Former Nigerian Military Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, has expressed concerns over the country’s economic hardship, stating that it is “getting out of control.”

Abubakar stated this while receiving the leadership of the Campaign for Democracy and Human Rights, led by Abdullahi Mohammed Jabi, who visited his uphill residence in Minna, Niger State, on Tuesday.

He noted that many Nigerians struggle to afford basic needs like food and transportation.

“Everybody is crying about this hardship and it seems to be getting out of control, people cannot afford three square meals.

“The issue of transportation, the hike in fuel, the hike in school fees for the children and the lack of funds in everybody’s pocket is making life difficult for everybody,” the elder statesman observed.

Gen. Abubakar disclosed that he belongs to a forum that had passed three recommendations to the federal government on the way out of the economic hardship, as giving out palliatives is not the solution to hikes in food and other commodities across the nation.

He suggested the government should provide affordable food options by buying and selling essential items at lower prices.

According to him: “There is a need for government to flood and saturate the communities with food, let them (government) buy food and sell it at lesser prices to the people so that people will try to buy some of these food items depending on their pockets and income.”

Abubakar also urged peaceful protests ahead of the planned #EndBadGovernance demonstration on October 1, recalling the violence and looting that marred previous protests.

He lamented: “During the last protest, we saw unnecessary, uncalled for carnage, theft and criminalities; instead of protesting, the people went about looting even private houses; private individuals suffered in the hands of the demonstrators.”

Earlier, the leader of the delegation, Abdullahi Jabi, told the elder statesman that they were in his residence to rejoice with him on the celebration of his birthday, and prayed for long life and good health for him.

He also urged Gen. Abubakar to help prevail on the federal government to solve the problem of hardship and hunger in the land while soliciting his assistance for the implementation of some of its programmes.

A former National Vice Chairman, North-West of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Dr Salihu Lukman has described petroleum pricing since the commencement of production of Dangote Refinery and the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, as manipulative.

Lukman, in a statement issued Tuesday titled, “Nigerian Democracy in ICU”, said the pricing was more about manipulative control and imposition of a parasitic monopoly, which the NNPC represents.

Lukman noted that part of the disturbing reality was how citizens are being pushed to swallow bitter pills of higher prices of petroleum products in a manner that simply devalues local production.

According to him, ”the econometrics of petroleum pricing since the commencement of production of Dangote Refinery is more about manipulative control and imposition of a parasitic monopoly, which the NNPC represents.

“Unfortunately, for whatever reasons, that appears to be the preference of the government. As it is, the issue of the welfare of citizens is not the priority of President Asiwaju Tinubu.

“It is almost as if President Tinubu doesn’t give a damn about whether Nigerians are dying on account of the government’s heartless and mindless policies.

“Rather than push public policy in a direction that relieved the economic burden of harsh living conditions, the federal government is more bent on imposing more stringent measures that drain and devalues the resources of citizens.”

As reactions continue to trail the Dangote Refinery and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s fuel price deal, the House of Representatives Minority Caucus has described the N980 per litre of pump price as outrageous and exploitative.

Chairman of the caucus, Kingsley Chinda, said the development was a burden added to the already struggling Nigerians.

In a statement that he signed and obtained by DAILY POST on Tuesday in Abuja, the lawmaker expressed his outrage over the pump price that varies from N950 to N980 and above N1000 per litre depending on the parts of the country.

The statement said: “We find this pricing regime to be not only burdensome but utterly unacceptable, particularly in light of the fact that this fuel is refined locally.”

The lawmaker emphasised that locally refined fuel should be priced significantly lower than imported fuel, as it avoids costs such as landing charges and import duties, insisting that the pricing model was wrong for all intents and purposes.

“It appears Nigerians are unfairly exploited, especially at a time when many are facing severe economic challenges,” he said, urging NNPCL and Dangote Refinery to reconsider their stand in the interest of the poor masses.

The statement warned that allowing the current pricing arrangement to continue would only deepen the economic hardships of millions and erode trust in local refineries’ ability to deliver affordable fuel. The caucus called on regulatory bodies and the government to urgently review the pricing framework to ensure Nigerians are not subjected to unsustainable fuel prices.

The caucus affirmed its commitment to protecting the welfare of the Nigerian people and pledged to engage relevant stakeholders to ensure fair and just fuel pricing.

Embattled hip-hop mogul, Diddy has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and racketeering charges.

The rapper, 54, was arrested by officers at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Manhattan, New York, on Monday.

He was charged with s3x trafficking by force, transportation to engage in prost!tut!on, and racketeering conspiracy, alleging he ran an "enterprise that he engaged in s3x trafficking, forced labor or, kidn@pping, arson and other crimes," according to the indictment unsealed on Tuesday, September 17.

