Author: Online Editor

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has responded to criticisms by a former Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, over the early resumption time for its Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination. Obi had, in a post on X on Sunday, decried reports of candidates, mostly teenagers, being asked to travel to examination centres as early as 6:30 am despite security concerns. He described the situation as “reckless,” citing incidents of accidents and missing candidates, and blamed it on what he called Nigeria’s inadequate investment in education. According to Obi, setting exams for vulnerable teenagers at such early hours was…

The United States government has faulted Nigeria for the continued delay in approving import permits for American agricultural products, describing the situation as a longstanding trade barrier that has hindered access to the Nigerian market. In its latest 2025 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers, the Office of the United States Trade Representative said that despite repeated efforts to secure market access, Nigeria had not acted on several pending requests concerning food and agricultural imports from the US. However, the Nigeria Customs Service countered the claims by the United States government that the NCS still operates a largely…

Fitch Ratings has upgraded the Long-Term Foreign- and Local-Currency Issuer Default Ratings of Kaduna, Kogi, Lagos, and Oyo states from ‘B-’ to ‘B’, reflecting improved macroeconomic stability and recent policy reforms in Nigeria. The global ratings agency announced the development on its website on Saturday, noting that the outlook for all four states remains Stable. According to Fitch, the rating action follows the upgrade of Nigeria’s sovereign credit rating from ‘B-’ to ‘B’ on April 11, 2025. The agency explained that in line with its rating criteria, the sovereign rating upgrade has been mirrored in the states, given the predominant…

Canada elects a new government on Monday to confront annexation threats from the United States and deal directly with President Donald Trump, whose trade war has defined the campaign. The Liberal Party, led by new Prime Minister Mark Carney, looked set to lose easily to the Conservatives’ Pierre Poilievre until the US president’s attacks on the country sparked a sudden reversal in poll forecasts. Carney, 60, has never held elected office and only replaced Justin Trudeau as prime minister last month. He had a lucrative career as an investment banker before serving as the central bank governor in both Canada…

More damning revelations have greeted the release of a former employee of the Access Bank, Stephen Ifeanyichukwu Ejezie, by the Police after being found culpable of a grievous crime. Platform Times reports that Ejezie, a quality assurance specialist at the Bank’s contact centre in Oniru, Lagos State, secretly recorded over four hundred video clips of his female colleagues while in the office with his smartphone. He was reportedly caught in the female restroom around 1:30 am on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, an earlier report by FIJ showed. The bank is yet to officially comment on the issue. A request for…

Adamawa State Governor, Governor Ahmadu Fintiri, has suspended indefinitely the Emir of Daware Alhaji Hassan Ja’afaru. Ja’afaru, the former district head of Daware in Fufore Local Government was investigated and found guilty of corruption, mal-administration, breach of security and other offences. In a letter dated April 25, 2025 and signed by the Permanent Secretary Chieftiancy Affairs, Adama Mamman on Sunday, he directed the district head to handover all government property in his possession to the secretary of the district. Part of the letter read, “Following a series of complaints made against you for maladministration, corruption, breach of security, confiscation of…

The South-South Zonal chapter of the All Progressives Congress on Sunday gave popular social media influencer Martins Vincent Otse, otherwise known as VeryDarkMan, one week to tender an apology to the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, over the manner he disparaged him in his latest video. While urging him to draw a line between activism and slander, the APC also admonished him against going after the former Akwa Ibom governor again in future. The warning was contained in a statement issued in Abuja by the Zonal Organizing Secretary of the South-South APC, Blessing Agbomhere. Agbomhere was reacting to…

The Presidency on Sunday said the recent defections of politicians from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress were of their free will and not coercion from President Bola Tinubu or his allies. It denied accusations of a one-party state, insisting that democracy is not under threat or undermined “simply because politicians exercise their rights of association.” “Nigerians migrating to the APC and expressing support for Tinubu are doing so out of their free will, based on the belief that the reforms being executed are in the interest of Nigerians and the unborn generation,” Tinubu’s Special Adviser on…

As Christians In Nigeria join the rest of the world to celebrate Easter, symbolizing the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, real estate entrepreneur and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Pelican Valley Nigeria Limited, Ambassador (Dr) Babatunde Adeyemo, has called on all Nigerians, especially Pelican-Valley’s clients at home and abroad, to practice the Christian virtues of sacrifice, hope, patience, love, diligence and abiding faith for a better tomorrow as symbolized in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Adeyemo in his Easter message on Sunday, said that as Easter represents hope for better things ahead, reinvigoration and renewal, he called…

… Task Govt On Building Guidelines, Provision of Services Worried by the seemingly proliferation of slums, informal settlements, congestion and other nuisances in the nation’s built industry, professional town planners and estate developers converged in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital for a two – Day workshop, to deliberate and chart a path to equitable and sustainable town, urban and regional development. Gathering on the theme: ‘The impact of emerging technologies on urban and regional planning: challenges and opportunities,’ at the event, organised by the Association of Town Planning Consultants of Nigeria (ATOPCON), the discussants, largely from the Town Planning profession…