President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of new Chief Executive Officers of several agencies and parastatals under the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, in line with his resolve to base Nigeria's economic revival on the foundation of trade expansion through small, medium and large scale industry facilitation in the country:

Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) — Hussaini Ishaq Magaji, SAN

Industrial Training Fund (ITF) — Afiz Ogun Oluwatoyin

National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) — Kamar Bakrin

Nigeria Export Processing Zone Authority (NEPZA) — Olufemi Ogunyemi

Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC) — Nonye Ayeni

Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) — Aisha Rimi

Oil & Gas Free Zone Authority (OGFZA) — Bamanga Usman Jada

Small & Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) — Charles Odii

Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) — Ifeanyi Chukwunonso Okeke

Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN) — Rabiu Olowo

Nigeria Commodities Exchange (NCE) — Anthony Atuche, CFA

Lagos International Trade Fair Complex (LITFCMB) — Veronica Safiya Ndanusa

Tafawa Balewa Square Management Board (TBSMB) — Lucia Shittu

National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) — Oluwemimo Joseph Osanipin

In view of the Renewed Hope Agenda of his administration, President Bola Tinubu expects all new appointees in this critical sector to optimally deliver in accordance with new key performance indicating benchmarks as established by the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment.

By this directive of the President, all of the above listed appointments take immediate effect.

Chief Ajuri Ngelale

Special Adviser to the President

(Media & Publicity)

October 13, 2023

The Labour Party has dismissed claims by one of its expelled members, Abayomi Arabambi, that the party’s Presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has discrepancies in his certificates.

National Publicity Secretary of the party, Obiora Ifoh, in a telephone interview with Vanguard on Thursday, said, “Arabambi, is obviously doing the bidding of his paymasters who are desperate to destroy our party and distract Nigerians from further querying the less than transparent credentials of President Bola Tinubu.

“He should try something else. Our candidate, Peter Gregory Obi, is a known figure whose parentage, birth, schools attended and record of public service, has never been in dispute.

“Like our candidate himself said publicly yesterday, some of his mates at the University of Nigeria Nsukka are alive. In fact, they are holding high office in the management team of the University today, this can be verified.

“His certificates are in public domain and can be scrutinized by any interested Nigerian.

Obi has not and will not hire a battery of lawyers to try to block the release of his academic records- he has released them himself. We challenge Arabambi’s principal to do the same and save our nation further embarrassment.”

The Parish Priest of St. Joseph Catholic Jootar, Ukum Local Government Area, LGA, of Benue State, Rev. Fr. Faustinus Gundu has allegedly been killed by thunderstrike.

Details of the incident, which was reported on the Facebook post of a social media influencer known as Mbee and several others, is still sketchy but it was gathered that the incident allegedly occurred Thursday afternoon in Jootar.

The Catholic Priest popularly known as Fr. Albino was reported to have allegedly suffered a heart attack after thunder struck in the area.

He was said to have rushed out to pick a towel outside his residence when it started raining but fell and remained motionless in the rain until he was discovered by servants who rushed him to a nearby hospital where he was confirmed dead.

At the time of this report no official statement has been issued on the matter by the Church in Benue state and no one was willing to volunteer information on the issue.

Contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Superintendent, SP, Catherine Anene who confirmed receiving information on the issue said she could not confirm if the Priest died as a result of thunderstrike.

She said, “I received the report but they alleged thunder. It is until we investigate before that would be concluded.”

The deceased was said to have served in different parishes across the state and Katsina-Ala LGA in particular before being posted to serve at St. Joseph Church, Jootar in Ukum LGA of the state.

Super Eagles coach Jose Peseiro has admitted that the Eagles will face a tough test against Saudi Arabia when both sides clash in an international friendly at the Estádio Municipal de Portimao, Portugal on Friday (today).

The three-time African champions also play Mozambique at the same venue on Monday.

The Eagles and the Asians have met just once, another friendly that ended in a 0-0 stalemate in 2010 in Austria.

Interestingly, Peseiro was in the opposite dugout as coach of Saudi Arabia in that encounter but he says they have a better squad now under new Italian manager Roberto Mancini.

