Retired Brig-Gen. Buba Marwa, the Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA ) has cautioned youths against illicit drugs consumption and trafficking.
Marwa gave the advice during the inauguration of the agency’s new Zonal Office in Ayingba, Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi on Tuesday.
Marwa, who was represented by the Zonal Commander Zone C, Mr Hassan Sakaba, said that the establishment of the zonal office at Ayingba was to help the agency in its activities to checkmate the prevalent drug abuses and trafficking in Kogi and other parts of the North Central.
He called on the residents of Kogi to join the agency in its fight against illicit drugs consumption and trafficking to save the youths from destruction.
“As patriots and concerned citizens of our dear country, we should rise to the occasion to ensure that we fight against the menace to keep our youths safe and sound.
“Illicit drugs are cutting short lives of our children, very promising children, who are our future leaders. We must therefore not allow that to happen,” he said.
Drug abuse: NDLEA issues warning to youths
Drug abuse: NDLEA issues warning to youths
Protests: Current hardship a trial from God, seek forgiveness – Gov Namadi tells Nigerians
Governor Umar Namadi of Jigawa State has said that the planned nationwide protest is not the solution to the country’s economic hardship.
The governor instead urged people to turn to God, repent, seek for forgiveness and divine intervention on the challenges.
He spoke on Monday during a town hall with 27 groups in Dutse, Namadi urging the protesters to have a rethink.
The meeting had in attendance the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), while the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), reportedly distanced themselves from the proposed protest.
Namadi expressed regret over the economic hardship and asked the public to view their predicament as “a trial from God”.
“But, protest is not the solution,” NAN quoted Namadi as saying.
“There are many ways people could express their grievances; people are at liberty to display their grievances through protest under democratic dispensation, but that is not the most effective way to address the problems.
“The protest alone will not provide the solutions; people should turn to God, repent, seek for forgiveness and divine intervention on the challenges.”
Namadi added that federal and sub-national governments have been providing foodstuffs and cash to cushion the hardship.
Protests: Current hardship a trial from God, seek forgiveness – Gov Namadi tells Nigerians
Plateau gov hails Osigwe’s emergence as NBA president
Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, has extended his heartfelt congratulations to the new President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Afam Osigwe (SAN).
Mutfwang also congratulated the newly elected Executive members of the NBA. In a congratulatory message issued on Tuesday by his Director of Press and Public Affairs, Gyang Bere.
The governor expressed confidence in their united approach to leading the association towards a future focused on truth and justice for all Nigerians.
He commended the NBA for conducting a successful election, saying this underlies the association’s vital role as the “conscience of the society and the hope of the common man.”
Mutfwang praised Osigwe’s leadership qualities and dedication to the legal profession. He also expressed the hope that his extensive experience will propel the NBA to greater heights.
“The Governor believes that Osigwe’s leadership and vision will inspire NBA members to deliver efficient and effective legal services that will ultimately benefit the entire nation.
“On behalf of the Plateau State government and its people, Governor Mutfwang offered his congratulations to Mazi Osigwe and his team and prayed to God to grant them the wisdom and strength to provide effective and responsive leadership throughout their term.
“The Governor extended his appreciation to the outgoing President, Mr. Yakubu Maikyau (SAN), for his leadership and legacy of justice, fairness, and commitment to excellence during his tenure”, the statement read.
According Online reports that Osigwe, a former general secretary of the NBA, emerged as the president-elect in the 2024 NBA election on Sunday.
The 2024 NBA election was held online and was monitored by our correspondent.
The voting began at 12 am on Saturday and ended at 11.59 pm with the live results for all positions presented at
As of the final compilation at 12:40 am on Sunday, Osigwe secured 20,435 votes, defeating his closest rival, Chairman of the NBA-Institute of Continuing Legal Education Governing Council, Tobenna Erojikwe, who garnered 10,998 votes while former NBA Lagos Branch Chairman, Chukwuka Ikwuazom (SAN), got 9,018 votes.
