Nelly's SmartBriefs

The news about Kano State former Governor of Kano State, Dr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, being suspended from the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) is not true, the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) said on Wednesday. On Tuesday, the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the NNPP announced that it had suspended the party’s National Leader and 2023 presidential candidate, Senator Rabin Musa Kwankwaso, for six months for alleged anti-party activities. Kwankwaso’s suspension was announced yesterday at the end of a parallel National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held in Lagos State. Secretary of the BoT, Babayo Muhammed Abdullahi, while addressing journalists at the end of the meeting, said the BoT also suspended the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party. The development has since generated a barrage of reactions across boards. However, in a statement issued on Wednesday, August 30, 2023, the party’s NWC refuted the purported suspension of Rabiu Kwankwaso. The party’s National Auditor, Lad

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief Nyesom Wike, has challenged his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), daring them to take action against him through suspension or disciplinary measures. Speaking in an exclusive interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today program on Wednesday, Wike asserted that he has yet to encounter a party leader who possesses the authority to suspend or expel him from the PDP. “The person who will suspend me is when I couldn’t produce a governor, three senators, Assembly members. I have not seen that person. Nobody will do it”. Wike earlier clarified that he is working for President Bola Tinubu and not the All Progressives Congress (APC). “I am not working for APC. I am working for Tinubu who have trust in me to help him deliver the renewed hope agenda,” he said.

General Brice Nguema, who was earlier on Wednesday, reportedly named as chosen to head the military junta in the Central African Republic of Gabon, has said that he has not yet been appointed as the head of the Gabonese government. According to him, “I do not yet declare myself as the head of the Gabonese state, I do not envision anything at the moment. “This is a debate we are going to have with all the generals. “Let’s meet again at 14:00 GMT. It’s all about clearing a consensus. Everyone will submit ideas and the best ones will be chosen, along with the name of the one who will lead the transition,” Nguema was quoted as saying. Meanwhile, President Ali Bongo, who was toppled in a military coup on Wednesday morning, has pleaded with his international friends to make noise for his release. Bongo, in a 51-second video clip trending on social media, confirmed that he had been arrested and isolated from his son and wife, who he said were held at another place. “My name is Ali Bongo Ondim

Police operatives have arrested a 24-year-old student of the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) in Rivers State for allegedly stabbing his girlfriend to death. The Edo State Commissioner of Police Muhammed Dankwara, who made the disclosure in Benin, the state capital, on Tuesday, August 29, 2023, said the suspect’s landlord reported the case to the police. The landlord, he said, told the police that the student stabbed the lady several times in the neck and in the chest with a knife. Dankwara said: “Police operatives immediately swung into action, arrested the suspect, recovered two knives, and rushed the victim to the hospital where her body was deposited in a morgue. “Items recovered from the suspect were two blood-stained knives, two iPhones, one Nokia phone, one laptop, and two ATM cards. “The case was transferred to the homicide section of the State Criminal Investigation Department, Benin. The suspect will be arraigned for murder soon.” Speaking with newsmen, the suspect said

President Bola Tinubu has expressed his deep concern over the political situation in Gabon and the socio-political stability in that country. Tinubu’s reaction came hours after a group of Gabonese military officers appeared on television Wednesday announcing they were “putting an end to the current regime”, and cancelling an election that, according to official results, President Ali Bongo Ondimba won. The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, while speaking with journalists, also expressed the Tinubu’s belief that the rule of law and a faithful recourse to constitutional resolution of electoral disputes must not be allowed to perish in Africa. “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is watching developments in Gabon very closely with deep concern for the country’s socio-political stability and the seeming autocratic contagion apparently spreading across different regions of our beloved continent,” he said. “The president, as a man who has made significant person

The Nigerian Navy, NNS BEECROFT’s patrol team executed a commendable operation resulting in the apprehension of five stowaways, aboard a vessel -MSC MARTHA. The operation was carried out on August 26, 2023, at approximately 2350 hours, following a reliable tip-off, the Navy said in a statement made available to News Point Nigeria on Wednesday. Their arrest took place within the vicinity of the Lagos anchorage, while they were attempting to clandestinely exit the country via the vessel, according to the Navy. The five stowaways were identified as Effiong Okon (44), Ayewuni Daniel (27), Ajagboma Asiko (29), Adebanjo Ayewumi (23), and Christian Joseph (25). See the full statement below: NNS BEECROFT’ Arrests Five Stowaways The Nigerian Navy, NNS BEECROFT’s patrol team executed a commendable operation resulting in the apprehension of five stowaways, aboard a vessel -MSC MARTHA. The operation was carried out on August 26, 2023, at approximately 2350 hours, following a reliable tip-off. The

