Author: News Room

President Bola Tinubu, and other prominent Nigerians have expressed deep sorrow over the death of the Chief Imam of Ilorin, Sheikh Muhammad Bashir Imam Solih, describing him as a towering Islamic scholar and moral compass whose life was devoted to faith, unity and service to humanity. The revered cleric died on Monday in Abuja at the age of 75 after a brief illness. Leading the tributes, Tinubu, in a statement issued on Monday by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, described the late Chief Imam as a devoted servant of Allah and a bridge builder whose wisdom…

The Oyo State Police Command has commenced bush-combing operations in search of kidnappers of an Indian expatriate and other criminal elements in the state. The state Police Public Relations Officer, Olayinka Alayande, disclosed this on Monday while featuring on a current affairs programme on an Ibadan-based radio station in the state capital. Alayande expressed concern over the resurgence of criminal activities in the state, noting that the command was reviewing its security architecture to curb the activities of kidnappers and other criminals across the 33 local government areas of Oyo State. The PUNCH reports that gunmen on Saturday killed a…

The Labour Party has accused the Ogun State Government of allegedly selling government-owned housing assets, a claim the state government has dismissed as baseless and misleading. The National Vice Chairman (South-West) of the party, Abayomi Arabambi, alleged that the administration of Governor Dapo Abiodun was disposing of public housing assets, including the Ibara Housing Estate in Abeokuta, buildings of the Ogun State Housing Corporation, and other properties under the corporation’s control. In a statement issued on Monday, the party accused the Abiodun administration of “recklessly disposing of public assets built with taxpayers’ funds,” warning that such actions could undermine the…

The Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company Plc has announced a power outage across parts of Ibadan, Oyo State capital, following a fault on one of its major power transformers. In a notice issued on Monday and made available to PUNCH Online, the utility company said the disruption had affected several feeders in the Ibadan region, including Lina, Best Oil, Frigoglass, Backhorse, Altak, Aramed, BAT/New Age, Eagle, Challenge, Odò Ona, Boluwaji, Soka, Podo (11kV) and ROM (33kV). IBEDC said the fault has resulted in supply interruptions to a wide range of customers and communities, such as Eagle Flour Company, Frigoglass Company, Bev…

Nigeria’s Super Eagles have earned N3.56b for finishing third at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, following a 4–2 penalty shootout victory over Egypt in the bronze medal play-off in Casablanca, The PUNCH reports. The match ended 0–0 in regulation time, with goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali emerging as the hero, saving two spot-kicks to secure Nigeria’s ninth AFCON third-place finish. Senegal were crowned champions for the second time in their history, edging hosts Morocco 1–0 after extra time in a dramatic final in Rabat. The decisive goal came just three minutes into extra time when Pape Gueye struck a stunning left-footed…

‎The Federal Government has inaugurated a Book Ranking and Selection Committee to improve the quality and affordability of textbooks used in Nigerian schools.‎‎The initiative is aimed at reforming the current textbook approval process, which the government says has allowed poor-quality materials, lack of standardisation and excessive financial burden on parents to persist.‎‎Speaking at the inauguration in Abuja on Monday, the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, said the existing system failed to properly validate and rank textbooks before approval, resulting in some subjects having as many as 50 approved books without clear quality benchmarks.‎‎He said the absence of a structured…

The second US sphere would be built in an area known as National Harbor in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Located along the Potomac River, National Harbor currently features a convention center, multiple hotels, restaurants, and shops. While Abu Dhabi plans to build a sphere as large as the one in Las Vegas, the National Harbor venue would be one of the first mini-Sphere venues announced last March.Its capacity would be limited to 6,000 seats instead of over 17,000. But the smaller Sphere would still be hard to miss with an exterior LED exosphere for showcasing the “artistic and branded content”…

The partnership builds upon previous work Bermuda’s government has done to attract crypto companies, including bypassing a comprehensive regulatory framework in 2018.The government of Bermuda is planning to create a “fully onchain” national economy using digital asset infrastructure provided through partnerships with cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase and stablecoin issuer Circle.In a Monday announcement from the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Bermuda Premier David Burt and representatives from Coinbase and Circle said the partnership would allow the Caribbean island nation to use the USDC (USDC) stablecoin and Coinbase’s Base infrastructure to develop a new model for the country’s economy. According…

Poison called off their plans for a 40th anniversary tour after frontman Bret Michaels allegedly demanded 600 percent more money than his bandmates. “We had a great offer, I thought. But we left the table,” the glam rock band’s drummer, Rikki Rockett, told the New York Post‘s Page Six on Sunday, January 18. “It didn’t work.” Rockett (real name Richard Allan Ream) said that he, lead guitarist C.C. DeVille and bassist Bobby Dall “were all in” on the idea, but Michaels (real name Bret Michael Sychak) allegedly refused to sign on the dotted line over the financial dispute. “He wanted…

President Bola Tinubu has awarded Nigeria’s second-highest national honour, GCON, to Gilbert Chagoury, the controversial Lebanese-Nigerian billionaire and close ally of the Nigerian president. Although the award was given on 8th January, it was not announced by the presidency or made public until Monday. Sources in the presidency confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES that a copy of the award shared by billionaire Femi Otedola on X on Monday was authentic, but said the presidency may not issue a statement on the matter. Mr Chagoury was accused of helping former Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha loot Nigeria’s treasury when the latter held sway…