Nuhu Ribadu wants to be president in 2031

Nasir el-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna, says Nigerians should not believe the narrative that the national assembly rejected him as a ministerial nominee.

Speaking in an interview with Arise TV on Monday, el-Rufai said President Bola Tinubu did not want him in his cabinet.

The former Kaduna governor said the president begged him publicly for him to suspend his plans for ministerial appointment.

“The president publicly appealed to me to put my plans on hold, and through two months of negotiation, we finally agreed that he will nominate me as minister,” he said.

“There were certain conditions I attached to that. I think along the line either the president changed his mind or something else.

“Please don’t believe the story that the national assembly rejected me. The president did not want me in his cabinet. He changed his mind.”

In July 2024, Tinubu sent the list of ministerial nominees, including el-Rufai, to the senate for screening and confirmation.

In August 2024, the senate withheld the nomination of el-Rufai, Stella Okotete (Delta), and Danladi Abubakar (Taraba), citing security clearance.

The development was interpreted by political analysts as a move to whittle down the influence of the former Kaduna governor in the presidency.

Reacting to the senate’s refusal to screen him, el-Rufai said Tinubu changed his mind, noting that the security clearance cited by the upper chamber was a smokescreen.

The former Kaduna governor questioned what security concerns could have prevented his confirmation, given that he had spent over two decades in public service.

He added ministerial nominees who are “less qualified” were confirmed by the senate because the president made a call.

El-Rufai said the president publicly pleaded with him to delay his plans for a ministerial appointment to help address the country’s electricity challenge.

“The president publicly appealed to me to put my plans on hold, and through two months of negotiation, we finally agreed that he will nominate me as minister,” he said.

“There were certain conditions I attached to that. I think along the line either the president changed his mind or something else.

“Please don’t believe the story that the national assembly rejected me. The president did not want me in his cabinet. He changed his mind. “

“What was the security issue? I had been a governor for eight years in one of the most difficult states in the country. I had been a minister twenty years earlier. I have been in public life for the last 25 years.

“Where is the report? What about other ministers who are far less qualified, less experienced with huge controversies around them, but they scaled through because the president made a call?”

‘RIBADU WANTS TO DESTROY MY REPUTATION BECAUSE OF HIS 2031 AMBITION’

El-Rufai also accused Nuhu Ribadu, national security adviser (NSA), of attempts to destroy his reputation because of his (Ribadu’s) 2031 presidential ambition.

He alleged that Ribadu is collaborating with Uba Sani, governor of Kaduna, and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to destroy his image.

“This project of destroy Nasir el-Rufai is Nuhu Ribadu’s conception. He is the architect and builder of that project. He is the one working with Uba Sani to implement it. So far, it has been frustrating for them,” el-Rufai said.

“Somebody wants to destroy my reputation. Why? Nuhu Ribadu wants to be president in 2031. He has to eliminate every northerner that he thinks is on the radar.

“In fact, what they have resorted to doing is to call low level people and some of my officials to say, ‘implicate el-Rufai and your problems will go away’. This is what ICPC has become.

“Uba Sani and Nuhu Ribadu are not my friends. They were my friends at some point but not anymore.”

Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of Ondo State and his deputy, Olayide Adelami, have been sworn in for a fresh four year term.

The Chief Justice of the state, Olusegun Odusola administered the oath to Aiyedatiwa and Adelami amid the presence of the people of the state and dignitaries who witnessed the event.

While taking the oath of office, the number one and number two citizens vowed to uphold the constitution, work within its dictates, and ensure the well-being of the people of the state.

The inauguration marks the takeoff of a new administration in Ondo State.

Present at the oath-taking event were the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Governor of Ekiti, Abiodun Oyebanji, Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, Minister of Youth Development, Ayo Olawande, among others.

Omowunmi, the wife of the late singer Mohbad, has stated that Joseph Aloba, her father-in-law, is fully aware that Liam, her son with Mohbad, is indeed his grandchild.

In an interview snippet with BBC Pidgin that started trending on Monday, Omowunmi asserted that Aloba is “100% sure” of Liam’s paternity.

She added that she agreed to the DNA test to clear the “lies circulating in the media, not to prove anything to her father-in-law”.

Expressing her grief, she shared how much she misses her late husband, especially as their son recently started school—a milestone that deepened her sense of loss.

“I miss my husband with everything. My child started school and they wanted to write his name. And they wrote to Mr and Mrs Aloba. I remember him from every angle of my life. You know I have a child for him,” she said in Pidgin-English,” she said.

“…I want to do the DNA for the media that has been fed with lies, not my father-in-law. Because left to me, he is 101% sure that the child is his (Mohbad) son.”

Last week, Omowunmi also opened up about her love story with Mohbad, revealing that they first connected on the social networking platform 2go when she was just 13 and he was 15.

Mohbad passed away on September 12, 2023, and was buried the next day. However, on September 21, his body was exhumed by the police for an autopsy.

Aloba has insisted that Mohbad will not be reburied until a DNA test confirms Liam’s paternity. However, Mohbad’s mother, Abosede, has accused Aloba of deliberately delaying the test.

