Author: News Room

A civil society group, The Brain Builder’s Youth Development Initiative, has criticised the Kwara State Government and the Kwara State House of Assembly over their failure to make the proposed 2026 budget publicly accessible. The group, in a statement signed by its Global Director Olasupo Abideen, and a copy made available to Arewa PUNCH on Wednesday in Ilorin, described the situation as a major setback for transparency and participatory governance in the state. While acknowledging that the proposed budget has eventually been released to the public since the inception of the current administration, the group noted that the process has…

Two Nigerians, Chukwudi Okafor, 31, and Samuel Eze, 34, who are living in India, have been arrested for allegedly beating their friend, Emeka Christian, to death following a dispute over a woman in Pune, India. PUNCH Metro learnt from India Today that the incident occurred in the Pisoli-Phursungi area of Pune in the early hours of Monday. According to the report on Wednesday, the victim, a 40-year-old garment trader legally residing in India with a visa valid until 2027, had gone to the apartment of a Nigerian woman on Sunday night along with friends for a small party. What began…

Recently, some boys in khaki wanted to seize power in the Republic of Benin, but they failed spectacularly. I liked the fact that Nigeria’s intervention ensured they failed. Tell me there’s something good regarding boys in khaki who seize political power anywhere, and you’ve opened a forever unending debate. No fellow should tell me that just because he wears khaki, he’s more patriotic and should shoot his way to power. Wherever they put their boots on the ground, they make a mess of it. Look across West Africa, to Sudan, all the way to Central Africa. The matter is always…

A former Commissioner for Transportation in Lagos State, Dr Frederic Oladeinde, has described the Electronic Call-up system introduced by the Nigerian Ports Authority for easy movement of cargoes in and out of the ports as a technological turning point in Nigeria’s approach to logistics management. This was contained in a statement on Tuesday obtained by The PUNCH. Oladeinde, who midwifed the onboarding of Ètò for the state government, explained that for years, the Apapa Port Corridor in Lagos symbolised everything wrong with Nigeria’s urban logistics—gridlock, inefficiency, and unending frustration. Ètò is a digital traffic management system designed and deployed by…

Natural Cycles, the company behind a controversial FDA-cleared birth control app, is replacing its thermometer with a wristband that measures skin temperature, heart rate, and movement during sleep. The newly-launched wristband costs $129.99 and syncs with the Natural Cycles app, which uses an algorithm to determine a person’s “daily fertility status.”Users can already track their fertility by pairing an Apple Watch or Oura Ring with Natural Cycles, but the wristband could be an option for users who don’t have either of these devices handy. While Natural Cycles also works with newer Samsung Galaxy smartwatches and the Galaxy Ring, it’s meant…

Key takeaways:Retail traders remain sidelined despite BTC’s rebound, as low funding rates and muted interest point to fragile investor sentiment.Institutional investors are buying the spot Bitcoin ETFs again and corporate buyers building BTC treasuries may help send BTC back to $100,000.Bitcoin (BTC) price stabilized near $95,500 on Thursday following an 8%, three-day rally that wiped out $465 million in short BTC futures positions. However, according to web search and derivatives metrics, retail traders have remained on the sidelines. Bitcoin’s pullback from $97,900 may have further weakened investor sentiment. Bitcoin futures annualized funding rate. Source: Laevitas.chThe Bitcoin perpetual futures funding rate…

Influencer Isaac Efraín Valadez was found dead inside his truck with gunshot wounds. He was 44. The content creator, who was known online as “Chakin Valadez,” was discovered on Saturday, January 10. Local newspaper El Heraldo de México reported that authorities in Ensenada, Mexico, were alerted to an armed attack on Saturday and found Valadez dead at the scene before 7 a.m. The outlet reported that at least seven shots were fired. The Baja California State Attorney General’s Office has not made any arrests in connection with Valadez’s death, according to the outlet. Valadez was reportedly a package delivery driver…

Kebbi State Governor Nasir Idris has approved the appointment of additional permanent secretaries and general managers. The appointments were announced in a press statement issued by the Head of Service, Abubakar Malami Shekare, and signed by the Director of Administration in the Office of the Head of Service, Alhaji Rashidu Muhammad Bala, on Thursday. According to the statement, “the appointments are aimed at strengthening the civil service, improving effective service delivery, and ensuring good governance in the state.” Those appointed as permanent secretaries are Kabir Adamu and Musa Hassan Arugungu, while Mustapha Malami was appointed as General Manager of the…

Abubakar Atiku Abubakar, son of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), pledging to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027. The move was announced on Thursday at the National Assembly in Abuja, where he was received by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin, alongside APC leaders from the North-East. Popularly known as Abba, he said his decision was personal and historic, and urged members of his political structure, the Haske Atiku Organisation, to join him in the APC and support Tinubu’s…

Osun United have resumed preparation for the second stanza of the 2025/26 Nigeria National League, NNL, season. The team held their first training session on Wednesday in Osogbo with the next round billed to resume on February 14. The Omoluabi Giants embarked on a short break after the completion of the first stanza. Osun United Chairman Gbolagade Oriowo insisted that his team need to improve on their performance in the remaining fixtures of the season. “We need to seriously improve team performance, and improvement is what we desire in every department,” Oriowo stated following the players resumption. “There is no…