The Kano State Hisbah Board says it has procured furniture and other materials for the wedding of 1,800 intending couples under its mass wedding scheme. The Commander-General of the board, Aminu Daurawa said this when he inspected some of the items for the wedding on Wednesday in Kano. He said the government had set budgeted over N800million for purchase of clothing materials, food items, furniture and other necessities for the wedding. ”Each bride will receive a set of bed, mattress and pillows, as well as N20,000 to start up a business. “Some philanthropists have pledged to contribute their quota to ensure the success of the wedding. “1,800 couples will benefit from the gesture, which would go a long way in curtailing societal vices and poverty in the society, as many marriages were being postponed, due to inability of parents to sponsor the wedding,” he said. Daurawa said that the wedding date would be announced to enable residents and individuals willing to assist to contribute the

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has denied releasing any campaign council lists for Kogi, Bayelsa, and Imo gubernatorial elections. The off-cycle elections would be held on November 11. In a post on platform X (formerly known as Twitter) on Tuesday, APC’s Organising Secretary, Muhammad Argungu, said National Chairman of the party, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, approved the constitution of the campaign councils in consultation with the national working committee (NWC). In the now disowned lists, Governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, was to lead APC’s campaign council for the Kogi governorship. While Governor of Gombe State, Inuwa Yahaya, was listed to spearhead the party’s campaign council in Bayelsa, Governor of Cross River State, Bassey Otu, was appointed to be in charge of Imo. The Kogi, Bayelsa, and Imo campaign councils had 135, 123, and 138 members, respectively. Governors Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Mohammed Bago, and Uba Sani of Lagos, Niger, and Kaduna, respectively, were members of the Ko

Twitter owner, Elon Musk, has lifted a ban on political ads put in place to thwart misinformation before he bought the platform now called X. Welcoming back potentially misleading political messages at X came less than a week after former United States President, Donald Trump, posted there for the first time since January 2021. Trump posted his police mugshot after his arrest in Georgia, signaling his return to a platform that was his favourite bullhorn during his years in the White House. It was his first post since several days after the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol that saw an enraged mob of his supporters attempt to block Joe Biden’s certification as president. The then-Twitter permanently suspended Trump after the January 6 riot, ruling he had violated the platform’s policy on glorifying violence as he pressed his false claims that the election was stolen from him. Musk, who bought the platform last year, reinstated the former president in November 2022, but Trump stayed away,

A group of senior military officers in Gabon appeared on national television in the early hours of Wednesday, August 30, 2023, and said they had taken power after the country’s electoral umpire announced President Ali Bongo had won a third term. The soldiers said they represented all security and defence forces in the Central African nation. They said the election results were cancelled, all borders closed until further notice, and state institutions dissolved. Loud sounds of gunfire could be heard in the capital Libreville, a Reuters reporter said, after the television appearance. There was no immediate comment from the government of the OPEC+-member nation. “In the name of the Gabonese people … we have decided to defend the peace by putting an end to the current regime,” the officers said. Tensions were running high amid fears of unrest after Saturday’s presidential, parliamentary, and legislative vote, which saw Bongo seeking to extend his family’s 56-year grip on power while the o

Officials of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) have demolished the popular Kasuwar Dare market in Abuja. The market located at Hassan Musa Katsina Street, near Kpaduma II in Asokoro Extension, Abuja, was said to have harboured suspected hoodlums and drug dealers. In a chat with journalists, the Director, Department of Development Control, Mr Mukhtar Galadima, said the market was becoming a threat to the residents of the area and passerby. He said the area was turned into a haven for criminal activities despite relentless efforts by the FCT Administration to sanitise the area. According to him, the miscreants operating in the area were affecting the aesthetic quality of the entire environment, adding that the Administration would not allow it to continue. “The operation will help us get rid of the hoodlums and drug dealers that have taken over the place. We had demolished the place about three times, but the nuisances rebuilt and continued their activities. “This time

