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PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI (L), BEING RECEIVED BY THE INDIAN PRIME MINISTER, NARENDRA MODI, AT THE HYDERABAD HOUSE, DURING HIS OFFICIAL VISIT FOR THE 3RD INDIA-AFRICA FORUM SUMMIT, IN NEW DELHI, INDIA President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday in New Delhi reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to curbing corruption, plugging all loopholes in public sector accounting and deploying available resources for the good of all Nigerians. In a statement, the president’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said President Buhari stated this while addressing members of the Nigerian community in India.

FILE PHOTO: Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike (centre), addressing a crowd of his supporters as he arrives Port Harcourt, the state capital immediately after the tribunal ruling, while his deputy, Dr Ipalibo Banigo (left) and Bro. Felex Obuah – State PDP Chairman accompanying him at Omagwa International Airport. Some supporters of the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, have created a phony Facebook account, passing it off as the original PREMIUM TIMES Facebook page, in what appears a desperate move to mislead the public. The page calls itself Premium Times News and uses the logo and other creatives and styles belonging to PREMIUM TIMES. Through the page, the group peddles falsehoods and dishes out dangerous propaganda, circulating them widely as if they emanated from PREMIUM TIMES reporting. At times, the group hires some blogs and websites to help it republish its falsehoods on their platforms. The page claims its administrators operate out of 38 Forces Avenue, ...

The Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, on Wednesday in Maiduguri, Borno State capital, launched the circulation of large posters carrying photographs of wanted Boko Haram terrorists including the supposed leader of the insurgents, Abubakar Shekau. The large posters, with inscription written in various languages of Nigeria, also had phone numbers which the public could easily call or text to indicate which of the characters in the numbered photographs they know or have information of.

The Elections Petitions Tribunal sitting in Jalingo on Wednesday nullified the election of the Speaker of the Taraba state House of Assembly, Abel Diah, of the Peoples Democratic Party. The tribunal ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to set aside a certificate of Return earlier issued to the speaker. The Independent National Electoral Commission INEC in Taraba state had earlier declared Mr. Diah, the winner of the April eleven elections for Mbamga Constituency in the state House of Assembly.

MTN has consistently prided itself as the foremost telephone company that is getting Nigerians talking the most. Now the South African company is about to set tongues wagging across networks with revelations that it has routinely been shipping billions of naira overseas to avoid paying its fair share of tax in Nigeria. An 11-month-long  investigation by PREMIUM TIMES reveals that MTN has been running circles around Nigerian revenue authorities using a complex but noxious tax avoidance scheme called Transfer Pricing.

Tim Jacobs, chief executive officer of Multichoice and John Ugbe, the company’s managing director in Nigeria, recently had an interactive session with journalists in Kenya. PREMIUM TIMES’ Festus Owete was there. Excerpts:

The emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sunusi II, has stripped the eldest son of the late Emir Ado Bayero, Lamido Bayero, of his traditional title of Ciroman Kano and District Head of Gwale. PREMIUM TIMES gathered that a few months after ascending the throne, the new emir wrote to Mr. Bayero, seeking him to return to his duty as Ciroman Kano and District Head of Gwale. Palace sources told PREMIUM TIMES that Mr. Bayero’s refusal to either reply the letter or report to the palace, angered the emir.

The Senate on Wednesday kicked against the N64 billion contract for the construction of a second runway at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. The Senate, at its plenary declared that the contract sum ​wa​s “too high”.