The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has lamented that the President Tinubu administration has done nothing to alleviate the nation’s petroleum problem, but instead made it worse.

The student body stated that rather than increasing fuel availability, the subsidy removal has caused scarcity and immense sufferings for Nigerians.

DAILY POST had reported the hike in petrol pump price in Ogun, Lagos, Abuja and oher parts of the country.

It was gathered that while major marketers sold petrol below N650, the independent marketers sold between N750 and N800 per litre.

Expressing their dissatisfaction, the students in a statement signed by the NANS National Clerk of the Senate, Abdul-Yekinn Odunayo on Saturday, in Abeokuta, lamented that queues in petrol stations are becoming alarming despite the promises made by President Bola Tinubu.

He said, “This crisis has continued to persist despite the removal of fuel subsidy which has brought untold hardships to Nigerians.

“Nigerians are experiencing unprecedented hardship and going through hell before they can get to buy fuels.

“Queues have been a common thing at petrol stations across the country despite the promise by President Bola Tinubu that fuel will queues will disappear in the country after the removal of subsidy, but that has not been the case.

“The exorbitant cost of petrol has led to a sharp increase in transportation fares, caused a surge in the prices of essential goods and services. The increased cost of transportation and production is being passed on to consumers, exacerbating the already high cost of living.”

The student body demanded that the President and NNPC act quickly and forcefully to address the problems before Nigerians are forced to the breaking point.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) will have to spend way beyond their means to maintain French tactician, Herve Renard as Super Eagles coach.

Herve Renard made a name for himself in the coaching world when he led two different African countries, Zambia and Ivory Coast to win the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in 2012 and 2015 respectively.

The 54-year-old France tactician is currently the head coach of France Women’s national team. He has announced that he would step down from the role after the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Hence, a series of national teams are lining up for his signature including the Super Eagles of Nigeria, Egypt and the United States of America.

A source from the NFF confirmed according to the Vanguard that the football federation has contacted Herve Renard. The source revealed that the Frenchman is demanding $180,000 which is equivalent to 253 million naira. He also demanded other unnamed conditions which were not revealed.

The source was quoted as saying: “Yes, the NFF has made contact with Renard for the Super Eagles job, but the biggest stumbling block is that he is demanding a salary of $180,000 (a month), which in Naira is almost close to 300 Million.

“This will be the highest ever paid to a coach and the NFF just cannot afford this.

“This may well be a wild goose chase.”

Note that the former Super Eagles of Nigeria head coach, Jose Peseiro was initially paid $80,000 per month on the job. This salary was later slashed to $50,000 per month and months of debt at a point.

Reports claimed that Finidi George who resigned from the job in June, barely two months after his appointment, earns just 5 million naira as the coach of the Super Eagles.

Recent reports claimed that the NFF has recommended Herve Renard and two other coaches to be considered for appointment. It is now left to be seen who the federation will settle for.

The Super Eagles’ head coach is expected to be named before August as the national team will begin their 2025 AFCON qualification campaign in September.

Four persons have been rescued alive from rubble of the collapsed two-storey building located beside Cupid Hotel, Sultan Dansuki Road, Phase 2, Site 2, Kubwa, Bwari Area Council, Abuja.

Of the four persons rescued alive, two of them have been taken to the Kubwa General Hospital.

The FCT Emergency Management Department, National Emergency Management Agency, FCT Fire Service, Federal Road Safety Corps, the Civil Defense Corps, and the Nigeria Police are on the ground at the incident scene.

According to a statement by Head Public Affairs, FEMD, Nkechi Isa, the collapsed building is a residential house that contains 45 self-contained rooms.

Nkechi further disclosed that it was previously used as a hotel before it was converted for residential purposes.

The Acting Director General of FEMD, Mrs Florence Dawon Wenegieme, who is at the incident scene, said search and rescue efforts would remain ongoing until the last person is removed ‘if at all there is still someone trapped in the rubble”, The Nation quoted.

The Director-General of FEMD said the use of substandard building materials by some developers was one of the reasons for the re-occurring collapse of buildings.

Mrs Wenegieme called for strict compliance and action against developers who use substandard building materials. She said most cases of building collapses can be avoided if developers use standard materials.

Nollywood veteran, Binta Ayo Mogaji, aka Mama Insurance, has opened up about having her first child at 40.

Appearing on the ‘Talk To B’ podcast, she revealed that she underwent surgery to remove one of her fallopian tubes due to an ectopic pregnancy.

The movie star said that despite having just one fallopian tube, she gave birth to her child through a natural process.

She recalled that she had made up her mind to adopt a child if she didn’t have her own child after turning 40.

She explained that she gave birth to her son a few weeks after she turned 40.

Mogaji stated that at the time, she didn’t want to get married, and the father of her son was also not interested in getting married as well.

