Author: starconnect
By Our Reporter In a judicial intervention that could reshape public procurement and accountability in Nigeria’s legislature, the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has declared the National Assembly’s controversial N110 billion vehicle and allowance schemes unlawful. The landmark judgment, delivered by Justice Yellim Bogoro in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/1606/2023, ruled that the expenditure of N40 billion on 465 luxury vehicles for federal lawmakers, alongside N70 billion earmarked as support allowances for newly elected members, fundamentally breached the country’s procurement laws, constitutional obligations, and public trust. Although the judgment was delivered on Wednesday, May 6, 2026, the Certified True…
By SCM Reporter PORT HARCOURT—In a bid to strengthen healthcare infrastructure and improve access to quality medical services in the Niger Delta, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has donated essential medical equipment to the Model Primary Health Care Centre in Orogbum Community, Port Harcourt Local Government Area of Rivers State. Speaking during the official handover ceremony at the facility, the Managing Director of the NDDC, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, stated that the intervention directly aligns with the Commission’s core mandate to enhance healthcare delivery and uplift the well-being of rural and urban communities across the region. Dr. Ogbuku,…
Admin I Sunday, June 05. 2026 ABUJA, Nigeria – The Abia State Governorship Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2027 election, Dr. Kelechi Anosike, has congratulated the Alhaji Mohammed Abdulrahman-led National Working Committee (NWC) over the Court of Appeal’s decisive ruling on the appeal filed by the Taminu Turaki group. Speaking during a visit to the National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Mohammed Abdulrahman, at the Wadata Plaza National Secretariat of the PDP in Abuja, Anosike described the appellate court’s ruling as timely and decisive. He also commended the party’s NWC for conducting successful and rancour-free…
By abiodun KOMOLAFE IJEBU-JESA, Osun – We are all now in peril, and there’s no longer an acceptable definition of where the frontline is. The abduction of dozens of pupils across three schools spanning Ahoro-Esinele, Yawota and Oko communities in Oriire Local Government of Oyo State must not be used to indulge in blame trading. Instead, it should be an opportunity for re-strategising. Oriire has shown unambiguously that a strategic review must be done. As William Shakespeare wrote, “The fault is not in our stars, but in ourselves.” The insurgents are not as skillful, surefooted or brilliant as…
By Our Reporter PORT HARCOURT — THE Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has reaffirmed its commitment to climate action, environmental protection, and sustainable development across the Niger Delta region. The Commission pledged to remain focused on implementing strategic environmental projects to restore degraded ecosystems and build climate resilience in host communities. The NDDC Executive Director, Projects, Dr. Victor Antai, stated this in Port Harcourt during the commemoration of the 2026 World Environment Day. Antai, who was represented by the Director II, Environmental Protection and Control, Elder Henry Okokon, noted that this year’s theme, “Inspired by Nature. For Climate. For…
BY SCM REPORTER DESPERATE families are packing what little they own into suitcases today as a massive emergency airlift begins to rescue more than 1,000 terrified people from a rising tide of anti-foreigner violence. Nigeria has triggered an urgent voluntary evacuation plan to fly its citizens out of South Africa after a terrifying wave of anti-immigrant hostility left hundreds homeless and thousands more living in absolute dread. Emergency registration desks opened on Thursday as panicked mums, dads, and workers queued up to sign away their lives in South Africa just to escape with their skins intact. Officials admit…
Admin I Friday, June 05,2026 IKENNE, Ogun – Cup-holders Super Falcons on Friday opened their 14th WAFCON preparations with a controlled 2-1 victory over Senegal’s Teranga Lionesses in Ikenne-Remo, asserting authority early and managing the contest with composure for long spells. The breakthrough arrived on the half-hour mark when Nigeria earned a penalty kick, and veteran forward Asisat Oshoala stepped forward with assurance to convert in the 32nd minute. It marked a significant return for the forward, making her first appearance for the Super Falcons since the WAFCON 2024 final, and she delivered with the calmness expected at that…
By Punch Reporter IKEJA, Lagos – Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, on Friday, sentenced one Chukwuemeka Udezuka to 12 years’ imprisonment for stealing a total sum of ₦64,060,000. The conviction followed a four-count charge of stealing brought against Udezuka by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Udezuka, alongside his company, Mezu Connection Investment Limited, was found guilty of defrauding four unsuspecting victims under the guise of helping them convert naira to United States dollars at the official Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) exchange rate. According…
By Our Reporter YENAGOA, Bayelsa – THE Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, has underscored the urgent need for increased investment in education, describing it as the foundational tool required to reorient children and guarantee a secure future for the people of the Niger Delta and Nigeria at large. Ogbuku made the assertion on Friday during a plenary session at the 2026 Law Week of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Yenagoa Branch. The event, held at the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) Conference Hall in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, was themed “Securing…
By SCM Correspondent DETROIT — Two prominent federal scientists working at a premier National Institutes of Health laboratory have been arrested and charged in a federal criminal complaint, accused of conspiring to smuggle vials of the mpox virus into the United States on a commercial flight and lying to customs officials. The researchers, Vincent Munster, 53, the chief of the Virus Ecology Section at the N.I.H.’s Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Montana, and Claude Kwe, 38, a research fellow, were stopped by Customs and Border Protection officers at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. The two men were returning from a nine-day research trip…