Speaking exclusively to PUNCH Sports Extra, Eagles coach Peserio said the game against the Green Falcons would be a good test for his side as they prepare for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers next month.

The Eagles begin their World Cup qualifying matches against Lesotho and Zimbabwe in November.

“It will be a good preparatory game against a good team, which will be very useful for my team’s qualification for the World Cup,” Peserio said.

“The Saudi Arabian team has players with technical quality, who like to play an associative game and are now stronger than when I coached them.

“Saudi Arabia was the last team to defeat Argentina, so it will certainly be a tough game, which we will use to improve our organisation.”

The Indigenous People of Biafra has secured a court victory for about seven supporters of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, said to have been arrested and illegally held in various detention centres by security agencies.

Kanu’s counsel, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, said the court did not only discharged the IPOB supporters but also awarded N130m in damages in their favour against security agencies.

According to the lawyer, in the charge marked ‘FHC/ABJ/CR/475/2021, Justice M.O. Olajuwon of the Federal High Court in Abuja discharged Maria Ezediaro “of all frivolous criminal allegation/charge brought against her before the court.”

Ejiofor said, “She was arrested on February 26, 2021 when she visited the State CID, Owerri, Imo State Command to give food and medication to her friend who was detained there, and was subsequently transferred to the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team detention facility in ‘Abattoir’, Abuja, where she was subjected to all forms of inhuman treatment, severe torture and degradation.

“However, following the refusal of the police to release her or charge her to court, we filed a fundamental rights enforcement suit on her behalf before the Federal High Court Abuja.

“Still on our application, she was granted bail by the court on April 21, 2022 and consequently released to us upon perfection of the bail conditions.

On October 10, 2023, following our application and submissions before the court, the Federal High Court, Abuja per Hon. Justice M.O. Olajuwon struck out the four counts of terrorism filed against Mrs Maria Ezediaro and consequently discharged her.

“Also Justice V.S. Gaba of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja discharged the Pastor of the Holy Trinity Sabbath Church, Orlu Imo State, Cletus Nwachukwu Egole; his wife, Ifeyinwa Egole; a prophet of Jewish Faith, Michael Uba, Ugochukwu Samuel; and Raphael Idang. The court also granted them N100m compensatory damages against the police.”

They were said to have been arrested and subsequently paraded by the Imo State Command of the Nigeria Police on March 21, 2021, and subsequently transferred to the IGP Intelligence Response Team detention facility in “Abattoir”, Abuja.

“Justice Z.B. Abubakar of the Federal High Court in Abuja also ordered the release of Ngozichukwu Ada-Dav and awarded N30m compensatory damages in her favour,” he said.

“Ada-Dav was arrested in June 2021 by a team of fully-armed operatives of the Nigeria Police Force and thereafter taken to the IGP/IRT located in Ikeja GRA, where she was detained in unlawful custody till July 3, 2021, when she was transferred to the Garki Command of the Nigeria Police, notoriously known as the Abattoir.”

Nigeria will begin their quest for a fourth Africa Cup of Nations title in 2024 against tournament hosts Ivory Coast alongside Equatorial Guinea and Guinea Bissau.

The draw, which was conducted at at a colourful ceremony inside the brand-new Parc Des Expositions in Abidjan, Ivory Coast on Thursday was hosted by global music star, AKON.

A heavyweight quartet of Africa’s biggest current and former football superstars, Didier Drogba, Mikel Obi, Sadio Mane and Achraf Hakimi supported the Confederation of Africa Football as draw assistants during the pairing.

The Super Eagles were seeded in Pot 2 following their drop in the FIFA rankings released in September.

By their seeding, the three-time African champions knew they faced the task of coming up against one of the top-seeded teams on the continent.

While they avoided a confrontation against the North African sides, Jose Peseiro’s men were, however, handed a tricky start to their campaign with a game against the Elephants.

The match at the 60,000-capacity Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan is one the most highly anticipated of the tournament’s group stage fixtures.

Ivory Coast have won the tournament on two occasions, first in 1992 and later in 2015.

