Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, has called on the Joint Task Force, South South Operation Delta Safe, to intensify efforts against oil theft and illegal refineries.
He described those who engage in the stealing and illegal refining of the nation’s crude oil as enemies of the state and should be treated as such.
Governor Otti stated this on Friday when he received a delegation of the sector commanders of the Joint Task Force team, charged with the responsibility to secure oil and gas operations in 10 states of the South South, South East, and South West.
“Those who operate illegal refineries and other activities, those are the enemies of the state and should be treated as such.
“Be they in Aba or in Ukwa or Port Harcourt or Bayelsa or any of the other 10 states, where you operate. The long arm of the government must be made to catch up with them.
“For us, we do not support any illegality by anybody in any form. You can take it for granted that we, as a government, will give you all the support to carry out your operation here,” Otti stated.
He implored the task force to also work to secure the Abia Innovation and Industrial Park (AIIP) at Owaza, in Ukwa West and assured them of the support of the State Government in terms of logistics and intelligence sharing to make their assignment easier.
Otti noted the importance of security for development. He pointed out that citizens of Abia State had enjoyed relative peace within the last one year, until the incident at Obikabia Junction, on Thursday, May 30, where five soldiers of the Nigerian army were brutally assassinated by criminals.
He assured the task force of the government’s ongoing investigation to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Rear Admiral John Okeke, Commander of the JTF South South Operation Delta Safe, stated that he was in Abia to familiarise with the State as one of their coverage areas in the fight against oil theft and illegal refineries among the oil producing states.
The Commander, who used the opportunity to intimate the Governor of activities of the task force, said that part of their mandate is to curb illegal activities in the oil and gas sector.
“The Federal Government thought it wise to come up with Joint Task Force South South Operation Delta Safe with a mandate to protect oil and gas infrastructure and stop militancy, sea robbery, crude oil theft and other forms of militancy that could impact negatively on the economic activities, with emphasis on the oil and gas sector,” Okeke said.
He assured that the task force would collaborate with the State Government as well as other security agencies in the area of information sharing, adding that they were determined to curb illicit activities within their areas of operation.
The Commander requested logistical support from the state government to achieve their objectives.
An 18-year-old suspected vandal has been arrested while removing LED road stud light on the newly renovated Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos State.
The suspect living in Makoko was identified as Mubarak Abdullahi.
At the time he was arrested, it was gathered that he had already removed 10 of the LED road stud light screwed to the road to enhance the visibility of road users.
Abdullahi was arrested by the operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) on patrol of the bridge around 10:00am on Friday.
In May, RRS– a unit of the Lagos State Police Command, commenced a 24-hour bike patrol on the Third Mainland Bridge.
The Commander of RRS, Olayinka Egbeyemi, who gave the directive had said then that it was a measure to protect the bridge and prevent incidence of harassment of road users by miscreants
“The Commander Rapid Response Squad (RRS), CSP Olayinka Egbeyemi has directed the squad’s Bike Riders to commence a 24 hour patrol of the Third Mainland Bridge, Lagos as a way of protecting the infrastructure on the bridge as well as prevent incidence of harassment of road users by miscreants.
“This is in line with the directives of the Commissioner of Police, CP Adegoke Fayoade to the squad for protection of lives, property and public infrastructure on the newly renovated bridge.
“CSP Olayinka Egbeyemi appealed to motorists and road users to co-operate with the riders so that they can serve them better,” RRS had said in a statement.
The arrest of Abdullahi comes about a month after one Friday Nwafor was arrested for committing similar offence on the bridge.
The 46-year-old was arrested by the operatives of Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Corps (LNSC) early in May.
A chieftain of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Buba Galadima, has said Nigerians should not complain of the hardship in the land after shunning his advice and voting for the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Bola Tinubu in the 2023 general election.
Recall that Tinubu defeated Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) and several other presidential candidates.
Speaking with Saturday Sun, Galadima noted that Nigerians were warned against voting for Tinubu, but they ignored his advice.
