Author: News Room

Femi Otedola, the chairman and biggest shareholder of financial services group First HoldCo Plc, hopes to invest $100 million in the proposed private placement of Dangote Petroleum Refinery. The billionaire tycoon made this known to journalists during a tour by the management team of First HoldCo to the refinery in Lagos on Wednesday. “On a personal note, I have approved him. I’ve been here with him five times, so my compensation is that he’s going to allocate to me shares of $100 million in the private placement,” Mr Otedola said of Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man and owner of the…

At the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) policy meeting last week, the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa said Nigerian universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education are admitting thousands of students without checking whether they have anywhere to sleep. He gave an example of a polytechnic with a population of over 36,000 students and just about a 1,000-bed hostel accommodation. He therefore warned higher institutions to go by JAMB’s criteria, as set out in CAPS (Central Admissions Processing System), and not admit more than their quotas, in order to “protect the integrity of the system.” Though that disturbing revelation should…

The federal government has reassured Nigerians that there is no confirmed case of Ebola Virus Disease in the country, while intensifying preparedness and surveillance measures nationwide. The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, gave the assurance in a statement issued on Wednesday. Mr Pate said the government had activated precautionary measures following recent Ebola outbreaks in parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda to strengthen national health security. He said surveillance systems had been strengthened nationwide, while relevant agencies such as the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and Port Health Services…

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has asked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Nigeria’s security chiefs to address insecurity immediately following the recent abduction of school pupils and teachers in Oyo State. NLC President, Joe Ajaero, made the demand known in a statement on Wednesday. Recall that at least 30 pupils and seven teachers were abducted by bandits from Community High School and L.A. Basic School, Ahoro Esinele, and First Baptist School (Nursery and Primary), Yawota, all in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State. Thereafter, one of the teachers was reportedly decapitated by the bandits. The development has stirred reactions from…

Blessing Agbebaku, the Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, has been elected as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the Owan West Constituency in the State House of Assembly ahead of the 2027 general election. DAILY POST reports that his deputy, Hon. Atu Osamwonyi, was not as lucky as he lost the chance of clinching the party’s ticket. Atu was defeated by Ndidi Aghimien as the party’s candidate for Orhionmwon Constituency I. Ndidi scored 2,777 votes, Atu polled 9 votes, Terry Igiebor secured 87 votes, while Nosakhare Eguagie got 57 votes. Meanwhile, Speaker Agbebaku, who defected from…

A commercial dispatch rider has lost his life in a fatal road accident involving a container-laden articulated trailer at the Ilupeju Bypass area of Lagos State. The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA, confirmed the incident in a statement on wednesday, describing the accident as tragic and unfortunate. According to the agency, earlier findings revealed that the dispatch rider reportedly got involved in a dangerous struggle for right of way with a commercial mini bus, popularly known as “Korope,” before losing control of his motorcycle and crashing into a moving trailer along the busy Ilupeju corridor. LASTMA stated that the…

Manchester City striker, Erling Haaland, has expressed disappointment after Arsenal won the Premier League title ahead of the Cityzens. Haaland also congratulated Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard for winning this season’s Premier League. Haaland and Odegaard are both international teammates with the Norway national football team. “Of course, I am disappointed. It has been a long season, but ultimately not good enough for us. Losing out on the title,” Haaland said (via Daily AFC on X). “When you get the most points, you deserve to win the league. “Congratulations to Martin, it is well deserved. He deserves this trophy,” he said.

Sierra Leone on Wednesday became the latest African country to receive migrants expelled from the United States under President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. A first plane carrying nine West African migrants landed Wednesday morning at the international airport just outside Freetown, an AFP journalist saw. “We have received nine deportees this morning from the US,” Foreign Minister Timothy Musa Kabba told AFP, after initially saying 25 migrants would arrive. The deportees are from Nigeria, Ghana, Guinea and Senegal, according to authorities. Police, medics and government officials were on hand to receive them at the airport, an AFP journalist reported. Seven…

The Ogun State Police Command says its operatives have recovered 27 suspected rustled cattle in the Ado-Odo area of the state following a joint operation involving police operatives and members of the Fulani community. The command’s Public Relations Officer, Oluseyi Babaseyi, disclosed this in an exclusive interview with PUNCH Metro on Tuesday. He noted that the recovery followed credible intelligence received from leaders of the Fulani community, alleging that suspected rustled cattle were being hidden in a compound located at Okonron Nubu in Ado-Odo. “The operation followed credible information received on 02/05/2026 at about 0300hrs from the Fulani community leadership…

Barely 24 hours after a dispatch rider was killed by a hit-and-run driver along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, another dispatch rider has died following a collision with a containerised articulated truck along the Ilupeju Bypass area of Lagos State. The spokesperson for the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, Adebayo Taofiq, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday, noting that the tragic incident occurred after the rider reportedly struggled for right of way with a commercial minibus, popularly known as “Korope.” According to Taofiq, preliminary investigations revealed that the dispatch rider lost control of the motorcycle during the struggle and crashed into…