Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) are currently interrogating the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Professor Abdullahi Saleh Pakistan, over alleged multi-billion naira fraud. Sources within the EFCC confirmed that Mr Pakistan arrived at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja around 12 p.m. on Tuesday, accompanied by his personal lawyer, Kazeem Atetebi. As of the time of filing this report, he was still being grilled by investigators. The NAHCON boss is under investigation for alleged financial misconduct running into several billions of naira. Among the issues reportedly under probe are…
Author: Abdoulaye Kay
President Bola Tinubu has requested the approval of the House of Representatives for the Federal Government’s plan to raise $2.34 billion in external borrowing to partly finance the 2025 budget deficit and refinance maturing Eurobonds. The Speaker, Hon. Abba Tajudeen, read the president’s letter on the floor of the House during Tuesday’s plenary. According to the letter, Tinubu also sought parliamentary approval for the issuance of a $500 million debut sovereign Sukuk in the international capital market — the first of its kind for Nigeria. The president explained that the total external capital to be raised amounts to $2.347 billion,…
Ghana has opened its first-ever Ghana Space Conference 2025 (GSC) to explore how space technology can drive sustainable development and inclusive growth across the continent. The three-day event, holding at the University of Ghana, Accra, from October 6–8, brings together government officials, scientists, innovators, and policymakers from Africa and beyond under the theme “Harnessing Space Technology for Sustainable Development and Inclusive Growth in Ghana and Beyond.” Prof. Nana Ama Browne Klutse, Chief Executive Officer of the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), said space technology is now essential for Africa’s sustainable future. “It’s no longer a luxury — it’s a necessity for…
The Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) has said that Nigeria will play a key role in the establishment of global waterbird counts aimed at protecting wetlands and biodiversity. In a statement issued on Monday, NCF Director-General, Dr. Joseph Onoja, said Nigeria’s wetlands are of immense ecological and economic value and must be carefully protected. Onoja highlighted the significance of Nigeria’s participation in Ramsar COP15, a global forum for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands. “Ramsar is an Iranian city where the agreement to conserve wetlands was first established, hence the name ‘Ramsar Convention’,” he explained. He noted that the Ramsar…
The National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-Formal Education, on Monday, empowered scores of adult learners across the North-West with starter packs to help them establish small-scale businesses. Speaking at the event, the Executive Secretary of the Commission, Prof. Musa Garba Maitafsir, said the beneficiaries were graduates of the Commission’s Literacy Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (LEEDS) initiative, which is now in its second phase. He explained that the beneficiaries had acquired vocational skills in trades such as beauty and cosmetology, fashion and design, and home economics, adding that the empowerment was designed to make them financially independent and…
The Federal Government on Monday condemned the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) for what it described as an attempt to hold the nation to ransom over a minor labour dispute that could have been amicably resolved. Declaring open the 31st edition of the Nigerian Economic Summit (NESG) in Abuja, Vice President Kashim Shettima said the $20 billion Dangote Petroleum Refinery is a strategic national asset that must be protected and supported to succeed. Shettima said, “Aliko Dangote is not just an individual; he is an institution and a leading light in Nigeria’s economic rejuvenation. How…
A wave of discontent is sweeping through the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) following allegations of undemocratic conduct and abuse of office against the association’s national president, Festus Osifo, and general secretary, Lumumba Okugbawa. Over 500 members of PENGASSAN’s Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) branch have accused the national leadership of breaching the union’s constitution and eroding internal democracy. In a petition to the Registrar of Trade Unions at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, the aggrieved members claimed that repeated attempts to engage the national secretariat over unresolved issues had…
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has begun the process of developing Nigeria’s next National Drug Control Master Plan (NDCMP 2026–2030), with its Chairman, Mohamed Buba Marwa urging stakeholders to ensure the new strategy tackles emerging threats sustaining the illicit drug trade. Marwa gave the charge on Monday, October 6, 2025, in Niger State, while declaring open a five-day workshop to draft the fifth National Drug Control Master Plan. The residential retreat is funded by the ECOWAS Commission and supported by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). “The task before us over the next few days…
Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, on Wednesday explained why he dissolved his cabinet and relieved all commissioners and public officers of their appointments. Speaking through a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Nelson Chukwudi, Fubara said the decision was informed by the recent Supreme Court judgment that reinstated his mandate after months of political uncertainty in the state. The governor, who hosted a valedictory session with his cabinet members at the Government House, Port Harcourt, to mark Nigeria’s 65th Independence Anniversary, expressed appreciation to the outgoing commissioners for their service and contributions to the state’s development over the past…
The Federal Government has brokered a truce between the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the management of Dangote Petroleum Refinery. This was contained in a communiqué issued on Wednesday in Abuja and signed by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Muhammad Maigari-Dingyadi, at the end of a two-day conciliation meeting. The meeting, which held on Monday and Tuesday, was attended by the National Security Adviser, Ministers of Finance, Budget and Economic Planning, and State for Petroleum (Gas), as well as representatives of the DSS, NIA, NNPCL, NMDPRA, NUPRC, and labour leaders. The conciliation…