Author: GANUX

 

The Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited has given N531,000 each to 531 NYSC members in a bid to make them self-reliant.

 

The corps members were also empowered with starter packs to start their own businesses.

 

The items were presented to the corps members by the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd., Mr Bayo Ojulari, in Abuja on Thursday.

 

Ojulari was represented by the Group Chief Operating Officer of NNPC Ltd, Mr Roland Ewubare.

 

According to him, the initiative underscores NNPC Ltd’s commitment to youth development and national progress.

 

Ojulari described the gesture as a strategic investment in Nigeria’s future as well as a reflection of NNPCL’s values of integrity and excellence.

 

He praised the corps members, adding that they were selected from a highly competitive pool.

 

“You are exceptional candidates. We are proud to support your journey,” he said.

 

Ojulari urged the recipients to build purposeful businesses and uphold high standards.

 

“Use these resources wisely. They are seeds for your growth and transformation,” he advised.

 

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the programme is a collaboration among NNPC Ltd. Foundation, NYSC, Corporate Affairs Commission, and Kudimata Nigeria Ltd.

 

The aim is to improve lives through financial empowerment.

 

The Managing Director of NNPC Ltd. Foundation, Mrs Emmanuella Arukwe, said the project began with a focus on financial literacy.

 

“More than 800,000 corps members have participated since August 2023,” she said.

Arukwe said the training covered branding, funding, project viability, and more.

The 531 finalists scored at least 70 per cent to qualify after a rigorous selection process.

 

“Even those not selected today have gained skills to access loans and grants. This is a long-term investment in economic resilience,” she said.

 

Kudimata founder, Kathleen Erhimu, hailed the initiative as a milestone.

 

“We are celebrating purpose and transformation. Our goal is to empower the youth for financial independence,” she said.

 

The Director-General of NYSC, Brig.-Gen. Olakunle Nafiu, commended NNPC Ltd. for providing both training and tangible tools.

 

“Few partners offer such a complete package,” he said.

 

Nafiu praised the foundation’s contribution to youth entrepreneurship.

 

“This will go a long way in helping the beneficiaries realise their business dreams,” he said.

 

In his remarks, the Registrar-General of CAC, Hussaini Magaji, represented by Hajiya Amina Fika, congratulated the recipients.

 

“Your success is a testament to your resilience and creativity,” he said.

 

He encouraged the beneficiaries to register their businesses formally.

“Take advantage of our online platforms to access funding and grow sustainable enterprises,” he urged.

 

One of the beneficiaries, Ozigi Faith, described the programme as life-changing.

 

“It is our first step to financial freedom.

“Let us stay focused and make the most of it,” he said.

 

NAN

 

The University of Lagos has debunked online reports about the delay of NELFund loans reimbursement to students of the university who paid their obligatory fees prior to the university’s receipt of the loan.

 

The institution’s Head of Communication Unit, Mrs Adejoke Alaga-Ibraheem, debunked the report in a statement on Thursday.

 

Alaga-Ibraheem said, “Refunds are typically processed after reconciliation and verification with NELFund.

 

“So far, three tranches of NELFund loans have been received by the university, and beneficiaries across the first two batches have been successfully reimbursed.

“For the third batch, which was received towards the end of April, we are currently collating and reconciling students’ payment details.”

Alaga-Ibraheem assured all that refunds would be processed according to regulations.

 

“The university management remains committed to its core values of transparency, accountability, and student-centred service delivery.

 

“We implore our students to take advantage of the NELFund loan facility, and contact the NELFund help desk at our Student Affairs Division for prompt assistance and resolution on any complaint,” she said.

 

NAN

 

Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has approved the appointment of chairmen and members of governing councils/boards of tertiary institutions in the state.

 

This was contained in a statement signed by the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Otunba Ogunwuyi, on Thursday.

 

See the list below:

 

Oyo State College of Education, Lanlate

1 Comrade Olusegun Oyewumi– Chairman

2 Alhaji Badmus Tajudeen Tunde– Member

3 Mr. Bamise Alabi– Member

4 Saliu Alao Jimoh– Member

5 Babarinde Sunday Ademola– Member

Oyo State College of Agriculture, Igboora

1. Dr. Amusan Damilare Gideon– Chairman

2. Alhaji Salami Lateef Adebayo– Member

3. Mr Oseni Abolade Olosun– Member

4. Dr Adekunle Onile– Member

5. Mr. Kareem Adesina Rashid– Member

6. Dr Saheed Adetunji Ige– Member

7. Mr. Joseph Oladapo Olaoye– Member

8. Mr Babatunde Akeem– Member

The Polytechnic Ibadan, Ibadan

1 Prof Lanre Nassar– Chairman

2 Prince Adeleke Akinboye Ajalah– Member

3 Prof. Odunola Olaitan Olutayo– Member

4 Prof.. (Engr.) Mudasiru Lateef Owolabi–Member

5 Mr. Abduljelili Sunmonu– Member

6 Engr. Tajudeen Bello Olori– Member

7 Mr Ogungbe Oludele Tunji– Member

8 Mrs Eniola Lucy Bola– Member

 

