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The National Assembly Joint Committee on Finance has threatened to cut off the Federal Government’s grant to the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) in the 2025 budget proposal over excessive spending.

This decision was made after JAMB Registrar, Prof Ishaq Oloyede, presented the agency’s 2025 budget proposal to the Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Representatives.

According to Oloyede, JAMB remitted N4 billion to the Consolidated Revenue Fund in 2024 but received a grant of N6 billion from the Federal Government.

This sparked criticism from committee members, including Abiodun Faleke and Senator Adams Oshiomhole, who questioned why a self-funding agency like JAMB should receive government allocations.


Faleke asked, “Why not keep the N4 billion and stop government funding for JAMB?” Oshiomhole also slammed JAMB for its expenses, including N1.1 billion on meals and refreshments, N850 million on security and cleaning, and N600 million on local travels. He demanded justification for the N6.5 billion spent on local trainings, asking, “What did you fumigate? Is it mosquitoes that took all this money?”¹

“You remitted N4bn and got N6bn f on the Federal Government. Why not keep the N4bn and we stop. the government from funding JAMB,” the Chairman, House Committee on Finance, Faleke asked.

“You spent N1.1bn on meals and refreshment. Are you being freely fed by the government? What this means is that you are spending the money you generate from poor students, many of them orphans.

“You also spent N850m on security, cleaning and fumigation in 2024.What did you fumigate? Is it mosquitoes that took al this money? ” Oshiomhole asked

“You remitted N4bn and got N6bn f on the Federal Government. Why not keep the N4bn and we stop. the government from funding JAMB,” the Chairman, House Committee on Finance, Faleke asked.

“You spent N1.1bn on meals and refreshment. Are you being freely fed by the government? What this means is that you are spending the money you generate from poor students, many of them orphans.

“You also spent N850m on security, cleaning and fumigation in 2024.What did you fumigate? Is it mosquitoes that took al this money? ” Oshiomhole asked

The former Edo State Governor also slammed JAMB for spending N600m on local travels even as he called on Oloyede to justify the N6.5bn on local trainings.

Several people were reportedly killed in an airstrike in Kakindawa village, Maradun Local Government Area of Zamfara State.

Garba Umar, a resident of the area, told The PUNCH that the incident occurred on Saturday evening as local vigilantes were heading to assist neighbours in Tungar Kara village, which had come under attack by bandits.

According to Umar, the vigilante group mobilised after receiving reports of bandits rustling livestock and attempting to abduct villagers.

“As we were heading to Tungar Kara around 3:30 pm, an aircraft suddenly appeared in the area and dropped a bomb on the vigilantes. The bandits had already escaped into the forest,” Umar recounted.

He alleged that 16 people, including his own son, were killed in the airstrike.

“We mobilised to protect our neighbours, but tragically, the aircraft targeted the vigilantes instead of the fleeing bandits. It’s heartbreaking,” Umar alleged.

Reacting to the incident, the spokesperson for Operation Fansan Yamma, Lieutenant Colonel Abubakar Abdullahi, told The PUNCH on Sunday morning that he would investigate the matter and provide further details.

“I will look into what actually happened and get back to you,” Abdullahi said.

However, as of the time of filing this report, no additional information had been provided.

Meanwhile, PUNCH Online reported in November 2024 that the Nigerian Air Force said airstrikes conducted in Zamfara State killed numerous bandits, including key loyalists of the notorious bandit leaders, Dan-Isuhu and Dogo Sule.

Similarly, four days ago, on January 8, 2025, troops of the same Operation Fansan Yamma reportedly killed a notorious terrorist leader, Sani Rusu, and scores of his foot soldiers during a gunfight in Bamamu village, Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State.

Soulsymbol99:
But is this how to run a country? Only shows lack of transparency

The Senate Committee on Appropriations has asked the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, to give detailed explanations on savings from the removal of fuel subsidy and how the proceeds have being utilized.

This followed interrogation from Senator Abdul Ningi (PDP, Bauchi Central) on the allocation of fuel subsidy removal funds in the 2024 fiscal year

The minister of finance wale Edun immediately requested that the committee hold a closed-door session for a more thorough discussion.

Chairman of the Committee, Senator Olamilekan Adeola, subsequently asked journalists to leave for the session to take place privately.

Earlier in the session, the Senate Committee on Information and National Orientation also reviewed budget proposals from agencies under its oversight, including the National Orientation Agency (NOA) and the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

The committee directed the Director General National orientation agency and News Agency of Nigeria to revise and resubmit their budget proposals for the 2025 fiscal year.

