The United States (U.S) government has unveiled a humanitarian aid package amounting to $27 million for Nigeria, aimed at supporting vulnerable communities and enhancing resilience against the challenges posed by food insecurity and the impacts of climate change.

The U.S. Mission in Nigeria announced on Tuesday in Abuja that this contribution is a part of the broader $536 million humanitarian aid package allocated by the U.S. government to sub-Saharan Africa.

Naija News reports that Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, Uzra Zeya, officially unveiled the comprehensive aid package which brings the total U.S. humanitarian assistance to Sub-Saharan Africa in Fiscal Year 2024 to nearly $3.7 billion.

“The funding will be channelled to those in need through the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration and USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance.

“It brings the total U.S. humanitarian assistance to Sub-Saharan Africa in Fiscal Year 2024 to nearly $3.7 billion.

“The assistance aims to address the critical needs of vulnerable individuals across the sub-Saharan region,” the mission explained.

It added: “This includes refugees from war and terrorism violence, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons, stateless individuals, and other conflict-affected people.

“It will focus on crises in the Sahel, among other areas, and support efforts to build durable solutions, such as voluntary returns and refugee integration.”

In an address regarding the development, the U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Richard Mills, highlighted the significance of the recently announced U.S. funding.

Mills noted that the initiative underscored the United States’ dedication to delivering essential aid and safeguarding the well-being of vulnerable populations and the communities that host them across the African continent.

“This assistance will make a real difference in the lives of those most in need in Nigeria and across the continent.

“This 27 million dollars in aid demonstrates the U.S.’s unwavering commitment to supporting Nigeria in addressing humanitarian challenges.

“We stand with Nigeria in its efforts to provide for vulnerable populations and build resilience against food insecurity and climate change impacts,” the mission quoted Mills as saying.

Lawyer and activist, Deji Adeyanju, has accused President Bola Tinubu of not being a good leader.

Speaking against the backdrop of the recent purchase of a new jet for the presidential air fleet, Adeyanju, in a post via his Facebook account on Monday, accused Tinubu of behaving like former Military Head of State, Sani Abacha.

The activist said Tinubu is behaving like Abacha pro max, adding that critics don’t make good leaders.

He further accused President Tinubu of being a hypocrite because of the purchase of a new presidential jet, an Escalade bulletproof vehicle, and a yacht while urging Nigerians to bear the hardship in the country.

Posting on his Facebook page, Adeyanju wrote: “Critics don’t make good leaders. If in doubt, just look at Tinubu. The guy is acting like a Sani Abacha pro max just under one year. A hypocrite that can’t take what he gives.

“Just got back to Abuja from Lagos and saw Tinubu’s outrageously huge presidential jet.”

He also wrote in another post: “I have not recovered from the shock of how big Tinubu’s presidential jet is. It is so huge. We cannot subsidize the poor and the economy but we can subsidize Tinubu and politicians. Nigeria is sitting on a keg of gunpowder that could go off at any moment.”

Naija News recalls President Bola Tinubu-led administration, on Monday, unveiled the new Airbus A330 purchased under his leadership.

The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, who released the pictures, said it replaced the 19-year-old Boeing B737-700(BBJ) bought under the Presidency of former president, Olusegun Obasanjo.

Onanuga, however, did not reveal the amount spent by the Nigerian government to acquire the new presidential jet.

He said it saved Nigeria huge maintenance and fuel costs, running into millions of dollars yearly.

Onanuga said, “The recommendation to replace the B737-700(BBJ) followed an investigative hearing by Nigeria’s parliament that questioned the plane’s safety record and cost efficiency, especially after it malfunctioned during a trip to Saudi Arabia.

“The Nigerian Senate’s security and intelligence committee recommended replacing the ageing aircraft in the presidential fleet to reduce downtime and operational expenses.”

In Osun State, an Osogbo-based cleric, identified as Femi has raped and impregnated his stepdaughter.