The Oke Ogun Polytechnic, Saki

1 Dr Bisi Ojebola– Chairman

2 Mrs Mojisola Olufunmilayo Ajayi– Member

3 Mrs Bose Morakinyo– Member

4 Adeyanju Noah Olusola– Member

5 Hon. Olajide Olusina Olatoye– Member

6 Mr Mudasir Niyi Salaam– Member

 

Oyo State College of Health Science and Technology, Eleyele, Ibadan

1 Dr Ganiyu Ajadi– Chairman

2 Mrs Dolapo Dosumu–Member

3 Fatai Usman Bolaji– Member

4 Mr Bodunde Adeosun– Member

 

While congratulating the new appointees, Makinde urged them to see their appointment as a call to service.

 

The appointments, according to Ogunwuyi, are with immediate effect.

 

South Africans voiced anger on Thursday at US President Donald Trump’s persistent false claim of a genocide against white farmers, that were repeated in talks with President Cyril Ramaphosa.

 

The talks between the two presidents on Wednesday were aimed at repairing relations that have nosedived since Trump took office in January, since threatening high trade tariffs and expelling the South African ambassador.

 

“I am not happy,” university student Nicole Mbhele told AFP. “He made it seem like we want to kill white people or white farmers for our land or want it back,” she said.

 

A video aired during the meeting showed the leader of a fringe, radical opposition party chanting a song from the anti-apartheid struggle about “killing” white farmers.

 

Trump also repeated baseless allegations that South Africa was expropriating land from the minority white Afrikaners, descendants of Dutch settlers who own more than three-quarters of commercial farmland.

 

“Donald Trump does not have facts about what is happening in South Africa,” said 25-year-old saleswoman Naledi Morwalle. He was making “false accusations about our country,” she said.

 

South Africans followed the meeting live on television and many were proud of the performance of the South African delegation, reinforced by four cabinet ministers and two top golfers.

 

While some said Ramaphosa could have been more adamant in rejecting Trump’s baseless claims of a “white genocide”, others noted his calm pushback that the black South Africans suffer most from the high crime rate.

“I think our country did well and put the facts out there,” said activist Ulrich Steenkamp. “Whether the world responds is up to them,” he added.

 

The video played during the meeting, which also showed rows of white crosses in what Trump falsely said were graves of murdered white farmers, clearly rattled Ramaphosa, said analyst Thelela Ngcetane-Vika, of the Wits School of Governance.

 

“In the first half of the session, President Ramaphosa was very well prepared, poised as a statesman, diplomatic… but when that video played, you could see his voice language change, he became uneasy,” she told AFP.

 

Ramaphosa should have provided data to disprove Trump’s disinformation, she said.

 

An Afrikaans father, Authur Williams, told AFP the success of the talks would only be seen in any trade deals reached between the two major trading partners.

 

“I sincerely hope that economically we will come to an agreement where it’s mutually beneficial and there are economic benefits for both parties,” he said.

 

Residents of Polobubo (Tsekelewu) in the Warri North Local Government Area of Delta State have blamed the incessant deaths of pregnant women and children in the locality on the abandoned cottage hospital in the community.

 

This was contained in an open letter signed by the President of Polobubo (Tsekelewu) Bloc Communities, Mr. Paul Toruwei, addressed to the Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, copies of which were made available to journalists in Warri on Thursday.

 

The open letter noted that the community’s cottage hospital which was inaugurated and fully equipped at the cost of ₦596m through a partnership between Chevron Nigeria Limited and the Egbema-Gbaramatu Community Development Foundation (EGCDF) under the Global Memorandum of Understanding, “was formally handed over to the Delta State Government in 2018 for management and operation.”

 

“Sadly, the hospital has remained non-functional due to inadequate staffing, lack of essential equipment, and total government neglect,” the letter stated.

The letter added, “The result has been devastating: community members continue to suffer from treatable illnesses, delayed diagnoses, and needless deaths daily.

 

“There are no resident doctors, nurses, or technical staff—no presence of the medical professionals needed to provide even the most basic healthcare services.”

 

It continued, “We have lost hundreds of souls—including children and pregnant women—as a direct result of this hospital not functioning.

