Author: News Room

As the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) ends, the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) is stepping in. In the next few days, candidates will be sitting the English paper in the WAEC’s ageless exam. In both (the UTME and WASSCE), English is central. Passing them is key for anyone dreaming of entering a university or other higher institution. Therefore, the question of “What do we need English for?” or “Who English (h)elp?” is nothing but an expensive joke. While English is often believed to be tough, the daughter of a friend of mine gloriously surprised herself in…

A former member of the House of Representatives and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Gbenga Makanjuola, has picked the party’s nomination form to contest the Kwara South Senatorial seat ahead of the 2027 general elections. Makanjuola made his intention known during a visit to the APC state secretariat in Ilorin on Friday, where he met with members of the State Working Committee led by the party chairman, Sunday Fagbemi, and formally submitted his letter of intent. He said, “I am here by the grace of God to indicate my interest to represent Kwara South in the next dispensation. Whatever…

The President of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria, Mohammed Magaji, has raised concerns over limited access to agricultural financing, blaming commercial banks for their reluctance to support farmers despite the existence of the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund. Speaking on the issue, Magaji told Saturday PUNCH that the scheme does not directly disburse funds to farmers. “ACGSF is not the one giving the money; they are only guaranteeing. That’s why they call it the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund. So the commercial banks are not willing.” He lamented that a vast majority of commercial banks are unwilling to lend…

Diagnostic accuracy among clinical health workers in Nigeria’s public health facilities has declined, dropping from 56.2 per cent in 2023 to 46.1 per cent in 2025, a new report shows. The findings are from the National Health Facility Survey released by the National Bureau of Statistics in Abuja on Wednesday, providing updated data on service quality and healthcare delivery nationwide overall. The report assessed diagnostic accuracy using vignettes across five priority diseases, diarrhoea, pneumonia, malaria, postpartum haemorrhage and asphyxia, and highlighted persistent gaps in healthcare delivery and clinical decision-making across the country in Nigeria. It showed the North-East recorded the…

World Athletics has identified Nigeria as one of the leading contenders in the mixed 4x100m relay ahead of the World Relays in Gaborone today, citing the country’s recent record-breaking performance as evidence of its medal potential. The global governing body noted that the discipline, which made its debut last year, will return at the World Athletics Relays scheduled for May 2 to 3 in Botswana, where 24 federations are set to compete for qualification places and honours in what is expected to be a fiercely contested event. According to World Athletics, the stakes are high, with the top six teams…

Veteran actress, Patience Ozokwor, popularly known as Mama G, remains one of the few entertainers who have built a lasting brand while staying grounded and consistent through the years. Famous for her unforgettable portrayals of domineering mothers and strong-willed characters in Nollywood classics of the 90s, the screen icon has continued to prove that relevance is sustained through talent, discipline and reinvention. From acting to music, she has shown that entertainment thrives when one keeps evolving. Though regarded as one of the pioneers of Nollywood, Ozokwor has shown no signs of slowing down. Even as she advances in age, she…

The Kwara State University, Malete, has formalised a strategic partnership with CRC Credit Bureau Limited aimed at enhancing access to credit and driving economic growth through data-driven research and financial infrastructure development. The Memorandum of Understanding, announced on Monday during a collaborative lecture at the university’s Mini Convocation Arena, will enable the university to access anonymised credit data to support research and policy innovation. The event, jointly organised by the Faculty of Management and Social Sciences and the Centre for Advancement and Industrial Collaboration, brought together academics, students and industry experts to examine the intersection of finance, entrepreneurship and data-driven…

Telecommunications executives and regulators have identified device affordability and financing as the single most critical lever to connect Africa’s next 500 million users, arguing that without access to smartphones, investments in network infrastructure and digital services will fail to deliver returns. Multiple recent analyses (including Statista‑based country‑level aggregations) estimate that Africa surpassed 550 million internet users in 2025, with Nigeria, Egypt, and South Africa alone accounting for over 250 million of that totals. Speaking at a panel titled ‘Closing the Usage Gap: Profitable Models for the Next Half-Billion’ at GITEX Africa in Morocco, telecom executives said the continent’s digital expansion…

In this interview, GRACE EDEMA speaks with the Managing Director of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, Mr Akintunde Sawyerr, about delays, data issues, transparency concerns, and the future of the student loan scheme During the early stages of the NELFUND, and even up to part of last year, there were issues around network challenges, data processing, and backlogs. Have you been able to address these issues? We haven’t overcome all the challenges, let me be very clear about that. Our system is largely IT-based, and we depend heavily on data provided by different schools about their students. In fact, students…

Digital asset company Bakkt completed its acquisition of stablecoin infrastructure firm Distributed Technologies Research (DTR) through an equity-based transaction as part of its bid to create a digital settlement layer.Bakkt CEO Akshay Naheta said on Thursday that the deal aims to combine Bakkt’s institutional infrastructure with DTR’s native artificial intelligence payments engine and stablecoin technology to create a 24/7 digital settlement layer.“The architecture of money movement rarely evolves at this level,” he said. “This transaction accelerates the re-platforming of global financial infrastructure. By fully integrating DTR’s technology, we are introducing stablecoin functionality as a critical bridge between legacy financial systems…