Chairman senate committee on Information and National Orientation Kenneth Eze (APC, Ebonyi Central), raised concerns with the NOA’s National Identity Project, questioning its visibility among the Nigerian public, especially those in rural areas.

The NOA DG emphasized the importance of the project in fostering a stronger value system, explaining that it is crucial for national development.

Yoruba Nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, has said many Nigerians are no longer proud to identify themselves as citizens of the West African nation.

In a video seen online on Thursday, Igboho, who was spotted at an airport in the United Kingdom, said corruption, insecurity, and a bad economy are the reasons for the lack of patriotism in the country.

The separatist also stated that various ethnic nationalities should be allowed to go their separate ways if the country cannot function as a unified country.

Igboho said Yoruba youths, who have gained valuable knowledge and experience from travelling worldwide, are eager to transform the Yoruba nation into a modern, prosperous society similar to that of Europe.

He said, “Even inside the airport, there is no security. They can steal your belongings inside your bag (in Nigerian airports). All these are the things dissuading people from being proud of the country, Nigeria.

“Things like that make us sad to identify ourselves as Nigerians. This is why we advocate for separation. If Nigeria is not working as a country, it is better we go our separate ways.

“Our (Yoruba) youths will transform Yoruba nation. Most of them have travelled across the world, and they have learned a lot. If they come back to Yoruba land, the knowledge will help them build it and transform the nation like those in Europe.”

WATCH: Yoruba, Igbo, Others Should Go Their Separate Ways If Nigeria Isn’t Working As A Country —Sunday Igboho pic.twitter.com/VHW6sVvPXK

— Sahara Reporters (@SaharaReporters) January 9, 2025

PRESS RELEASE

SUSPECTED BOMB EXPLOSION AT TSANGAGYAR SANI UTHMAN ISLAMIYA SCHOOL, KUCHIBUYI VILLAGE, BWARI AREA COUNCIL

The FCT Police Command regrets to inform the public of a tragic incident involving a suspected bomb explosion that occurred on January 6, 2025, at approximately 11:00 AM at the Tsangagyar Sani Uthman Islamiyya School, located in Kuchibuyi Village, Byazhin area of the FCT.

Upon receiving a distress call from the Sarki of Kuchibuyi, a team of police operatives, including the Command’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team and the Area Commander of Kubwa, swiftly mobilized to the scene. The area was immediately cordoned off to protect residents and facilitate a thorough investigation.

During the rescue operation, victims were promptly evacuated and rushed to the Hospital for medical attention.

Preliminary investigations revealed that three men from Katsina had visited the owner of the Islamic school, Mallam Adamu Ashimu. The three visitors are suspected of having brought the explosive device with them. Tragically, two of the men died in the explosion while tampering with the improvised explosive device (IED), on the school Veranda, while the third man and a female trader sustained severe injuries and are currently receiving treatment under police guard.

The FCT Bomb Squad has confirmed that it was an IED explosion, as remnants of the device have been recovered.

Mallam Adamu Ashimu, the owner of the school, has been taken into custody for questioning, and further findings will be communicated in due course.

The Commissioner of Police, FCT, CP Olatunji Disu urges members of the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity, behavior, or items that may resemble improvised explosive devices to the police via our emergency numbers:

- 0806 158 1938
- 0803 200 3913
- 0802 894 0883
- 0705 733 7653
- CRU: 0810 731 4192
- PCB: 0902 222 2352

Safety Advice for Residents of FCT:
1. Stay Alert:Be aware of your surroundings and report any unusual behavior or items to the authorities.
2. Do Not Touch Suspicious Objects:If you encounter any suspicious items, do not touch or attempt to move them. Instead, call the police immediately.
3. Emergency Numbers: Keep emergency contact numbers handy and ensure your family members are aware of them.
4. Community Vigilance:Collaborate with your neighbors to maintain a safe environment.

SP Josephine Adeh,
Police Public Relations Officer,
FCT Command,
Abuja.

Oil marketers have started loading Automotive Gas Oil (diesel), and Kerosene from the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company.

Dealers confirmed this to Sunday PUNCH on Friday, as they demanded Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) from the recently rehabilitated plant.

WRPC, under the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, came on stream on December 30, 2024, after the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Mele Kyari, announced its resumption of operations during a tour of the facility.

Speaking with one of our correspondents on Friday at the refinery, the Chairman of the Delta State chapter of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Harry Okenini, said though the plant was working, it was not at 100 per cent functionality.


He, however, pointed out that marketers had started lifting diesel and kerosene from the refinery.

“Right now, there is no production of petrol. So, we are not loading PMS. We hope to load PMS soon. We can confirm to you that the plant is working although not at 100 per cent. And IPMAN, Warri Depot Unit, is waiting for the production of PMS so that we can load.

