The Tinubu-led federal government has announced plans to restore electricity to the Northern region of the nation within the next 72 hours.

On October 22, the Transmission Company of Nigeria reported an outage affecting the North-East, North-West, and parts of North-Central Nigeria after the 330-kilovolt (kV) Ugwaji-Apir double circuit transmission lines 1 and 2 tripped. Nafisatu Ali, Executive Director of the Independent System Operator, explained that the Shiroro-Kaduna transmission line, supplying power to the North, was vandalized by insurgents.

Following the incident, President Bola Tinubu directed the military to secure the power lines while repairs are conducted.

Speaking in Abuja on Tuesday, October 29 during a session with the Senate Committee on Power, led by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (APGA, Abia South), the Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu addressed the ongoing power outage affecting the northern region.

Adelabu explained that, as a temporary measure, power would be routed through the Ugwuaji-Makurdi transmission line, covering approximately 80% of the affected states.

The Minister stated, “Power will be restored to the North in two to three days. We will use the Ugwuaji-Makurdi transmission line temporarily.”

Adelabu assured the committee that once full access is obtained, repairs would be made to the damaged lines, ensuring full restoration of power within the next 14 days.

The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has suspended former Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, over alleged anti-party activities.

According to Vanguard, in a resolution submitted to the APC National Secretariat and directed to National Chairman Dr. Umar Ganduje, Osun APC accused Aregbesola, who previously served as governor, of fostering divisions within the party by creating a rival faction.

The APC claims that this act has disrupted party unity, especially during a sensitive time in Osun politics.

Party leaders believe Aregbesola’s influence over certain groups has deepened internal rifts, which the state chapter sees as detrimental to the party’s unity.

It reads: “Following Committee, the State Executive Committee (SEC), llesa East Local Government Executive reviewing the allegations and by the powers vested in it by Article 21(3) (vi) (c) of the party’s Constitution, hereby suspends Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola from the party pending the outcome of an investigation into the allegations by a Disciplinary Committee.

“The State Executive Committee has constituted a Disciplinary Committee to investigate and provide Ogbeni Aregbesola with the opportunity to respond to the allegations of activities deemed to violate Article 21 (2) of the party’s Constitution, particularly relating to anti-party activities that undermine the collective interests of the APC levelled against him as follows:

“Factionalisation of the party with the creation of splinter groups i.e. the Omoluabi Caucus-a trending video of their recent activities in Iwo is here with attached; Creation of parallel organs within the party;

“Working with opposition parties to undermine the APC in the State -admission made at the Ataoja’s Palace 4th of January 2024, Osogbo; Public outbursts against the leaders of the party, including President, H.E. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR), Chief Bisi Akande and H.E. Gboyega Oyetola, among others;

“Refusal to show up or support any party activities in the State; and Refusal to vote for the party since after the 2019 general elections.”

This suspension represents a bold step by the Osun APC to address internal issues and refocus leadership priorities as they prepare for upcoming elections. Responses from Aregbesola’s camp are expected as the situation develops.

President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday, met with the Implementation Committee on the Naira-based sales of crude oil at the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja.

Naija News reports the meeting was attended by serial businessman and owner of Dangote Refinery, Aliko Dangote, the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, as well as other government officials and stakeholders.

During the meeting, President Tinubu charged the committee to resolve any teething problems regarding the implementation of the policy on Naira-based sales of crude oil and refined products.

He also assured that Nigeria would not go back to the old way of doing things in the oil sector.

Sharing details of what transpired at the meeting, presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, quoted Tinubu to have said using the Naira for crude oil sale was adopted to remove the exchange rate hurdle.

“Whatever solution we proffer in crude oil and refined products sales in Naira should not take us back to our experience in the last 40 years.

“There can be cost and revenue adjustment in the oil sector, but the issue is that the government will not have to go back to the old way of doing things,’’ the President stated.

President Tinubu said the various players in the oil sector, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Ltd and the Dangote Refinery, should work to improve the economy and the livelihood of Nigerians.

The President urged stakeholders to look inward and consider supplying enough petrol and petroleum products for local consumption to stop the persistent reliance on importation. He said this would enable the channelling of foreign exchange into the development of the real sector.

The President advised stakeholders to use Afreximbank as a settlement bank to resolve the Naira pricing for crude and refined products. Afreximbank is already on board as the financial adviser.

“The market must determine what we are doing. Once you allow the market to determine the profit and loss, independent marketers and the government side can meet on the worksheet. I want the issues resolved without future waste of time,’’ he added.

Tinubu urged the committee to encourage the motivation of Dangote in setting up a refinery.

“We can have energy security, and the motivation for Alhaji Aliko Dangote will not be defeated. It will be more predictable on a medium and long-term basis,’’ the President said.