Galadima, who spoke on a viral video in which he said Nigerians deserve to suffer and even die for voting for Tinubu, said, “Ah! Ah! I thought you people voted for him. If you are told don’t do this, it will burn your finger, and you went and did it, who do you blame?”
He further stated that President Tinubu has not made any promises to Nigerians, despite some policies put in place by the President lately.
In his take, the NNPP chieftain said, “I want to ask you one question. Can you show me any document where Tinubu has said that he was going to do this, do that or that? Can you show me? He has not promised anything. And you voted for him. So, you are stuck with him.”
Galadima also spoke on the North working against Tinubu in 2027, when asked if he had an idea about the agenda said, “No. I don’t know. I have my party, which is the NNPP and we will contest national elections and we believe we have the best candidate, if he is eventually chosen by the party or put forward by the party.”
A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Delta State, Sunny Onuesoke has said the solution to Nigeria’s economic problem is not an increase in minimum wage but deflation of the economy.
He made the assertion in a phone interview with our correspondent in his reaction to the imbroglio between the federal government and labour unions in the country.
Onuesoke said the increment of wages will not solve the economic problem in the country but it will rather increase it.
“Nigerians are getting it wrong. What Nigeria want is deflation. If you increase the salary to one million Naira today, the prices of goods and services will keep increasing.
“The more you increase the minimum wage, the more it goes ‘pari pasu’ with the increase of goods and services. The average person who is not in the civil service but produces food items like pepper, tomatoes, yam, garri etc will increase his produce.”
According to Chief Onuesoke, ”Wage increase cannot resolve the inflation rate because as there is more salary increase, there is more currency circulating in the system. When there is more currency flow in the system, the prices of goods and services will keep increasing. It is a simple economic theory. The more increases in workers’ salaries, the more you will build up the high inflation rate.
“The country is not being controlled by only civil servants alone. The civil servant is just 14% of those providing services in Nigeria. They are an insignificant margin. When you are thinking of civil servants, the private sectors are not addressed as civil servants. There is no private sector that will be able to pay that amount of money as salary monthly.”
He said what Nigerians need right now is the reduction of the inflation rate to the extent that even if a worker is receiving N20,000 thousand as minimum wage, he should be able to pay his rent and take care of other responsibilities comfortably.
He also urged the federal government to intensify building low-cost houses for the common man, subsidise them and mortgage the same for the period of their lifetime as a way to reduce the inflation rate.
“The people need social infrastructure that will downsize, that will deflate, that will reduce the hard side of their hardship. What I am saying is that the Federal Government and state governors should intensify massive agricultural and housing programmes. They should subsidise and reduce the cost of education. Health insurance should be all-embracing.
“Our problem is that we are giving projections without knowing the database of Nigerians. If you ask our leaders how many acres of land will produce a certain quantity of cassava, they don’t know it. But they go on air to produce certain figures borrowed from armchair economists.
“Each local government should be able to have 80,000 acres of cassava farmland. Yam, maize, rice etc. They should fix the refineries. What stops the country from fixing the four refineries till tomorrow? Is it a problem to fix the refineries? Why are we importing refined products and we are the number six oil-producing country in the world”.
The increase in the minimum wage is an addition of two thousand naira which the Federal Government said is above their initial offer of sixty thousand naira.
The labour union had stepped down their demands from four hundred and ninety-four thousand Naira ₦494,000 to ₦250,000 per month.
Both parties have not arrived at any conclusion on the matter.
South Africa head coach, Hugo Broos, has congratulated his players for being outstanding against the Super Eagles of Nigeria despite their ordeal before the match.
The Bafana Bafana of South Africa reportedly spent over 18 hours in transit before they finally arrived in Uyo on Thursday for their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against the Super Eagles on Friday night.
They ought to have arrived in Uyo on Wednesday but they took off from South Africa later than scheduled, hence, before they were done with a routine Customs Service clearance in Port Harcourt, the airport in Uyo had closed. They slept in Port Harcourt and continued their journey to Uyo the following day.
Despite their dramatic journey which the Nigeria Football Federation had blamed South Africa for, the Bafana Bafana managed to put up a show against the Super Eagles.
