclose which refinery is under consideration — Warri, Port Harcourt or Kaduna — citing commercial sensitivity. He also did not name the Chinese company but described it as one of the largest petrochemical operators in China. “I’m just…

The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) has criticised Bayo Ojulari, the group chief executive officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, over his remarks on the Port Harcourt refinery and the Dangote refinery. Ojulari had earlier urged Nigerians to “thank God” for the Dangote refinery, describing it as a critical “breathing space” following the shutdown of state-owned refineries, including the Port Harcourt plant. According to him, there was no urgency to restart the Port Harcourt refinery, noting that fuel supply was currently being met by the privately owned Dangote facility. He also revealed that…