The actress said, “Unfortunately enough, the pregnancy was ectopic. They took me to seven different hospitals. The doctor said he wasn’t sure I could survive until the next day. The operation took them, like, seven to nine hours. Some of my colleagues who visited me at the hospital were crying.

“The surgeons had to remove one fallopian tube. But I’m living with one and I had my child through natural birth.

“I stopped looking for a husband; I wanted to make a baby. I said if I don’t have a baby until I’m 40, then I’ll adopt a child.

“[My partner], Jibola came shortly before I was 40 because I had my baby six weeks after I became 40 years old. But he didn’t want to get married as well.”

Veteran singer and social activist, Charles Oputa, aka Charly Boy, says he will no longer accord respect to the Nobel Laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka.

Charly Boy, a staunch critic of President Bola Tinubu made the assertion in a post on his official X handle on Friday while reacting to the renaming of the National Arts Theatre in Iganmu, Lagos after Soyinka.

President Tinubu in a tribute he wrote to celebrate Soyinka in commemoration of his 90th birthday, announced the renaming of the facility after Soyinka.

Reacting, Charly Boy in his post, protested against the move, saying the “Mighty have fallen, for beans”

He wrote, “Uncle WOLE I henceforth withdraw all the respect I once had for you.

“When late Jimmyjohnson talked about you in the 90s, I thought he was only yabbing you.

“Wow! How some of our MIGHTYs have fallen, for beans, ewa, dodo, is it for rice’?

President Bola Tinubu has sympathised with the victims of the Plateau building collapse over the incident he labelled as a “huge loss to the nation”. 

About 132 persons were injured and 22 others were confirmed dead following Friday’s tragic collapse of the two-storey structure in a school in the Busa Buji, Jos North Local Government Area of the state.

While consoling the victims and the people of Plateau State over the incident, Tinubu’s spokesman Ajuri Ngelale said his principal received the news of the tragedy “with profound grief”.

“President Tinubu describes the unfortunate incident as a huge loss to the nation, as well as a devastating development – too excruciating to imagine,” Ajuri said in a late Friday statement.

“The President condoles with the bereaved families, families of all the victims, and the people and Government of Plateau State.”

Tinubu lauded emergency responders like the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), security agencies, and everyone involved in the search, rescue, and resuscitation efforts.

He is assuring the people of Plateau State of his fervent support at this difficult time.

Analysis of data on the admissions conducted for the 2022/2023 admission session in Nigerian universities, polytechnics and other tertiary institutions of learning revealed that 88 institutions conducted admissions outside of the Central Admissions Processing System popularly referred to as CAPS.

According to JAMB, admissions conducted outside CAPS are illegal, null and void.

JAMB had in 2017 introduced the Central Admissions Processing System where all tertiary institutions upload the admission status of candidates offered admission in the institutions.

CAPS has centralised and automated admission processes between candidates and their chosen tertiary institutions.

In 2020, JAMB warned institutions to stop offering admissions to candidates through their own portals.

The board described the practice as a flagrant abuse of the automated Central Admissions Processing System.

In April 2024, the board noted that it would no longer condone illegal admissions conducted outside of the CAPS.

The board in a bulletin warned candidates to desist from accepting admissions offered by the institutions without going through it.

In the statement titled, ‘Cessation of illegal/irregular admission’, JAMB reiterated that all applications of admissions to first degree, national diploma, national innovation diploma and the Nigeria Certificate in Education into full-time, distance learning, part-time, outreach, sandwich, etc., must be processed only through JAMB.

In a report tagged, ‘Compiled assessment of institutions on compliance with the 2022/2023 admission guidelines’, the board noted that it scored institutions who complied fully with admission guidelines 10 points; those with partial compliance, five points, while those institutions who failed to comply were awarded zero point.

Under the section for the conduct of full admissions on CAPS, our correspondent observed that 88 institutions failed to comply.

Some of the institutions are the University of Uyo, University of Abuja, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Yaba College of Technology, Plateau State University, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Federal University of Technology Owerri, Coal City University, Crawford University, Crescent University, Ebonyi State University, Rhema University, Borno State University, Chrisland University, Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, Alvan Ikoku College of Education, and Chukwuemeka Odumegwu University.

The Edo State Police Command has paraded three suspected cultists in Benin City alleged to be members of the Maphite confraternity.

According to a statement by a media aide to the governor, Crusoe Osagie, on Friday, the police commissioner, Funsho Adegboye, paraded the suspects, identified as Eyefia Godbless (30), Imuetiyan Ewemade (30), and Emeka Okpaja (22).

The trio were reportedly apprehended at Ubiaza Community, Off Sapele Road in Benin City, where they were allegedly planning to avenge the killing of a fellow member.

“We have the full backing of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun on the fight against cultism and we are not joking with it,” Adegboye was quoted stating.

