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President Bola Tinubu is currently attending the 14th National Executive Council, NEC, meeting of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, taking place at the State House in Abuja.

The meeting, which commenced at about 2:10 pm, has in attendance members of the party’s NEC, including governors, former governors and leaders of the National Assembly.

Some other ranking and foundation members of the party are also part of the NEC.

Besides Tinubu, others participating in the ongoing meeting include Vice President Kashim Shettima, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas and Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu.

Also in attendance are the Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum, PGF, and Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma, the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, NGF, and Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, as well as several other governors.

Former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and the acting National Chairman, Ali Bukar Dalori, are also present.

reports that the crucial meeting is expected to take a decision on the position of National Chairman of the party.

Dalori, APC National Vice Chairman, North, is currently holding the position in acting capacity following the resignation of Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje in June.

Suspected Fulani herdsmen have launched a fresh attack on Uikpam community in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State.

Newsmen gathered that the incident occurred on Thursday morning when the armed herders invaded the community and attacked on unsuspecting farmers.

One Gabriel Vandefan, who went to his farm to harvest millet, was killed and beheaded.

Jimin Geoffrey, a former media aide to ex-Benue governor, Samuel Ortom, confirmed this to newsmen.

He said the bandits “also beheaded the victim and also cut off one of his hands and took it away”.

Benue State has been under intense attacks by armed herders, who have been causing chaos across the country.

Recently, Yelwata community in Guma LGA was attacked, with over 200 persons killed by the militias in just one night.

One of the victims abducted during a recent terrorist attack in Damboa Local Government Area of Borno State has regained her freedom.

The development was revealed in a post on Thursday by security analyst Zagazola Makama via X.

The victim, Aisha Mohammed, 27, a resident of the 500 Housing Units in Damboa, was released by the terrorists on Wednesday evening, around 7:00 p.m., according to her family members.

Her release followed sustained efforts by troops of Operation HADIN KAI and mounting pressure on the terrorists by security forces.

She was immediately taken to the General Hospital in Damboa for a medical check-up and was confirmed to be in stable condition.

The terrorists had stormed the area on July 22, abducting several persons during the attack.

Efforts are ongoing to secure the release of the remaining captives and ensure their safe return.

Kwara United technical adviser, Tunde Sanni, has commended his players for their impressive work in training ahead of the new season.

The Harmony Boys defeated Nigeria National League, NNL, side House of Prayers 3-2 in a warm-up match on Wednesday, in Ilorin.

Sanni said that the performance showed signs of improvement in the players’ match fitness and tactical discipline.

“It was a good test for us. The boys are showing signs of readiness,” Sanni told the club’s media.

“We must stay focused and committed to the pre-season programme to achieve our objectives this season.”

Kwara United will compete in three competitions next season.

The Bauchi State Teachers Service Commission has demoted Malam Musa Ahmed, the Principal of Government Day Secondary School, Kirfi and Malam Adamu Shehu, a Senior Master over gross misconduct.

This is contained in a statement by Malam Dahiru Adamu, the Information Officer of the commission on Thursday in Bauchi.

According to him, the demotion was approved by the commission after thorough investigation.

He explained that the two were found culpable for conniving and selling off some properties of the school without authorisation from the state Ministry of Education.

“They sold 32 scrapped students beds, nine jumbo aluminum pots and roofing zinc.

“The overseeing Permanent Secretary of the Commission, Garba Bashe, had reported that a four-member committee investigated the matter and found the two officers guilty of the allegations.

“The commission has therefore approved the demotion of the two officers by one grade and they will be posted to different schools to teach,” he said.

The Information Officer also said the two officers would refund N597, 000 which is the value of the sold items.

He also said the committee recommended that the principal pay N72,000 to settle the allowances of casual workers of the school he owed.

He expressed the commission’s commitment to collaborating with the security agencies to recover the items.

Several persons, including vigilantes and civilians, were killed on Wednesday afternoon when armed bandits attacked Gidan Gona village in Tafoki district, Faskari Local Government Area of Katsina State.

Security sources confirmed that the attack led to a fierce gun duel between the assailants and members of the Community Watch Corps, CWC, and local vigilantes. Some operatives and villagers were reportedly killed during the exchange, while others sustained injuries.

The attackers also abducted an unspecified number of residents before fleeing into the bush.

According to a post on Thursday by security analyst Bakatsine via X:

“Yesterday afternoon, bandits attacked Gidan Gona village in Tafoki district, Faskari LGA, Katsina State. A fierce gun battle with Vigilantes and CWC left several operatives and civilians dead, some injured and many abducted,” the post read.

The Federal Government of Nigeria has said that state governments may not have the capacity to carry the burden of electricity subsidies for Band A electricity consumers.

Bolaji Tunji, the spokesman of the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, disclosed this in a recent interview with the newsmen.

He was reacting to a recent order from the Enugu Electricity Regulatory Commission to Main Power, Enugu Electricity Distribution Company, to slash Band A electricity tariff to N160 per kilowatt-hour from N209 per kilowatt-hour.

The announcement had triggered reactions from others states, such as Ondo and Lagos states, that hinted at plans to review their Multi-Year-Tariff Order.

Reports that in line with 2023 electricity, seven states now control their electricity markets, according to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission. The states include Enugu, Ondo, Ekiti, Imo, Oyo, Edo, and Kogi. Other states, including Lagos, Ogun, Niger, and Plateau, are expected to complete their transitions in weeks or months.

While Enugu State had released its Multi-Year-Tariff Order for its electricity sector and others geared up to the same, the Association of Power Generation Companies and the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors, in separate statements by their Chief Executive Officers, Sunday Oduntan and Joy Ogaji, kicked against the move to slash Band A tariffs.

On his part, Oduntan said Discos are not negotiating with states over the tariff. In his words, “What they are doing will destroy the market,” he said on Sunday.

Also, Ogaji said EERC has compounded the problem of the country’s electricity industry.

“It is imperative to state that there is no FGN policy on subsidies. It is debt accumulation,” she noted in a statement on Monday.

Reacting to the matter, Tunji said the federal government will not recommend electricity to states at a time it is battling with a N5.3 trillion legacy to GenCos for the last three years and six months.

“How do they want to manage the subsidy? Do they have the capacity? They have to explain to us because we have to be rational going forward to create a market that will attract investors. We won’t recommend a subsidy for band A in states.

“From my analysis, looking at their internally generated revenue and allocations, the states cannot afford it. They cannot even pay minimum wage. Even the federal government is finding it almost impossible to bear the burden of the subsidy,” he told newsmen.

Nigeria’s naira continued its depreciation streak against the dollar at the official foreign exchange market on Wednesday for the third straight time this week.

The Central Bank of Nigeria’s exchange data disclosed that the naira dropped again to N1,535.61 per dollar on Wednesday from N1,535.24 traded on Tuesday.

This means that the marginal weakening to 0.37 against the dollar on a day-to-day basis.

From Monday to Wednesday this week, the naira has shed N3.07 against the dollar at the official exchange market.

Meanwhile, at the black market, the naira remained stable at N1,540 per dollar on Wednesday, the same rate as the previous day for the majority of Bureau De Change Operators in Wuse Zone 4, Abuja.

This comes as the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, in his communique after the 301st Monetary Policy Committee held this week, said the country’s external reserves stood at $40.1 billion as of July 18, 2025.

However, checks on CBN’s website by newsmen on Thursday showed that Nigeria’s external reserves had dropped to $38.37 billion as of July 22, 2025.