Thembo Zwane gave South Africa the lead in the 29th minute and Nigeria’s Fisayo Dele-Bashiru scored the equaliser for Nigeria in the second half.
After the 1-1 draw at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo, Hugo Broos praised the mentality of his players to be able to withstand the star-studded Super Eagles despite their hectic journey to Nigeria.
“I have to congratulate my players. As you know or you don’t know, we had a terrible travel to Nigeria on Wednesday”, Broos told reporters in Uyo.
“We were only in bed at two o’clock on Thursday morning. So we were 20 hours on the way. And when you see the mentality in the team today, then I can only be proud of my players.”
South Africa who are now sitting 4th in Group C will face their neighbours, Zimbabwe at the Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein on June 11.
About ten Nigerian teenage girls, between the ages of 15 and 16, have been rescued by the Nigerian authorities from human trafficking and prostitution.
The girls were forced into prostitution after being reportedly lured to Ghana with promises of a better life.
Three of the victims are from the same parents, while the suspect, a Nigerian man, has been arrested and is currently in police custody.
Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the Chairman of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, explained that the girls were rescued after a tip-off by NIDO, the umbrella body of Nigerians living in Ghana.
According to him, the victims were said to have revealed that they were beaten, molested, and forced into prostitution without pay, saying that their phones were reportedly seized, and they were unable to contact their parents.
According to one of the girls, “They give us out to men, and they don’t give us money; they collect everything.”
Chief Callistus Elozieuwa, the Chairman of NIDO, appealed for support to ensure the girls’ safe return to Nigeria.
Dabiri-Erewa called on the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons to take decisive action, describing the situation as “very, very heartbreaking.”
Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Saturday stormed some clubs and lounges in Akure, the Ondo State capital, where suspected internet fraudsters were arrested.
Among the suspects arrested by the anti-graft agency was a groom-to-be who was picked while having his bachelor’s eve with some of his friends in one of the popular clubs in Akure metropolis.
During the sting operation, which was carried out in the wee hours of Saturday, no fewer than 50 suspected individuals were apprehended by EFCC operatives.
According to sources, the EFCC personnel who arrived in various vehicles fired gunshots into the air while raiding the fun spots.
With the suspects taken away, vehicles, laptops, smartphones, and other items were also seized during the operation.
One of the sources stated, “we were all having fun when we suddenly saw the EFCC people entering the nightclubs. Then they tear-gassed everyone, beating them up and arresting them.
“They don’t care who they are, as they shot tear gas canisters inside one of the clubs.
“They also went away with a groom and his friends at a club; he was there for his bash eve, so sad as they profiled everyone as an Internet fraudster.”
Controversial Nigerian dancer, Korra Obidi, has said she is not searching for a new partner, despite her divorce from her ex-husband, Justin Dean.
She said she is more focused on making money.
Appearing on a recent episode of the ‘Heroe’s Diary’ podcast, the mother of two explained that she isn’t bothered about remarrying, emphasising that she has “many boys” who satisfy her sexual urges.
She said, “Serious Nigerian woman when I marry the man becomes my life. So now I’m trying to put that energy into making money so I don’t end up homeless like I was. I know that nobody is coming to save me in a in a knight and shining armour so I need to focus on the money.” [sic].
Obidi also frowned at the actions of those who are pinning her to her failed marriage, noting that it has been over two years since her divorce.
“I want to make a public service announcement. I’m not the only person that got married in Nigeria. In fact, my marriage was not even public. All you people saw was one post on Instagram: ‘Korra is taken.’ You people are now carrying the marriage to tie my legs. It has been two years [since my divorce], please leave me alone. I am single as a dollar bill. And I am not searching. I have many boys that service me.”
The official market saw a decline in the value of the Nigerian currency, the Naira, on Friday, with the currency trading at ₦1,483.99 to the United States dollar.
According to data from the FMDQ Exchange, the Naira lost ₦2.50, representing a 0.16% decrease compared to the previous trading day.
However, the volume of currency traded increased, reaching $269.27 million on Friday, up from $213.31 million on Thursday.
