Author: News Room

When His Excellency, Rt Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, ascended the reins of government in Delta State, he was met with a conundrum in the payment of local government pensions. Due to several factors, retired workers of the teaching service, the 25 local government councils, and the local government education authorities owed a backlog of pensions spanning over a decade. The bill was estimated at over N50bn, and it is needless to say that the retirees suffered great deprivation. Though the payment of local government workers’ salaries and pensions is the responsibility of the local government councils, not the state government, Oborevwori…

The Chairman of SIFAX Group, Dr Taiwo Afolabi, has said that despite dynamic economic challenges and global uncertainties, the company remains anchored in divine clarity and stability. According to a recent statement, Afolabi disclosed this during the 3rd edition of the SIFAX Group Annual Thanksgiving and Praise Night themed ‘God’s Faithfulness, Our Gratitude’. Speaking on the rationale behind the gathering, Afolabi noted that the event serves as a way of appreciating God for His faithfulness to the SIFAX Group family in 2025. “As we reflect on the outgoing business year, it is evident that our achievements, resilience, and progress were…

Tunisia coach, Sami Trabelsi, has acknowledged the support of Moroccan fans for his team, as they began their campaign at the 2025 AFCON with a comfortable 3-1 win over Uganda at the Annex Olympic Stadium of the Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex in Rabat, on Tuesday, PUNCH Sports Extra reports. The Carthage Eagles took early control of the contest and opened the scoring in the 10th minute through Elyes Skhiri, who finished off a well-worked team move with a precise strike. In full command of proceedings, Tunisia maintained their tempo and doubled their lead just before the break, with Elias…

Solana and Ethereum will both thrive in the tokenization race and neither blockchain will push the other out of the space, says Dragonfly general partner Rob Hadick.“They are both Facebook,” Hadick told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Wednesday, when asked which blockchain will gain market dominance like social media platform Facebook or fall behind like the once-popular MySpace.Hadick said that with growing interest in tokenization and increasing economic activity onchain, there’s room for multiple blockchains to coexist. “There’s a lot of room in this market. If you believe that most assets are going to be tokenized, if you believe there is going…

Ryan Lochte is seemingly celebrating Christmas Eve without his three children. The Olympian, 41, revealed via his Instagram Story on Wednesday, December 24, that he was having “soo much fun” downhill innertubing with his girlfriend, Molly Gillihan. Despite having a blast, Lochte admitted that he wished his kids — son Caiden Zane, 8, and daughters Liv Rae, 6, and Georgia June, 2 — were with him to enjoy the festive fun. “Missing my kiddos,” he added. “They would love this.” Ryan shot the footage of himself and Molly, 37, soaring down a hill in their inner tubes, in addition to…

Renowned Islamic scholar, Ahmad Gumi, has instituted a criminal case against two Facebook users at the Chief Magistrate Court in Kaduna State over alleged criminal conspiracy and defamatory publications made in his name. The suit, numbered KMD/685/25 and filed on Wednesday, lists George Udom and Bello Isiaka as defendants, with Mr Gumi as the complainant. According to court documents, the defendants allegedly published a Facebook post on 23 December 2025, falsely attributing to Mr Gumi a chilling threat directed at the Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa. The post read: “If the Minister of Defence Christopher Musa doesn’t stop his military…

Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, has signed the Enugu State 2026 Appropriation Bill into Law, restating his administration’s resolve to redouble the transformations recorded across every sector so far. Appending his signature to the document at the Executive Chamber, Government House, Enugu, on Wednesday, Mbah thanked Members of the Enugu State House of Assembly for their diligent and expedited consideration of the budget. He promised to commence implementation immediately. Out of the N1.62 trillion budget, the sum of N1,296,092,465,000,b representing 80 per cent of the budget was allocated to Capital Expenditure, while N321,305,000,000, representing 20 per cent of…

No fewer than 16,156 Nigerian-trained nurses and midwives have been licensed to practise in the United Kingdom between 2017 and September 30, 2025, The PUNCH reports. This figure is based on the latest data from the UK’s Nursing and Midwifery Council register, obtained exclusively by our correspondent on Wednesday. The figure highlights a significant trend in the brain drain of the healthcare workforce trained in Nigeria, a trend now known as japa, seeing skilled professionals leaving for countries that offer better remuneration, career advancement, and working conditions. The migration of healthcare workers poses a serious challenge to Nigeria’s healthcare system,…

An Abuja-based security guard identified as Sunday has narrated how he staged a self-kidnapping scheme to extort N4m from his family because he needed money to travel to his village for Christmas. Sunday disclosed this in an interrogation video shared on Facebook on Wednesday by the Federal Capital Territory Police Public Relations Officer, Josephine Adeh. According to Adeh, Sunday allegedly used his friend’s phone to reach out to his family, informing them that he had been kidnapped and that his abductors were demanding N4m as ransom. The PPRO noted that the suspect carried out the act without informing the friend…

When I presented my last week’s column, entitled ‘What is the environmental impact of Christmas’, I purposely left off one aspect of the matter because that is the mother of all environmental impacts, which requires a column of its own. That problem is noise pollution. The Christmas season, by its very nature, is noise pollution personified. Indeed, the origin of the celebration involved the announcement of the birth of the Saviour, which needed the agency of sound in order for as many people as possible to hear the good news as it was broadcast real time. In practical terms, broadcasting…