NEWS

The Federal Government has released about N2.68tn for the construction, rehabilitation and maintenance of roads and bridges across the country between 2023 and April 2026, findings by The PUNCH from the Open Treasury Portal have shown. The analysis, however, revealed a significant disparity between approved budgets and actual releases, with the government making provisions totalling N54.93tn for road-related projects within the period under review. The figures highlight both the growing emphasis on infrastructure development and the persistent financing constraints that continue to affect capital project execution in the country. The development also comes amid the ongoing Renewed Hope Media Tour organised by the Presidential Communications Team, designed to showcase pro...

The Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress said they will restart negotiations with the Federal Government over a new national minimum wage, warning that workers can no longer cope with rising living costs as inflation continues to erode real incomes. The unions are pushing for what they described as a “genuine living wage” to replace the current framework, which they said no longer reflects Nigeria’s economic realities, particularly sharp increases in food, transport, housing, and healthcare costs. The position was contained in a joint address delivered at the 114th International Labour Conference in Geneva on Monday, where the unions also rejected any proposal to tax the minimum wage or impose additional fiscal burdens on low-income earners. Nigeria’s current m...

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and Executive Secretary of the National Institute for Cultural Orientation, Abiodun Ajiboye, has said Nigeria has lacked a clear developmental direction since independence in 1960. Speaking on Arise Television’s Prime Time programme on Tuesday, Ajiboye described the country’s infrastructure development as largely uncoordinated, arguing that successive governments failed to implement long-standing development plans. According to him, some of the infrastructure projects currently being executed by President Bola Tinubu’s administration were conceived as far back as 1983 but were neglected by previous administrations. Ajiboye also lamented what he described as the failure to deliberately build a culture of patriotism and nationa...

A Russian artist known for criticizing President Vladimir Putin has been sh0t de@d in Poland. Kremlin opposition figure Robert Kuzovkov, also known by his artistic name Semyon Skrepetsky, was first sh0t twice Monday morning by the gunman who approached him in the eastern Polish town of Biala Podlaska near the Belarusian border, according to officials and local media. “When the victim fell to the ground, the perpetrator approached, fired three more shots and then quickly fled the scene,” said Marcin Kozak, a spokesperson for the District Prosecutor’s Office in Lublin. At least one of the five shots was to the head. “Robert K. d!ed at the scene,” Kozak confirmed. Two Belarusians were detained, but have not been charged. It’s unclear what role they might have had in the sho0ting. ...

The Lagos State Government has announced alternative traffic arrangements ahead of the temporary shutdown of the Iddo Bridge in the Ijora axis of Apapa for ongoing rehabilitation works. In a statement issued on Tuesday, Commissioner for Transportation, Oluwaseun Osiyemi, said the closure is necessary to enable the Federal Ministry of Works install heavy steel beams as part of the bridge reconstruction project. According to the government, the entire bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic during specific periods to ensure the safety of motorists, construction workers and other road users. The bridge will be shut from 10:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 17, 2026, to 5:00 a.m. on Thursday, and again from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 21, 2026. To ease movement during the cl...

United States President, Donald Trump has said that without America, there would be no Israel. Trump made this remark on Tuesday, June 16 while addressing reporters at the G7 summit in France. He added that the United States was crucial to Israel’s survival and criticized the Obama-era Iran nuclear deal, blaming it for the current Middle East crisis. According to him, the United States has had a very effective relationship with Israel, stating however, that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must be more responsible with respect to Lebanon. “We’ve had a very effective relationship. Without the United States, there would be no Israel. Without me, there would be no Israel, because no other president was willing to do what I did,” he said. He added that Lebanon used to be a gre...

Former Ghanaian Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has been granted permanent residency in the United States, his lawyer announced on Tuesday, June 16, months after he was arrested by US immigration authorities and declared a fugitive by authorities in Ghana. Ofori-Atta, 66, has been residing in the United States since January 2025, where he travelled to receive medical treatment, including surgery for prostate cancer. His stay in the country came under scrutiny earlier this year when he was arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while seeking to extend his stay. At the time, his legal team said the arrest was related to his immigration status and not to the criminal allegations he faces in Ghana. In a statement released Tuesday, his attorney, Justice Kusi-Minkah Pr...

Nigerians Demand Action From Government Concerns and outrage have continued to grow over the reported abduction of school children in Ibadan, with many Nigerians questioning the government’s response and demanding urgent action to ensure the safe return of the victims. The incident has sparked public concern, with citizens asking whether the kidnapped children can simply be forgotten without a coordinated effort to locate and rescue them. “Are we really saying that these kidnapped Ibadan school children are just gone?” the question has echoed across social media and public discussions, as families and concerned Nigerians seek answers from authorities. Many are calling on the Nigerian government, security agencies, and relevant authorities to intensify rescue operations, provide...

Two friends have been klled after being swept into the ocean in Santa Cruz County as dangerous waves battered the California coastline. Harshita Nair, 21, and Mahial Sran, 20, both of Fremont, were identified as the victims at Bonny Doon Beach last Wednesday, the local sheriff-coroner’s office confirmed. Nair was a legal studies major at UC Berkeley set to graduate in 2027. Sran was set to earn her degree in public health at San José State University in 2027. Both women graduated in 2023 from Washington High School in Fremont. They were understood to have been napping near a keyhole on the notoriously dangerous beach when the waves swept them out to sea. Nair’s grieving father told The Post on Monday he did not know what the friends were doing when tragedy struck. “I h...

As part of measures to stem the tide of insecurity in his state and frustrate the activities of band!ts, the Katsina State governor, Dikko Umaru Radda, has announced an immediate statewide ban on the sale, purchase, transportation, and storage of petroleum products in jerrycans. The governor announced this in a new Executive Order issued after an emergency security meeting involving security agencies, traditional rulers, and other key stakeholders. The governor said the ban on the sale of fuel in jerry cans is intended to prevent fuel supplies from reaching criminal elements operating from forests and other remote hideouts. The Executive order also ordered the immediate closure of all Point of Sale (POS) outlets and commercial phone-charging centres in Matazu and Musawa Local ...