The 16-year-old stepdaughter, name (withheld), who levelled the allegation against Femi, disclosed that she was raped when she was 13 year-old. 

The victim, aged 16, had approached a Non-Governmental Organisation, the World Institute for Peace, to seek Alternative Dispute Resolution.

The teenager had in an affidavit, sworn to at the Osun State Ministry of Justice, claimed that after her stepfather put her in family way, the pregnancy was terminated.

Narrating her ordeal to the officials of the NGO, she disclosed that she first reported the matter to her teacher in school, after about four years of constant abuse by her stepfather.

Speaking at an alternative dispute resolution meeting organised by WIP, the victim explained that her stepfather started having sexual intercourse with her when she was 12 years old.

She said, “When I was 13 years old, I got pregnant and he took me to a hospital for an abortion.

“He asked me to lie to the doctor that my classmate impregnated me and ran away. The first time he had intercourse with me was on my mother’s bed and he has been doing it continuously.

“I decided not to take the matter to court because my mother had four children for him, although two were dead.”

She also said she did not take legal action because of her step-siblings.

“I don’t want a situation whereby when the children grow up, it would be as if I am the one who sent their father to prison.

“I decided not to take legal action because of his children who are my younger siblings,” she said.

Also at the meeting, Femi, who is a commercial motorcyclist, as well as a pastor in a church he established, confessed to committing the crime.

Femi, who stated that he lost count of the number of times he slept with her, said it was God that instructed him to have carnal knowledge of the victim.

“It is true I slept with her although I don’t remember the number of times I did it with her.

“I’m a pastor and it was God who told me to sleep with her. God also told me to abort the pregnancy,” he confessed.

The affidavit, sworn to by the mother of the victim on her behalf, partly read, “My daughter went to the human rights organisation, World Institute for Peace, and reported a case of defilement and abortion levelled against her stepfather, Femi, early in August 2024.

“That, I have the consent of all the members of the family to swear to the affidavit that on August 11, 2024, we met with the human rights organisation, World Institute for Peace and agreed to settle amicably within the family.

“That, she (victim) agreed to resolve the dispute through alternative dispute resolution and has engaged in negotiation.

“That the family is not ready to pursue any case whatsoever with Mr Femi any longer.

“That the purpose of withdrawing was as a result of a settlement between the families, which was the sole proposition of the settlement.”

In his admonition for the parties involved in the matter, the Executive Director of the NGO, Lamina Omotoyosi, called on parents to ensure the safety of their children, especially from close family members and relations.

Lamina also bemoaned the increasing cases of incest in the state.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has confirmed that its President, Joe Ajaero, has been summoned by the police over allegations of terrorism financing and other related offenses.

The confirmation was made in a statement by the NLC spokesperson, Benson Upah, on Monday evening. The police had invited Ajaero for questioning regarding charges connected to “criminal conspiracy, terrorism financing, treasonable felony, subversion, and cybercrime.”

According to the invitation letter dated August 19, 2024, and signed by ACP Adamu Mu’azu on behalf of the Commissioner of Police, Intelligence, Ajaero’s name surfaced in ongoing investigations related to the alleged offenses.

In his statement, Upah said, “A personal message sent to Comrade Joe Ajaero by SP Moshood said, ‘We were at the Labour House to submit this (letter of invitation), but the place was locked, sir.’”

Upah expressed concerns, noting that staff were present at the office beyond 6 pm and questioned why Ajaero was not addressed by his official title as President of the Nigeria Labour Congress.

He added, “Clearly, the last has not been heard about the raid on the headquarters of the Nigeria Labour Congress.”

Upah also recalled that prior to the raid, the NLC had advised the government to engage in dialogue with organizers of a recent protest, despite the congress distancing itself from the event. The congress had also condemned the high casualty rate resulting from police action during the protest and demanded an apology from the police and the government.

“At its world press conference last Thursday, the congress had raised the alarm that should anything happen to the leadership of the congress or any of its members, the police should be held accountable,” Upah continued.

