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President Bola Tinubu has extolled the virtue of women as the world celebrates this year’s &nbsp, International Women’s Day.

In a statement signed by him on Saturday, he praised the resilience, brilliance, and indispensable contributions of Nigerian women, describing them as the “strength” that powers the country.

He said his administration is committed to actualising the Renewed Hope agenda.

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“You are the bedrock of our nation, driving progress from our homes to our farms, boardrooms, and communities. Yet, 30 years after the Beijing Declaration, too many still face barriers that limit their potential.

” Our administration is committed in our Renewed Hope pledge to dismantle obstacles, expand access to finance, and ensure equitable opportunities in governance, agriculture, and every sector.

“To our mothers, daughters, sisters—your strength fuels Nigeria’s future. Together, we rise!

The Office of the Accountant General of the Federation has informed all federal workers of ongoing salary deductions following salary overpayments in December 2024 due to a system error.

In a Friday statement signed by the Director of Press and Public Relations, Bawa Mokwa, the OAGF explained that overpayments are currently being recovered through deductions from affected workers ‘ salaries.

The OAGF said there were no shortfalls in salaries paid to federal workers in January and February 2025, adding that the amounts received during this period reflected normal salaries after the exhaustion of various arrears paid in the last quarter of 2024.

Workers had received arrears for the minimum wage, the 25 per cent and 35 per cent salary increase, and wage awards between October and December 2024, the statement noted.

These additional payments had temporarily inflated salaries, leading some workers to mistakenly believe their January and February salaries had been reduced.

“Payment of normal salaries after exhausting the various arrears began in January 2025, which made some workers think that they were shortchanged when in actual sense, it was their real salaries. A glance at the current salary table will substantiate this further”, the statement read.

Barring any future salary adjustments, the OAGF maintained that the salaries paid in January and February 2025 would remain unchanged until a review by the Federal Government.

On the December 2024 overpayments, the OAGF confirmed that the system error responsible for the excess payments had been corrected, and deductions were ongoing to recover the funds.

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“There were cases of overpayments in December 2024 due to system error, adding that the error has been corrected and deductions in respect of the overpayments from the salaries of affected workers were ongoing and shall continue until such overpayments were fully recovered”, it stated.

Regarding the payment of promotion arrears, the OAGF explained that the process is managed by a Standing Committee on Promotion and Salary Arrears in the Budget Office of the Federation, which compiles and vets salary and promotion arrears from Ministries, Departments, and Agencies before forwarding them to the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System for payment.

The ongoing terrorism case against leader of the Indigenous People Of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu has been reassigned to another judge.

The reassignment was directed by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja, John Tsoho, after months of intense pressure.

The special counsel to Kanu, Aloy Ejimakor, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday.

Justice Binta Nyako had been presiding over the trial of the IPOB leader.

However, during the court’s hearing on 24 September 2024, Kanu requested that Nyako recuse herself from presiding over the matter, accusing the judge of bias.

The statement read “Yesterday, before the legal team conducted our routine visitation to Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, we received two separate official letters regarding his case. The letters are momentous and somewhat pyrrhic.

” One letter was from the Honourable Chief Justice of Nigeria, responding to a recent letter we had written to her, seeking her prompt administrative intervention (as the administrative head of Nigerian judiciary) on the matter of a proper and lawful reassignment of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s case, following the recusal of the Judge that was conducting it.

“The other letter was from the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, informing us that the case has been reassigned to another Judge of the Federal High Court”.

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Consequent to these latest developments, Kanu instructed the legal team to publicly convey his sincere gratitude to the Chief Justice of Nigeria for her “sound administrative discretions and the despatch with which she responded to our request”.

His legal team also expressed his profound appreciation to members of the general public who publicly expressed their support for “our righteous demands that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s case be reassigned to another Judge, as the law demands”.

The statement continued “To be sure, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has always been ready to take his trial because he is firmly convinced of his innocence. But the perverse events of the past six months (from September 2024, when the recusal happened) posed portent dangers to his constitutional rights, particularly his right to fair and speedy hearing.

” It was in view of these untoward developments that we were propelled to resort to taking extraordinary measures to ensure that his case is properly reassigned and conducted in accordance with the law.

The Katsina State Chapter of the Women Wing of Christians Association of Nigeria (WOWICAN) has called on the state government to create more avenues for women, by empowering them with literacy education and skills to stop them from being used by bandits as informants.

The Chairperson of the association, Dr Agatha Nyam made the call on the sideline of an event on Saturday, to celebrate International Women’s Day 2025, slated for March 8 every year.

The theme for this year’s celebration tagged: “Invest in Women. Accelerate Action” also highlights the need to address systemic barriers and biases that women face, and to create opportunities for women to participate fully in all aspects of life.

Dr Nyam further advocated for equality, empowerment and justice for women, appealing to the government to encourage women by working with them in order to contribute their quota towards the development of the nation.

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She urged individuals, groups, organisations, and communities to invest in women and accelerate progress towards a more equitable world.

“Despite our tight schedule and the ongoing fasting, we have not relented, we have come out to mark the day in prayers. We will continue to pray for lasting peace, unity and progress in our State.

” We want women to be inclusive in governance, we want women to participate in the development and nation building, we want women to participate in peacebuilding because without peace there will not be a nation”, she noted.

During the celebration, women were strongly advised to avoid ungodly acts and false teachings.

The Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Resources Authority (NMDPRA) has issued refining licenses to three companies to build new refineries in Abia, Delta, and Edo States.

According to an X post by the NMDPRA on its official page, the proposed refineries that have been issued licenses are a 100, 000 bpd refining license to Eghudu Refinery Ltd in Edo state, MB Refinery and Petrochemicals Company Ltd license to establish a 30, 000 bpd refinery in Delta State, and a 10, 000 bpd refinery issued to HIS Refining and Petrochemical Company Ltd. in Abia.

Upon completion, the three proposed refineries will have a combined refining capacity of 140, 000 barrels per day.

The statement read: “The Authority Chief Executive, Engr. Farouk Ahmed presented a License to construct a 100, 000 bpd refinery to Eghudu Refinery Ltd in Edo state, a License to establish a 30, 000 bpd refinery to MB Refinery and Petrochemicals Company Ltd in Delta state, and a License to establish a 10, 000 bpd refinery to HIS Refining and Petrochemical Company Ltd. in Abia state.

” These Licenses, which would add 140, 000 barrels per day to Nigeria’s domestic refining capacity, were presented to the MDs of the companies. “
Data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) showed that Nigeria has nine operational refineries, which include the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE, the Warri Refinery and Petrochemical Company, the Kaduna Refinery and Petrochemical Company, and the Port Harcourt Refinery Company Limited.

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Others are the Aradel Refinery, OPAC Refineries, Waltersmith Refinery and Petrochemical Company, Duport Midstream Company Limited, and the Edo Refinery and Petrochemical Company.

These refineries have a combined refining capacity of 974, 500 barrels per day, with the Dangote refinery having the largest capacity of 650, 000 bpd. However, the majority of the refineries are not producing at full-scale