NEWS

President Bola Tinubu will not attend the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, with Vice President Kashim Shettima designated to lead Nigeria’s delegation.The decision means Tinubu will be absent from the UN General Assembly’s high-level gathering for the third consecutive year, having also been represented by Shettima at the 79th and 80th sessions in 2024 and 2025. Stanley Nkwocha, spokesman to the Vice President, confirmed the arrangement in a statement.“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has mandated Vice President Kashim Shettima to represent him and lead Nigeria’s delegation to the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly, UNGA, in New York, United States. VP Shettima will lead a high-level delegation comprising Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Riv...

A Baptist Church pastor and nine others were k!lled by gunmen in different communities in Barkin-Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State.It was gathered that the suspected assailants attacked passengers travelling to Gana-Ropp in Barkin-Ladi, on Saturday evening, September 19, 2026, killing six and injuring others in the vehicle.A resident of the community, who witnessed the incident, Ukasha Garba, claimed that the six persons k!lled were passengers from Gana-Ropp, traveling to the next community to work in a farm.It was further learnt that in the early hours of Sunday, September 20, a pastor from Baptist Church, his secretary, and one other person were ambushed and shot d3ad on their way to church at Dorowa Babuje, in the same council area.The development disrupted chu...

The three national news outlets President Donald Trump banned from the White House, CNN, MS NOW, and Politico, have said they will sue the Trump administration.President Donald Trump announced the ban on Friday, accusing the organisations of writing "fiction or lies" about his team. The companies said their reporters were denied access to the building on Saturday.In a joint statement on Monday, they said they were pursuing legal action to "protect our First Amendment rights and defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports".Posting on Truth Social shortly after, Trump said the White House was not "instituting an assault on the Free Press" and that he was targeting "FAKE NEWS".The First Amendment forbids the government from "abridging" the f...

The Allied Peoples Movement and its presidential candidate, Seyi Makinde, have filed a lawsuit challenging the N200 million campaign advertising permit imposed on presidential candidates by the Abia State Government.The suit, marked HU/214/2026, was filed before the Abia State High Court in Umuahia. Abia State Governor Alex Otti, the state Attorney-General, the Abia State Signage and Advertisement Agency and the Abia State House of Assembly are named as defendants.Under the fee schedule announced by the signage agency, presidential candidates are required to pay N200 million for campaign advertising permits, while governorship candidates are charged N150 million. Senatorial candidates are required to pay N100 million, House of Representatives candidates N50 million and State House ...

The Federal Government has commenced the payment of Additional Exit Benefits, AEB, to retirees of Treasury-funded Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, with approximately N1.1 billion already paid to 175 retirees who exited the Federal Public Service between 1 January and 31 August 2026. The payment is being made under the Federal Government Exit Benefit Scheme, EBS, approved by the Federal Executive Council and effective from 1 January 2026. The National Pension Commission, PenCom, which made this known in a statement, informed that the Scheme provides an additional financial benefit to Federal Government employees at retirement, alongside their pension benefits under the Contributory Pension Scheme, CPS. Under the Scheme, Federal Civil Servants who have s...

Thunderstorms and rainfall are expected in several parts of Nigeria between Monday and Wednesday, with the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) warning that strong winds could come before the storms in some areas.For Monday morning, the agency forecast thunderstorms with light rain over parts of Taraba and Kebbi states. It also predicted scattered thunderstorms and moderate rain over parts of the North-East, Kaduna, Taraba and Kebbi later in the day.In the North-Central, NiMet said parts of Niger State could experience thunderstorms with light rain in the morning, while most parts of the region could have thunderstorms and moderate rain in the afternoon or evening.The agency forecast cloudy weather across the southern states on Monday morning, with isolated thundersto...

The Obi-Kwankwaso Movement on Thursday unveiled a 59-member presidential campaign council comprising zonal and state coordinators as well as directors for mobilisation, women’s affairs, strategy, security, legal affairs and other key areas ahead of the 2027 general elections.The council, as announced in a statement on Thursday, has the Director-General of the movement, John Ughulu, as Director-General of the campaign, while National Secretary, Saadatu Sani, is also listed among the campaign leadership.The structure has representatives from the six geopolitical zones and the Federal Capital Territory, with state coordinators appointed for the 36 states.The council also includes directors responsible for grassroots mobilisation, women affairs, contact and engagement, sp...

The Lagos State Government has ordered residents living in13 flood-prone and low-lying communities to relocate to higher ground following a fresh seven-day flood alert issued by the Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency (NiHSA).According to the NiHSA, Lagos is expected to experience heavy rainfall and flooding from September 19 to 25, 2026.The 13 areas residents have been warned to watch include Eti-Osa, Lagos Island, Oke-Ira Nla in Ajah, Kirikiri, Ilaje Waterfront Jetty, Isheri North, Jetty Terminal B, Kara, Itowolo, Ajegunle, Majidun, Ogolonto and parts of AgboyiThe state government said communities along the Ogun River and other major waterways face additional risks as heavy rainfall upstream could increase water levels downstream.Commissioner for the Environment and Wat...

Arise Television’s Morning Show anchor, Rufai Oseni, has claimed that the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, is positioning himself for the 2039 presidential election.Oseni made the assertion on Monday while discussing the recent disagreement between Wike and some governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC.He said President Bola Tinubu would be reluctant to escalate the dispute because of his political interests ahead of the next election.“You see, I know this country too well. President Tinubu will never rock the boat. He will just try to give a gloomier response to settle the matter between Wike and the governors because he wants to win an election,” Oseni said.According to him, Tinubu’s approach was aimed at keepi...