At the Investor’s and Exporter’s window, the Naira traded within the range of ₦1,507.00 and ₦1,399.00 against the dollar.
Naija News reports that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is using various tools to influence the value of the naira.
This involves controlling the money supply in the economy.
The CBN can raise interest rates to reduce the money supply and fight inflation, which can put downward pressure on the naira’s exchange rate.
Conversely, they can lower rates to increase the money supply and stimulate economic activity, but this can risk inflation.
One of these tools also includes foreign exchange intervention. The apex bank can directly buy or sell naira in the foreign exchange market to influence its exchange rate. Buying naira would strengthen it, while selling it would weaken it.
This approach can be expensive and is typically used in short bursts.
The CBN may have a target exchange rate or band for the naira. This helps provide stability and predictability for businesses and investors.
Mary Remmmy Njoku, the Nollywood actress, has urged women to be cautious and avoid becoming victims in Nigeria.
The movie star, who was reacting to the recent reports of the disappearance of some ladies in parts of the country, said any woman who falls victim in Nigeria is doomed because people would still blame her for her misfortune.
She said Nigerians have to do better when it comes to apportioning blame to victims, especially females.
On her Instagram story, she wrote: “Dear ladies, whatever you do, don’t ever be a victim in Nigeria. Cos your own do finish.
Even if you die, ‘na your fault.’ Sad. We need to start doing better as a people!”
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Doyin Okupe, a former presidential spokesman, has said state governors should decide the new minimum wage they can pay to workers.
Okupe faulted the national minimum wage Act which mandates governors to pay a uniform minimum wage to the workers in their various states.
Featuring on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, Okupe said: “We should not make laws that are all-encompassing, that make it compulsory for all governors in the federation to obey them. They are sub nationalities on their own.
“I mean for instance, if you pay a minimum wage in Lagos, why should I pay that in Sokoto? Let every governor decide for his own state by his own people that this is what I can afford.”
This is coming when the Federal Government proposed a fresh N62,000, while labour reduced their demand from N494,000 to N250,000.
The demand for an improved wage led to labour declaring an indefinite strike on Monday but was called off on Tuesday.
The industrial action was called off to give room for more negotiations.
Meanwhile, state governors have lamented that they can’t pay N60,000.
They noted that some states can’t pay the current N30,000 minimum wage.
Funke Akindele, the record-breaking Nollywood actress and producer, has disclosed the role that ace musician D’banj played in her career.
The Nigerian box office’s highest grossing filmmaker disclosed that D’banj supported her financially to start her ‘Jenifa’ brand of films, which shot her to fame.
She spoke at D’banj’s 20 years in the music industry anniversary dinner held in Lagos on Saturday.
Akindele said, “After the big break with ‘Jenifa’, I was out there, and people were celebrating me. A club owner invited me to his club then. He said, ‘I want to host you. You’re very hard working. I love ‘Jenifa”. Come with your cast and crew members.’ So, we went and I saw D’banj for the first time. I was starstruck. But he said, ‘I am here to celebrate you.’ So we danced and he gave me his number.
“He took me to a quiet place and said, ‘Why did you let ‘Jenifa’ go like that? That’s a brand that you can feed on for the rest of your life.’ I was like, ‘What’s this guy saying? Me that was doing Yoruba movies.’ He said, ‘No, ‘Jenifa’ has to come back. Get in touch with me, any support you need I will give you.’ So I reached out to him and he said, ‘When you’ve a brand, you feed on the brand. You milk the brand very well, make money out of it.’
“He gave me some money and said, ‘Go and write another ‘Jenifa’, I support you with this money.’ I was like, ‘Really? No strings attached?’ He said, ‘No.’ That was how he filmed ‘The Return Of Jenifa.’ And till date, the brand is still relevant. Christmas 2024, we are coming with ‘Everybody Loves Jenifa’.”
State governors and the private sector have reportedly rejected the ₦62,000 new national minimum wage proposed by the federal government.
Naija News earlier reported that the Federal Government had increased its new national minimum wage offer from ₦60,000 to ₦62,000.
On the other hand, organised labour has also reduced its demand from ₦494,000 to ₦250,000.