 

“Conditions that should have been easily treated have become fatal due to the absence of prompt medical attention.

 

“The community mourns, not because help is impossible, but because it has been willfully withheld.

“Community leaders have repeatedly raised concerns over these operational failures and have called on the state government to fulfill its obligations by providing a fully functional healthcare facility with qualified personnel and modern equipment.

 

“The hospital, which should be a pillar of life-saving services, has instead become a monument of despair and neglect”.

 

The letter, however, maintained that “this failure is particularly unacceptable when viewed against the immense contributions of the Polobubo (Tsekelewu) community to the economic strength of Delta State and the nation at large”.

 

It recalled that “the community plays host to numerous major oil and gas operations including Chevron Nigeria Limited in Opuekeba, Olero Fields, and offshore flow stations; NPDC/Elcrest Joint Venture, operators of the Opuama Flow Station (OML 40); Tsekelewu/Polobubo Marginal Field with about five oil wells to be operated by Sahara Energy Limited; Tsekelewu/Polobubo Marginal Field – OML 130 Concession set to be operated by Conoil Nigeria Limited, among others.”

 

The letter then reminded Oborevwori of the need to rehabilitate the abandoned cottage hospital and to ensure “that Polobubo is not a forgotten outpost”.

“It is one of Delta State’s most vital economic assets. Its people deserve more than neglect; they deserve life, dignity, and access to basic healthcare”, the community emphasized.

 

The letter partly reads, “We call on the Delta State Government to urgently revive the Polobubo Cottage Hospital by deploying qualified medical professionals — doctors, nurses, technicians, and support staff; Restoring and upgrading medical equipment and diagnostic tools; Ensuring consistent medical supplies and funding for operational sustainability.

 

“The Polobubo (Tsekelewu) community has kept its part of the social contract — supporting the economy, enabling oil production, and accepting corporate presence. It is time for the government to honor its responsibility to protect and care for the people.

 

“Let the Polobubo Cottage Hospital live up to its purpose. Let it save lives, not be the reason lives are lost.”

 

President Bola Tinubu has sworn in the board and management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, seven weeks after their appointment on April 2, 2025.

 

The board’s Non-Executive Chairman, Ahmadu Kida, and NNPCL’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Bashir Ojulari, were sworn in at a brief ceremony held at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, on Thursday afternoon.

 

The President, thereafter, proceeded to the All Progressives Congress National Summit at the State House Banquet Hall.

 

The 11-member board includes Adedapo Segun and Bello Rabiu, representing the North West; Yusuf Usman, representing the North East; and Babs Omotowa, a former Managing Director of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas, representing the North Central.

Also on the board are Austin Avuru, Non-Executive Director for the South-South; David Ige, representing the South-West; and Henry Obih, representing the South-East.

 

Lydia Jafiya, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, will serve on the board as the ministry’s representative, while Aminu Ahmed will represent the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.

 

Top government officials present at the swearing-in were the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun; Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris; and Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri.

 

Alejandro Garnacho has cast doubt over his future at Manchester United after being dropped by Ruben Amorim for the Red Devils Europa League final defeat to Tottenham.

 

United have endured their worst campaign in the Premier League era meaning they will miss out on European football entirely next season after losing 1-0 in Bilbao on Wednesday.

 

Amorim’s men sit 16th in the Premier League with one match to go.

 

Garnacho had started every knockout game of the run to the Europa League final.

 

But the 20-year-old was overlooked in favour of Mason Mount and only made his introduction with United chasing an equaliser 19 minutes from time.

 

“Until we reached the final, I played every round. And I played 20 minutes today… I don’t know,” Garnacho told reporters.

 

“We didn’t beat anyone in the league. We lacked a lot of things. When you don’t score goals, you always need more.”

 

Garnacho had been linked with a move to Napoli or Chelsea in the January transfer window after being dropped from the squad by Amorim for December’s clash against Manchester City.

“The final will influence (my decision) but the whole season, the situation of the club (will too),” added Garnacho.

 

“I’m going to try to enjoy the summer and see what happens afterwards.”

 

Garnacho’s brother Roberto posted on social media that he had been “thrown under the bus”.

 

Amorim defended his team selection, recalling the fact that Mount came off the bench to score twice in the semi-final, second-leg win over Athletic Bilbao.

 

“How many times have we had this conversation, and it was the opposite? Some players come in, like Mason Mount, against Bilbao and changed the game,” said Amorim.

 

“Who missed the big opportunity in the first half against Bilbao? Yeah (Garnacho). Of course, now it is easy for us to talk about a lot of views.”

 

A top Thai court on Thursday ruled that former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra must pay more than $300 million in compensation over a controversial rice subsidy scheme during her time in office.

