Day: September 7, 2025

From Praise to Prophetic Prayers: Rev. Dr. Babatunde Idowu Declares Unlimited Grace for Every Need

Emporium Reporters

By Dr. Afolabi Olajuwon     The first Sunday and Holy Communion service at Foursquare Gospel Church, Wuse District Headquarters, held on September 7, 2025 was a power-packed spiritual encounter as members gathered under the theme: “Obtaining Help For All Need.” The service opened with a vibrant praise and worship session led by Deaconess Roseline Ekpo, who ushered the congregation into an atmosphere of thanksgiving. Songs of adoration and prophetic declarations lifted hearts in unity, preparing worshippers for the Word. Rev. Dr. Babatunde Idowu, the District Overseer, delivered a profound…

OPEN LETTER FOR LEGISLATIVE INTERVENTION ON NIGERIA’S INTERNATIONAL PASSPORTS FEES INCREASE

Lukman Laleye Babalola

Date: September 7th, 2025   To: The Senate President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.   To: The Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria   From: HallowMace Foundation Africa   Subject: Urgent Call for Legislative Intervention on The Exorbitant Increase in International Passport Fees and Poor Workers’ Remuneration in Nigeria.   Your Excellencies,   We, the HallowMace Foundation Africa, a non-governmental organization dedicated to promoting social justice, good governance, and economic equity across the African continent, hereby bring to your urgent attention the recently…

Customs Board approves $300 De Minimis Threshold, warns officers against misconduct

Lukman Laleye Babalola

The Nigeria Customs Service Board (NCSB) has approved a De Minimis Threshold Value of $300 for low-value consignments imported through express shipments or by passenger baggage. The decision was reached at the Board’s 63rd regular meeting held on Tuesday, September 2, 2025, chaired by the Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun.   According to a statement issued on Sunday by the National Public Relations Officer of the Service, Assistant Comptroller of Customs Abdullahi Maiwada, the new regulation takes effect from Monday, September 8,…

The Generals’ Call, Our Rails, and Our Fear for the Future (2), by Hassan Gimba

Emporium Reporters

The over 100-year history of the Nigerian railway system, which pioneered the rapid opening of the country, is a mixed bag. There was an upward curvature amidst stability, before the cankerworm of corruption stagnated its growth, reversed its fortunes and virtually killed it.   The first railroad was constructed by the British colonial government in 1898 with the construction of the 193-kilometre first rail line from Lagos to Ibadan between 1898 and 1901. With the amalgamation of the Lagos Government Railway and the Baro-Kano Railway on October 3, 1912 and…

Goodlluck Jonathan’s betrayal and Askaris in Nigerian politics By Festus Adedayo

Emporium Reporters

Poor Goodluck Ebele Jonathan! Last Thursday, at the 70th birthday of his ex-Chief of Staff, Chief Mike Aiyegbeni Oghiadomhe, in Benin, Edo State, the former Nigerian president revealed the soft underbelly of Nigerian politics. At that event, Jonathan opened up a wound he had nursed since he lost the 2015 presidential election. It was his ordeals in the hands of political Askaris. “Politics in the Nigerian standard is about betrayals. I have witnessed a lot of betrayal during 2015 election,” he said.   Apart from politics, in liberation struggles, betrayers…

NDLEA dismantles International Drug Cartel, arrests 3 Kingpins, intercepts N6.4bn illicit substances

Lukman Laleye Babalola

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has smashed a transnational drug cartel operating between Nigeria, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Australia, and the United Arab Emirates, arrested three of its leaders in Lagos and seized multi-billion-naira illicit consignments across the country. The breakthrough followed the interception on Tuesday, 26th August 2025, of 76 cartons of textiles bound for Sydney, Australia at the export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos. A thorough search uncovered 16 blocks of cocaine weighing 17.9kg, concealed in lace fabrics and packed with charms…