Dangote refinery: Kyari replies Aliko on NNPLC owning blending plant in Malta
The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPLC, Mele Kyari says he doesn’t own or operate any petroleum blending plant in Malta.
Kyari also said he’s not aware of any employee of the NNPCL that owns or operates a blending plant in Malta or anywhere else in the world.
He made this known in a post on his X handle on Tuesday.
He said the clarification became necessary following an allegation by the President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, that some NNPC workers have established a blending plant in Malta, impeding procurements from local production of petroleum products.
However, NNPLC boss said blending plant in Malta or any part of the world has no influence over NNPC’s business operations and strategic actions.
He said: “I am inundated by enquiries from family members, friends and associates on the public declaration by the President of Dangote Group that some NNPC workers have established a blending plant in Malta, thereby impeding procurements from local production of petroleum products.
“To clarify the allegations regarding blending plant, I do not own or operate any business directly or by proxy anywhere in the world, with the exception of a local mini-agricultural venture. Neither am I aware of any employee of the NNPC, that owns or operates a blending plant in Malta or anywhere else in the world.
“A blending plant in Malta or any part of the world has no influence over NNPC’s business operations and strategic actions.
“For further assurance, our compliance sanction grid shall apply to any NNPC employee who is established to be involved in doing so if availed and I strongly recommend that such individuals be declared public and be made known to relevant government security agencies for necessary actions in view of the grave implications for national energy security.”
Dangote refinery: Kyari replies Aliko on NNPLC owning blending plant in Malta
BREAKING: Tinubu sends N70,000 minimum wage bill to NASS
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tuesday sent the Minimum Wage bill to the House of Representatives for consideration and passage into law.
Tinubu’s letter was read on the floor of the House, provides for a new national minimum wage as well as the legal framework for the implementation of the agreed wage.
In the letter, the president urged lawmakers to expedite the passage of the minimum wage bill to ensure immediate implementation for the benefit of Nigerian workers
Tinubu also sought the amendment to the Nigeria Police Act in accordance with section 58 of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
This is coming when Tinubu approved N70,000 as the new national minimum wage for workers.
This followed series of meetings between representatives of the Nigerian government and the organized labour.
However, lawmakers are expected to legalise the N70, 000 minimum wage.
BREAKING: Tinubu sends N70,000 minimum wage bill to NASS
Police deny selling Falomo barracks, announce development plans
The Nigeria Police Force has clarified misconceptions surrounding the redevelopment of police barracks, particularly the Falomo Barracks in Lagos State.
According to a statement on Tuesday via X, signed by the Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, the police counter what it describes as “misleading write-ups and social media comments” alleging the sale of the Falomo Barracks land.
According to the NPF, the redevelopment initiative is part of a broader strategy to improve living conditions for police personnel and their families nationwide.
The Force stated, “Due to the critical state of several police barracks (including the Falomo Barracks) the NPF leadership conceived a partnership arrangement with sub-national governments and reputable developers to unlock value in the assets by redeveloping the barracks into more befitting and modern barracks – with complementary facilities and modern infrastructure.”
Addressing specific concerns about the Falomo Barracks, the NPF revealed that occupants of Blocks A and B have each received two million Naira as a temporary relocation allowance.
“This payment has been made to 347 families after a validation process to facilitate their temporary relocation,” the statement said.
The Force emphasised that this initiative is not limited to Falomo Barracks, stating, “Similar redevelopment projects will be implemented across all police barracks nationwide over time.”
This approach is described as a strategic effort to improve the living conditions of our officers and their families.
Refuting claims of land sales, ACP Adejobi said, “The claims that the Barracks are being vacated and the pieces of land sold are false, mischievous, and a calculated attempt to cause unnecessary discord within the ranks of the NPF.”
‘Something is suspicious’ – Launch independent audit of Dangote, NNPC transactions – Ezekwesili tells Tinubu
Former Minister of Education, Obiageli Ezekwesili, has called on President Bola Tinubu to immediately launch an independent audit of the Dangote Refinery and NNPC transactions.
