Category Nigeria News

Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, has approved the release of N1.4 billion for the immediate dualization of 1.9km road from Ngomari junction to Muhammadu Buhari International Airport, Maiduguri.

At the Government House’s maiden state executive council meeting, approval was given.

Briefing journalists at the end of the Council’s deliberations, Commissioner for Works, Mustapha Gubio, said the road network will ease movement of people in and out of the airport which will soon commence international flight operations.

More roads and drainages would be carried out across the three senatorial districts this fiscal year, according to Gubio, aside from the N1.4 billion that was approved for the dualization of the Gomari Junction to Muhammadu Buhari International Airport and the Hajj Operational Unit at the airport.

READ ALSO: National Air Carrier Will Be Birthed Soon, FG Assures Nigerians

Following the devastating flood disaster, which hacked ominously wreaked havoc on crucial infrastructure in the state, Gubio claimed that various roads and drainage have been completed throughout the state. This included installing asphaltic structures on numerous washed-away roads.

As more money is being given to the sector, Professor Baba Malam Gana, the commissioner for health and human services, made the comment that his government is determined to meet the demand for universal health care.

He emphasized that more medical doctors, nurses, and midwives would be trained to provide modern medical services as more hospitals and clinics would be rebuilt, equipped for proper diagnosis and treatment across the state, with the governor’s allocation of 15% of the total state budget to the health sector.

“The state has lost 45% of its institutions due to insurgency, hence the need to reconstruct and build more health facilities. This year, more front-line health workers will be produced, according to Gana, who added that the two nursing colleges in Monguno and Gwoza will be finished.

Two Nigerians, Olutayo Sunday Ogunlaja, 39, and Abel Adeyi Daramola, 37 will face a combined 40-year jail term for participating in a romance scam. &nbsp, &nbsp,

A statement by the US Attorney, Alexander Uballez and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, revealed through the Department of Justice, the duo were convicted following a four-day trial and less than three hours of deliberation.

“According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, the scheme, which began in January 2016, involved the creation of a fictitious persona named” Glenn Brown “on the dating website eHarmony.com. Olutayo Sunday Ogunlaja, 39, and Abel Adeyi Daramola, 37, both Nigerian nationals, worked with another individual who used this fake profile to initiate a romantic relationship with a victim in Albuquerque, New Mexico and subsequently request money from them”, the statement read in part.

The victim was misled into believing that their financial support was required for “Glenn Brown” to finish a allegedly construction project in Malaysia and then safely return to the United States throughout the course of the fraud.

The victim sent approximately $560, 000 to various accounts in the United States, Canada, and Malaysia between January 2016 and April 2017.

READ ALSO: Kanu Rejects FG’s Request For Trial Resumption, Insists On Change Of Judge

On September 27, 2016, the victim wired approximately $28, 000 to a Woodforest Bank account in the name of Daramola Cars, as instructed by the fraudulent “Glenn Brown” persona. A seafood importer in Denmark was later given a check for $ 18, 000 by Daragola, which was then issued with a $ 14, 000 check.

Daramola denied knowing about the romance scheme, but the FBI said extensive evidence, including text and WhatsApp messages, revealed his role as a provider of bank accounts for various fraud schemes, including romance fraud schemes.

Ogunlaja’s involvement included obtaining fraudulent funds from his Bank of America account.

Specifically, on March 9 and March 15, 2016, the FBI said “Glenn Brown” instructed the victim to deposit $20, 000 cash into Ogunlaja’s account.

Following these deposits, Ogunlaja&nbsp, made multiple cash withdrawals and transfers to Daramola’s account.

Following the verdict, the court ordered that Ogunlaja and Daramola remain on conditions of release pending sentencing, which has not been scheduled.

The former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, was charged with accepting gratification, corrupt demand, and receiving property inadvertently from the Lagos State Special Offences Court in Ikeja.

According to the evidence presented in the case file, Justice Rahman Oshodi’s ruling on Wednesday concluded that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had successfully established territorial jurisdiction to hear counts 8 to 20 of the 26-count charges brought against the former CBN Governor.