Both sides were also in the same group in 1980 when Nigeria hosted the football showpiece with the game ending goalless.

In the other groups, record winners, Egypt were paired in Group B alongside Ghana, Cape Verde and Mozambique.

Group C has champions Senegal, 2002 winners Cameroon, Guinea and The Gambia.

Algeria will slug it out with Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Angola in Group D.

In Group E, Tunisia face Mali, South Africa and Namibia, while Group F has Morocco, who are ranked number one in Africa, DR Congo, Zambia and Tanzania.

Next year’s edition of the AFCON will take place from January 13 to February 11, 2024.

The host cities are Abidjan, Bouaké, Korhogo, San Pédro and Yamoussoukro.

Nigerian Mixed Martial Artist, Kamaru Usman, will face Sweden’s Khamzat Chimaev at the co-main event of UFC 294 scheduled to take place on October 21, 2023, at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

The late substitution was announced by UFC President, Dana White, on the championship’s social media handles Wednesday evening.

Usman nicknamed the Nigerian Nightmare, was not originally part of the UFC 294 fight card. The event was billed to feature Chimaev against Brazil’s Paulo Costa.

Following tests conducted on the fighters ahead of the Abu Dhabi showdown, Costa was deemed ineligible to compete due to an elbow injury.

Usman, who competes in the welterweight division, is now expected to make weight within the next ten days to fight Chimaev, who competes in the middleweight class.

The Edo-born mixed martial artist had impressed since signing with the UFC in 2015, going on a 19-match winning streak that saw him capture the welterweight title.

On August 20, 2022, Britain’s Leon Edwards scored a knockout with a head kick in the final minute of round 5 to end Usman’s long reign as champion in the division at the Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. The loss ended Usman’s 19-fight winning streak that extended over nine years.

Usman has not been in any in-ring competition since losing his rematch against Leon Edwards on March 19, 2023.

The Police Service Commission has approved the promotion of 5,718 senior police officers, comprising those on general duties and specialist cadres.

The spokesperson for the PSC, Ikechukwu Ani, in a statement on Thursday, said the commission approved the promotion of 12 Commissioners of Police to the next rank of Assistant Inspectors General of Police; 19 Deputy Commissioners of Police to the substantive rank of Commissioners of Police and 21 Assistant Commissioners of Police to the next rank of Deputy Commissioners.

Also, 33 Chief Superintendents of Police were also elevated to Assistant Commissioners. The commission also approved the promotion of 265 Superintendents of Police to Chief Superintendents; 59 Deputy Superintendents to Superintendents and 4,750 Assistant Superintendents and another 146 Assistant Superintendents omitted during the May 2022 promotion exercise, were elevated to Deputy Superintendent of Police.

For the specialist’s cadre, the PSC approved the promotion of two Assistant Commissioners of Police; one from Airwing and the other from Forensic to the next rank of Deputy Commissioners; 47 CSPs, comprising 23 medical doctors and 24 veterinary doctors, were promoted to the rank of Assistant Commissioners of Police. Also, 190 Superintendents of Police from the Computer Infotech Unit; another eight from Works; one workshop; 12 transport; two forensic; two handwriting; one ballistics; one religion and one veterinary doctor were also promoted. Furthermore, 47 specialists of Assistant Superintendent of Police rank and of different units were promoted to Deputy Superintendents.

The 12 Commissioners of Police promoted to Assistant Inspectors General of Police are, Ogundele Ayodeji, CP Niger State; CP Patrick Edung, CP Courses Police Academy Wudil Kano; CP Badru Lawal; Deputy Commandant, Police Academy Kano; CP Bartholomew Nnamdi Onyeka; CP Benue State; CP Suleiman Yusuf; CP Taraba State; CP Idowu Owohunwa; CP Lagos State and CP Rhoda Olofu, CP PAP Western Ports Lagos.

Others are CP Godwin Aghaulor; CMDT Police College Kaduna; CP Effiom Ekot CP Jigawa State; CP Stanley Kanayo-Chukwu Ude; CP Intelligence and Investigation, Interpol Abuja; CP Longe Patrick; CP Osun State and CP Ndu Anene, CP Admin Research and Planning Force Headquarters.