Ezekwesili stated that this is necessary to provide the public with the true state of affairs, insisting that it is in the national interest to do so.
In a statement on her X handle on Monday, the former minister said evidence has shown that something seriously murky has occurred and needs to be fully unravelled for public accountability.
She said: “I kept from commenting on the Dangote refinery-NNPC saga to stay true to my mantra that evidence should always inform our opinion.
“However, as more and more information filtered out from both parties, we can reasonably conclude that something seriously murky has gone on and needs to be fully unraveled for public accountability. And urgently too.
“How can a project that by all definition attained the stature of a ‘national interest project’ be marred in this depth of embarrassing controversy that is playing out in the full glare of the local and international investing community?
“Did the @NigeriaGov not tell us it borrowed $3.3 billion from AFREXIM Bank to take a stake in the Dangote refinery?
“When we were in government, I often told the @nnpclimited leadership that they cannot carry on as though there is a ‘Federal Republic of the NNPC’ just because they think of themselves as ‘the goose that lays the golden egg’.
“The opacity of the NNPC was the reason we took great delight in designing the Multi-Stakeholders Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative @nigeriaeiti in those early 2000s that I pioneered as Chairperson. We went above global minimum voluntary standards of transparency requirements by entrenching ours in an Act that established NEITI as the Transparency Regulator of the Oil and Minerals sector.
“The @NGRPresident owes a duty to Nigerians to immediately use the instrumentality of NEITI to launch an independent audit of the Dangote Refinery-NNPC transactions in order to offer the public the true state of play. It is in the national interest to do so.”
‘Something is suspicious’ – Launch independent audit of Dangote, NNPC transactions – Ezekwesili tells Tinubu
Something murky is going on, Ezekwesili weighs in on the Dangote, NNPCL saga
Former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili has weighed in on the ongoing face-off between Alhaji Aliko Dangote and the Dangote Group on the one hand and the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, on the opposing side.
The imbroglio was ignited when Farouk Ahmed, the chief executive officer of Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), accused the newly built Dangote Refinery and other local refineries of producing inferior products compared to the ones imported into the country.
The oil regulator also accused Dangote of plans to monopolize the sector which led to the billionaire businessman saying he was willing to sell his refinery to the NNPCL, while also denying the claims by the regulatory agency.
Ezekwesili who shared her opinion on the issue in a post on her X handle on Tuesday, said there is more to the matter as there is something murky going on.
She called on the government and the NNPCL to come clean and tell Nigerians what is really going on.
“I kept from commenting on the Dangote refinery-NNPC saga to stay true to my mantra that evidence should always inform our opinion,” she wrote.
“However, as more and more information filtered out from both parties, we can reasonably conclude that something seriously murky has gone on and needs to be fully unraveled for public accountability. And urgently too.
READ ALSO:Ezekwesili condemns lavish spending by Nigerian leaders during economic downturn
“How can a project that by all definition attained the stature of a “national interest project” be marred in this depth of embarrassing controversy that is playing out in the full glare of local and international investing community?
“Did the @NigeriaGov not tell us it borrowed $3.3Billion from AFREXIM Bank to take a stake in the Dangote refinery?
“When we were in government, I often told the @nnpclimited leadership that they cannot carry on as though there is a “Federal Republic of the NNPC” just because they think of themselves as “the goose that lays the golden egg”.
“The opacity of the NNPC was reason we took great delight in designing the Multi-Stakeholders Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency International @nigeriaeiti in those early 2000s that I pioneered as Chairperson.
“We went above global minimum voluntary standards of transparency requirements by entrenching ours in an Act that established NEITI as the Transparency Regulator of the Oil and Minerals sector.
“The @NGRPresident owes a duty to Nigerians to immediately use the instrumentality of NEITI to launch an Independent Audit of the Dangote Refinery- NNPC transactions in order to offer the public the true state of play.
“It is in the National Interest to do so”.
