Author: Opalim Lifted

The federal government has withdrawn the controversial circular on nurses’ wages that recently triggered nationwide outrage among health workers and raised fears of a looming strike. Ali Pate, coordinating minister of health and social welfare, announced the withdrawal on Thursday while briefing State House correspondents after the federal executive council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu. Pate said the government was committed to promoting industrial peace and uninterrupted healthcare delivery across the country. He acknowledged that the circular issued by the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC) had caused discontent among nurses and other health professionals due…

The federal government has raised alarm over the charcoal trade, warning that it threatens forest sustainability and harms livelihoods across Nigeria. Aishetu Ndayako, permanent secretary of the ecological project office (EPO), spoke in Abuja recently at a stakeholders’ dialogue on charcoal production and forest conservation. The one-day event, themed ‘Trade and trees—rethinking charcoal production and the vanishing forests,’ was organised by the Centre for Renewable Energy and Action on Climate Change (CREACC-NG) with support from EkoEnergy. Ndayako described the charcoal trade as a major source of household energy for millions of Nigerians, especially in rural and peri-urban areas. She warned…

Victor Osimhen has completed a permanent switch to Galatasaray for a Turkish transfer record of €75 million. The club announced the signing of the 26-year-old from Napoli in a post on X on Thursday. Osimhen penned a 4-year contract with Galatasaray and will be earning €15 million per season. He will get an additional €1 million loyalty bonus and another €5 million as image rights fee. Napoli will also get 10 percent of the profit from Osimhen’s next sale. Galatasaray will pay €40 million from the transfer fee immediately to Napoli and the additional €35 million over the next year.…

The Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire and Immigration Services Board (CDCFIB) has warned Nigerians to disregard false information about an ongoing recruitment exercise into the paramilitary agencies under its oversight. In a statement shared on its X account by Secretary to the Board, Major General Abdulmalik Jibril (retd) on Thursday, the agency raised alarm over the activities of fraudsters posing as recruitment agents for the ongoing enlistment into Nigeria’s four paramilitary services, describing such claims as fraudulent. Abdulmalik noted that the Board warns that no payment is required at any stage of the application process. The statement stressed that the only…

The Police Service Commission (PSC) has issued a stern warning to anyone planning to engage in fraud or racketeering during the upcoming recruitment of Police Cadet ASPs and Inspectors. Although the official recruitment date is yet to be announced, preparations for this year’s exercise are already underway. The PSC says it is committed to a transparent, fair, and merit-based process — and will not tolerate any form of misconduct. The warning came from PSC Chairman, retired Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Hashimu Salihu Argungu, during a courtesy visit to the Acting Executive Chairman of the Federal Character Commission (FCC),…

Dino Melaye, the former Kogi west senator, has resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Melaye’s decision to quit the party is outlined in a letter dated July 4, and addressed to the PDP ward chairman in Aiyeroro Gbede, Ijumu LGA of Kogi state. The politician said the PDP lacks the “capacity and potency” to rescue Nigerians from the alleged misgovernance of the All Progressives Congress (APC). “I hereby tender my resignation from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at all levels of involvement,” the letter reads. “This decision has become imperative due to the party’s lack of potency and capacity…

A court of appeal in Akure has affirmed the election of Lucky Aiyedatiwa as governor of Ondo state. Delivering judgment on Thursday, a three-member panel of the court struck out different appeals challenging Aiyedatiwa’s victory at the November 16 poll. On June 4, the Ondo governorship election tribunal dismissed petitions submitted by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Social Democratic Party (SDP), and Action Alliance (AA) against Aiyedatiwa citing a lack of merit and insufficient evidence. Delivering the lead judgment, Benson Ogubu, one of the judges, said the allegations of academic certificate forgery, over-voting, and non-compliance with…

President Bola Tinubu has extended the tenure of Adewale Adeniyi, comptroller-general of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), by one year. In a statement, Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to the president on information and strategy, said the extension “will enable Mr. Adeniyi to consolidate ongoing reforms and complete critical initiatives of this administration”. Adeniyi was appointed as acting comptroller-general of the NCS by Tinubu in June 2023. The president confirmed his appointment in October of the same year. His stint in office was billed to end on August 31, 2025. The statement listed some of the ongoing reforms Adeniyi would be…

Nafi’u Bala, a former governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Gombe, has declared himself as the national chairman of the party. Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday night in Abuja, the former national deputy chairman of the ADC accused the David Mark-led leadership of unlawfully taking over the party and breaching its constitution. Last month, opposition politicians and some ADC leaders adopted the party as the coalition platform for the 2027 elections. Some of the coalition members include ex-Vice-President Atiku Abubakar; former senate president Mark; Uche Secondus, former PDP national chairman; Babangida Aliyu, former governor of…

Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, minister of state for foreign affairs, has appealed for calm as some Ghanaians demand the deportation of Nigerians from their country. The minister spoke on Wednesday during a joint press briefing in Ghana. She said the viral videos had caused anxiety, necessitating her visit to the country for a firsthand assessment of the situation. “Since I arrived, I haven’t seen people burning tyres in the streets or carrying placards everywhere calling for Nigerians to be deported,” she said. “This shows that the Ghanaian government and the president have stepped up to the situation — I would say there’s…