Eniola Ojajuni, the abducted national president of the Afenifere Youth Council, has pleaded for financial help to pay the ransom demanded by his kidnappers.

In videos circulating on social media, Ojajuni is seen sitting on the ground while a gunman points an AK-47 rifle at him.

Appearing distressed, Ojajuni appealed to Nigerians, particularly those from the Ilaje area of Ondo state, to contribute towards his release.

Ojajuni said he has been given a 24-hour deadline, warning that his captors have threatened to kill him if the ransom is not paid.

 

“Nigerians, please help me! Your donation, N100,000, N50,000, or N1,000,000, will go a long way to save my life. My name is Prince Eniola Ojajuni. God bless you. Aderohunmu, please help me spread this video,” he said.

His abduction was first announced by Abiodun Aderohunmu, national secretary of the Afenifere Youth Council.

Aderohunmu said Ojajuni was kidnapped on February 17, 2025, in Abuja and sustained a gunshot wound to his buttock.

“The Afenifere National Youths Council is deeply saddened to announce the kidnapping of its National President, Prince Eniola Joseph Ojajuni, in Abuja, Nigeria,” Aderohunmu said.

He added that the kidnappers have demanded N100 million for Ojajuni’s release.

MultiChoice, the pay TV company, is set to increase the monthly subscription rate of its DStv Compact bouquet from N15,700 to N19,000, industry sources have told TheCable.

This is coming almost one year after its last price review.

The fall in the value of the naira along with increased energy costs have been blamed for upward price reviews across across telecommunications, transportation and consumer goods in general.

Subscribers to Compact, Access and Family bouquets form the bulk of MultiChoice subscribers.

Family and Access bouquets may have their tariffs reviewed from N9,300 to N11,000 and N5,100 to N6,000 respectively.

Meanwhile, the two highest-priced bouquets, Premium and Compact+, will also be affected by the rate review.

GOtv Value customers, who currently pay N3,600, will start paying N3,900, while the tariff on GOtv Plus will rise from N4,850 to N5,800, sources further told TheCable.

“Since 2023, when the federal government began its economic reforms of fuel subsidy removal, naira floatation and electricity tariff increase among others, prices of goods and services have almost quadrupled, with the inflation rate at 34.80 per cent as at December, 2024,” an industry source said, adding that businesses have been forced to increase prices, with some doing so as many as three times last year.

Many companies have posted huge losses arising from foreign exchange instability.

Bishop David Oyedepo, the founder of Living Faith Church, widely known as Winners’ Chapel, recently revealed a remarkable testimony that left his congregation in awe.

He disclosed how a woman in the United States conceived simply by tripping him during a church program.

Addressing his congregation, Oyedepo recounted the incident, highlighted the woman’s unwavering faith in her quest for a miracle.

According to him, the woman had struggled with infertility for years and saw the church program as a rare opportunity to change her story. He revealed that she strategically positioned herself, maneuvered through the tight security surrounding him, and at the perfect moment, intentionally tripped into him.

The act, he said, was not accidental but a deliberate move rooted in her belief that a touch could ignite her miracle.

Following the encounter, Oyedepo disclosed that the woman went home and boldly declared to her husband that she had conceived. Her husband, taken aback by her sudden assertion, questioned how she could be so certain.

However, according to the cleric, the woman’s conviction was unshaken. She believed that the divine touch had already set things in motion, and her faith became her reality.

Nine months later, Oyedepo revealed, the woman gave birth, solidified her belief that faith had played a crucial role in her conception.

The revelation sent waves through the congregation, online world, drew gasps, intrigue, and a renewed sense of awe.

THE Executive Director of the Centre for Free Speech Organisation, Mr Richard Akinnola, yestyerday, faulted the claims by former Military President, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (retd) over the murder of founding Editor-in-Chief of Newswatch, Dele Giwa.

Akinnola, in a statement, titled ‘Dele Giwa: IBB lied’, said: “I can understand the denial of General Ibrahim Babangida of his innocence over the murder of Dele Giwa. It is expected. Have you seen an armed robbery suspect charged to court pleading guilty in court? It’s a matter of self-preservation.

“Even Major Gideon Orkar, who announced on radio the ouster of Babangida in the abortive coup of April 22, 1990, pleaded not guilty before the military tribunal. So, Babangida’s denial of his government’s involvement in the murder is understandable.

“However, in doing that, he doesn’t have that latitude of revisionism by deliberately misrepresenting facts. I make reference to two of such.

“In his book, General Ibrahim Babangida made two major false assertions regarding the letter bomb murder of Dele Giwa, founding Editor-in-Chief of Newswatch.

It’s either those, who wrote the book for him didn’t have the facts, or that IBB was just being mischievous.”
Still on Dele Giwa, General Babangida said in his book: “When the Obasanjo civilian administration reopened the Giwa case at the Oputa Panel on Human and Civil Rights, I expected that the police and lawyers would come forward with new evidence as to their findings on the Giwa murder over the years. Nothing of such happened.

“My response: Invitation was extended to Babangida by the Oputa panel, he shunned it. He was wrong to state that the police and lawyers didn’t come up with a new thing at the Oputa panel.

