Author: Opalim Lifted

New York is marking the 9/11 25th anniversary on Friday with a solemn ceremony at Ground Zero, where families will honour the 2,977 people killed in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. US President Donald Trump will not attend the New York ceremony. Instead, he is expected to pay his respects at the Pentagon, which was also targeted in the attacks. Vice President JD Vance and four former US presidents, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, are expected at the Ground Zero memorial in Lower Manhattan. The ceremony will feature bereaved family members reading the names…

Nigerian airlines are battling more than 54 taxes, fees and regulatory charges imposed by government agencies, a burden operators say is pushing up airfares, squeezing profit margins and threatening the survival of domestic carriers. Air Peace Chairman, Allen Onyema, raised the concern on Thursday at the 30th Annual Conference of the League of Airport and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC) in Lagos, calling for the urgent harmonisation and reduction of aviation taxes and charges. Onyema said the aviation sector contributes about $2.5 billion annually to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and supports more than 217,000 jobs. He argued that the industry should…

Fresh pressure is mounting on petrol prices as the estimated landing cost of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) has risen to ₦1,311.36 per litre, exceeding Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s current gantry price by ₦46.36. The latest figure has raised concerns that pump prices could come under renewed pressure if international crude oil prices remain elevated. According to the latest report by the Major Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN), the PMS landing cost stood at ₦1,311.36 per litre as of September 8, compared with a 30-day average of ₦1,216.34. That represents an increase of ₦95.02 per litre over the monthly average. Brent…

The Federal Government has announced plans to regulate internet access for children below the age of 16 as part of measures to strengthen online child protection in Nigeria. The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Thursday at the launch of the Initiative for Zero-Rated Access to Educational Platforms and Content in Nigeria. Alausa said the growing use of digital platforms by children made it necessary for the government and other stakeholders to address threats in the online environment, including cyberattacks and other forms of harm. He said, “At some point, there would be regulated internet access for…

Nigerian students will begin receiving 100 megabytes of free daily data from October 1, 2026, to access approved educational websites and digital learning platforms. The Federal Government announced the initiative on Thursday in Abuja as part of efforts to make digital education more accessible to students across the country. The programme is being implemented by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in partnership with telecommunications operators and the Federal Ministry of Education. It will initially cover students in public senior secondary schools and public tertiary institutions, with plans to extend it to other categories of learners. The Minister of Education, Dr…

Senate President Godswill Akpabio has denied threatening to make Northerners suffer if President Bola Ahmed Tinubu loses the 2027 presidential election. Akpabio described the statement circulating on social media as a fabrication and challenged its promoter to provide evidence showing that he made the alleged remark. His position was conveyed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Eseme Eyiboh, in Abuja on Wednesday. The controversy followed a purported Facebook post attributed to Engr. Ibrahim Umar Ammar, which claimed: “We will make sure Northerners suffer from January to May if Tinubu loses the election.” Eyiboh said there was no credible…

Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has urged voters in the South-East to support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in the 2027 presidential election. She made the appeal on Wednesday in Owerri, the Imo State capital, during her official visit to the region as part of a women’s empowerment programme. “Make una vote for Mr President, we go work for una and Nigeria go better,” the First Lady said. She added that she wanted to see a better Nigeria in her old age and was committed to working towards that goal. “I want to enjoy Nigeria at old age, so…

The Nigerian High Commission in the United Kingdom has reduced its additional charge for the ongoing passport intervention from £70 to £20 following protests and scrutiny over the fee. The reduction was reflected on the high commission’s website on Wednesday, although applicants were not formally notified of the change. Chronicle NG had reported that the high commission appeared to have bypassed a memo issued by the late President Muhammadu Buhari during a similar passport intervention under his administration. The memo directed Nigerian diplomatic missions to charge no more than £20 for making their premises available for the exercise. However, during…

The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) for the 2027 election, Peter Obi, has said he would retain President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s naira float policy if elected president. Obi, however, said his administration would seek to strengthen the currency by prioritising productivity and increasing economic output rather than reversing the floating exchange-rate framework. The former Anambra State governor made the disclosure during an interview on Arise TV on Thursday. Asked to identify one policy of the Tinubu administration he would keep if elected, Obi said, “There’s one – the floating of the Naira. I’m not going to defend…

Activist Aisha Yesufu has described Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), as the most courageous politician in Nigeria. Yesufu made the comment during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today aired on Thursday, while discussing Obi’s recent visit to Benue State. She compared Obi’s visit to Yelwata with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s previous visit to Benue, saying the President did not visit the community following the deadly attack that claimed dozens of lives in June 2025. “There is no politician in Nigeria that is as courageous as Peter Obi. That same Yelwata that he was…