He concluded by questioning the motive behind the police action, stating, “The question on the lips of those in the know is: Who wants Joe Ajaero out of circulation?”

It is worth recalling that security agents conducted a night raid on the NLC national secretariat in Abuja on July 7.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Ogun State, Barrister ‘Niyi Ijalaye, is dead.

The Ogun REC slumped and died in Abuja on Monday evening after a meeting of RECs at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja.

A source at the Ogun State INEC headquarters, who spoke on condition of anonymity, revealed that Barrister Ijalaye had returned to his hotel room after the meeting before the incident happened.

The source further revealed that the Ondo-born administrator, who was lively throughout the commission’s meeting, retired to a hotel in the Federal Capital Territory, where the incident happened.

The meeting, according to the remarks of the Chairman of INEC, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, which was posted on the verified timeline of the Commission on Facebook, focused on two off-cycle governorship elections in Edo and Ondo States, and seven vacant positions in the National and State Assemblies.

During the meeting, Barrister Ijalaye dressed in blue striped Kaftan with a red cap, was seen in one of the pictures posted by the Commission on its timeline.

Barrister Ijalaye was posted to Ogun State in March 2022, following the transfer of Olusegun Agbaje to Lagos State.

The commission is yet to issue a confirmation statement on the reported death.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) has stated that it has not made any fuel subsidy payment to anyone in the last nine months.

The disclosure was made on Monday by the Chief Financial Officer of the company, Alhaji Umar Ajiya in Abuja.

According to Ajiya, NNPC Ltd only handles Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) importation shortfalls between the company and the federation.

“In the last eight to nine months, NNPC Ltd. has not paid anybody a dime as a subsidy; no one has been paid Kobo by NNPC Ltd. in the name of subsidy. No marketer has received any money from us by way of subsidy.

“What has been happening is that we have been importing PMS, which has been landing at a specific cost price, and the government tells us to sell it at half price. “So the difference between the landing price and that half price is a shortfall.

“And the deal is between the Federation and NNPC Ltd., to reconcile, sometimes they give us money, so there is no money exchanging hands with any marketer in the name of subsidy,” he stated.

Speaking further, Ajiya said credit lines are prevalent in the downstream business based on the worldwide commercial system,

He revealed that NNPC Ltd. has had an open credit agreement with PMS suppliers in the past, with term lines agreement for payment.

Elisha Abbo, a former lawmaker who represented Adamawa North in the Senate, has weighed in on the controversy surrounding the salary of senators.

For years on end, Nigerians have kicked against what they considered humongous salaries that are paid to federal lawmakers. 

Recall that ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo recently called out federal lawmakers for determining their own salaries and allowances, calling it immoral.

“You are not supposed to fix your salaries or allowances; it is supposed to be done by the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC).

“With all due respect, you know it’s not right; it is not right for me to be the one to determine what I pay myself; it is immoral, and you are doing it; the Senate is doing it,” Obasanjo said. 

The Senate, however, debunked the claims by Obasanjo, calling them lies.

The Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) also stated that each of the 109 senators in the upper chamber receives a total of N1.06m in salary and allowances per month.

Speaking on the matter, Abbo stated that the monthly earnings of senators are not a lot of money.

In an interview on Arise Television, Abbo noted that their monthly take home is only “big on paper” and not enough for the demands and challenges of their office.

Abbo recalled that his salary and allowances while serving as a senator was N14.4 million monthly, while current senators earn up to N29 million monthly. 

He said: “When I was in the Senate, cumulatively, all the allowances were N14.4 million per month. You have a wardrobe allowance, a vehicle allowance, and other allowances put together that were N14.4 million, including the N1 million salary.

“It is about N29 million now. N29 million looks big on paper

“I’m saying this as an honest man. I’m not trying to support the National Assembly, and I’ve been a member of that vilified institution for five years. I am not standing with them, but I’ll bear the facts on the table.”

