General
Dangote Disburses N3.9bn to Women, Youths in 11 States
By Ahmed Rahma
As part of its micro grant programme, the Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF) has disbursed the sum of N3.9 billion to 392,490 women and youths in Kano, Jigawa, Kogi, Adamawa, Borno, Yobe, Lagos, Niger, Nasarawa, Sokoto and Katsina States.
The foundation has also concluded plans to extend the disbursement of the micro grant program to Ogun, Osun, Kwara, Edo, Rivers, Anambra, Ebonyi and Bauchi States as part of the next phase of this programme.
Speaking, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Office of ADF, Ms Zouera Youssoufou, stated that the board of the foundation has already approved the next phase of disbursement of the grants across Ogun, Osun, Kwara, Edo, Rivers, Anambra, Ebonyi and Bauchi states.
She said the N10 billion programme is designed to provide a N10,000 one-off grant to at least 1,000 vulnerable women, and in some cases, youths, in each of the 774 LGAs across Nigeria.
She said that the scheme is being implemented in partnership with state governments who work with committees to ensure the appropriate beneficiaries are reached, adding that it provides recipients with a one-time, un-conditional N10,000 cash grant to meet immediate household consumption and economic needs.
“As far as possible, participants also receive training tailored to bolster their income-generating activities which are critical for the welfare of millions of Nigerians.
“Beneficiaries of this programme are evenly selected from the target communities with primary consideration for vulnerable women, food distressed household with infant or children under-five year old, disabled, divorcees, widows with multiple dependents, and extremely poor residents in these communities”, she said.
A breakdown of the disbursement shows that N880 million was distributed to 88,000 women in Kano State; 27,000 women received N270 million in Jagawa state; 22,000 women received N220 million in Kogi State; 31,500 women and youth collected N315 million in Adamawa; and 54,000 Women and youth got N540 million in Borno State.
Furthermore, 40,000 women received N400 million in Lagos; 25,000 women received N250 million in Niger; 13,000 received N130 Million in Nassarawa; 23,990 women benefitted from the sum of N239.9 million in Sokoto; and 34,000 women benefitted from N340 million in Katsina State; and 34,000 women and youth benefitted from N340 million in Yobe State.
Since 2016, the foundation has automated the beneficiary enrolment and payment processes. In addition to the cash grants, beneficiaries were also given mobile phones and SIM cards.
In the last two states the scheme was implemented, the organisation partnered with a leading commercial bank to open bank accounts and provide ATM card for each beneficiary.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The United States government gave some terrorists in Nigeria a Christmas gift that sent many of them to the great beyond.
On Thursday, December 25, 2025, the United States President, Mr Donald Trump, directed his country’s military to launch air strikes on camps of members of the dreaded Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Sokoto State.
According to Mr Trump, the military action, which he threatened to carry out a few weeks ago if the Nigerian government does not stop the killing of Christians in the country, occurred on Thursday night.
“Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!
“I have previously warned these Terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was.
“The Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing.
“Under my leadership, our country will not allow radical islamic terrorism to prosper. May God bless our military, and Merry Christmas to all, including the dead terrorists, of which there will be many more if their slaughter of Christians continues,” Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
In a video on X, formerly known as Twitter, the Department of War of the United States posted the below video of the air strikes;
https://twitter.com/DeptofWar/status/2004351717131903272
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The presidency has reacted to speculations that Mr Femi Gbajabiamila has been removed as the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu.
It was alleged that Mr Gbajabiamila has been replaced with the President’s Principal Private Secretary, Mr Hakeem Muri-Okunola.
Mr Muri-Okunola went to Abuja to take up this role after leaving as the Head of Service of the Lagos State Civil Service.
Reacting to the reports on social media on the purported removal of Mr Gbajabiamila, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, the presidency said no such change has been made.
In a statement signed on Thursday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, members of the public were advised to disregard the report as “there is absolutely no truth to this story.”
“The Chief of Staff remains in his position. The Principal Private Secretary likewise remains in his role. Hakeem Muri-Okunola has not replaced Femi Gbajabiamila as Chief of Staff.
“The viral claim is a fabrication by mischievous purveyors of fake news whose sole aim is to create disharmony within the government.
“We reiterate that news media should always verify their information before publishing or sharing on social media,” the statement said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The new chief executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Mrs Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, has assumed office with a clear message to advance the country’s upstream oil and gas sector in line with the mandate of the commission as enshrined in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
According to a statement signed by Mr Eniola Akinkuotu, the Head of Media & Strategic Communications at the upstream regulator, the NUPRC boss made this assertation during her first town hall meeting with management and staff on Tuesday December 23, 2025.
She further disclosed plans to make the commission a business enabler and re-ignite investments in the upstream sector.
Recall that President Tinubu nominated Mrs Eyesan to take over the NUPRC after the abrupt resignation of her predecessor, Mr Gbenga Komolafe as well as his counterpart in the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Mr Farouk Ahmed.
In her new capacity, Mrs Eyesan also set a firm production ambition of growing Nigeria’s output and increasing gas production.
“The goal is that we must enable the industry, we are regulators. We must enable the industry from our interactions with the stakeholders, from our interactions with everybody.
“My main objective is to ensure that we make a difference. I believe the NUPRC is at the Center of the industry,” she said.
The commission boss who has served for over three decades in the oil and gas sector, promised to entrench digitisation, transparency and efficiency in operations.
The NUPRC head said with the support of staff and management, the NUPRC will become the gold-standard regulator in Africa. She also promised capacity development, stronger technical depth and sustained engagement with stakeholders, unions and professional teams.
On leadership style, Mrs Eyesan promised an open-door policy and frequent staff engagement, while also soliciting for support and cooperation as the industry embarks on the next phase of transformation.
“If we work together we can unleash opportunities, I don’t see impediments only opportunities,” she added.
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