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By Achadu Gabriel, Kaduna Less than a week after former governor of Kaduna State, North-West Nigeria, Malam Nasir El-Rufai,exited the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for the opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP), hoping to use the latter as springboard to oust APC from power in 2027, snippets of information have begun oozing out throwing light on some goings-on in the party. According to a youth coalition within SDP, the former Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) allegedly seeks to hijack the party for personal political ends. Last Monday, El-Rufai announced that he had quit the APC, handing in his resignation…

The Secretary of the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Mr. Yomi Arowosafe, has commended the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (UK FCDO), for their collaboration with Nigerian government to deepen rural connectivity for socio-economic development of the country. Arowosafe gave the commendation at an Industry-Focused Stakeholders Engagement Session which was organised in Lagos over the weekend by the USPF in in collaboration with the UK FCDO and the ITU. The session built on USPF’s ongoing efforts to facilitate the achievement of wide network connectivity coverage in…

By Sylvia Kodilichukwu, Enugu Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, has signed an Executive Order relocating the current spare parts and allied trades markets as well as all other related industrial and commercial activities in the Coal Camp and other neighbourhoods within the Enugu Capital Territory, to the site of the new International Spare Parts and Allied Trades Park. The new site traverses Udi and Ezeagu Local Government Areas (LGAs) along the Enugu-Onitsha Road of the state. The Executive Order is entitled the 'Designation and Establishment of the Enugu International Motor Spare Parts and Allied Traders Park, Nsude, Udi…

By Rosemary Ameh, Sokoto No fewer than 167 journalists have benefited from the eye care service scheme organised by eye specialists from the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH), Sokoto. The exercise was in commemoration of the World Glaucoma Day, in an effort to create awareness among media practitioners in the state. The eye team was led by Dr Mustapha Bature, a Consultant and Head of Ophthalmology Department,at Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto. During the exercise, he appealed to everyone to take adequate care of their eyes, saying it is one of the most sensitive organs in the human…

By our reporter Kano State government has given its own perspective to yesterday's Appeal Court verdict on the Kano Emirship tussle. The government insisted that its appointee, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II, remains the 16th Emir of Kano. State Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General (AG), Barrister Haruna Isa Dederi, told newsmen that the ruling of the Appeal Court in Abuja on the dispute has not at all voided Muhammadu Sanusi II's status as Emir. He said: “Having passed a landmark verdict on January 10, 2025, that reaffirmed the power of the Kano State government to reappoint Sanusi, it is impossible…

By our reporter Malam Nasir El-Rufai's new political abode, the opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP), today (March 14), has alleged that the Federal Government (FG) planned to file multiple trumped up criminal charges against him imminently. The SDP said it gathered that courts in Kaduna and Abuja were allegedly to be used for the purpose. The party further alleged that the authorities had set machinery in motion to ensure El-Rufai does not flee the country. SDP claimed that the plans were part of an official bid to persecute some unnamed opposition figures in the country and prevent more defections from…

By Emma Ogoigbe,Warri Erudite scholar and seasoned innovation consultant, Dr. Obichi Obiajunwa, has identified inadequate funding as one of the greatest challenges facing Nigerian universities. According to him, research and innovation are required to sustain the financial needs of universities in the country, regretting that many universities operate with limited budgets that barely cover basic academic activities. Dr. Obiajunwa, who is also a research commercialization expert, made these remarks while delivering the 4th Convocation Lecture of the Federal University of Petroleum Resources (FUPRE) Effurun, Delta state. He noted that many universities have strong institutional structures, including faculties dedicated to Science,…

It appears a bad day for Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, as the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja today, Friday, March 14, halted the enforcement of its January 10,2025 judgment on his status. The verdict had upheld the Kano State Government’s repeal of the 2019 Emirates Council Law, pending the Supreme Court’s determination of an appeal on the same matter. The latest ruling was delivered by a three-member panel led by Justice Okon Abang. Granting a stay of execution, the appellate court effectively maintained the status quo in the ongoing legal fireworks over the Kano Emirate tussle. On…

By our reporter Immediate past governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, has claimed that former President Muhammadu Buhari was in the know of his plans to leave the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and even blessed the intention. Last Monday, El-Rufai, once a powerful voice in the APC during the Buhari administration (2015-23) when he (El-Rufai) served for eight years as two-term governor of Kaduna State, announced his departure from APC. He immediately declared that he had joined the opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP). Speaking in an interview on the Hausa Service of British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), El-Rufai, a…

Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has revealed that primary and secondary health facilities across the territory will wear a new look, with plans concluded to rehabilitate and renovate the 14 General Hospitals as well as Primary Health Care Centers (PHCs) to stand the test of medical tourism. The disclosure was made by Mandate Secretary, FCT Health Services and Environment Secretariat (HSES), Dr. Adedolapo Fasawe, during the unveiling ceremony of Barrister Nyesom Wike (BNW) VIP Ward in Maitama District Hospital, Abuja. The gesture is part of a bid to reduce medical tourism among the nation's elite and make health facilities comfortable…