Nigeria may continue to walk a violent tightrope as measures towards addressing the country's farmers-herdsmen conflict, considered a threat to national survival, are not in the re-election campaign manifesto of President Muhammadu Buhari and only mentioned with a casual air in Atiku Abubakar's plans, PREMIUM TIMES has observed. The conflict…

The Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has taken a swipe at his counterparts from Nigeria's South-south over the latter's "painful' position on the trial of the Chief Justice of Nigeria for alleged false asset declaration. The federal government arraigned the Chief Justice, Walter Onnoghen, on Monday, before the Code of…

Ibim Semenitari, a former aide to the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has reacted to the audio recording in which the transport minister is heard expressing shocking pessimistic views about Nigeria and the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. Mr Amaechi is a key political ally of Mr Buhari and is…

Nigeria's transport minister, Rotimi Amaechi, has been heard in an audio recording to be expressing shocking pessimistic views about Nigeria and the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, whose re-election bid he leads. The recording was shared with PREMIUM TIMES by Phrank Shaibu, a spokesperson for the Atiku Abubakar campaign. Mr…

Nigeria's opposition politicians and sections of the public are up against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), following the appointment of a national commissioner, Amina Zakari, as the chairperson of the national collation centre for Nigeria's coming presidential election. INEC chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, announced Mrs. Zakari's appointment on Thursday, sparking…

Four men arrested by the police in the United Kingdom after they sneaked aboard a ship which set off from Lagos, Nigeria, and allegedly threatened the crew are now facing trial, the UK police have told PREMIUM TIMES. In an exclusive email to this newspaper on Thursday morning, the Essex police disclosed…

Four men said to be Nigerians have been taken into police custody in the United Kingdom after they tried to reach that country by sneaking aboard a UK-bound ship which set off in Lagos. They were also accused of 'threatening' to harm the crew. The Essex Police confirmed the detention…

Alexander Sabundu Badeh, Nigeria's former Chief of Defence Staff whose career spanned 38 years - at the twilight of which he led war efforts against Boko Haram Terrorism - died Tuesday, December 18. He was 61. The retired general died from wounds sustained after gunshots were fired at him, alongside…

Nigeria's President, Muhammadu Buhari, at the start of the week launched his re-election campaign manifesto in which he boasted of having built the 'foundational work' to trudge up the stairs to the 'next level'. Campaigns for the 2019 elections started Sunday, triggering a renewed scrutiny of the candidates, especially Mr…

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, does not think direct cash distribution to the poor can help combat poverty, as he takes a different policy path to President Muhammadu Buhari on addressing the malaise. The Buhari administration has a string of special intervention programmes operated…

He had a towering presence in Nigerian politics. A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party when they reigned as Nigeria's ruling party, he was a god of a sort, literally deified by many seeking access to powers. He was powerful. Though mostly without authority to allocate resources himself, he was…

There has been another petition to President Muhammadu Buhari by top officers forced out by the Nigerian Army in a display of arbitrariness that is yet to be justified in well over two years. Nine major generals, 11 brigadier generals, seven colonels and 11 lieutenant colonels, 38 officers in sum, were laid off by…

Two years ago, the Nigerian Army compulsorily retired 38 officers, many of them the country’s brightest in internal and external security operations. Ironically, they were forced out of service without recourse to the rules of disengagement in the Nigerian military. Most of the affected officers were neither queried nor indicted…

The Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, is ensnared in public attention after a leaked phone recording showed a lecturer seeking sex from a female student for a pass in an examination. In the audio, which leaked on Monday, the student repeatedly addressed the other person in the conversation as 'Prof. Akindele',…

Amid uncertainties over the fate of the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress, John Odigie-Oyegun, who is embroiled in running battle with Bola Tinubu, national leader of the party, the party state chairmen on Monday passed a vote of confidence on the national chairman. The Forum of All Progressives Congress (APC)…

A former Lagos State Governor, Bola Tinubu, has expressed concerns that his "presidential assignment" of reconciling the warring interests within the All Progressives Congress, APC, is being sabotaged by the party chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun. Mr Tinubu, named at the beginning of the month by President Muhammadu Buhari to lead the…

The Independent National Electoral Commission has sought to allay public worries over the credibility of Nigeria's future elections after pictures of underage voters emerged from last Saturday's local polls in Kano State. Observers, including the Centre for Information Technology And Development, CITAD, and Action Aid International Nigeria, said they witnessed…

The ruling All Progressives Congress says "at this time" it has no response to the blistering remarks by former President Olusegun Obasanjo asking President Muhammadu Buhari not to seek reelection. Mr. Obasanjo, in the statement Tuesday entitled, “The Way Out: A Clarion Call for Coalition for Nigeria Movement”, said Mr. Buhari as…

The business dispute between the Nigerian Ports Authority and Intels Nigeria Limited over revenue sharing structure and payment procedure now stands resolved, the NPA has said. The maritime agency is however awaiting clearance from the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, for possible restoration of the…

About three weeks before the Nigerian Government ordered expatriates working for Intels Nigeria Limited to leave the country, the embattled logistics company had written the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA apologising and stating its readiness to comply with the government's Treasury Single Account policy. The move was apparently aimed at resolving…

The second highest ranking official of the United Nations, Amina Mohammed, is at the centre of a bribery and illicit trade scandal, having allegedly authorised export of endangered timber, rosewood, to China in her last days as Nigeria's minister for environment. Mrs. Mohammed is well-regarded globally for her record as…

President Muhammadu Buhari's anti-corruption adviser, Itse Sagay, has said the anti-graft war of the administration is "pure", regardless of growing criticisms over the government's handling of corruption allegations against top officials. Mr. Sagay said this in the wake of the the controversial re-integration of Abdurasheed Maina, futigitive former pension chief,…

The Nigerian Ports Authority is yet to be notified of the readiness of Intels Nigeria Limited to comply with the Treasury Single Account policy of the government, the Managing Director of the NPA, Hadiza Bala-Usman, has told PREMIUM TIMES. Intels chief, Gabrielle Volpi, had on Thursday hinted at the logistics…

The Nigerian Army on Tuesday failed to state the specific offence that warranted the dismissal of an officer, Abdulfatai Mohammed when its representatives appeared before the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions. At the investigative hearing, the Army was represented by the Director of Legal Services, Yusuf Shallangwa,…

The leader of the Oduduwa Peoples Congress, Gani Adams, is the new ‘Aare Ona Kakanfo’, which in the pre-colonial Yoruba history was a supreme military title conferred by the Alaafin of Oyo. The Alaafin, Lamidi Adeyemi, confirmed the choice of Mr. Adams for the title during his 79th birthday celebration…