Speaking further, he said he became poorer after quitting his business to become a lawmaker.

He said: “I had to leave the company I founded, in which I was the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, to go into governance when I won the election.

“I had to start subsiding my life because the money that was allocated to my office was absolutely nothing considering the demand and challenges faced by my own constituents on a daily basis.

“I had a case of just one person I took to the hospital; I spent N14 million on one person.

“And every month, from all over Adamawa State and other states, my office was besieged with people looking for help.

“I had to start calling some state governors to help me with cases that are being brought from their states into my office.”

The Governor of Kogi State, Ahmed Usman Ododo, has approved the appointment of an additional 1,192 aides to his government.

The latest development was confirmed in a communique issued Monday by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr Folashade Ayoade.

“The aides include Yakubu Abdulhakeem, who will serve as the Executive Secretary of the Kogi State Office for Disability, 165 Senior Special Assistants, and 36 Special Assistants.

“Others on the list approved by the governor are 574 Ward Special Assistants and 290 Local Government Special Assistants,” the statement noted.

Ododo has also approved the appointment of Alhaji Ibrahim Abdulsadiq as the Director of Protocol for the First Lady’s Office, alongside other members of the First Lady’s retinue.

The governor congratulated all the appointees, emphasizing the importance of dedicating their utmost service to the state and the broader global community.

Furthermore, Ayoade announced that all appointments would be officially effective from September 1, 2024.

Why We Appointed 717 Ward Special Assistants – Kogi Govt

Earlier, Kogi State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Fanwo, provided insight into the recent appointment of 717 Ward Special Assistants by Governor Usman Ododo.

According to Fanwo, these appointments are part of the Governor’s strategy to deepen democracy and ensure that governance is participatory, particularly at the grassroots level.

During a press briefing in Lokoja, Fanwo emphasized that Governor Ododo is committed to empowering the people by selecting Special Assistants who are deeply connected with the rural communities they serve.

“The Governor is determined to ensure grassroots participation in governance. He doesn’t want to be detached from the hopes and aspirations of the grassroots. We have learnt from past experiences, and we should be able to put those lessons to use,” Fanwo stated.

Reflecting on past administrations, Fanwo pointed out that many previously appointed Special Advisers and Senior Special Assistants were often disconnected from grassroots realities, as they resided primarily in the state capital.

He said, “In the past, many of the Special Advisers and Senior Special Assistants that were appointed lived in the state capital and did not relate with the grassroots people. There was a gap between the pulse at the grassroots and the impression of the Government. But with this novel appointment strategy, the people at the grassroots are already jubilating over the commendable inclusive governance.

“Those appointed are those who sleep and wake up in those Wards. They don’t live outside of their Wards, and they will be the foot soldiers of the Government in achieving the Consolidation Agenda of the Ododo Administration.”

Addressing concerns about the potential increase in governance costs due to the high number of appointees, Fanwo clarified that the salaries of three Ward Special Assistants are equivalent to what a single Senior Special Assistant would earn.

Popular Nigerian gospel singer, Yinka Alaseyori has cried out over alleged death threats.

Speaking during an Instagram live session, Alaseyori begged Nigerians to support her with prayers.

She disclosed that she has been experiencing online attacks for the past six months.

The singer warned that those wishing her death, are counting the days of death for themselves.

She said, “I am supposed to fear human beings. I will not die untimely. It has become a taboo. You need to check my DMs. I see people’s comments, curses and I smile. I see people wishing me a lot of things. I will just laugh at you. Because whoever wishes me death is counting the days of death for him or herself.

“If you think what I deserve is to die, you also want to die. If you are calling for death, do not come to my DM. Do not tell anybody about me for evil. If anybody gathers to wish me death, no matter how much they are, even if they are prophets, the angel of death will go after them. This world is wicked. It is so painful and sad. A whole lot of things are going on behind the scenes

“Please pray for me. I need your help. If you see me on stage, pray for me. And pray for me when you don’t see me or hear from me.”