He pleaded not guilty to three felony counts during an initial court appearance before US Magistrate Judge Robyn Tarnofsky on Tuesday after being led into the courtroom by US marshals.

The indictment detailed allegations dating to 2008 and accused Combs of abusing, threatening and coercing women for years "to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct".

He is accused of inducing female victims and male sex workers into drugged-up, sometimes days-long sexual performances dubbed "Freak Offs" in the indictment.

His lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, said outside the courthouse on Tuesday morning that Combs would plead not guilty and that he would "fight like hell" to try to get his client released from custody.

In a press conference this afternoon, US attorney for the southern district of New York, Damian Williams, said: "I'm not taking anything off the table" when asked about more charges being brought against Combs and his associates, adding: "We are not done."

Mr Williams alleged that Combs used his business empire "to carry out criminal activity, including sex trafficking, forced labour, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and the obstruction of justice".

The indictment also alleges that Combs used his employees "including high-ranking supervisors in the business, personal assistants, security staff and household staff.... to facilitate the Freak Offs".

Mr Williams said: "They booked the hotel rooms and stocked them with the supplies, including drugs, baby oil, personal lubricant, extra linens and lighting.

"When the hotel rooms got damaged, they helped clean it up. They arranged for victims and commercial sex workers to travel for the Freak Offs, and they delivered large quantities of cash to Combs to pay for the commercial sex workers."

Mr Williams also said that Combs often recorded the "Freak Offs" and used the recordings "as collateral against the victims".

Combs maintained control over his victims "by giving them drugs, by giving and threatening to take away financial support or housing, by promising them career opportunities, by monitoring their whereabouts, and even by dictating their physical appearance," Mr Williams said.

The drugs allegedly used by Combs - which included ketamine, ecstasy and GHB - were intended to keep victims "obedient and compliant", the attorney said.

"When Combs didn't get his way, he was violent and he subjected victims [to] physical, emotional, and verbal abuse so that they would participate in the Freak Offs, and... Combs hit, kicked, threw objects at, and dragged victims at times by their hair," Mr Williams said.

"The indictment alleges that the victims did not believe they could refuse Combs without risking their security or facing more abuse," he added.

Combs, formerly known as Puff Daddy and P Diddy, was recognised as one of the most influential figures in hip-hop until November, when former girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie, filed a lawsuit saying he had beaten and raped her for years.

Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura, accused Combs of coercing her, and others, into unwanted s3x in drug-fuelled settings.

The suit was settled in one day but months later CNN aired hotel security footage showing Combs punching and kicking Cassie and throwing her on a floor.

After the video aired, Combs apologised, saying, "I was disgusted when I did it."

Combs has faced several civil lawsuits by women and men who accused him of s3xual assault and other misconduct.

The outgoing Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki has warned that the civil servants would be the first victim if his candidate, Asue Ighodalo does not win the next Saturday Governorship election in the State.

DAILY POST reports that Governor Obaseki gave the warning at a thank-you meeting with the public servants at the Sir Victor Uwaifo Creative Hub in Benin City.

Obaseki, however, opined that the only thank-you the civil servants could give him was to come out en masse on Saturday and vote for Asue Ighodalo as the governor of the state.

According to him, I came to appreciate and thank you from the bottom of my heart. I wouldn’t have achieved what we achieved without you.

“Those who want to take over power by all means are uneducated and have never worked in any better place. My message to you is that, that is a risk we can’t afford. It is not about Obaseki but democracy and development.

“The risk is about allowing people without ideas of what to do to lead. People who can’t even articulate their ideas, people who can’t read a balance sheet. They can’t offer us anything but all they talk about is federal might and others.

“Edo will face a major risk if you miss it on Saturday. Any mistake you make will affect you first before others. You will be the first victim.

“What I have started is a long journey. How do we build a society that we are yearning for and stop travelling to other countries? How to build a state where people will be proud to come to. The purpose of governance is to create the avenue to achieve set purposes.

“It’s a journey. I am finishing the first part but the journey must not stop. It must continue, the engine of development must continue to run. The rate at which we need to run will be very high when we make the right decision. We can’t afford any mistakes come Saturday”, he said.

The governor, however, said he would be thanking Asue Ighodalo for agreeing to take over from him, noting that it was a great thing.

While noting that the good news is that Edo State is blessed with high-calibre human and natural resources, he added that there was still a lot of work to be done in the state.

He posited that when he came to office, he told himself that he was going to be the last governor to use paper.

