Author: News Room

By any serious measure of development, the strength of a nation is inseparable from the strength of its institutions. Institutions – public, private, and civic – shape incentives, enforce rules, and determine whether policies translate into real outcomes. In Nigeria, decades of underperformance in governance, economic management, and service delivery point to a fundamental challenge: weak and poorly reformed institutions. For a country of over 220 million people, projected by the United Nations to become the third most populous nation by 2050, institutional reform is no longer optional; it is an urgent national imperative. Nigeria’s institutional weaknesses are well documented.…

A two-term former member of the House of Representatives, Jelili Amusan, has begun mobilising grassroots political stakeholders in support of President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid ahead of the 2027 general elections. A statement obtained by PUNCH Online on Thursday noted that the mobilisation, which was held at Amusan’s residence in Ibara GRA, Abeokuta, Ogun State, on Wednesday, drew members of the All Progressives Congress from the state’s 20 local government areas. While addressing party members, Amusan, who represented Abeokuta South, Obafemi-Owode, and Odeda Federal Constituency in Ogun State, said the meeting was convened to formally galvanise grassroots support for Tinubu…

FirstBank is set to host its annual economic outlook event for 2026. In a statement, the bank announced that the Nigeria Economic Outlook 2026 will take place on Tuesday under the theme “The Great Calibration: Mastering Resilience in an Era of Asynchronous Growth.” The PUNCH reports that the event is an annual customer-facing session designed to provide insights into prevailing economic realities and help customers navigate the economy at the start of the year. Commenting ahead of the event, the Acting Group Head, Marketing and Corporate Communications, FirstBank, Olayinka Ijabiyi, said the initiative would help customers make informed decisions based…

Ahead of their round of 16 clash against Mozambique on Monday (today) at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, Super Eagles centre-back Calvin Bassey has stressed the team’s desire to stop conceding goals as they aim to progress in the tournament, PUNCH Sports Extra reports. Nigeria finished top of Group C with three wins from three games, but concerns were raised over their defence, which conceded four goals during the group stage campaign. The Super Eagles were pegged back by Tanzania in their opening game before an Ademola Lookman match-winner sealed victory. Tunisia also threatened a comeback after…

Samsung’s latest update to its Family Hub smart fridge line adds a feature I’ve always wanted — voice-activated door opening and closing.Using the device’s built-in Bixby voice control, you will soon be able to say “Shut the fridge door,” or “Open the door,” and your machine will obey.According to a press release from Samsung at CES 2026 this week, the voice commands will open the door fully, not just a smidge — over 90 degrees. You can also tap the door with the palm or the back of your hand to activate the movement.This could be super helpful when cooking,…

Stablecoin transfer volume on Ethereum surpassed $8 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2025, marking a new all-time high, reported Token Terminal on Monday.The $8 trillion milestone is almost double the transfer volume figure for the second quarter, which was just over $4 trillion, according to the chart.Stablecoin issuance on Ethereum increased by around 43% in 2025 from $127 billion to $181 billion by year’s end, according to BlockWorks.  “This isn’t speculation. This is global payments happening on-chain,” commented “BMNR Bullz” on X. This is before SWIFT-style integrations, full RWA tokenization, and institutional rails going live. “The rails are already built.…

Bristol Palin has been battling her mysterious facial paralysis for an entire year. “If anyone’s wondering, today’s Day 323 of my face being paralyzed,” Palin, 35, said in video footage taken last month that she posted to her Instagram Stories on Saturday, January 3. “Not looking great.” She continued, “This is what it looks like. There’s not a whole lot of movement.” According to Palin, she plans to “eventually” get Botox in one of her eyes as a result. Related: Bristol Palin Details ‘Painful’ Facial Paralysis and Slow Recovery Courtesy of Bristol Palin/Instagram Bristol Palin has been dealing with a…

Amnesty International on Sunday condemned the attacks in three Nigerian northern states of Niger, Plateau and Kaduna. The attacks took place in Borgu Local Government Area (LGA), Niger State, Qua’an-Pan LGA in Plateau State, and Kachia LGA in Kaduna State. Both Niger and Plateau are in North-central Nigeria while Kaduna is in the north-western region of the country. In a post shared on its official X page, the organisation said these attacks are “an indication of the utter failure of the Nigerian authorities to protect lives.” On Saturday, gunmen killed at least 30 people and abducted an unknown number of…

President Nicholas Maduro of Venezuela. The best option for all is for the US to return Maduro and his wife with apologies and pay compensation for the lives taken and damages caused. But peace is not in the DNA of an unrepentant bandit. As they say in Ibadan, Nigeria, it is insanity you use to cure insanity. Unless people like Trump are brought to justice, we would always have an international relations culture of everyone to himself, God for us all. Amidst fires, wide scale destruction and bloodbath, the predatory United States, US hawk, swooped on President Nicolas Maduro. It…

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has announced the release of shortlisted names for the Direct Short Service Commission (DSSC) and invited candidates for enlistment interviews in Kaduna. Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, Director of Public Relations and Information, Headquarters, Nigerian Air Force, said in a statement on Sunday that the list of shortlisted candidates for the DSSC 34 Selection Interview has been uploaded on the NAF Recruitment Portal. According to the statement, the successful candidates are “hereby invited to attend the DSSC 34 Enlistment Interview, scheduled to hold at the Nigerian Air Force Base, Kaduna, from 12 January to 8 February…