Author: Opalim Lifted

Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has urged qualified indigenes to take advantage of new Nigerian Army formations in the state by applying for the ongoing 92 Regular Recruits Intake. Makinde, represented by Deputy Governor Bayo Lawal, made the call during a sensitisation programme for indigenes and stakeholders at the House of Chiefs, Secretariat, Ibadan. The programme focused on the recruitment of tradesmen, non-tradesmen and women into the Nigerian Army. New Army Formations in Oyo State The governor listed the new military formations as a brigade and battalion in Oyo town, an infantry battalion in Kishi, a newly approved artillery regiment…

India’s voter verification exercise has sparked nationwide protests, with opposition parties alleging that the removal of 130 million names from electoral rolls could unfairly benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Opposition groups and the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) are demanding the resignation of Election Commission chief Gyanesh Kumar. They have also called for a major protest in the capital, New Delhi, on Saturday. According to Election Commission data cited by the BJP, about 130 million names have been removed from voter registers during the exercise. The figure exceeds Japan’s population and includes people reported to have…

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the campaign organisation backing Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde have criticised the Federal Government’s proposed 30-day petrol discount, describing it as inadequate and politically motivated. Atiku, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, called the initiative a temporary political response to Nigeria’s worsening cost-of-living crisis, while the Makinde/Daura Presidential Campaign Organization (MDPCO) dismissed it as a “deceitful and failed media stunt”. The Federal Government announced the discount on Thursday as part of fresh measures to cushion the impact of high fuel prices and stabilise pump prices. Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the…

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Thursday opened a hearing into Senegal’s appeal against the Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) decision to strip the country of its Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title and award it to Morocco. The hearing in Lausanne, Switzerland, comes nearly 10 months after Pape Gueye scored the extra-time winner that secured Senegal’s victory over tournament hosts Morocco following a chaotic end to regulation time. Several Senegalese players had walked off the pitch in protest after Morocco were awarded a late penalty. However, Brahim Diaz missed the spot-kick after Senegal’s players returned to the…

Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, has acknowledged that more Nigerians fell into poverty following the Federal Government’s economic reforms, while insisting that the administration has recorded significant progress. Bwala made the remarks on Wednesday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today. He attributed the increase in poverty to the economic adjustments introduced by the Tinubu administration, arguing that reforms of such magnitude often come with hardship. “Please let it be clear even to the opposition, the reason why you have this number of poor people and some of these doomsday analytics that people…

French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to visit Nigeria on October 28 and 29 for a state visit aimed at strengthening bilateral relations between both countries. According to presidency sources, the visit is scheduled to take place on those dates, barring any changes. The trip is expected to build on agreements reached during President Bola Tinubu’s three-day state visit to France in November 2024. During Tinubu’s visit, both leaders held discussions on finance, energy transition, solid minerals, trade, investment and communication, among other areas of cooperation. Presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga said at the time that the visit focused on “strengthening…

The African Union (AU) has launched the Africa Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA) in Mauritius, in a move aimed at strengthening Africa’s financial sovereignty and providing independent assessments of the continent’s economies. The agency is expected to offer an Africa-focused perspective on sovereign credit risk, incorporating African data, expertise and economic realities into credit ratings that influence borrowing costs and access to international capital. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, chairperson of the AU Commission, spoke at the official launch in St Louis, Mauritius, on Wednesday. He said credit ratings directly affect the cost and availability of capital, warning that assessments that fail to…

David Mark, national chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), says the party will adhere to electoral rules during the 2027 elections but will resist any attempt to manipulate the process. Mark spoke on Wednesday in Abuja when the governing council of the Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy and Development, led by Olukayode Ariwoola, former chief justice of Nigeria, visited him at the ADC headquarters. “We hold ourselves to the highest standards of good conduct as a political party. We will play by the rules,” Mark said. “But we will not accept rigging or allow ourselves to be rigged out.…

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has described the 1967 Asaba massacre as one of the most painful episodes of the Nigerian Civil War, saying he wept after reading documents detailing the tragedy. Obasanjo spoke virtually on Wednesday as chairman of the occasion at the 59th anniversary memorial of the massacre in Asaba, the Delta State capital. “This marks the remembrance of one very sad aspect of the Nigerian civil war. Of course, the war in its entirety was an unfortunate event which should never happen,” he said. “But the Asaba Massacre, as it is called, was one of the most painful,…

Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has urged the Federal Government to intensify efforts to tackle kidnapping and banditry following the release of prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members abducted in Imo State. The state government expressed relief after the victims, who were travelling from Ibadan to their NYSC orientation camps in the South-East, regained their freedom. In a statement issued on Thursday by the Commissioner for Information, Dotun Oyelade, the government congratulated the Oyo and Imo state governments, as well as the Federal Government, on the release of the abducted prospective corps members. Oyelade described the victims as “our…