The post Something murky is going on, Ezekwesili weighs in on the Dangote, NNPCL saga appeared first on Latest Nigeria News | Top Stories from TVN.
Edo bizman bags seven years jail term for N12.5m fraud
The Federal High Court sitting in Benin City has convicted and sentenced a businessman, Olabinjor Ajobor, to seven years imprisonment for duping one George Ezomo of 12.5 million naira.
This was disclosed in a statement by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, obtained by our correspondent on Tuesday.
According to the EFCC, Ajobor was jailed on Tuesday with an option to pay the sum of N500,000 as an option of fine and N12.5m to the victim.
Ajobor was first arraigned in 2018 before being re-arraigned in July 2023 on an amended three-count charge of obtaining by false pretense.
According to the statement, the presiding judge, Justice Chuka Obiozor noted that the prosecution had proven the three-count charge of fraud against Ajobor.
The charge read, “That you OLABINJOR AJOBOR and BISOFRANK INVESTMENT LIMITED on or about the 21st day of February 2017 in Benin, Edo State within the jurisdiction of this Honorable did with intent to defraud induced one Mr. George Ezomo to deposit the sum of Six Million, Two Hundred and Seventy Naira(N6,270,000) through Mr. Michael Ezomoghene into Account No: 1771641039 domiciled in Skye Bank Plc operated by you with the pretence that the said money was an investment in 66,000 litres supply of Low Pour Fuel Oil (L.P.F.O) from Petroleum Pricing Marketing Company (PPMC) with a share of 60% of the profit to him, which pretence you knew is false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1) (c) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006 and Punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.”
During the trial, according to the statement, the prosecution called three witnesses who testified as to how the defendant committed the offence and tendered several documents as evidence.
Delivering her judgment, Justice Chuka Obiozor said the prosecution counsel, Elodi proved her case beyond reasonable doubt, convicted, and sentenced the defendant to seven years imprisonment without an option of fine. However, the defendant is to be released from prison if he pays the victim the sum of N12.5 million and pays a fine of N500,000 to the Federal government of Nigeria.
The judge reportedly ordered that the second defendant, Bisofrank Investment Limited company, be closed down.
What do great bloggers and writers do differently?
Just say it, even if to yourself alone. You want to be a super traffic-pulling blogger or writer. You want your posts and articles to go viral always. You want advertisers milling around you like bees swarming around a honeycomb. You long for the cheques. You love to be on every lip.
You want to be like popular bloggers that attract huge traffic. You have laboured for months – even years – uploading stories on your blog and posting the intro on different Facebook forums with a link to your blog. You heard that sex stories draw traffic. You have added many sex stories and pictures. You heard that Nigerians love blood and gory scenes. So you’ve shown pictures of mangled limbs; you’ve paraded ritualists holding the head of their victim in their hands.
Yet every time you sign in, hoping to see a miracle on your blog, but no show! You see one or two comments. Or even none at all. Views are as meagre as the food of an orphan.
What else should you do to draw traffic? What else should you do to make readers look your way? Should you undress and post your nude pictures on your blog for them? Haba! You wonder: Why are you so unlucky? Maybe it is an uncle at home working against your success!
But then your story may be slightly different. You may be a content-focused blogger. You’ve heard many experts say: “Feed them with information, and they will come. Nothing sells like good content!” So you labour to research and research. Then you write, feeding your audience with information. Then you recline and wait. “I got ya now,” you think. You wait for them to come trooping in to lap up your content. But no real change.
The more you slave, the more you see little or no result. Be patient, some tell you. The patient dog eats the fattest bone, others say. Rome was not built in a day, they add. Bla bla bla! Soon days become weeks. Weeks turn to months. Months slide into years. Nothing happens. It’s still you and your poor little blog. Phew! What luck!
Do you want some naked truth; some honesty that those around you will never tell you? Okay. Here is it. You are wasting your time! Phew! Did I just tell you that? Yes, I did. Pardon my bad manners! Please slap me, if that will make you happy. But you need some truth to jerk you out of that daydream. Your poor little blog will never become the bomb that you desire! But why should it?