However, findings by Punch have indicated that while the Federal Government may be ready to accept ₦65,000 as the new minimum wage, governors and the organised private sector insist that any figure above ₦57,000 may not be sustainable.
According to insiders, the governors’ major argument is that the states would be left with nothing for developmental projects if they accepted a minimum wage above ₦57,000, as they would have to pay a large chunk of their resources as wages to workers.
However, the negotiation for a new minimum wage is far from over as Organised Labour and the Federal Government continue to make offers and counter-offers.
A governor from the South who spoke with the aforementioned publication lamented how he would use huge amounts to pay less than 200,000 civil servants in the state, who did not constitute more than five percent of the population.
Organised Private Sector also accused the federal government of making decisions without consulting them.
“The FG has literally shaved our heads in our absence. Though we had nominal representations, they were not allowed to come back to us for proper consultation,” said a manufacturer in Lagos who craved anonymity
Also, documents seen with one of the governors who is a member of the negotiation team show the states’ precarious financial status and their inability to pay anything above the ₦57,000 they proposed alongside the private sector.
One of the documents, which was released by the secretariat of the Nigeria Governor’s Forum and titled, ‘Comparative Analysis of States Gross Allocation Between Subsidy and Non-Subsidy Regimes (January – December 2023)’, showed the gross income received by states from the Federation Account.
A prominent member of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Buba Galadima, has criticized President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s assertion of continuing former President Muhammadu Buhari’s policies, describing it as a mere extension of problematic governance.
In a recent interview with Saturday Sun in Abuja, Galadima argued that Tinubu’s commitment to uphold Buhari’s policies contradicts his administration’s current stance of distancing itself from the challenges facing the nation.
According to Galadima, President Tinubu clarified during his campaign that his administration would build on his predecessor’s policies.
Therefore, Tinubu and his cabinet’s recent attempts to blame the previous administration for the current economic woes are deemed misleading.
“President Tinubu should own up to the responsibilities of his office, having stated his intent to follow Buhari’s footsteps. It is unfair to now place the blame on Buhari’s doorstep,” Galadima asserted.
Galadima, a former ally of the immediate past President, Muhammadu Buhari, said: “I don’t want politicians to do blame game. Of course, everybody knew that Buhari has destroyed this country in so many facets, but especially the economy and security. Everybody knows that. It is not news. But equally, Tinubu has told us that he was going to build on what Buhari left behind. So, that is the only promise he made, that he was going to start from where Buhari stopped. He can’t blame Buhari. He has already taken responsibility for what Buhari has done.”
He also explained why he would continue to oppose the establishment of state police in the country. He said: “You know you young men, you thought it is pleasure, including governors, because they didn’t know. Most of them didn’t know when there was native authority police. If you see a Hausa man in China or in the United States who migrated, it was because of the use of state police in Kano and Jigawa against citizens. These governors, when they allow state police to take root, they will be the first victims because their successors will ban them from entering their own states. Just imagine a Fubara or a Ganduje, when he was governor, having state police…”
Galadima said those accusing Tinubu of nepotism were wrong, saying that the presidential system encourages nepotism, even in the United States.
According to Galadima, “As far as I am concerned, we are running a presidential system of government. It is at the pleasure of the man in office that he should hire those that he personally believes can assist him deliver the dividends of democracy. What will be bad is that if those he hires have no knowledge, have no capacity and don’t understand anything and he puts them there to help run the economy or the security of the country aground. But as far as I am concerned, I don’t care, any Nigerian, as I said during Obasanjo, and I said also during Buhari. So, Tinubu is no exception. He can hire anybody that he believes can help him deliver dividends of democracy.
“You don’t know that United States President Kennedy made his brother, same father, same mother, the Attorney-General of the US? Do you know that Bush was an Ambassador under Richard Nixon and when he became President; his son was also a governor in another state? And when he left, his son contested for presidency and became President of the United States? So, if we are doing as it is done in the United States, done in Europe, why do we blame somebody because he appoints his brother, or his people, or his tribe or his religion? What we should demand of them is accountability and good governance.”