 

The ruling is the latest round in a long-running legal battle over the rice scheme that has already seen Yingluck, aunt of current Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, given a prison sentence in absentia.

 

The Supreme Administrative Court overturned on Thursday a lower court ruling canceling a finance ministry order that Yingluck pay compensation over the scheme.

 

Yingluck, who was ousted in a military coup in 2014, was sentenced in absentia in 2017 to five years in jail for criminal negligence over the same scandal.

 

The finance ministry originally ordered Yingluck to pay 35.7 billion baht (nearly $1.1 billion) in compensation.

The Central Administrative Court then revoked the order, but the ministry appealed, leading to Thursday’s ruling by the higher court.

 

The court said on Thursday that Yingluck had failed to respond to warnings by anti-graft bodies pointing to corruption in the rice scheme.

 

Her negligence caused losses to the finance ministry and she should pay damages of 10.028 billion baht ($300 million), the court said.

 

Norawit Lalaeng, Yingluck’s lawyer, said they will discuss whether to request a new hearing.

 

Yingluck fled Thailand shortly before her jail sentence in 2017 and has lived in exile since.

 

President Bola Tinubu on Thursday transmitted a budget proposal of N1.48 trillion for the Rivers State Government to the National Assembly for consideration and passage.

 

The President said the budget proposal became necessary because of the nullification of the 2025 budget of the state by the Supreme Court and the fact that the state is currently under emergency rule.

 

The President said that ₦324bn of the amount will be expended on infrastructure, ₦166bn on health, ₦75.6bn on education and ₦31.4bn on agriculture.

 

He added that by the provisions of the budget; agriculture is expected to generate about 6,000 jobs and appealed to the parliament to urgently pass the budget for the good of the state and its people.

 

Details later…

 

The Anambra State Police Command has appealed to the public for relevant information regarding five individuals who were declared missing while transiting through the state.

 

PUNCH Online learnt that reports circulating on social media claim that the travellers, who left Lagos for Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, became unreachable after a stopover in Anambra.

 

Human Rights Advocate, Harrison Gwamnishu, amplified the concerns on Wednesday by sharing a complaint from a worried acquaintance of the missing individuals.

 

He posted their photos and names on his Facebook page, stating that they had not been heard from more than 24 hours after leaving Lagos for a wedding.

According to the report, the group had planned to spend the night at a hotel in Anambra before continuing their journey the next day.

 

The post read, “They left Shimawa-Lagos yesterday; they called around 7:00pm yesterday that they have gotten to Asaba and looking for where to eat.

 

“After an hour they continued the trip and got to Anambra, and they concluded on sleeping in a hotel and continue the journey this morning.

 

“The last time we spoke with them was around 10:00pm when we believed they were already tired and needed some little rest.

 

“So, this morning around 6:16am; one of them posted his wife on WhatsApp status to wish her a happy birthday, and that was the last time we get any means of communication with them.

 

“We tried to call five of them it was switched off, both on WhatsApp and phone calls. At about 10:30am today, one of their phones rang severally and no one pick up the call and later the phone was switched off till now.

 

“We have contacted Anambra Police Command and no news yet. Please help us to broadcast this sir. Wedding is tomorrow (four male friends) and (Groom sister). That’s five.”

Reacting to the development in a press statement released on Thursday, the spokesman for the Anambra State Police Command, Tochukwu Ikenga, said that the police have intercepted the information on the alleged missing persons.

 

Ikenga, however, urged the social media user and the publisher to collaborate with the police and other security agencies to offer useful information to enable them to take necessary action.

 

Ikenga said, “The Anambra State Police Command today 22nd May 2025 intercepted a social media publication stating that five persons on transit in Anambra to seek for accommodation got missing.

“The command joins the publisher to seek useful information for the police and other security agencies to enable them to take necessary action.

 

“Further to this, the command requests the family or relatives of the victims to report to the police headquarters for more insight on the incident.

 

“So far, there has not been any report like that before in any Police Division or formation in the state.”

 

According to him, the Command occasionally reviews operational strategies and implements security initiatives to enhance safety, foster community engagement and uphold the rule of law.

 

“Given, the above the recent security assessment and feedback reveals that Ndi Anambra are exhausted with criminals threatening their peace, and destroying economic activities of the State, especially on Monday and has shown more commitment to collaborate with the security agencies to fish out the bad eggs in the State.

 

“To this end, members of the public are encouraged to report to the Police and/or any security outfit on any security-related incident. Otherwise, they should call us on 07039194332 for a prompt response.

 

“The ‘npf rescue me app’ is also available for free download on both Android and Apple IOS device, for Android and iPhone users respectively,” Ikenga added.