At the Oputa panel, Abubakar Tsav, Commissioner of Police (retd) gave evidence on oath that he was assigned to investigate the case and at the end of his investigation, his findings pointed to the Babangida government.and that he submitted his findings to DIG Chris Omeben.

“Also, contrary to what IBB said in his book that no fresh evidence came up, the issue of Gloria Okon came up during the hearing.

“Having said these, it’s either those who wrote the book for him didn’t get their facts right or that General Babangida was being mischievous in what he wrote in the book regarding the murder of Dele Giwa.

“It is even deceitful to be referring to Dele as your good friend. From where to where? If you could execute your childhood friend, Mamman Vatsa, who then is Dele Giwa, who you only met in the course of his official duties as a journalist? Dele Giwa was not your friend, General.”

The H-1B visa program plays a key role in the U.S. job market, enabling companies to address labour shortages in specialized fields requiring foreign workers.

Established under the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act, this nonimmigrant work visa allows businesses to employ foreign talent for up to three years, with an annual cap of 65,000 visas.

Leading Employers Sponsoring H-1B Visas

Many of the world’s largest and most influential companies rely on the H-1B visa program to recruit skilled professionals from across the globe.

Below is a list of top U.S. companies that sponsored H-1B visas:

1. Amazon

As a leader in e-commerce and cloud computing, Amazon continues to expand its workforce globally. The company emphasizes diversity and inclusion, operating 11 employee resource groups and making significant contributions to social justice organizations. In 2024, Amazon had 9,265 H-1B visas approved.

2. Infosys

With a workforce of over 323,000, Infosys remains a dominant player in digital services and IT consulting. The company promotes cross-cultural collaboration through initiatives like Culture Chat. Infosys secured 8,140 H-1B visa approvals in 2024.

3. Cognizant

A major force in digital solutions, Cognizant employs over 340,000 professionals worldwide. Due to its global presence, the company has a strong history of H-1B sponsorship, receiving 6,321 approvals in 2024.

4. Google

As a tech giant with employees across six continents, Google continuously strengthens its diversity and inclusion efforts. In 2024, the company had 5,364 H-1B visa applications approved.

5. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)

With over 601,000 employees worldwide, TCS is a global IT powerhouse. The company actively promotes inclusive hiring practices, particularly in Latin America, and had 5,274 H-1B visa approvals in 2024.

6. Meta

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, continues to attract global talent. In 2024, Meta had 4,844 H-1B visas approved.

7. Microsoft

A leader in software and cloud computing, Microsoft has been enhancing its diversity initiatives over the past decade. The company secured 4,725 H-1B visa approvals in 2024.

8. Apple

Apple has ramped up its diversity efforts, launching the $100 million Racial Equity and Justice Initiative. The company had 3,873 H-1B visa approvals in 2024.

9. HCL Technologies

With offices in 60 countries and over 220,000 employees, HCL Technologies is a strong advocate for workplace inclusion. In 2024, HCL America had 2,953 H-1B visa approvals.

10. IBM

As one of the oldest names in tech, IBM continues to foster international talent. The company employs professionals from various global regions and had 2,906 H-1B visa approvals in 2024.

11. Cisco

A Silicon Valley staple, Cisco operates on a global scale, with over 90,000 employees worldwide. The company had 1,330 H-1B visa approvals in 2024.

12. Capgemini

A Paris-based IT leader with a strong global footprint, Capgemini employs more than 300,000 people across 50+ countries. In 2024, the company secured 2,795 H-1B visa approvals.

13. Accenture

Serving clients in over 120 countries, Accenture is a key player in IT consulting. The company had 2,157 H-1B visa approvals in 2024, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

14. Ernst & Young (EY)

A global consulting and auditing firm, EY is a champion of diversity and inclusion, earning international recognition for its efforts. The firm continues to support global hiring initiatives through H-1B visa sponsorship.

15. MobilityWare

A mobile gaming company known for its card and puzzle games, MobilityWare employs professionals across various fields and regularly sponsors H-1B visas for its workforce.

Business magnate and Coscharis Group founder, Cosmas Maduka, has asserted that Peter Obi would not have implemented policies different from those of President Bola Tinubu’s administration had he won the presidential election.

Speaking on Mic On podcast with Seun Okinbaloye on Saturday, Maduka argued that Nigeria is on the right path despite economic difficulties, stressing that key policies, such as subsidy removal, were inevitable regardless of who was in power.

“People have asked me, will Peter Obi have done anything different if he won the election? I said no. He would have removed subsidy from day one also,” he said. 

On concerns over the naira’s depreciation and economic hardship, Maduka acknowledged the challenges but insisted that government must reinvest subsidy savings into infrastructure to benefit the wider public.

“If the funds are used productively, there will be progress,” he stated, warning that failure to do so would leave the country stagnant.

He also addressed Nigeria’s debt profile, arguing that borrowing was not inherently bad if used for capital and infrastructural development, rather than frivolous expenditure.

“There is some level of discipline required to curtail excesses from the government. Are we in the right direction? Yes,” he concluded.