On Monday, the Lagos State House of Assembly impeached Mr. Mudashiru Obasa as Speaker; and immediately elected and swore in Mrs. Mojisola Meranda (APC-Apapa I), the former Deputy Speaker, as the new Speaker. Prior to her election as the new Speaker, Mojisola Lasbat Meranda was the deputy speaker of the 10th Lagos State House of Assembly. She was first elected as a member of the House in 2015, representing Apapa constituency 1. She was re-elected in 2019 and 2023. Mrs. Meranda, a Lagos blue blood, was the Chief Whip of the ninth house. Before her time in the House, Mrs.…
Author: Abdoulaye Kay
The Lagos State House of Assembly has impeached its Speaker, Mr. Mudashiru Obasa, in a dramatic move that has sent shockwaves through the state’s political landscape. The decision was made during an emergency plenary session held on Monday in Ikeja. Following Obasa’s removal, the House elected and immediately swore in Mrs. Mojisola Meranda (APC-Apapa I), the former Deputy Speaker, as the new Speaker. In a related development, the Chief Whip of the House, Mr. Mojeed Fatai, was unanimously elected as the new Deputy Speaker. The Clerk of the House, Mr. Olalekan Onafeko, was not spared in the wave of leadership…
The Nigerian Cancer Society (NCS) has called on the Federal Government to increase the allocation to the Cancer Health Fund (CHF) in the 2025 Appropriation Bill, stressing that the current budgetary provision of ₦150 million is grossly inadequate to meet the growing demand for cancer treatment in the country. Addressing health journalists in Abuja on Saturday, the NCS President, Prof. Abidemi Omonisi, appealed for the allocation to be raised to ₦1 billion, noting the financial burden its treatment places on patients. “The CHF is a commendable initiative by the Federal Ministry of Health, providing counterpart funding to support indigent cancer…
Operation against criminal activities in the North-West region has yielded results when troops of the Nigerian Army killed over 25 terrorists and injured 18 others in Zamfara State. The operation, codenamed Operation Fansan Yamma, was conducted by Sector 2 of the Joint Task Force North West. The success of the mission was revealed in a statement on Sunday by Lieutenant Colonel Abubakar Abdullahi, the Coordinator of the Joint Media Coordination Centre. According to Abdullahi, the troops dismantled several terrorist hideouts in the Fakai area of Shinkafi Local Government Area (LGA) on January 10. “Some of the camps cleared include that…
Firefighters battled relentlessly into Saturday night to contain massive wildfires raging across Los Angeles as strong winds reignited flames, threatening untouched neighbourhoods. At least 16 people have been confirmed dead in the devastating fires, which have left communities in ruins and tested the resilience of thousands of firefighters and millions of California residents. Despite heroic efforts, including precision aerial water drops, the Palisades Fire continued its march eastward, approaching the Getty Center art museum and pushing north into the densely populated San Fernando Valley. “We’re a nervous wreck,” Sarah Cohen shared with The Los Angeles Times as her Tarzana home…
The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has commended the repatriation of $52.88 million in recovered assets linked to former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, by the United States government. It also lauded the collaboration between Nigeria and the U.S., describing it as a significant step in the global fight against corruption. In a statement by CISLAC’s Executive Director, Comrade Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, the organization urged the Federal Government to ensure the funds are utilized transparently and directed toward tangible development projects that benefit the citizens. “According to the Minister of Justice, these funds are earmarked for rural electrification…
The Government of Niger State complied with the conditions precedent in the laws, duly notified NERC, and requested the transfer of regulatory oversight for the intrastate electricity market in the state,” the statement read.
The Editor-in-Chief of THISDAY Media Group and Chairman of Arise TV, Nduka Obaigbena’s legal team, has condemned a Federal High Court order freezing $225.8 million linked to him, his family, and his company, General Hydrocarbons Limited, as “an abuse of court processes.” In a statement issued on Thursday, Abiodun Layonu & Co, solicitors for General Hydrocarbons, strongly refuted the December 30, 2024, court order obtained by First Bank of Nigeria Limited. The order restrains all Nigerian commercial banks from releasing or dealing with the funds in question. The lawyers claim the December 30 order violates an earlier ruling delivered by…
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has proposed a budget of N126 billion for 2025, nearly three times the size of the previous year’s allocation. Speaking before the National Assembly during the defense of the 2024 budget implementation on Friday, INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu emphasized the critical need for sufficient funding to meet the Commission’s constitutional responsibilities. “Our proposal for 2025: the Commission requires the sum of N126 billion. So, we would like the support of the National Assembly members to ensure that we are adequately funded for the responsibilities we are required to discharge, and most of these…
Nigeria’s Federal Government spent a staggering N8.94 trillion on debt servicing in the first nine months of 2024, accounting for 47% of total government expenditure during the period. This marks a sharp 56.8% increase compared to the N5.69 trillion spent during the same period in 2023, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) quarterly statistical bulletin. Rising debt burden The report underscores the escalating cost of Nigeria’s debt obligations against a backdrop of widening fiscal deficits. The debt-to-revenue ratio soared to 147% in 2024, a significant rise from 132% in 2023. This means debt servicing consumed nearly one and…