The court, however, agreed with lawyers to Emefiele, that counts 1 to 4 of the charge are unconstitutional, as they are not based on any existing laws in Nigeria.

READ ALSO: EFCC Asks Court To Strike Out Emefiele’s Application On Jurisdiction

On the basis of alleged abuse of office and irregular allocation of $4.5 billion and N2.8 billion, respectively, the EFCC arraigned Emefiele on April 8, 2024.

In counts 1 through 4 and 8 to 26 along with counts 8 to 26, which are all alleged abuses of office, contrary to and punishable by Section 73 of the Criminal Law of Lagos 2011, accepting gratification, contrary to and punishable by Section 8 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000, receiving fraudulently obtained property, contrary to and punishable by Section 328 of the Criminal Law of Lagos 2011, and granting corrupt advantage, contrary to Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences

Justice Oshodi noted in his ruling that while counts 1 through 4 relate to the general offence of abuse of office as defined by criminal law, the specific conduct alleged in those counts is not deemed to be an offence by any written law at all. Consequently, the court struck out these counts.

Regarding counts 8 to 26, the judge emphasised that by applying established legal principles, the evidence presented was sufficient to affirm the court’s territorial jurisdiction.

Justice Oshodi made it clear that Emefiele’s allegations against her are unsubstantiated and that this conclusion is only applicable to the jurisdictional objection.

After that, Justice Rahman Oshodi decided that Emefiele’s objection to the court’s territorial jurisdiction over counts 8 to 26 was rejected, noting that the prosecution has established a sufficient territorial nexus to compel her to answer the charges.

Nigerians have been promised by the federal government that a new national air carrier will soon begin operating. &nbsp,

During the ministry’s ceremonial handing ceremony, Abubakar Kana, the newly appointed Permanent Secretary for Aviation and Aerospace Development, made the disclosure.

According to him, his goal is to ensure that a national air carrier is established.

He also promised to revamp the nation’s airports.

Former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defense, Kana, said his statement was based on President Bola Tinubu’s renewed optimism for the aviation sector.

He further stated that he would support Festus Keyamo, the minister of aviation and aerospace development, in the development of Nigeria’s national carrier and the upgrading of the country’s airports to international standards.

“Resources are scarce, we need to embrace the private sector to support Nigeria’s Aviation industry”. he added.

Kana reaffirmed his convictions in supporting President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and made an appeal to all ministry departments.

Dr. Emmanuel Meribole, the country’s former Permanent Secretary, thanked the ministry and Nigerians for their support of national development.

READ ALSO: Nigeria’s Energy Sector To See Significant Developments Q1 2025 — Experts

He claimed that the Civil Service is ongoing, and that his departure from the Service would not stop the aviation ministry from expanding.

He urged the staff to work with the new Permanent Secretary in a spirit of cooperation and teamwork.

No man is perfect, but I’ve always wanted to leave a place better than I did, and I’m proud of that.

He praised Keyamo’s administrative acumen and appealed to the stakeholders in the aviation sector to continue to work together to make Nigeria’s aviation sector the best in Africa.

Prior to giving their valedictory speeches, Dr. Udechukwu Osakwe, the director of finance and account at the Ministry of aviation, and Mustapha Abdullahi, the registrar of the African Aviation Aerospace University (AAAU), Mustapha Abdullahi, the ministerial registrar, also spoke on behalf of the ministry’s head of agencies, described Meribole as a man of integrity who respects meritocracy.

Barr Odugbesan, the director of legal services and senior advisor to the minister of justice and the president-general of the Federation, described Dr. Kana as a bureaucratic soldier whose leadership style had greatly contributed to the development of the Ministry of Defense and many other ministries he led.

Barr Odugbesan said the new aviation Permanent Secretary is a man who enjoys developing talents and is concerned about the staff’s well-being, while cautioning the aviation family to work with Dr. Kana.

The new Permanent Secretary’s signature and transfer of the ministry’s strategic and asset- and-liability documents culminated with the ceremony.