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, said the administration’s groundbreaking steps to sell crude in Naira would not be reversed, and the government would not be involved in determining the rate of exchange for the oil sector.

The President and Chief Executive of Dangote Group told the President that the refinery had more than 500 million litres of fuel in reserve after supplying 400 million to the economy.

He said the refinery could collaborate with the other refineries managed by NNPC Ltd to meet an estimated 32 million litres of local petrol needs.

At the meeting, the Federal Inland Revenue Service Chairman, Zach Adedeji, who chairs the technical committee, said importing refined products should end once there is capacity to produce enough to meet domestic needs.

He said: “The vision of Mr President is to turn Nigeria into a hub for refined products to export to the world.”

Other stakeholders at the meeting included Prof. Benedict Oramah, the President and Chairman of the Board of Afrexim Bank, and Sen. Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, the minister of budget and national planning and Group Managing Director of NNPC Limited, Mele Kyari.

The president’s special adviser on energy, Olu Verheijen, and the CEOs of NIMASA and Nigerian Ports Authority also attended, along with Engineer Gbenga Komolafe, head of Upstream Regulator, and Farouk Ahmed, head of Midstream & Downstream Regulator, NMDPRA.

The Imo state police have arrested a 17-year-old student of Imo State University (IMSU) for faking her abduction.

The student, arrested in Owerri, has been identified as Jesse Chidiebere.

Henry Okoye, the Imo police spokesperson, said the command received a distress call from concerned citizens reporting Jesse’s disappearance.

He said a text sent from her instant messaging account claimed she had been abducted and killed.

The text had asked her family to go to Orji police station for confirmation.

Okoye said police operatives launched a search and discovered that the missing girl was alive.

He said the student was found to have fabricated the story as a social media prank.

“On October 26, 2024, at approximately 10:00 pm, police received a distress call from concerned citizens reporting Chidiebere missing,” Okoye said.

“A message sent from her WhatsApp account claimed she had been abducted and killed, urging her family to go to the Orji Police Station for confirmation.

“In response, police operatives launched a search and discovered the following morning, October 27, 2024, that Chidiebere was alive and had fabricated the story as a prank on social media.

“An investigation is ongoing to ascertain her motives for such mischief and would certainly face prosecution.

“The commissioner of police, Imo State Command, CP Aboki Danjuma has expressed concern over such irresponsible behaviour, which wastes valuable resources and causes public panic.

“He urges parents to caution their children against engaging in dangerous pranks and spreading misinformation.

“The Command remains committed to combating misinformation and ensuring a safe environment for all and sundry in the state.”

John Onaiyekan, a cardinal and former Catholic archbishop of Abuja, says Nigeria’s development will be affected if the northern region is neglected.

The cleric spoke in Abuja on Tuesday when the League of Northern Democrats (LND) paid him a courtesy visit.

The LND has been in consultations with eminent Nigerian leaders, including former President Olusegun Obasanjo and former defence minister T.Y. Danjuma.

Onaiyekan urged members of the group to engage the political leadership in the north on the need to deliver good governance.

“I think we must face reality that the way the northern Nigeria is today is not what we can be proud of,” he said.

“All the various indices of good governance and standard of living; we have a very poor record. If Nigeria is poor, the epicentre of the poor is the north.

“And when there is a league of northern democrats who are interested in addressing the issues and finding out why is it that things are not moving as they should, I think things will move because a league of elite northern democrats should be able to engage those who call themselves political leaders, especially as some of you have had good experience in government.

“So, you can tell them, listen, and look around you. Are you proud of what you see? Out-of-school children are all over the place, and it is not an excuse to say we are poor because if we continue to cry about being poor, the issue will remain.

“We are in a federal government, and federal resources are being distributed. So, what has happened? Let’s face it, if the north does not move well, Nigeria cannot move well. It’s the same discourse: if Nigeria does move well, Africa cannot move well.”

Onaiyekan said it is important for the entire nation to be interested in the northern region’s development, stressing that there is no room for a section of the country to “lag”.

Ibrahim Shekarau, LND leader and former governor of Kano, said the group is focused on addressing challenges of poverty, illiteracy, insecurity, mutual distrust, and declining political influence in the northern region.

Shekarau noted that the group is not tailored to support any individual or political party.

He added that the concern of LND members is to ensure that political parties are mobilised and made to serve the electorate.

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja branch, has called on President Bola Tinubu to implement policies that will nurture economic prosperity in the country.

Speaking at a press briefing in Ikeja on Tuesday, Oluwaseyi Olawumi, chairman of the branch, expressed concerns over economic challenges, including the latest increase in the pump price of petrol and the 250 percent hike in electricity tariffs.

Olawumi noted some of the government’s policies have resulted in increased inflation and spikes in transportation fares, healthcare bills, education, and daily expenditures.