The India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), last Friday, seized approximately €78,500 in cash, in a search related to visa fraud in the French Embassy conducted at the premises of a travel agent. The investigation was carried out in Ludhiana, a large industrial city in the north Indian state of Punjab, where the suspect travel agent, Balwinder Singh Bartia, resides, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports. The CBI later announced that incriminating materials were recovered during the search, whereas an amount of approximately Rs 70.10 Lakh (€78,542.45) were seized from a bank locked in the same city. According to the Bureau, the suspect charged young farmers and unemployed people in the state of Punjab between Rs 25 lakh to Rs 45 (€2,800 to €5,600) in exchange for Schengen visas from the Embassy of France, New Delhi.  He also arranged their flights to the United States from France within a period of ten days after arrival in the latter. To date, the French Embassy has not commented on the

Google unveiled a swath of fresh artificial-intelligence technology and partnerships on Tuesday that were geared toward bringing more of the growing technology to large businesses. The batch of announcements from its Google Next conference in San Francisco included new customers for its cloud software such as General Motors (GM.N) and Estee Lauder Companies (EL.N). The Alphabet (GOOGL.O) subsidiary made public a new version of its custom-built AI chips, unveiled an enterprise-scale tool to watermark and identify images generated with AI – plus tools for security and its office suite. The flurry of announcements is part of Google’s recent effort to showcase its AI plans, after Microsoft (MSFT.O) caught the company off guard with an ambitious AI strategy it has been rolling out since last year. But its big business customers need to be deliberate and move at a different pace, Google Cloud chief Thomas Kurian said in an interview with Reuters. “We’ve generally told enterprise customers, ‘

The Finnish Border Guard on August 28 became the first in the world to test digital travel documents of Finns for international travels. According to the Border Guard, all Finns on Finnair’s flights who will be travelling to London, Manchester, and Edinburgh will be able to test the digital travel document.  This means that they would have the chance to go through the controls faster without having to wait for a long period, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports. “The Finnish Border Guard invites passengers on Finnair’s Great Britain flights to test their digital travel document at the border check at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport starting on August 28, 2023. “Finnair customers on the London, Manchester and Edinburgh routes have the opportunity to go through the border control faster and more smoothly than usual without queuing,” the statement of the Finnish Border Guard reads. As explained, passengers will be able to go through faster procedures by registering as voluntary users of a digital travel

Nigerian music star, Divine Ikubor aka Rema’s chart-topping track, ‘Calm Down,’ featuring international artist, Selena Gomez, is now the first song ever to maintain its position at the summit of the Billboard US Afrobeats Songs chart for a full year. According to Chart Data, the song’s reign at number one on the Billboard US Afrobeats Songs chart has spanned an impressive 52 weeks, revealing its popularity and widespread appeal. Although ‘Calm Down’ reached a commendable peak of third place on the renowned Billboard Hot 100, the track’s success extended to the Canadian Top Songs chart, where it also secured the number one spot. Rema’s impact is not confined to the Western music scene; the track ‘Calm Down’ secured an accolade by entering the Guinness World Records. It earned the title of being the First No.1 Hit on The Official MENA Chart, a groundbreaking achievement that reflects the song’s resonance in the MENA region. Debuting at an impressive number one position, the MENA Chart wa

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has received a batch of 298 Nigerians who were stranded in Libyan prisons. The agency said this in a statement on Tuesday in Lagos. The statement said the returnees spent varying periods at various detention camps in the northern African country. They were repatriated back to the country in two separate chartered flights, the first with 161 returnees on Aug. 21 while the second flight came on Monday with 137 returnees. NEMA said that the second batch of returnees arrived on board an Al Buraq Air Boeing 737-800 with registration number 5A-DMG, at the Murtala Muhammad International Airport, Cargo Wing, Ikeja at about 5:38 p.m. on Monday. The returnees comprised 119 females who were mostly pregnant and 170 males with 3 female children, 3 male children and 3 infants. NEMA revealed that International Organisation of Migration (IOM), Port Health Service and National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRM) also

The Federal Government has announced N825.819billion as compensation for indigenes of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja to pave the way for the construction of the 4.2km second runway at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport. FCT Minister, Chief Nyesom Wike, made the announcement on Tuesday after a negotiation meeting with the Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, officials of both ministries, and representatives of their agencies as well as stakeholders from Jiwa, the affected community in Abuja. The N825.8billion, according to the minister, is to incentivise the residents to vacate the community and seek their cooperation towards the completion of the 4.2km second Abuja runway project, originally awarded in 2022. Additionally, Wike declared that the FCT will construct a 5km bridge in the Tunga Madaki community and provide modern health care facility expected to serve as a temporary resettlement site for the indigenes. Furthermore, the FCT minister charged the contractors t