The state House of Assembly has received the commissioner-designates’ names through governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State for confirmation.

The Secretary of State, Umar Ikhilor, sent a letter to the Assembly on Tuesday with the names of the six commissioner designates.

The nominees are Marie Olabisi-Idaomi, Paddy Iyamu, Paul Ohonbamu, Washington Osifo, Lucky Eseigbe and Andrew Ijegbai.

I also graduated from Almajiri School in Kyari to become the NNPCL GCEO.

The Governor of Edo State, Monday Okpebholo, wrote in the letter, “I want to forward the underlisted names as commissioner designates” for consideration and confirmation Assembly.”

“They are Hon. Paul Ohonbamu, Washington Osifo, Paddy lyamu, Lucky Eseigbe, Andrew ljegbai and Marie Olabisi-Idaomi.

The first quarter of 2025 is expected to see significant developments for the Nigerian energy sector, according to the Society of Energy Editors (SEE).

This, according to the Society, would be driven by President Bola Tinubu’s proposed N49.7 trillion naira budget for the year.

The budget is based on a decrease in inflation from 34.6% to 15% in 2025, which is expected to result in a rise in base crude oil production to 2.06 million barrels per day.

The SEE, in its “Nigeria Energy Outlook Q1 2025”, said key areas to watch in the energy sector in the first quarter of the year include oil exploration and production, domestic crude refining, gas production and liquefied natural gas, LNG, export, power generation and transmission as well as labour relations.

“The government’s target to increase crude oil production is ambitious, but its feasibility hinges on addressing security challenges, particularly in the Niger Delta region.

In response to the country’s struggle to raise crude reserves and production, it stated in the Outlook that “Nigeria plans to hold a new oil licensing round in 2025 with a focus on handing out blocks that remain undeveloped.”

The Federal Government would need to demonstrate the necessary political will and exert considerable pressure to get this new oil licensing round to go ahead as planned throughout the year.

READ ALSO: I Grew From Almajiri School To Become NNPCL GCEO — Kyari

The Society noted that the Dangote Refinery’s beginning of petroleum refining is anticipated to lower fuel imports and lessen the cost of petroleum subsidies, but that the company’s continued supply of crude oil feedstock will be crucial in determining the refinery’s impact on the economy in 2025.

Nigeria spent N9.176 trillion on the importation of the Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, also known as petrol, in nine months, from January to September 2024, rising by 60.87 per cent, compared with N5.704 trillion worth of the commodity imported in the same period in 2023.

Focusing on gas production and LNG exports, the SEE projected that Nigeria’s gas sector will grow during the first quarter, driven by the government’s” Decade of Gas “initiative and the country’s ambitions to increase its gas reserves to 210 trillion cubic feet, Tcf, in 2025 and 220 Tcf by 2030.

According to the projections, “gas production and supply will also increase in response to the Federal Government’s initiative on gas for automobiles and the need to address the current shortages experienced by power generating stations and industries.”

The Society also claims that the first quarter’s exports of gas through Nigeria LNG Limited will remain steady.

The Society of Energy Editors stated that efforts to increase the number of renewable energy sources in the energy mix will continue with an emphasis on increasing the share of renewable energy sources.

The national grid, which had 12 collapse incidents recorded in 2024, continued to be very weak in terms of power transmission and distribution infrastructure. adding that due to inadequate mitigation strategies intended to address inherent weaknesses, 2025 will experience a repeat.

In terms of labor relations, the Society claimed that to maintain stability and prevent disruptions, the government would need to address labor concerns in both the electricity and downstream sectors.

Listing challenges and opportunities, the Society stated, in the Nigeria Energy Outlook Q1 2025, that the government’s expectations for reducing inflation and improving the exchange rate may be challenging to achieve, given the current market realities.

It claimed that the Niger Delta Development Commission’s activities would be crucial in addressing the region’s root causes of insecurity and instability.

The government will need to address the difficulties of artisanal mining and ensure that the sector is developed in a sustainable and responsible manner, even though the solid minerals sector offers significant opportunities for revenue growth and job creation.