The PSC Chairman, Solomon Arase charged the newly promoted officers to embrace a new policing culture hinged on a people-friendly approach and respect for human rights.

The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria and the Forum of State Executive Secretaries of Pilgrims’ Welfare Boards, Agencies, and Commissions have agreed to peg the minimum deposit for the 2024 Hajj pilgrimage exercise at N4.5m.

NAHCON’s Assistant Director, Public Affairs, Fatima Usara, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.

The commission said the decision became necessary to be “in tandem with the dollar rate that will determine the final cost of the coming Hajj.”

Usara said the commission and its stakeholders reached the decision on September 5, following a post-Hajj meeting, where they agreed on the sum as minimum deposit for intending pilgrims to be registered for the 2024 exercise.

NAHCON said the reasons for the decision were so that the states could estimate how many pilgrims would be eligible by November 4 and that with the amount, top-up residual would be minimal by the time the final fare is calculated.

NAHCON said the new rate would enable it to have “a more realistic figure to bargain for cost of accommodation, airline fares, feeding, and others.”

“The said meeting ended with members agreeing unanimously with this plan. Indeed, the Hajj industry in Nigeria is recognised under only one leadership, which is the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, and this institution reiterates that the minimum deposit for the 2024 Hajj remains N4.5m. The balance will be determined by the cost of the dollar at the time of final Hajj fare computation.”

The statement consequently warned the public, especially intending pilgrims, that the Commission would not be held responsible if a pilgrim who paid a lower deposit amount was counted ineligible for the 2024 Hajj.

Usara also reminded interested participants to make deposits in time, to enable the various State Pilgrims Boards to complete registration and remittance of Hajj fares.

The Lamidi Apapa-led faction of the Labour Party has alleged some discrepancies in the academic certificates of its presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

The claim was made by the spokesman for the LP faction, Abayomi Arabambi, when he was featured in an interview on AIT News on Thursday.

The development is coming in the wake of the controversy that trails President Bola Tinubu’s Chicago State University certificate.

Obi had on Wednesday dragged Tinubu at a press conference where he challenged the former Lagos governor to reveal his true identity to Nigerians.

But Arabambi insisted on the live television programme that it would be unfair of the LP candidate to attack Tinubu when he also has discrepancies in academic qualifications.

While disclosing that he was among the panel who screened Obi before the party’s presidential primary, the factional spokesman alleged that the name on the academic certificate Obi bagged from the University of Nigeria in Nsukka contradicts the name on that of his National Youth Service Corps.

He said: “I was part of the people who did the screening for him. In the form EC9 we gave him, he wrote that he attended the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and that he finished his youth service. But unfortunately, in the final submission of the form, he only submitted his school certificate.

“So, something is fishy, and I want to say the name the school sent for mobilisation was not what was written on his NYSC certificate, and he knows that. For us, we don’t know the true identity of Peter Obi even in the Labour Party because everything was shrouded in secrecy at that time in Asaba.

“You know we were rushing because we had just a day to do our presidential primary, and that was why he was able to get away with it. But we have it on record that Obi’s name on his NYSC certificate and the one on his university of Nigeria, Nsukka, certificate are different.”

But the National Publicity Secretary of the, Obiora Ifoh, denied the allegation.

While describing Arabambi as one of the renegades of the party, Ifoh told our correspondent that his predecessor was out to cause chaos in the party by doing the bidding of his alleged paymasters.

“Arabambi should try something else. Our candidate, Peter Gregory Obi, is a known figure whose parentage, birth, schools attended and record of public service, has never been in dispute.

“As he said publicly yesterday (Wednesday), some of his mates at the University of Nigeria Nsukka are alive. In fact, they are holding high office in the management team of the university today. This can be verified. His certificates are in the public domain and can be scrutinised by any interested Nigerian.

“Arabambi, is obviously doing the bidding of his paymasters who are desperate to destroy our party. We challenge Arabambi’s principal to do the same and save our nation further embarrassment,” Ifoh said.