News Rider

At least eight persons died and 38 others were rescued during a boat mishap in Anambra State  The 50-passenger boat capsized over the weekend when the wooden engine rammed into a snag on the water channel.  Sources revealed that the boat was travelling  from Idah in Kogi State to Onitsha before it capsized at Umumu Anam in Anambra. The General Manager of Corporate Affairs, National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) Alhaji Jibril Darda’u confirmed the incident. He informed newsmen on Sunday in Lokoja that the sad and unfortunate incident occured  at Umumu Anam, Anambra West Local Government Area between Thursday (January 4) and Friday January 5).  Darda’u commiserated with the families and friends of the deceased and prayed to God to grant rest to their souls. He disclosed that preliminary reports indicated that the wooden engine boat rammed into a snag on the water channel and capsized with at least 50 passengers on board. “From the records, eight pe...

President Bola Tinubu has lauded the ingenuity, creativity and immense artistic talents of Nigeria’s thriving entertainment industry. This is even as the President congratulated Actress Funke Akindele on her record-setting film and commended her contributions to the growth of the industry. News Rider reports that Akindele’s movie, ‘A Tribe Called Judah’, was on Thursday, December 4, 2024, announced as the first Nollywood movie to earn N1 billion. The announcement was on the Filmone Entertainment official Instagram page @filmoneng, which was followed by congratulatory messages to Funke and the cast and crew members. “A momentous achievement unfolds as #ATribeCalledJudah etches its name in the annals of Nollywood glory. This cinematic masterpiece has not only captured hearts but shattered records, becoming the FIRST Nollywood movie to soar past the 1 Billion Naira milestone at the box office, "said the Instagram post.  But the Presidential spokesman, Chief Ajuri Ngelale ...

President Bola Tinubu  President Bola Tinubu has appointed new Executive Directors for Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA). The two agencies are under the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy. Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Chief Ajuri Ngelale disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja.  The new appointees of the NPA are: Ms. Vivian C. Richard Edet (Executive Director, Finance and Administration); Olalekan Badmus (Executive Director, Marine and Operations) and Ibrahim Abba Umar (Executive Director, Engineering and Technical Services). For NIMASA, they are: Mr Jibril Abba (Executive Director, Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services); Mr Chudi Offodile (Executive Director, Finance and Administration) and Fatai Taye Adeyemi (Executive Director, Operations). Ajuri noted that President Tinubu approved the appointment after studying their impressive profiles, with the firm believe that the...

The Federal Government has unveiled at least fifty-eight (58) illegal universities operating in Nigeria.  National Universities Commission (NUC) disclosed that some of the universities claimed to be affiliated to foreign universities in the country. In addition, nine degree mills are currently undergoing further investigations or court actions. This followed the suspension of degree certificates from two francophone West African countries after an undercover journalist exposed how he acquired a degree from a university in Benin Republic under two months and was deployed for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). In the list below, institutions that have other campuses are indicated with 'others' while those operating anywhere in Nigeria have 'anywhere' as suffix. They are as follows: 1. University of Accountancy and Management Studies, operating anywhere in Nigeria 2. Christians of Charity American University of Science and Technology, Nkpor, Anambra State...

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has denied plans to increase the cost of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) known as petrol. Chief Corporate Communications Officer of NNPCL, Mr Olufemi Soneye informed Nigerians on Wednesday in Abuja, to disregard unfounded rumours of increase in the pump price of petrol. He promised the public that there are no plans for an upward review of the price of petrol. Soneye cautioned motorists against panic buying, adding that there is presently ample availability of petrol across the country. There were viral reports on the social and mainstream media that fuel marketers under the aegis of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) clashed with NNPC Ltd over payment of subsidy. But Soneye insisted that payment of subsidy on petroleum products had been completely eradicated.  He denied that NNPCL never had any dispute with IPMAN over subsidy payment on petrol as alleged. The IPMAN National President, Mr Chin...

At least, 102, 650 indigenes of Edo State  across 1,969 communities in the 18 Local Government Areas will benefit from the second phase of the Federal Government’s conditional cash transfer.  The funds disbursed under the Renewed Hope Cash Transfer (RHCT) programme was designed for the poor and vulnerable people including Persons Living With Disabilities (PLWDs).  General Manager of Social Investment Programme (SIP) in the state, Ms Yuwa Aladeselu stated this on Wednesday at a one-day refresher training for local government cash transfer facilitators in Benin. Aladeselu noted that the Federal Government’s RHCT programme is implemented under the National Social Safety Nets Project Scale Up (NASSP-SU). She informed that Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo is always ready to key into any profitable intervention programme that would provide succour for the poor and vulnerable in the state. The general manager disclosed that Edo state has a social register of over 1.6 m...

      Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman The Federal Government has suspended the accreditation of degree certificates from Benin Republic and Togo. This followed an investigative report by Daily Nigerian Newspaper titled: “How Daily Nigerian Reporter Bagged Cotonou Varsity Degree In 6 Weeks." The Director of Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Education, Augustina Obilor-Duru announced the suspension on Tuesday in Abuja. She said that the government is worried on how some Nigerians deploy nefarious means and unconscionable methods to obtain a degree with the objective of getting graduate job opportunities above their qualification.  Obilor-Duru disclosed that the suspension remains in force pending the outcome of an investigation involving the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Education of Nigeria and the two countries, as well as the Department of State Security Services and the National Youths Service Corps. The statement reads: “The Feder...