Obaseki, who acknowledged that it wasn’t easy, pointed out that today, the level of technology-driven operation among Edo public servants has no rival in Nigeria.

In his speech, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Asue Ighodalo, said Governor Obaseki has done tremendously well and that the transformation in the civil service is second to none.

“Edo State public and civil service is number one in Nigeria. Obaseki has done well and I will continue from where Obaseki was working.

“You all here will be my priority, work together, function together and continue to make Edo state a progressive state and this shall be our focus.

“We won’t be a lazy government but build more on every foundation already laid down by the Obaseki administration. I promise you all that I will continue what Obaseki has done and build more on it.

“One of the worst things that can happen to a group of people is to get leadership that you cannot be proud of. But Edo State will never be like that.

“When we vote for the wrong person, we go into retrogression and the economy will crash. Edo will not be so,” he added.

Ighodalo, however, charged the people to come out en masse to vote and defend their votes.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Saudi club Al Nassr announced the departure of Portuguese coach Luis Castro on Tuesday, a day after starting their AFC Champions League Elite campaign with a disappointing draw.

Monday’s 1-1 stalemate with Iraq’s Al Shorta in the Asian competition compounded a slow start to the domestic season with the current contract of Ronaldo, 39, due to expire next summer.

“Al Nassr can announce that head coach Luis Castro has left the club,” said a statement posted on X.

“Everyone at Al Nassr would like to thank Luis and his staff for their dedicated work during the past 14 months, wishing them the best of luck for the future.”

Castro, 63, is the third coach to depart Al Nassr since Ronaldo’s groundbreaking arrival in early 2023 on a contract that was said to net him 400 million euros over two-and-a-half years.

Frenchman Rudi Garcia quickly left that April, followed by a brief stint by Croatian coach Dinko Jelicic before Castro was appointed in July last year.

The highly decorated Ronaldo is yet to win a Saudi trophy with the Riyadh club, with his sole silverware so far being last year’s Arab Club Champions Cup.

Al Nassr, who finished a distant second in the last Saudi Pro League season, have drawn twice in three matches at the start of the new campaign.

Ronaldo’s arrival heralded a rash of high-profile signings by Saudi clubs last year, with Neymar and Karim Benzema among those opting for the oil-rich, conservative kingdom.

AFP.

The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has disclosed how his ambition to lead a paramilitary group led to a significant personal loss.

Adeboye recounted an incident from years ago when he was deceived by someone claiming to offer him a prestigious position.

He said the man, who presented himself as a recruiter for a new paramilitary agency, convinced him to invest in the venture.

Describing his decision to trust the man as a lapse in judgment influenced by his past fascination with the military, Adeboye admitted that his desire to fulfil this role led him to act prematurely.

He narrated, “Years ago, I was duped by a man who promised to make me a commandant of a paramilitary group. This man had been sending messages to me through my secretary for a while, and so, one day, I gave him an audience. He explained to me how a Boy-Scouts-like group had evolved into this new agency, and that he was sourcing for who would lead the group spiritually.

“Normally, I ask God before getting involved in anything at all, but this time, my love for the military in my younger days beclouded my best instincts, and I agreed to be their head. He told me that they needed some funding, which I gave as the prospective head. However, I later found out that the man was a fake.”

He, however, noted that the experience birthed the Redemption City corps and a local police post.

“My desire to be part of a paramilitary group made me run ahead of God, but God had already purposed for Redemption City to have its own corps of chaplains as well as a local Police post. He knew the desire of my heart, and He had planned for it to be fulfilled in His own time. I thought that I could bring my desire to fulfilment in my own time, but I was wrong. What I lost in that experience was money, but for someone else, it might have been their life or a loved one.

“However, I later found out that the man was a fake. My desire to be part of a paramilitary group made me run ahead of God, but God had already purposed for Redemption City to have its own corps of chaplains as well as a local Police post. He knew the desire of my heart, and He had planned for it to be fulfilled in His own time. I thought that I could bring my desire to fulfilment in my own time, but I was wrong. What I lost in that experience was money, but for someone else, it might have been their life or a loved one,” he added.

President Bola Tinubu on Monday said the Federal Government would create a disaster relief fund to assist Nigerian citizens impacted by floods and other disasters.

The President made the announcement when he visited Borno to sympathise with the government and people over the flooding in some parts of the state occasioned by Alau Dam.

He said the fund was expedient as the climate had become more unpredictable and many places in the country were vulnerable to its vagaries.

He said the Federal Government would collaborate with the private sector to establish the fund.

President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, who accompanied the President on the visit, said the National Assembly would collaborate with the Executive to establish the Fund.