Author: Lawal AbdulSalam Olawale

U.S. President Donald Trump will host leaders from five African nations in Washington next week to discuss “commercial opportunities,” a White House official said.

 

Trump will host leaders from Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal for a discussion and lunch at the White House on July 9, the official said.

President Trump believes that African countries offer incredible commercial opportunities which benefit both the American people and our African partners,” the official said, referring to the reasons why the meeting was arranged.

Africa Intelligence and Semafor reported earlier that the Trump administration would hold a summit for the five countries in Washington from July 9-11.

 

The Trump administration has axed swaths of U.S. foreign aid for Africa as part of a plan to curb spending it considers wasteful and not aligned with Trump’s “America First” policies.

 

It says it wants to focus on trade and investment and to drive mutual prosperity.

 

On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. was abandoning what he called a charity-based foreign aid model and will favor those nations that demonstrate “both the ability and willingness to help themselves.”

 

U.S. envoys in Africa will be rated on commercial deals struck, African Affairs senior bureau official Troy Fitrel said in May, describing it as the new strategy for support on the continent. (Reuters/NAN)

A former president of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, is currently recovering in hospital from an unnamed illness, his ex-media Bashir Ahmad, has confirmed.

Ahmad revealed this in a terse tweet on Thursday afternoon.

 

According to him, it was important to address the “exaggeration” in media reports.

He, however, disclosed that Buhari was critically ill and had been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit, ICU.

 

Ahmad noted that the former president is currently receiving medical attention but is stable and responding to treatment.

 

He tweeted: “It is true that former President Buhari is unwell and is currently receiving medical attention.

However, contrary to the exaggerated claims circulating in the media, he is stable and responding well to treatment and we are optimistic about his full recovery.”

 

Ahmad added that the prayers and goodwill from Buhari’s supporters and well wishers are well appreciated

.

 

President Bola Tinubu on Thursday met with Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Nyesom Wike, Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly Martins Amaewhule, and other members of the state assembly in a bid to end the lingering political crisis in the state.

 

The closed-door meeting at the Presidential Villa marked the first time Governor Fubara was seen with President Tinubu since the president declared a state of emergency in Rivers on March 18During that declaration, Tinubu suspended the governor, his deputy Mrs Ngozi Odu, and the state House of Assembly, citing their inability to work together and growing security concerns.

Thursday’s meeting appeared to signal a breakthrough in reconciliation efforts, as photographs released after the talks showed the president, governor, and minister smiling together.

 

Sources at the presidency say the meeting helped to reconcile the factions involved in the dispute that has paralysed governance in the oil-rich state

The High Court in Lafia, Nasarawa State, has sentenced Oluwatimileyin Ajayi to death by hanging for the gruesome murder of a National Youth Service Corps member, Salome Adaidu.

 

Delivering judgment on Thursday, Justice Simon Aboki found Ajayi guilty of culpable homicide, having killed and dismembered the victim.

Lafia

Ajayi was convicted on a one-count charge of culpable homicide, contrary to Section 221 of the Penal Code of Northern Nigeria and punishable by death.

 

More details later

MultiChoice Nigeria has slashed the price of its DStv decoder by 50 percent, from N20,000 to N10,000, in a move to reverse a steady decline in subscriptions.

 

The company said the price cut was designed to attract more customers and enhance accessibility to its services.

According to its Chief Executive Officer, John Ugbe, the new offer is part of efforts to reward customer loyalty and provide greater value.

 

“We want to ensure our customers feel appreciated and have access to the best entertainment every day. The ‘We Got You’ campaign is about making premium content more accessible and showing that DStv offers something for everyone, not just football fans,” he said in a statement issued on Tuesday.

 

He explained that the platform is repositioning itself as a hub for daily value, promoting a broader discovery of content across multiple genres, including movies, drama, kids’ programming, and news

This means more channels, more shows, and more reasons to tune in every day,” the statement added

 

MultiChoice also announced a promotional upgrade offer, which allows subscribers to move to the next DStv package tier at no additional cost when they fully renew their current plan between June 16 and July 31, 2025.

 

The company noted that both the decoder discount and the free upgrade initiative were introduced in response “to the noticeable economic impact on the everyday lives of Nigerians.”.

The National Youth Service Corps has denied extending the service year of a Lagos corper, Rita Uguamaye, also known as Raye, for criticising the administration of President Bola Tinubu.

 

PUNCH Metro reports that Raye became an Internet sensation following her public criticism of the present administration, which she described as worsening economic conditions.

 

Uguamaye had, in a viral video shared on her TikTok account, @talktoraye, expressed frustration over Nigeria’s worsening economic conditions, lamenting the high inflation and economic hardship.

 

Uguamaye had also criticised the President by describing him as a “terrible leader” while questioning the government’s efforts to alleviate the hardship faced by the citizens.

Additionally, she stressed that Lagos State is a “smelling state” and lamented its “poor living conditions.”

 

After the video had gone viral, Uguamaye posted another video on her TikTok to alert the public that she was allegedly being threatened by the NYSC authorities, a claim which was not commented on by the authority.

 

She claimed that some officials of the NYSC were asking her to delete the video, while she insisted that she had only spoken the truth about the country’s situation.

Following her allegations, several individuals, including ex-Vice President Abubakar Atiku and human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore, condemned the alleged threat to her life.

 

Sharing a news caption on Tuesday that read, “NYSC punitively extends Raye’s service year by 2 months for criticising Tinubu’s administration over hardship”, Sowore vowed to protest at the NYSC passing out parade.

Sowore wrote, “This Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu regime might go down with Rita Raye’s National Youth Service Corps matter.”

 

“This is not acceptable, we will mobilise down to the Passing Out Parade except Rita is allowed to complete her NYSC national service without let or hindrance.”

 

When contacted on Tuesday, the acting NYSC Director, Press and Public Relations, Carol Embu, said the decision to extend a corps member’s service year is made when such a person is passing out.

 

She disclosed that there are guidelines that would be followed if such an action were to be taken.

 

“Who is Sowore? Does he work with the NYSC? So, how come you are listening to him? I don’t understand how she will get an extension if she is still serving.

NYSC is not an irresponsible organisation; we work with rules and regulations. She is still serving; if she has any issues, we will wait and see,” Embu said.

 

Meanwhile, our correspondent could not independently verify the claim of service year extension from Uguamaye.

 

She did not also make any post on such claim on her social media handles