“Inflation is now at its highest, reducing purchasing power and disproportionately impacting low- and middle-income families who are already vulnerable,” the NBA chairman said.

“The combined effects of this fuel price hike and 250 percent power tariff hike have, apart from wiping out the middle class in the economic pyramid, brought unprecedented pain, hardship, and suffering to the generality of the people of this country.

“This trend has equally placed a significant strain on businesses across sectors, such that where businesses are not crippled, acute adaptive strategies are deployed to sustain operations or survival in the face of economic headwinds.

“We urge the government and policymakers to consider a systematic examination of empirical data, theoretical frameworks, and comparative analyses.

“We urge the government to delineate the complicated impacts of fuel price hikes and inflation on individuals, businesses, and socio-economic structures.

“We recommend that the efficacy of existing policies in addressing these adversities be scrutinised and strategies that nurture economic prosperity be proffered.”

The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) has called on the public with relevant evidence against its pastors accused of homosexuality to present them for investigation.

In a memo dated October 28, 2024, the church announced the indefinite suspension of two youth ministers pending the outcome of the investigations against them.

The memo, signed by Sunday Akande, RCCG’s national overseer, ordered a thorough investigation into the sexual misconduct allegations.

Akande emphasized that the church’s doctrine does not tolerate or allow any act of homosexuality, citing biblical references.

In a statement, according to ChurchTimes, the RCCG urged people with relevant evidence against the pastors to come forward.

The church also provided an email address (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) and phone number (09039000700) for submitting information. It emphasized that only substantiated evidence will be reviewed.

Ayorinde AdeBello, one of the accused pastors, earlier denied the allegation of homosexuality.

He said he has never engaged in sodomy with male teenagers.

The pastor said his prolonged silence was misconstrued as an “admission of guilt”, prompting his response.

AdeBello also clarified that a viral WhatsApp screenshot being circulated was misquoted and taken out of context.

He claimed the conversation was actually about male reproductive health and self-esteem within a teenagers’ WhatsApp group.

Aliko Dangote, founder of the Dangote Group, says the Dangote Petroleum Refinery currently has over 500 million litres of premium motor spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, available for sale.

Dangote spoke after a meeting on Tuesday with President Bola Tinubu and his committee on crude oil and refined product sales in local currency.

The billionaire said retailers are not collecting the available products to ease petrol queues, which also results in financial losses for the company.

“With enough supply of crude, we can actually produce much more than 30 million litres every day,” Dangote said.

“At full capacity, we can even supply whatever is being consumed.

“But what I estimated as consumption, which I believe may be about 30, 32 million, we can start producing by next week, so it is not really an issue, because, as we speak today, we have 500 million litres in our tanks.

“500 million litres in our tanks even if there’s no protection from any or no imports, this will take the country more than 12 days, with no imports, with no production, nothing.

“We are more than ready.”

Dangote assured Tinubu that the company would supply at least 30 million litres per day and gradually increase production.

‘DANGOTE REFINERY LOSING MONEY DUE TO UNSOLD PMS’

The businessman explained that keeping unsold PMS in storage is costly, urging retailers to collect the products to reduce petrol queues and the company’s losses.

“On the streets, one thing that you have to understand is that we are producers. I have a refinery. I’m not in the business of retail. If I’m in the business of retail, then you hold me responsible,” Dangote said.

“But what I’m saying is that the retailers should please come forward and pick. If they don’t come forward and pick, what do you want me to do? There is nothing that I can do.

“I am expecting the NNPC or the marketers to stop importing, they should come and pick because we have what they need.

“I don’t know whether you understand what it takes to keep half a billion litres inside our tank.

“It’s costing me money every day. If I will be able to collect the naira, I can actually charge somebody 32 percent in interest.

“So right now, that’s what I’m losing. And we are talking about 500 million, and we don’t print money.

“The issue is that if they come and collect, then you will not see any queues in the filling stations.

“We have what it takes for them to come and collect. We are not retailers. We also don’t have trucks to send. We have a factory, we have where they can load.”

Dangote urged retailers to collect the PMS available, just as they do with imported products.

He questioned why, if retailers are distributing 55 million litres daily, they would not collect and distribute the company’s stock.

Wale Edun, the minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy announced the refinery would commence the distribution of PMS, on September 15.

On October 10, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) asked the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to sell petrol to its members at the Dangote refinery rate or refund the oil marketers’ money.

IPMAN said its members’ money has been with NNPC for over three months.

The association said the national oil company collected PMS from the Dangote refinery below N900 per litre, but NNPC wants oil marketers to buy the same product at the rate of N1,010 in Lagos, N1,045 in Calabar, N1,050 in Port Harcourt, and N1,040 in Warri.

The next day, the federal government said oil marketers can now buy petroleum products directly from the Dangote refinery and other local producers — one week after directing the Dangote refinery to sell petrol to only the NNPC.