Author: Vincent Osuwo

The Presidency, yesterday, distanced itself from alleged alterations of the tax law approved by both chambers of the National Assembly. Responding to inquiries from reporters, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Idris Mohammed, rejected allegations of executive involvement in the tax law procedure, stating that any differences noted were a matter for the National Assembly. Mr. Abdulsammad Dasuki (PDP, Sokoto) claimed last week that the official version of the tax laws differs from what was discussed and approved by lawmakers, leading the House of Representatives to form a seven-member committee to look into the issue and provide a report.…

Human and vehicular traffic was suspended for many hours on Monday as people of the Idokpa Community in Aduduwawa barricaded a major route leading into and out of Benin, Edo State. Residents barricaded the bypass in protest at the community’s weeks-long power outage, causing hours of traffic. Travelers heading to various regions of the North were also stranded, as demonstrators refused to clear the route until government officials and media representatives arrived to address them. A resident named Doris told newsmen that the outage had a negative impact on their companies and that the demonstration was intended to attract attention…

Yoruba nation activist Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, on Monday raised the alarm over the killing of three farmers during a fresh attack by gunmen in Igboho, his hometown in the Orelope Local Government Area of Oyo State. Adeyemo, in a statement made in Ibadan, urged President Bola Tinubu and the Federal Government to address the escalating insecurity in rural areas across Oyo State and other parts of the South-West to avoid additional carnage and anarchy. Adeyemo’s statement identified the victims as Aderoju Mukaila, Olawuwo Saka, and Ojeniyi Ojebayo. “Though the victims were rushed to a hospital after…

The US Department of Homeland Security has unveiled a limited-time campaign to encourage undocumented migrants to voluntarily depart the nation during the holiday season. Migrants who register to self-deport through the CBP Home app by the end of the year will get a $3,000 compensation, as well as a free airfare back to their home country, according to a DHS statement released Monday. Participants will also be eligible for forgiveness of any civil fines or penalties associated with refusal to depart the United States. According to the DHS, approximately 1.9 million unauthorized migrants have voluntarily departed the nation since January…

The US will partially suspend the issuance of certain visas to Nigerian nationals from January 1, 2026, following a new presidential proclamation on border and national security. The US Mission in Nigeria disclosed on Monday that the restriction will take effect at 12:01 am Eastern Standard Time in line with Presidential Proclamation 10998, titled “Restricting and Limiting the Entry of Foreign Nationals to Protect the Security of the United States.” According to the statement, Nigeria is among 19 countries affected by the directive. Others include Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burundi, Cote D’Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania,…

The US has been carrying out intelligence-gathering flights over large parts of Nigeria since late November, signalling heightened security cooperation between both countries, according to flight tracking data and US officials. According to an exclusive report released on Monday, the purpose of the surveillance missions could not be independently confirmed. However, the planes come after US President Donald Trump threatened to engage militarily in Nigeria in November, citing the government’s refusal to cease violence against Christian communities. Reuters said that the surveillance efforts come months after a US pilot working for a missionary outfit was kidnapped in neighboring Niger. Flight…

Officials have reported that a car bombing in Moscow, Russia, has resulted in the death of a Russian general. Russia’s Investigative Committee reported that Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov passed away on Monday morning when an explosive device hidden beneath a car exploded. He is the third military officer to be killed in bomb attacks in the Russian capital during the past year. The committee stated that Sarvarov, 56, was the leader of the operational training department of the armed forces. One theory under investigation suggested that Ukrainian intelligence services were involved in planting the bomb. Ukraine has not made a…

The Federal Government has designated kidnappers and violent armed groups as terrorists, signaling a significant shift in Nigeria’s reaction to abductions, attacks on farmers, and communal unrest. The Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, made the news on Monday at the end-of-year press briefing in Abuja. This approach represents a shift from treating large kidnappings and rural attacks as routine crimes to fighting them with full counterterrorism tools. “Henceforth, any armed group or individual that kidnaps our children, attacks our farmers, and terrorizes our communities is officially classified and will be dealt with as a terrorist. “Now, the era of ambiguous…

Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Monday swore in Abdul-Ganiyu Obasa as Chairman of Agege Local Government, encouraging him to promote grassroots development and link his administration with the state’s development program. The swearing-in ceremony, which included the appointment of Toyin Adejimiwa as Permanent Secretary, was conducted at Lagos House in Ikeja. Abdul-Ganiyu Obasa, the son of Mudasiru Obasa, the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, has served as council chairman prior to his confirmation and formal inauguration. Sanwo-Olu addressed the freshly sworn-in officials, describing local government as the tier closest to the people and emphasizing the importance…

Former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi has spoken out on the scandal surrounding Farouk Ahmed, the former CEO of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group, accused Ahmed of spending over $5 million on his four children’s secondary school education in Switzerland. During a news conference in Lagos, Dangote publicly demanded a comprehensive investigation into the matter, claiming that the claimed expenditure contradicted Ahmed’s status as a public servant and raised questions about transparency and integrity in public service. Following intense public scrutiny of the charges, Ahmed resigned as head…