“For now, only the Automotive Gas Oil, popularly called diesel, and Dual Purpose Kerosene are being produced and loaded out for consumption.

“Hopefully, by February, we are expecting cooking gas, PMS, and other products to come out. As of now, the retail unit is only loading AGO and DPK,” he added.

Also speaking with our correspondents at the refinery, the National Chairman of the Surface Tank and Kerosene Peddlers, a branch of NUPENG, Israel Omokere, stated that the refinery was in operation.

He said, “Hopefully the PMS will come on board. We are loading kerosene and AGO for now.”


On his part, the Delta State Chairman of Surface Tank and Kerosene Peddlers branch of NUPENG, Kingsley Erituoyo, said, “For so many years the refinery was down, today the refinery is up.

Findings at the Warri refinery by our correspondents showed scanty movement of trucks in and out of the complex.

Sunday PUNCH observed that skeletal activities were ongoing at the WRPC, compared with the heyday of the refinery when the company was working at full capacity.

Industry sources disclosed that there was more to be put in place by the Federal Government and the NNPCL for the refinery to commence full production of PMS.


During the visit to the WRPC complex, it was also observed that the main entrance to the refinery looked almost as if nothing was going on.

Security operatives at the gate stopped journalists from taking photographs on the premises.

Sources inside the refinery said only one of three units of the refinery was functional and producing diesel, gas, and kerosene.

“For now, only one unit is working at the refinery. You know there are three units; but only one is in operation, producing diesel, gas, and kerosene.

“The unit can’t give fuel for now. If the second unit starts working, it can produce PMS. It is the last unit to operate because it’s very big and complicated.

“If all units are working, we can load over 100 trucks daily, now it loaded about 50 trucks,” a source said.

fergie001:
Tukana was first appointed SSG by Rotimi Akeredolu on 6th January 2020 and re-appointed by Aiyedatiwa in January last year

He was a former Akure South LG Chairman


SOURCE

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has slammed the recent invitation the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited extended to him, describing it as disrespectful.

The NNPCL had, through its spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye, invited the former president for a tour of the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries.

The corporation’s invitation followed an interview on Channels Television on Thursday, during which the ex-president recounted failed efforts to privatise oil plants in the country.

Obasanjo expressed frustration over the mismanagement of refineries, noting that despite significant expenditure since 2007, no results had been achieved.


He explained that his successor, Musa Yar’Adua, rejected a $750m offer from the Chairman of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, to manage the Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries.

According to Obasanjo, the NNPCL was aware of its limitations in managing the nation’s refineries but informed Yar’Adua that the corporation could operate them, leading to the rejection of Dangote’s offer.

He said, “When I was president, I wanted to do something about the three refineries we have: Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna. Aliko got a team together after I asked Shell to come and run it for us. And Shell said they wouldn’t. I said, ‘Please come and take equity’, they said no. I said, ‘Okay, don’t take equity, come and run it’, they said no.

“Aliko got a team together and they paid $750m to take part in PPP (Public–Private Partnership) in running the refineries. My successor refunded their money, and I went to my successor; I told him what transpired; he said NNPC said they wanted the refinery and they could run it, and I said, ‘But you know they cannot run it.”

Obasanjo added, “But I was told not too long ago that since that time, more than $2bn had been squandered on the refineries, and they still would not work.”

He stressed that if a company like Shell rejected his offer to manage the refineries based on their reasons, he would believe the company.

The former president expressed confidence in Dangote’s ability to manage his privately owned refinery effectively, contrasting it with the government’s inefficiency.

In response, the NNPCL spokesperson Femi Soneye insisted that the refineries were working.

Soneye explained that the NNPCL had not only carried out turnaround maintenance on the plants but also embarked on a complete overhaul of the refineries to meet world-class standards.

He said, “We extend an open invitation to former President Obasanjo for a tour of the rehabilitated refineries to witness firsthand the progress made under the new NNPC Limited.”


Reacting to the invitation in an interview with Saturday PUNCH, Obasanjo said such an open invitation was disrespectful to his office and person.

The former president, while speaking through his media aide, Kehinde Akinyemi, stated that the oil company had not sent any formal invitation to him as of Thursday, January 2, 2024.

“Is that the right way to invite a former president of the country? Who says Baba has even seen the statement or read the news? It is a total disrespect for the office of the former president.

“Ask the NNPCL that as of January 2, have they written to him? Is there any official letter addressed to him, inviting him to the refinery? It is an absolute insult, and the former president cannot dignify such with a response,” Obasanjo’s aide stated.

