News Rider

BY CHIKA OKEKE, Abuja     Tony Elumelu President Bola Tinubu has congratulated a foremost economist, banker and philanthropist, Mr Tony Onyemaechi Elumelu as he marked his birthday on March 22.  Elumelu is the chairman of Heirs Holdings, United Bank for Africa, Transcorp, and the founder of The Tony Elumelu Foundation. Tinubu describes Elumelu as an African business icon and a standout advocate of the Nigerian and African enterprise. The President commends the Heirs Holdings chairman for his resilience, the excellence that governs his entire enterprise and his staunch belief in Africapitalism. As an avid believer in investing in the youth, President Tinubu especially lauds the Tony Elumelu Foundation’s entrepreneurship programme, which has so far trained 2.5 million young Africans in 54 countries and empowered over 24,000 budding African entrepreneurs with non-refundable seed capital of $5,000 each. As Elumelu celebrates this special occasion, the President jo...

BY BAYO ONANUGA     Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo  It has become necessary to debunk the raft of misinformation assailing the migration partnership between Nigeria and the United Kingdom, as contained in the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the two nations on the sidelines of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's historic state visit to the UK. The memorandum on immigration cooperation, like other memoranda signed, aimed to strengthen the partnership between Nigeria and the United Kingdom. Nigeria's Minister of Interior and the Secretary of State for the Home Department of the Government of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland signed the Migration MoU.  The MoU establishes a framework to facilitate a regulated and safe migration flow between the two countries and to encourage further bilateral cooperation in the fight against irregular migration and associated acts by citizens of each country, in accordance with their respective immigratio...

BY CHIKA OKEKE, Abuja The world’s largest pension fund controlled by Norway has dumped Bolloré group over lingering human rights abuses at cocoa and palm oil plantation.  This was contained in a report from the Norwegian Bank Investment Management (NBIM) and made public on 26 February 2026.  Bolloré Group is a major French conglomerate (founded in 1822) controlled by the Bolloré family, with core businesses in transportation, logistics, communication, and energy storage/systems. The report stated that after years of dialogue with Bolloré SE and Compagnie de l’Odet SE on the handling of human rights risks, sexual violence, harassment and labor rights abuses at the plantations of the Luxembourg-based company, Socfin, in which the Bolloré group holds a significant share, NBIM decided to exclude them from its investment portfolio.  Though the violations and abuses have long been denounced by affected communities, the Socfin group controls 370,000 hectares for the ...

BY CHIKA OKEKE, Abuja As Muslims worldwide celebrate Eid-el-Fitr, marking the end of Ramadan, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has congratulated the Muslim faithful in Nigeria, seeking renewed commitment to the nation and humanity.  He enjoined Nigerian Muslims to rededicate themselves to the noble teachings of the holy month, which emphasise piety, empathy, and unity among humanity. "We have a lot to draw from the noble lessons of Ramadan, especially at a time like this. We must continue to abide by the virtues of piety, selflessness, perseverance, kindness and compassion beyond this period," he said. Tinubu urged all Muslim faithful to extend a hand of kindness to the needy of all faiths, to further show unity and camaraderie. The President tasked Muslim leaders to use the occasion to offer prayers for peace and prosperity to prevail in the country. This was contained in a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga in ...

BY CHIKA OKEKE, Abuja Aljazirah Nigeria Newspaper has honoured the Minister of Works,  Engr. David Umahi with the 2025 Personality of the Year Award as Infrastructure Transformation Champion.  The organisers said that the recognition followed months of independent scrutiny, investigations, and verification of projects under the Ministry of Works. Umahi received the award alongside  the Permanent Secretary and Directors of the ministry. He said: "I am here with my team, including the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Works and all the Directors. I am deeply touched by this award." According to him, what struck him most was not the accolade itself, but the process behind it. "What makes this recognition particularly important to me is the process behind it. I understand that you undertook a thorough review of the Ministry’s operations. What stands out is that this was done independently, without my knowledge, and I have only just become aware of it...

BY CHIKA OKEKE, Abuja The Minister of Works, Engr David Umahi is in high spirit as staff clinched gold medal at the 2025 Federal Public Service Games (FEPSGA) in Yola, Adamawa State.  This was even as the minister dedicated the award to the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.  The trophy and gold medal were formally presented to the minister by the ministry’s sports club during a surprise ceremony on Wednesday at the ministry’s headquarters in Mabushi, Abuja. News Rider reports that the Permanent Secretary, Directors, Union leaders, and other members of staff attended the event.  While receiving the coveted trophy and medal, Engr. Umahi expressed gratitude to God and commended the ministry’s sportsmen and women for their outstanding performance, which earned the ministry recognition among other participating Ministries, extra-ministerial Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), including a gold medal in the March Pass category. He...