Author: Vincent Osuwo

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has assured Nigerians that the cost of application documents for the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and Direct Entry is unlikely to increase. The Board told “parents, guardians, and prospective candidates” that it had not hiked prices for either the UTME or the DE “in the last nine years.” Indeed, registration fees have been “reduced for prospective candidates within the nine years of the existence of the current administration,” according to the report. JAMB clarified in its Weekly Bulletin, which was received on Monday, that any future increases would only be necessary…

President Bola Tinubu has put forward former Rivers South-East Senator Magnus Abe for the position of chairman of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, requesting the Senate’s approval for him and 20 additional nominees to join the boards of the two major petroleum regulatory bodies. In individual letters to the Senate on Monday, the President sought fast-tracked approval for the board members of the NUPRC and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority. Abe, who served two terms in the Senate for Rivers South-East, was formerly a board member of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and is now the…

Former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Olabode George, emphasized the importance of having a viable opposition to strengthen democracy. In a statement released on Monday, George reflected on Nigeria’s democratic journey and recent political and economic developments. He stated that a democracy without a viable opposition is a disguised dictatorship. “Democracy thrives on a plurality of ideas, not the silence of the graveyard,” George said. George lamented what he saw as a growing intolerance of dissenting political viewpoints. He denounced the reported harassment of Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed and Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde as…

Professor Ngozi Odu, the Deputy Governor of Rivers State, has switched from the People’s Democratic Party to the All Progressive Congress. More than a month after Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the majority of Rivers State’s state and federal lawmakers defected to the APC, Odu has followed suit. She finished her registration procedures on Sunday at Akabuka, Ward 8, Unit 11 in the state’s Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area, and then went on a tour of the LGA’s six zones to inform the public about the ongoing APC e-registration drive. This was said in a statement issued on Monday in Port Harcourt…

Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has denied claiming that he was targeted for elimination by the United States during its recent airstrikes on terrorists in Sokoto State. Gumi disclosed that a viral old video in which he once raised the alarm over a threat to his life referred to the Boko Haram sect, which reportedly attempted to eliminate him in 2012. According to a statement on his official Facebook site on Sunday, Gumi stated that his life is not currently in danger, despite allegations to the contrary. He claimed that God protected him from being slain by terrorists operating under…

The Presidency has refuted claims that a photograph of President Bola Tinubu and Rwandan President Paul Kagame taken in Paris, France, was created using artificial intelligence. Temitope Ajayi, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, issued a statement on Monday calling the allegations and following social media criticism a “misrepresentation of facts.” Ajayi confirmed that the photograph was real, stating that the two leaders met and shared meals on Sunday during their activities in Paris. He added, “Both President Kagame and President Tinubu met in Paris and had lunch together on Sunday. The two leaders later had…

Tunisia has sacked head coach Sami Trabelsi following the Carthage Eagles’ early exit from the 2025 TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations, drawing the curtain on a turbulent campaign that ended in disappointment and public frustration. The Tunisian Football Federation disclosed the decision on Sunday, less than 24 hours after Tunisia was eliminated by Mali in the Round of 16. The tightly contested class ended 1–1 after extra time before Mali edged the North Africans in a dramatic penalty shootout. In a brief statement, the federation stated that the decision was taken by mutual agreement with Trabelsi and his technical…

No fewer than 32 Cubans were killed during the US attack on Caracas that culminated in the capture of Venezuela’s president, Nicolas Maduro, the government in Havana said Sunday. “As a result of the criminal attack carried out by the government of the United States” against Venezuela, “32 Cubans lost their lives in combat operations,” the Cuban government said in a statement read on national television. Members of Cuba’s Revolutionary Armed Forces or the Ministry of the Interior were killed while carrying out missions “at the request of counterpart agencies,” according to Cuban officials. In a spectacular US military operation…

Human rights lawyer Mr. Femi Falana (SAN) has condemned Nigerian judges for releasing people charged with stealing billions of naira allocated for arms acquisition, asserting that these judicial rulings are jeopardizing the struggle against terrorism and banditry in the nation. Falana stated that the courts were “not assisting” by using what he called questionable technicalities to acquit notable individuals accused of misappropriating security funds, while soldiers on the frontlines continue to be inadequately supplied. While conversing with journalists in his Ilawe-Ekiti hometown on Saturday, the senior advocate expressed his concern that terrorists and bandits now seem better equipped than Nigerian…

The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) has backed Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara for another term, warning the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, to refrain from impeding the governor’s re-election efforts. In a statement released on Sunday, IYC President Theophilus Alaye mentioned that the endorsement came after thorough discussions throughout the Ijaw nation and a detailed evaluation of Rivers State’s political trajectory and development plan. The endorsement follows recent political shifts in the state, after Fubara’s switch from the Peoples Democratic Party to the ruling All Progressives Congress—a change widely regarded as a significant move before the 2027 elections. Numerous…