Look around you. Count how many blogs you see posting the news of the day copied from The According, Vanguard, Sahara Reporters, etc. Have you seen up to 100? For every 100 you see, there are another 1,000. Who wants to read copied news when the original is just a click away?
Okay, you are a content freak. Why should someone spend 20 minutes of their precious life reading your intelligent but taxing post? They aren’t studying for an exam, you know. There are hundreds of sites to read from. Yours is only a speck in that mass. It is worse that your name rings no bell like Chinua Achebe’s.
Even when the reader sees a headline that looks promising and graciously clicks on it, don’t assume they will start reading the whole piece. No. Readers have become smarter. They first of all want to confirm that the write-up will be worth their while. How do they confirm that? By scanning.
Between 10 and 20 seconds they scan through your article. A maximum of 20 seconds! That’s all the chance you’ve got. And you better appeal to them within that period. If not, click! And they are off your blog. You’ve lost them. Since they’ve not read your article, they will not comment on it. They will not share it. They will not click on the like button. They will not tell any of their friends about it. They will not come back. They will not sign on to receive your newsletter. You won’t be able to sell anything to them. Have you seen why your blog is stagnant? Have you seen all you’ve lost?
So why does Linda Ikeji continue to get high traffic even though she is doing the same thing you are doing? It’s simple. The first-mover advantage. Coca-Cola is not the best-tasting cola drink in the market, neither is Guinness Foreign Extra Stout the best stout in town. If Linda Ikeji were to start a new blog today with a new name, doing the same thing she is doing in her current blog, she would be so unnoticed she would be depressed. No jokes.
So should bloggers of today stop wasting their time because the blogging positions are all taken? No. The truth is that despite the glut in the blogosphere, there are still opportunities for remarkable bloggers.
You have probably watched many so-called experts on TV or listened to them on radio with the feeling that you know better than these guys. Your problem is just that you have not been exposed. You don’t have a name that rings a bell, a name that opens door. No problem.
You can create such a name by concentrating on one aspect of life, reading about it deeply and writing exciting pieces that wow your readers. But mind you, nobody wants to do you the favour of making you a star. It’s your call. Yours alone.
Most of those who know you don’t want to get that feeling that you want to be a star. How can you be a star? Is it not Gideon with the rabbit’s ears? Gideon who picked his nose in school and just passed his exams by the whiskers? Is it not Agatha with the fat cheeks? Fashionless Agatha that no guy wanted to date? Star ko, Gulder ni!
So you want to have a blog and, like Caesar, bestride the narrow world like a Colossus for petty men to walk under your huge legs and peep and search for their miserable graves? What cheek! Your pals simply want to be friends with you on social media: they don’t want to “follow” you. Are you Jesus? Abegi!
As the owner of a blog or page, every subscriber or “like” you get must be earned. It’s no favour.
However, readers will care if you do the right thing, just as you care to read this “so long a letter”! You only need to learn the art of seduction. And do it like a Delilah! Entice them; flirt with them. And once they look in, bingo: ensnare them! Cuddle them. Caress them. Massage them. Take them on a journey filled with hills and valleys. Make them glide sometimes; make them gallop other times. And then bring them to a screeching halt, gasping for breath. Aaah!
They will love the experience. They will remember it for long. They will hanker for more and ask for more. They will stay with you. And they will tell their family and friends how sweet you are.
Even celebrities who would have turned you down before would gladly share your posts on their blogs or walls. Some would even ask you to be a guest contributor to their blogs, even though they could have rejected you and denied you the same request some months back.
How can you do this: not once, not twice, but always, every time, all the time? You can do this by acquiring the skills of magnetic writing. Magnetic writing is compelling writing. It pulls you like a magnet. Once you read the headline or first line, you are hooked and can’t stop until you have read the last line. Even after that, you want some more.
There is nothing as satisfying as writing and being read far and wide. There is nothing as gratifying as writing and touching lives. And who says that writers cannot earn good money through writing?