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BY CHIKA OKEKE L-R: Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs, Sulaiman Chiroma presenting an award to Chief Superintendent of Customs, Nuruddeen Sa’idu, who is the Second-Best Graduating Student of Nigeria Customs Command and Staff College, NCCSC, Gwagwalada, Abuja. Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, has tightened border security operations by intercepting multiple contraband items and exposing the deceptive concealment tactics used by smugglers to evade detection. The seizures recorded include 9,482 parcels of cannabis sativa, 16,525 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), 475 litres of diesel, 7,642 pairs of footwear, 63 sacks of foreign sugar, and 73 bales of second-hand clothing. Other items were 113 bags of foreign parboiled rice concealed beneath bags of cement and 2,427 pieces of smuggled pneumatic tyres. Acting Customs Area Controller, Ogun I Area Command, Deputy Comptroller of Customs, DC, Oladapo Afeni said during the monthly press briefing that the total Duty Paid Value, D...

BY CHIKA OKEKE, Abuja President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has signed the 2026 National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) Act into law, marking a significant milestone in Nigeria's efforts to modernise identity management, enhance national security, improve public service delivery, and deepen the nation's digital economy. The signing took place on Friday at the State House, Abuja, in the presence of the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio; Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, and the House Leader, Julius Ihonvbere. Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi; Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo; representative of the World Bank, Taimur Samad; and Director-General of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Dr Abisoye Coker-Odusote, witnessed the signing. The Minister of Interior Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo described the signing of the Act as a landmark achievement amid ongoing reforms aimed at strengthening inter...

BY CHIKA OKEKE, Abuja President Bola Tinubu President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed Abdulrazak Sa'ad Namdas as the new Director General of the Border Communities Development Agency (BCDA). Namdas replaces Dr Dakorinama Alabo George, who resigned to contest for an elective post in his home state. A former member of the House of Representatives representing Ganye/Jada/Mayo Belwa/Toungo Federal constituency of Adamawa State, Namdas was the spokesperson of the 8th House of Representatives, and an aspirant in the just-concluded governorship primary election in Adamawa State. As a seasoned journalist and public relations practitioner, he also served as Chief Press Secretary to former Governor Boni Haruna of Adamawa State. Also, President Tinubu has appointed Hon. Patrick Obahiagbon, as the Executive Director, Strategy & Commercial, of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company, NDPHC. President Tinubu reappointed Mr Chukwuma Umeoji as Executive Director, Corporate Services o...

BY CHIKA OKEKE, Abuja   Prof Oluwatoyin Temitayo Ogundipe  President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed Professor Oluwatoyin Temitayo Ogundipe as chairman of the governing board of the National Universities Commission (NUC).   He succeeds Emeritus Professor Olufemi Raphael Aina, who resigned his appointment after less than one year in office.    President Tinubu had last year July, appointed Professor Aina and the board members were inaugurated in November 2025.   Prof. Ogundipe, former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos (2017–2022), is a professor of Botany with expertise in molecular plant taxonomy, biosystematics, ethnobotany, cytogenetics, forensic botany, and ecological conservation.   He holds a PhD in Botany from Obafemi Awolowo University and an MBA from the University of Lagos.   Currently, Professor Ogundipe, 66, serves as Pro-Chancellor of Redeemer’s University, Ede, Osun State.   He is a fellow of several professi...

BY CHIKA OKEKE, Abuja   President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has disclosed that the teeming youth population remains the nation's greatest asset, assuring foreign investors that the ready-to-learn and tech-savvy workforce can easily integrate into the global market.    President Tinubu, who received a delegation from Mastercard led by the Global Chief Executive Officer, Michael Miebach, at the State House on Tuesday in Abuja, welcomed the company's proposal to train five million businesses and equip them with digital skills.    He said that the Nigerian economy had been repositioned and stabilised to fully participate in the global economy, with a focus on empowering youths and small businesses with digital skills and tools.   The President noted that the ongoing formalisation of Nigeria's largely informal small-business sector will create more opportunities for digital transitions, investments, employment, and growth.    "I am glad that you ar...

BY CHIKA OKEKE, Abuja Prof Innocent Barikor Committed to promoting green jobs, the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency, NESREA, has issued a deadline for compliance to 25 percent recycled PET content for the plastics sector. This followed a recent publication attributed to the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, MAN, expressing concerns over the National Environmental (Plastic Waste Control) Regulations, 2026. With the deadline, the PET content requirement takes effect from 1 January 2028 and increases to 50 percent from 1 January 2030. The timeline is expected to provide an opportunity for the manufacturers, recyclers, brand owners and Producer Responsibility Organisations, PRO, with sufficient time to plan investments, upgrade systems, build supply chains, develop local recycled-material capacity and engage regulators on practical implementation. Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of NESREA, Prof. Innocent Barikor noted that the Nat...