Day: November 2, 2025

Akpabio debunks fake Trump comment circulating online …..Warns Rant HQ, Others against misinformation

Lukman Laleye Babalola

The Office of the President of the Senate has dismissed as false, malicious, and mischievous a viral post attributed to Senate President Godswill Obot Akpabio, describing it as a deliberate attempt to misinform the public and stir unnecessary diplomatic tension between Nigeria and the United States.   In a statement issued on Sunday, November 2, 2025, by Hon. Eseme Eyiboh, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Senate President, the Office debunked a post published by an online platform, Rant HQ, which falsely quoted Akpabio as saying:   “The…

NDLEA uncovers colos lab in Lagos, nabs music artist over ‘loud’ shipment in bathtubs

Lukman Laleye Babalola

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have uncovered a clandestine laboratory where Colorado (popularly known as Colos), a potent synthetic strain of cannabis, was being produced inside a residential building in Ajao Estate, Isolo, Lagos. According to NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the operation followed months of intelligence gathering after the interception of Colos consignments earlier in the year, which hinted that local production had begun. The raid, conducted on Thursday, October 30, 2025, led to the arrest of 30-year-old lab owner, Stephen Kelechi…

Mass defection in Kano as Senator Barau receives 1,000 Kwankwasiyya members into APC

Lukman Laleye Babalola

Over 1,000 members of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) and the Kwankwasiyya Movement have defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano State.   The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau I. Jibrin, formally received the defectors who operated under the umbrella of Kwankwasiyya One Blood at an event held on Sunday at the Fine Time Events Centre, Kano metropolis.   According to a release signed by Ismail Mudashir, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Deputy President of the Senate, the defectors dramatically dumped their…

Securing and Preserving the Harvest”: A Call to Action Beyond Procrastination

Emporium Reporters

By Dr. Afolabi Olajuwon     On a serene Sunday morning, the sanctuary of the Foursquare Gospel Church, Wuse District Headquarters, Abuja, glowed with anticipation. It was the first Sunday of the month, a Communion Service suffused with reverence, reflection, and renewal. The theme, “Securing and Preserving the Harvest,” resonated deeply in the hearts of worshippers who gathered with expectancy, like farmers waiting for the first drop of the early rain.   The atmosphere was charged with sacred melody as the choir led in spirit-filled worship, songs that softened the…

Energy Activists reject proposed Oil Decommissioning Commission … Accuse Lawmakers of plot to undermine Petroleum Industry Act, waste public funds

Lukman Laleye Babalola

Hundreds of protesters under the banner of the Energy Reforms Advocates of Nigeria (ERAN) on Saturday stormed the streets of Abuja, kicking against the proposed National Commission for the Decommissioning of Oil and Gas Installations (NC-DOGI). The group described the bill as a “money-guzzling contraption” and “a dagger aimed at the heart of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA),” warned lawmakers to shelve it immediately in the national interest.   Addressing a press conference, Comrade Abba Henry, Executive Director of ERAN, said the new commission was needless and wasteful since the…

CSOs applaud Tinubu over 15% fuel import tariff … Say policy will end dumping of substandard products, fuel scarcity

Lukman Laleye Babalola

A coalition of civil society organisations under the aegis of the Coalition of Civil Rights Activists has lauded President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for approving a 15 percent import duty on refined petroleum products, described the move as a bold and strategic step toward achieving energy self-sufficiency and protecting Nigeria’s domestic refineries. Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, the Convener, Mr. Agabi Emmanuel, said the decision was not a revenue drive but a deliberate policy to end the dumping of fake and substandard fuels in the country.   “This 15%…

From Shared Desks to Separate Worlds: The Price of Educational Apartheid, by Hassan Gimba

Emporium Reporters

The Arbiter In traditional Nigeria, especially in the Muslim North, where I can confidently say I know a thing or two, segregation was minimal. Communities were integrated, with children of various social backgrounds associating freely. This social cohesion, evident from history and personal accounts, has eroded, giving way to educational divisions that now mirror and deepen societal inequalities. Stories from our elders describe community events that fostered lifelong friendships between the offspring of the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. The bourgeoisie included the middle class, senior public officials, and wealthy families,…

NUJ FCT Council demands end to attacks, impunity against Journalists …Says a society that silences Journalists silences the truth

Lukman Laleye Babalola

As the world marks the 2025 International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), FCT Council, has renewed calls on the government and security agencies to take decisive action against rising cases of attacks and harassment of journalists across the country.   The union expressed concern over what it described as a worsening climate of intimidation, unlawful arrests, and physical assaults on media practitioners, often without justice being served.   In a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday, the Secretary of the NUJ…

MURIC urges calm over Trump’s threat to attack Nigeria …Says US strikes only justified against Terrorists, not innocent Muslims

Lukman Laleye Babalola

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has called for calm following a reported threat by United States President Donald Trump to launch military action against Nigeria over alleged killings of Christians in the country. In a statement issued on Sunday, November 2, 2025, by its Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, the Islamic human rights organization said the threat should not cause panic among Nigerians, urged citizens to allow the Federal Government to handle the matter through diplomatic means. Professor Akintola noted that while any US strikes directed at terrorist groups such…

Abulu, the prophetic madman, at Akure summit By Festus Adedayo

Emporium Reporters

I have read enough works on the phenomenon of sycophancy in politics to know that it is a democratic curse. Whenever I reflect on its curse on development, my mind hovers over a character called Abulu in Akure, Ondo State-born Chigozie Obioma’s The fishermen (2015). A fictional book that got the shortlist of The Booker Prize, in it, four well-brought up kids of same parents, in the city of Akure, where the tragic plot was set, capitalize on a parental lacuna of their father’s absence to manifest traits of truancy…