Author: Lawal AbdulSalam Olawale

  • FULL LIST: 45 visa-free countries Nigerian passport can travel in 2024

    FULL LIST: 45 visa-free countries Nigerian passport can travel in 2024

    The Henley Passport Index, on Thursday, released the most powerful passports in the world.

     

    HPI, known for its comprehensive and authoritative ranking, evaluates passports based on the number of destinations their holders can access without needing a prior visa

     

    Nigeria sits behind Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Morroco, Benin Republic and Namibia which are at number 76th, 83rd, 67th, 65th, 71st, 79th and 65th respectively.

     

    The index also said Nigerians now have about 45 visa-free countries enabled with their passports.

     

    See the full list below:

     

    1. Barbados

    2. Benin

    3. Burkina Faso

    4. Burundi

    5. Cambodia

    6. Cameroon

    7. Cape Verde Islands

    8. Chad

    9. Comoro Islands

    10. Cook Islands

    11. Cote d’Ivoire

    12. Djibouti

    13. Dominican Republic

    14. Fiji

    15. Ghana

    16. Guinea

    17. Guinea-Bissau

    18. Haiti

    19. Iran

    20. Kenya

    21. Kiribati

    22. Lebanon

    23. Liberia

    24. Madagascar

    25. Maldives

    26. Mali

    27. Mauritiana

    28. Mauritius

    29. Micronesia

    30. Montserrat

    31. Mozambique

    32. Niger

    33. Niue

    34. Palau Islands

    35. Rwanda

    36. Samoa

    37. Senegal

    38. Sierra Leone

    39. Somalia

    40. St. Kitts and Nevis

    41. The Gambia

    42. Timor-Leste

    43. Togo

    44. Tuvalu

    45. Vanuatu

  • BREAKING: Supreme Court affirms Sanwo-Olu’s election

    BREAKING: Supreme Court affirms Sanwo-Olu’s election

    The Supreme Court has affirmed the election of the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

     

    Sanwo-Olu’s victory was upheld by the tribunal and Appeal Court in the state.

     

    The kernel of the case of the Labour Party candidate in the election, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, is on Sanwo-Olu’s running mate qualification.

     

    He claimed that the deputy governor, Obafemi Hamzat, had renounced his citizenship as a Nigerian.

     

    The court held that Sanwo-Olu’s deputy is a Nigerian by birth

     

    The court added renouncation of citizenship of a citizens by birth must be registered by the Nigerian president, adding that the appellant did not provide an evidence to that effect.

     

    The court, however, dismissed the appeal by the Labour Party Candidate for lacking in merit

     

    Abdulazeez Adediran, popularly known as Jandor, of the PDP on his part, contended that the name Sanwo-Olu submitted to INEC was different from that contained in his WAEC certificate.

     

    The apex court while dismissing appeal described its as “academic”.

     

    The dismissal of the appeal and that of the Labour Party means that Sanwo-Olu is the duly elected governor of Lagos state.

     

    Details later…

  • We are not recruiting – Oyo Govt warns against employment scam

    We are not recruiting – Oyo Govt warns against employment scam

    The Oyo State Government has warned against unscrupulous persons who are seeking to defraud members of the public through a fake recruitment scam.

     

    The state government was reacting to reports that it has commenced selling application forms for employment of medical personnel into the State service.

     

    Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Prince ‘Dotun Oyelade, described the information circulating on social media as false.

    He added that announcement would be made via official government channels anytime it wanted to start recruitment.

     

    The commissioner said, “It has come to the attention of the State Government that some unscrupulous elements are peddling false information on purported sales of application forms for employment of Medical Personnel into the State service.

     

    “The Oyo State Government hereby wishes to categorically state that there are currently no sales of such forms as the process for eventual recruitment is still ongoing.

     

    This is to implore the general public to disregard the false information on ongoing recruitment of the Medical Personnel.

  • BREAKING: Supreme Court affirms Gov Bala Mohammed’s election

    BREAKING: Supreme Court affirms Gov Bala Mohammed’s election

    The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the election of Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State.

     

    The judgment was delivered by Justice Ibrahim Saulawa.

     

    Details later

     

  • Sultan directs Muslims to observe new moon of Rajab on Friday

    Sultan directs Muslims to observe new moon of Rajab on Friday

    The Sultan of Sokoto and President General of the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, NSCIA, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, has directed Muslim Ummah to watch for the new Moon of Rajab 1445 AH starting on Friday.

     

    The Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Religious Affairs, Sultanate Council Sokoto, Prof Sambo Janaidu announced in a statement on Thursday.

     

    The statement reads, “This is to inform the Muslim Ummah that Friday, Jan. 12, equivalent to the 29th day of Jumada-Assani 1445 AH, shall be the day to search for the new moon of Rajab 1445 AH

     

     

    Muslims are requested to commence the search on Friday and report its sighting to the nearest District or Village Head for communication to the Sultan,” it said.

     

    The Sultan extended his prayers, seeking Allah’s assistance for all Muslims in fulfilling their religious duties.

     

    DAILY POST reports that Rajab, the seventh month in the Islamic calendar, is considered one of the four sacred months in Islam during which battles are prohibited

  • Ex-president Jonathan loses elder sister

    Ex-president Jonathan loses elder sister

    Former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has lost an elder sister, Madam Obebhatein Jonathan.

     

    She died on Thursday, January 11, 2024, at the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, after a brief illness, at the age of seventy

     

    A statement by Jonathan’s media office noted that the deceased popularly known as Amissi was a retired teacher, businesswoman, loving mother, and grandmother who lived a dedicated life of service to God and humanity.

     

    According to the statement, she was a devout Christian, a virtuous woman and a role model to many within and outside her community.