Saturday PUNCH called Soneye three times and sent him text and WhatsApp messages to ask if the oil company had indeed officially invited the former president.

However, Soneye did not take his calls or respond to messages from our reporter as of the time of filing this report.


The news of the reopening of the Warri refinery for production had been met with skepticism from Nigerians.


This was after the Group Chief Executive Officer of the NNPCL, Mele Kyari, announced that the Port Harcourt refinery had officially commenced crude oil processing on November 26.

However, visits by Saturday PUNCH to the refinery on two occasions showed the contrary.

On Friday, November 29, when our correspondent made his first visit, he discovered there was no activity on site as the loading bay was empty.

Workers at the refinery revealed that the facility was undergoing calibration, which might last until the following week.

After two weeks of inactivity, the Port Harcourt Refining Company reportedly resumed operations, with the NNPCL claiming that no fewer than 11 trucks had started loading from the plant.

During our reporter’s second visit to the plant on Thursday, December 19, 2024, he observed that the lifting of petrol had again stopped.

Saturday PUNCH gathered that the lifting of petrol actually stopped on Friday, December 13, as the 18-arm loading bay of the Port Harcourt refinery was empty.


A truck driver said, “It was Friday last week they loaded last. About 15 trucks or so loaded that day. Since then, not even a single truck has been loaded till now.

Asked if any explanation was given, he replied, “I don’t know. Nobody is giving us any information or telling us anything. Some trucks that were here have left. I’m just here because my director said I should wait a bit.”

Soneye on both occasions declined to respond to phone calls and text messages from Saturday PUNCH.

While the oil company had yet to address growing doubts over the refinery’s operations, Kyari announced on December 31 that the Warri Refining & Petrochemical Company in Delta State had commenced operations.

Afenifere, CUPP back ex-president

Reacting, the Secretary-General of the Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, Chief Sola Ebiseni, said it was disrespectful for the NNPCL to have invited the former president through newspaper publications after he rightly commented on the management deficiencies that had grounded Nigeria’s refineries for years.

“What former President Obasanjo said was quite illuminating about the way the affairs of the country have been or are being handled. He has been out of office since 2007, and until now, what we have seen is the epileptic performance of the refineries. So, it is sheer arrogance and disrespect for the NNPCL to claim they invited him to come and see,” Ebiseni stated.

He added, “If you want to invite a statesman and former president like Obasanjo, no matter how you feel about the statement he made, you shouldn’t resort to disrespectful politics. If you believe that what he said does not reflect the current state of the plants, you should pay him a courtesy visit to present your views about the situation. But to go on the pages of newspapers to paint a picture of a liar—which is what the NNPCL’s action implies—leaves much to be desired,” the Afenifere scribe concluded.

Similarly, the National Secretary of the Coalition of United Political Parties, Chief Peter Ameh, said inviting the former president through newspapers amounted to public ridicule and utter disrespect for his history, reputation, and record in the country.

He said, “You cannot invite Obasanjo on the pages of newspapers. Even the GMD cannot invite another company head in such a manner, not to mention someone who has served both as a General in the Nigerian Army and as a military Head of State, as well as a two-term democratically elected president of the country. The NNPCL must learn how to do things the right way and avoid politicising everything, as this is why our economy has nosedived.

“That is simply the NNPCL’s usual way of prioritising politics over issues that affect the lives of ordinary Nigerians. If Obasanjo says the refineries are not working after we have wasted about $2 billion on them, he is merely stating that we should have handed the plants over to private individuals to get them working optimally through private partnerships.”

TOPCRUISE:
https://www.vanguardngr.com/2024/12/crazy-transport-fares-lagosians-recount-ordeals/

CodeTemplarr:
The African Columbia n Mexico rolled in one.

egobetter4me:
https://www.nairaland.com/7953428/mom-made-me-miserable-she

I posted the above topic before when I married the ugly village girl my mom insisted I must marry.

We've been together for 2 years now, no child. The problem is that she's always giving me one infection or the other. I've treated infection for more than 3 times and this is someone I married a virgin.

The other day, I was peeing blood and it was so painful coming out. I've never cheated on her and I'm sure she's not cheating but I don't know how she gets these infections.

Right now, I'm on a sick bed battling infection and other ailment....on a new year day. My stomach has been biting me for 3 days now.

I'm tired. I'm thinking of sending her back to the village before she kills me.

I've told my mom that I'm no longer interested but she keeps on begging and telling me that things will get better. Things are getting worse day by day. She's so dull. She just sits at home. No ambition....nothing! Just cooks, washes, cleans, then stays home all day watching movies. A graduate with masters.

I'm so frustrated!