Day: July 15, 2026

‘NNPCL secretly hires top managers from South, after halting oil exploration funding in North’ – Sources

Aminu Imam
NNPCL secretly hires top managers from South

Fresh controversy has engulfed Nigeria’s oil and gas sector following allegations that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, quietly recruited mostly Southerners into executive and middle management positions, amid claims that the exercise violated the federal character principle. Sources told newsmen that the recruitment, conducted alongside the company’s ‘Accelerated and Voluntary Exit Programme’, lacked transparency and was carried out without public advertisement or clearly defined selection criteria. The development comes as stakeholders also criticised President Bola Tinubu’s Executive Order 9, which redirects funds previously allocated to frontier oil exploration…

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H’Reps withdraws own State Police Bill, adopts Tinubu’s proposal

Aminu Imam
H'Reps withdraws State Police Bill

The 10th House of Representatives yesterday withdrew its proposed constitutional amendment Bill seeking to establish state police, opting instead to proceed with an Executive-sponsored version transmitted by President Bola Tinubu. The decision marks a significant shift in the National Assembly’s approach to the long-debated issue of state policing, with lawmakers prioritising the Presidency’s proposal as the principal legislative framework for establishing state police across the country. During plenary, the Executive-sponsored Bill successfully passed its first and second readings before being referred to the House Committee on Constitutional Review for detailed…

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PFIPC scandal: Court orders Adeyemi’s arrest

Aminu Imam
Court orders Adeyemi’s arrest

The Federal High Court in Abuja has issued an arrest warrant for Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, the self acclaimed Director General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC). Justice Mohammed Umar issued the order yesterday against Adeyemi over allegations of forgery, fraud, and impersonation, encompassing eight counts. The case is marked as FHC/ABJ/CR/562/2025. When the issue arose, the defendant was not present in court, though the case was number 12 on the day’s agenda. The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), who is handling the prosecution of the case, requested a bench…

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Tinubu to launch Abuja City Walk, Africa’s next landmark mega city

Aminu Imam
Tinubu to launch Abuja City Walk

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is set to officially unveil the Abuja City Walk masterplan tomorrow Thursday, in what is expected to be one of the most significant urban development launches in the Federal Capital Territory in recent years. The ceremony, scheduled to take place from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Plot 28, Cadastral Zone C-17, Industrial Area-II, Abuja, will mark the formal groundbreaking of the 250-hectare mixed-use development strategically located along the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport corridor. The project is being developed by MAG Group, the parent company of…

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Benue: MACBAN denies killing 16 villagers in fresh attack

Aminu Imam
MACBAN denies Benue killing

The Miyetti-Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, (MACBAN), Benue State Chapter, has distanced itself from the attack and massacre of innocent people in Otukpo-Nobi, Otukpo local government area, in the state. According to reports, the incident took place in the early hours of Sunday, which claimed the lives of around 16 people. Residents of the neighborhood said that armed herders carried out the attack. Angered by the tragedy, youths and women stormed Ochidoma’s palace in protest, bringing the victims’ bodies. However, in a statement released on Monday by MACBAN’s state…

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Army intercepts illegal arms shipment, foils trafficking network in Kaduna

Aminu Imam
Army intercepts illegal arms

Troops of Sector-7, ‘Operation Enduring Peace’, have intercepted an illegal arms shipment in Kaduna state, recovering seven firearms and disrupting a suspected weapons trafficking network operating across Plateau and Niger states. According to an operational report released on Monday in Abuja said the intelligence-led operation followed credible information on the movement of illicit arms from Jos, Plateau, to Niger. The report said troops conducted a targeted stop-and-search operation in the early hours of Monday and intercepted an ash-coloured Mercedes-Benz at the Samaru Checkpoint in Zangon-Kataf local government area of Kaduna…

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Niger: Govt. bans graduation ceremonies in private schools

Aminu Imam
Niger govt. on private schools

Niger State government has prohibited private schools from holding graduation ceremonies, directing all private educational institutions to replace them with ‘Speech and Prize-Giving Ceremonies’ to recognise students’ achievements. According to reports, the policy, introduced through the Niger State Private Schools Board, is aimed at standardising end-of-session activities and addressing what authorities describe as the growing culture of elaborate and costly graduation celebrations in private schools. In a statement issued by the Directorate of Information Services of the Ministry of Information and Orientation, Yunusa Ibrahim, the government said schools should instead…

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ÆŠangote Refinery begins petrol sales in dollars, dumps Naira

Aminu Imam
Dangote Refinery on petrol sales in dollars

ÆŠangote Petroleum Refinery has officially ended naira-denominated sales of refined petroleum products, introducing a dollar-based pricing structure that fixes the ex-depot price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol, at $0.779 per litre. The new pricing template, which took effect on Monday July 13, 2026, also pegs Automotive Gas Oil (diesel) at $1.087 per litre and Aviation Turbine Kerosene (ATK) at $0.942 per litre, while coastal deliveries of PMS have been fixed at $1,044.62 per metric tonne. The development marks the end of Naira payments for refined petroleum…

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“Suspend Gbajabiamila to allow probe as Buhari did Babachir Lawal” – Atiku to Tinubu

Aminu Imam
Atiku to Tinubu on Gbajabiamila

Former Vice-President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has called on President Bola Tinubu to immediately suspend his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, to allow an independent investigation into corruption allegations against him, drawing parallels with former President Muhammadu Buhari’s suspension of ex-Secretary to the Government (SGF) of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, in 2017.  In a statement issued yesterday by his media aide, Paul Ibe, Atiku said the allegations surrounding Gbajabiamila were too serious to be ignored. He argued that suspending the Chief of Staff would ensure…

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