Category Nigeria News

Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara has given Raffoul Nigeria Limited, the contractor handling the 6.5km Woji–Aleto–Alesa road linking Woji in Obio/Akpor LGA to the Port Harcourt Refinery in Eleme LGA, one month to complete the project or face contract termination.

The road, which includes a 200-metre bridge, is intended to serve as an alternative route to the Port Harcourt Refinery and ease congestion on the busy East–West Road, a federal road currently under reconstruction.

Speaking during an inspection of the site on Friday, Governor Fubara said the handover note he received after the state of emergency indicated that the Administrator under the emergency rule, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, cancelled the contract.

READ ALSO: Gov Fubara Hails Tinubu For Posthumous Pardon, National Honours On Ogoni 13

The governor expressed disappointment that the company has shown unsatisfactory progress despite being granted two contract variations previously by his administration.

“I feel highly disappointed with the level of performance of this contractor, Raffoul,” Fubara said at the site.

“This project was awarded in June 2020 by my predecessor. When I came in I gave variations twice to enable them achieve a good proportion of this job. To my greatest surprise, whenever you sit with them you don’t come out with anything substantial.”

He warned if the contractor cannot complete this job in the next one month, he will cancel the contract.

During the inspection, the governor also raised concerns about indiscriminate dredging along the Woji river near the bridge, calling the activity environmentally dangerous.

“How could a normal human being be dredging very close to the bridge? Is it proper?” he asked. “This is the last warning.

Governor Nasir Idris of Kebbi State has directed the recall of students of the College of Health Sciences and Technology, Jega, who were suspended following the 2024 student riot that led to the closure of the institution.

The Provost of the college, Hussaini Aliyu, made this known during a press briefing in Birnin Kebbi on Friday.

According to the Provost, the Governor has also approved the sum of ₦60 million for the accreditation of eight academic programs by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE). The lack of accreditation was a major factor that triggered the riot by the affected students.

Aliyu stated that students suspended on October 17, 2024, will be recalled once the accreditation exercise is concluded.

READ ALSO: NBA Urges Members To Avoid Nine LGAs In Kebbi After Lawyer’s Abduction

He further disclosed that the governor also approved the renovation of student hostels as part of efforts to meet accreditation requirements and improve the learning and research environment.

“The college management, in collaboration with the governing council and the Ministry for Higher Education, remains fully aligned with Governor Nasir Idris’s vision for educational transformation,” Aliyu said.

Troops of 6 Brigade Nigerian Army/Sector 3 of Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS), have foiled an attack by armed hoodlums in Ibi Local Government Area of Taraba State leading to the recovery of weapons and motorcycles.

On 9 October 2025, troops deployed at Tapga Ngasawa village received credible information from locals around Majebiyu Village in Ibi Local Government Area that a group of armed men suspected to be bandits had invaded the community, shooting sporadically, vandalising properties, and dispossessing residents of motorcycles and other valuables.

In a swift response to the distress call, the troops immediately mobilised to the location and made contact with the assailants.

READ ALSO: Troops Rescue 180 Kidnapped Victims, Arrest 450 Terrorists In September

On sighting the advancing troops, the armed men withdrew hastily and fled into a nearby bush, with possible gunshot wounds sustained in the process.

A press statement by Lieutenant Umar Muuhammad, 6 brigade public relations officer, said a subsequent search and clearance operation within the area led to the recovery of five (5) dane guns and two (2) motorcycles abandoned by the fleeing assailants.

The Commander 6 Brigade, Brigadier General Kingsley Chidiebere Uwa, commended the troops for their professionalism, courage, and swift response.

He further reaffirmed the Brigade’s unwavering commitment to mopping up all illegally acquired arms and ensuring such weapons are not used to perpetrate criminal acts within the state and its environs.

The Senate has issued a two-week ultimatum to the executive to submit a comprehensive, documented progress report on the implementation of the 2024 budget, as well as projections for the 2025 budget, before it will entertain the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF).

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Sen. Sani Musa, gave the declaration during a meeting with President Bola Tinubu’s economic team, led by Minister of finance and Coordinating Minister of the economy, Wale Edun, at the National Assembly.

READ ALSO: Senate Rejects Christian Genocide Allegations, Set To Engage US Lawmakers

Senator Musa noted that the legislature requires detailed performance data to properly assess the assumptions and projections in the proposed MTEF and Fiscal Strategy Paper.

The Gambia will hold its next presidential election on December 5, 2026, officials announced on Thursday, as President Adama Barrow’s bid for a third term elicits mounting criticism.

Barrow surprised Gambians earlier this year when he said he would seek a third term in office.

The move is allowed under the tiny west African country’s 1997 constitution but had not originally been expected of him.

After Barrow was elected in 2016, it was widely believed The Gambia would finally get a new constitution with presidential term limits.

READ ALSO: Algeria Qualify For 2026 World Cup

However lawmakers allied to Barrow rejected a draft constitution in 2020 over a retroactive clause imposing two-term presidential limits that would have prevented Barrow from running again.

Four years later, the government drew up a second draft removing the retroactive clause.

But that bill was rejected by lawmakers in July.

Barrow’s decision to run for a third term under the banner of his National People’s Party has caused criticism inside and outside the country.

The Gambia’s largest political party, the United Democratic Party, last month unveiled veteran politician Ousainou Darboe as its flagbearer for the presidential election.

Barrow, however, is widely expected to win the 2026 vote at this stage, as the opposition has yet to pull together a winning coalition.

Joseph Colley, chairman of The Gambia’s Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), announced on Thursday the presidential vote would take place on December 5, 2026, and parliamentary elections on April 10, 2027.

He emphasised the IEC’s commitment to “transparency, inclusion and adherence to electoral laws” and urged political groups to comply with registration requirements.

The December 5 date is standard for the country’s electoral calendar under its current constitution.

That constitution, dating from 1997, had enabled then ruler Yahya Jammeh to consolidate the dictatorial hold on power he had held since a coup in 1994.

Jammeh’s two decades in power were marked by significant rights abuses and the earmarking of state funds for the eccentric former leader’s personal use, the current government and rights groups say.