News
FG Set To Appeal Bakassi Ruling …As Jonathan Names New Service Chiefs
President Goodluck Jonathan has set up a committee to look
at the option of appealing the judgment of the International Court of Justice
(ICJ) on the Bakassi peninsula.
The decision was reached at a meeting between the President,
the leadership of the National Assembly and other stakeholders at the State
House in Abuja.
Our correspondent reports that the meeting which started
late Wednesday night ended in the early hours yesterday.
Cross River Governor, Liyel Imoke, told State House
correspondents after the meeting that the committee would also consider how to
take care of the displaced people of Bakassi.
Imoke who did not disclose the composition of the committee
said it would work within a specified time.
Our correspondent reports that Nigeria has an October 9
deadline to appeal the ICJ ruling which ceded the oil-rich Bakassi peninsula to
neighbouring Cameroon. The judgement was
delivered on October 10, 2002.
Imoke said Jonathan had shown great leadership quality by
convening the meeting and standing firm on some of the decisions taken.
Speaking also, the Senate President, Senator David Mark,
said the executive arm of government and the lawmakers were now on the same
page on the Bakassi issue.
He said they would work together to achieve results.
A former Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Prince
Bola Ajibola who was at the meeting, said the Federal Government had shown
candid concern on the Bakassi issue.
He commended the move by government to follow dialogue, the
rule of law and diplomacy in ensuring that Nigeria gets justice and the people
were not wrongly dealt with.
Ajibola expressed optimism that the committee would handle
the matter accordingly and in good time.
Our correspondent reports that the meeting was attended by
Vice President Namadi Sambo, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon.
Aminu Tambuwal, and other principal officers of the National Assembly.
Also in attendance were Akwa Ibom Governor, Godswill
Akpabio, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius
Anyim, and the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation
(AGF), Mohammed Adoke.
Some leaders and representatives of selected groups from
Bakassi, as well as presidential aides, were also in attendance.
Our correspondent recalls that the Senate had last week
unanimously passed a resolution mandating the Federal Government to appeal the
ICJ ruling because of the new facts which had emerged over the matter.
Meanwhile, President Jonathan yesterday in Abuja approved
the appointment of Vice Admiral Ola Ibrahim from Kwara State as the new Chief
of Defence Staff.
A statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President
on Media and Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati, said Rear Admiral Dele J. Ezeoba from
Delta State was appointed as the new Chief of Naval Staff.
The statement said that Air Vice Marshall A.S. Badeh, from
Adamawa, was also appointed as Chief of Air Staff.
“The incumbent Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Azubuike
Ihejirika, retained his position.”
The statement said Jonathan thanked the outgoing service
chiefs for their meritorious and commendable service to the nation, and wished
them well in their future endeavours.
Ihejirika and the three retired service chiefs were
appointed by Jonathan on September 8, 2010.
The retired service chiefs are former Chief of Defence
Staff, Air Marshall Oluseyi Petinrin and Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall
Mohammed Umar.
Before his new appointment, Ibrahim was Chief of Naval
Staff.
News
FG Ends Passport Production At Multiple Centres After 62 Years

The Nigeria Immigration Service has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this yesterday while inspecting Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja.
He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.
“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.
“We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.
“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.
He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.
Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.
He said the centralised production system aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for better service delivery.
News
FAAC Disburses N2.225trn For August, Highest In Nigeria

The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has disbursed N2.225 trillion as federation revenue for the month of August 2025, the highest ever allocation to the three tiers of government and other statutory recipients.
This marks the second consecutive month that FAAC disbursements have crossed the N2 trillion mark.
The revenue, shared at the August 2025 FAAC meeting in Abuja, was buoyed by increases in oil and gas royalty, value-added tax (VAT), and common external tariff (CET) levies, according to a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting.
Out of the N2.225 trillion total distributable revenue, FAAC said N1,478.593 trillion came from statutory revenue, N672.903 billion from VAT, N32.338 billion from the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), and N41.284 billion from Exchange Difference.
The communiqué revealed that gross federation revenue for the month stood at N3.635 trillion. From this amount, N124.839 billion was deducted as cost of collection, while N1,285.845 trillion was set aside for transfers, interventions, refunds, and savings.
From the statutory revenue of N1.478 trillion, the Federal Government received N684.462 billion, State Governments received N347.168 billion, and Local Government Councils received N267.652 billion. A further N179.311 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) went to oil-producing states as derivation revenue.
From the distributable VAT revenue of N672.903 billion, the Federal Government received N100.935 billion, the states received N336.452 billion, while the local governments got N235.516 billion.
Of the N32.338 billion shared from EMTL, the Federal Government received N4.851 billion, the States received N16.169 billion, and the Local Governments received N11.318 billion.
From the N41.284 billion exchange difference, the Federal Government received N19.799 billion, the states received N10.042 billion, and the local governments received N7.742 billion, while N3.701 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared to the oil-producing states as derivation.
News
KenPoly Governing Council Decries Inadequate Power Supply, Poor Infrastructure On Campus
The Governing Council of Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic, Bori, has decried the inadequate power supply and poor state of infrastructural facilities and equipment at the institution.
The Council also appealed to the government, including Non-Governmental Organisations, agencies, as well as well-meaning Rivers people to intervene to restore and sustain the laudable gesture, dreams and aspirations of the founding fathers of the polytechnic.
The Chairman of the newly inaugurated Council, Professor Friday B. Sigalo, made this appeal during a tour of facilities at the Polytechnic, recently.
Accompanied by members of the team, Prof Sigalo emphasised the position of technology, technical and vocational education in sustainable development.
He noted that with the prospects on ground, and the programmes and activities undertaken in the polytechnic, there is no doubt that the institution would add values to the educational system in our society and foster the desired development, if the existing challenges are jointly tackled.
This was contained in a statement signed by Deputy Registrar, Public Relations, Kenpoly, Innocent Ogbonda-Nwanwu, and made available to The Tide in Port Harcourt.
The chairman who restated the intention of his team of technocrats to ensure that KenPoly enjoys desirable face-lift, said the Council would deliver on its core mandates, accordingly.
Earlier, the Rector, KenPoly Engr. Dr. Ledum S. Gwarah, commended the appointment of Professor Friday B. Sigalo as Chairman of the KenPoly Governing Council.
He described him and his team as seasoned technocrats and expressed confidence in their ability to succeed.
The Rector pledged the management’s support to the Council to ensure that KenPoly resumes its rightful place in the comity of polytechnics in the country.
Facilities visited by the Governing Council include KenPoly workshops, laboratories, skills acquisition centre, library, hostels and medical centre.
Chinedu Wosu
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