     

    The statement also indicated that the burial has been scheduled for Tuesday 16th February, 2024, pointing out that the details of the funeral rites would be announced by the family.

     

    Madam Obebhatein Jonathan is survived by three children, siblings, including His Excellency Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, and her mother Mama Eunice Afeni-Jonathan.

     

    According to the statement, she was a devout Christian, a virtuous woman and a role model to many within and outside her community.

    The statement also indicated that the burial has been scheduled for Tuesday 16th February, 2024, pointing out that the details of the funeral rites would be announced by the family.

    Madam Obebhatein Jonathan is survived by three children, siblings, including His Excellency Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, and her mother Mama Eunice Afeni-Jonathan.

  • CBN Appoints New Executives For Union, Polaris, Keystone Banks

    CBN Appoints New Executives For Union, Polaris, Keystone Banks

    Hours after the dissolution of the Board and Management of Union Bank, Keystone Bank and Polaris Bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on Wednesday, appointed new executives to oversee the affairs of the three banks.

     

    The apex bank, in a statement by its spokesperson, Sidi Hakama, announced Yetunde Oni as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Union Bank while Mannir Ringim was appointed as the bank’s Executive Director.

     

    Hassan lmam now heads Keystone Bank as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer with Chioma Mang as the Executive Director.

     

    For Polaris Bank, Lawal Akintola was appointed as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer with Chris Ofikulu as the Executive Director.

     

    The apex bank said the appointments take immediate effect.

     

    The new appointments followed the sacking of the boards of the three banks by the apex bank.

     

    The CBN said the action was necessary due to the “non-compliance of these banks and their respective boards with the provisions of Section 12(c), (f), (g), (h) of Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, 2020”.

     

    The regulatory authority said the banks’ infractions varied from “regulatory non-compliance, corporate governance failure, disregarding the conditions under which their licenses were granted, and involvement in activities that threaten financial stability, among others”.

     

    Controversies & More

    There had been speculations that the Federal Government would take over some banks after a report by CBN special investigator Jim Obazee indicting ex-bank chief Godwin Emefiele.

     

    The apex bank, however, dismissed the conjectures, assuring depositors of their funds.

     

    The Obazee panel later summoned the Chairman of Titan Trust Bank (TTB), Babatunde Lemo, and two supposed shareholders over the acquisition of Union Bank.

     

    Obazee, appointed CBN Special Investigator in July 2023 by President Bola Tinubu, had alleged that Emefiele used proxies to set up two financial institutions.

     

    In December 2021, 104-year-old Union Bank announced that it would be taken over by TTB. The new bank, which began operations in 2019, formalised the deal six months later with Lemo as the chairman. The deal was, however, drowned by controversy after fresh revelations emerged from the Obazee panel

  • Female banker kills self in Lagos

    Female banker kills self in Lagos

    A female marketing employee of a bank in Ikorodu, Lagos State, has committed suicide.

     

    The deceased, 32-year-old Amarachi Ugochukwu, was said to have drunk an insecticide.

     

    PUNCH Metro learnt that the incident happened on Monday within the premises of the bank.

     

    Ugochukwu had around 1pm made her way into the restroom, where she drank the insecticide, unknown to her colleagues.

     

    Other members of staff had started looking for her when the phone she left on her table kept ringing and she was not around to pick the calls.

     

    A police source confirmed to our correspondent that Ugochukwu was later found dead inside the toilet with the bottle of insecticide and her suicide note.

     

    In the suicide note made available to our correspondent, the lady blamed hard economy for her decision to end her life, saying nothing was working well for her.

     

    Nothing is working in my life. My figures are low. My brain is clogged up. The economy is getting harder. My decisions are wrong. My mind is messed up. The future doesn’t seem bright at all. I see extreme hardship. I can’t bear the pain anymore,” she wrote in the suicide note.

    Ugochukwu apologised to her parents and other members of her family in the suicide note.

     

    “I’m sorry mum, I’m sorry dad, I’m sorry Nene, Okwe, Toto, Nazor, Chuchu, Ifunanya,” she added.

     

    She concluded by writing, “Dear Lord, have mercy on me!”

     

    PUNCH Metro gathered that the manager of the bank had reported the incident to the police

    Ugochukwu apologised to her parents and other members of her family in the suicide note.

     

    “I’m sorry mum, I’m sorry dad, I’m sorry Nene, Okwe, Toto, Nazor, Chuchu, Ifunanya,” she added.

     

    She concluded by writing, “Dear Lord, have mercy on me!”

     

    PUNCH Metro gathered that the manager of the bank had reported the incident to the police.

     

    The bank manager had reportedly told the police that Ugochukwu locked herself up in the toilet to commit suicide, and she was found dead when the door was forced open.

     

    Our correspondent gathered that a medical doctor examined Ugochukwu and confirmed her dead

     

    The corpse was removed by the police and deposited at Ikorodu General Hospital for autopsy. The police in Lagos are investigating the incident,” the source added.

     

    Contacted, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, did not pick several calls made to his phone, neither did he reply a text sent to him.

  • JUST IN Agunloye, Power Minister Under ex-President Obasanjo, Remanded In Kuje Prison

    JUST IN Agunloye, Power Minister Under ex-President Obasanjo, Remanded In Kuje Prison

    A Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday ordered the remand of a former Minister of Power and Steel, Olu Agunloye, in Kuje Correctional Service.

     

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission arraigned Agunloye over allegations of fraud in the Mambilla Power Project.

     

    Agunloye was brought before the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday, where he pleaded not guilty to the charges read against him.

     

    The judge, however, ordered that the embattled former minister be remanded in pending when bail would be granted.

     

    Details later…