He added that Governor Godwin Obaseki and his executive team are also supporting the initiative to rid the state of cultism and criminality.

The police recovered several items from the suspects, including an automatic pump action gun, 11 live carriages, three green berets, and a Maphite constitution.

According to the Commissioner, the suspects made confessional statements affirming their membership in the cult group.

Adegboye emphasized the dangerous nature of the weapons seized, stating, “This is an automatic pump action gun which is as deadly as AK 47 which has a bullet that can kill several people, unlike AK-47 which can kill just one person. According to the suspects, the gun was purchased for about N700,000.”

The Commissioner used the opportunity to appeal to the youth, urging them to gainfully engage themselves in profitable and positive activities adding that crime, cultism, and internet fraud do not pay.

In addition to the three cultists, the police reported other recent arrests. These include five suspects apprehended at a cultist hideout along Siluko road, where two pump action guns, two locally made single barrel guns, and 20 live cartridges were recovered.

In a separate incident, one Osayande Tony was arrested with a pump action gun and two cartridges while driving a Mercedes Benz C300 Saloon car.

The police also have in custody one Apalobi Daniel from Powerline, Ugbiyokho, Benin City, who allegedly strangled his wife to death during an argument. The suspect is expected to be charged in court soon.

“At same Siluko road, Rapid Response Squad intercepted one Mercedes Benz C300 Saloon car with registration number YAB 389 BG, driven by Osayande Tony ‘M’ 48 years and was arrested with one pump action gun and two cartridges,” Adegboye added.

Adegboye further reiterated the commitment of the Edo State Government and the police, in collaboration with other security agencies and the press, to continue sensitising the public about the dangers of cult groups and criminal activities.

A yet-to-be-identified woman and her son, known only as Chukwuemeka, have allegedly beaten a 14-year-old boy named Testimony to death at their home on Delta Street, Ayanre, off Ibiye bus stop, Badagry, Lagos.

Our correspondent gathered that the deceased was reportedly beaten for allegedly misplacing N1,000 note given to him by one of the suspects to buy items at the market.

Multiple sources who spoke with our correspondent said that the deceased teenager was allegedly beaten for several hours starting at 11 pm on Wednesday, before succumbing to his injuries around 1 am on Thursday.

One of the neighbours who spoke with our correspondent on Friday said, “This young boy was beaten to death by his guardians, who were not his biological parents. The neighbours tried to intervene, but the doors were locked from the inside.

“Around 6 am this morning (Thursday), he (the deceased) wasn’t responding to his name, so they rushed him to a nearby hospital. The hospital didn’t have oxygen therapy, so they brought him back home, which aggravated the boy’s condition.

“The woman then called her prayer partners in the church to start praying for miracles to happen before the boy finally gave up the ghost. The police came exactly around 5.10 pm on Thursday to pick up the woman, who was the main suspect in the brutalities shown to the deceased.”

Meanwhile, Benjamin Hundeyin, the spokesperson for the state police command, said he could not confirm the incident when our correspondent inquired about it.

“I cannot confirm that now,” Hundeyin wrote in response to our correspondent inquiry on Friday.

However, a one-minute and 32-second video shared with our correspondent by another eyewitness, who chose to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the matter, showed the lifeless body of the boy with severe bruises, covered with a cloth in the apartment.

One of the men suspected to be behind the camera was heard saying, “This is the dead boy with bruises,” while others were screaming in disbelief.

Popular dancer and choreographer, Kafayat Shafau, aka Kaffy, has said that some ladies now use dancing as a cover for prostitution.

Speaking in an interview with Saturday Beats, Kaffy said, “Dance is not a hustler’s game, because a lot of girls are disguising prostitution by using dance. They would rather sell the sex side than the skill side. My only consolation is that the industry is growing so big that there is room for those kinds of people. Dance is an art form but sometimes, we cross the line, because of the sensual expression. I also do it, but there is a line I cannot cross, and clothes I cannot wear. One doesn’t need to be naked to be sexy or sensual, unlike what some people think.

“My advice to potential dancers is that they should choose their path, and be true to it. Don’t let pressure push you to a path you never originally wanted. You don’t have to alter your body, and there is more to dance than music videos and clubs. You can be a dance executive, coach, science, dance injury prevention, therapist, and many other things.”

Kaffy also disagreed with the popular notion that women don’t support women as much as men support their ilk. She said, “Women not supporting women is not the situation. Men go to war to fight against their fellow men. Forget ‘bro code’, it is perception and what is popularised that makes it look like men support men more. I think men also tear men down; it is a human thing. Women are just more emotionally expressive, so you can detect when a woman doesn’t like another woman faster than a man who doesn’t like another man. A man could be smiling with his friend until the last minute and stab him in the back. But, once a woman walks into such situation, her energy changes towards the person, and it’s easy to know that something is wrong. Both genders have the capacity to not support one another.”