National News
2015 Hajj Stampede: FG commends Saudi Arabia over Compensation

2015 Hajj Stampede: FG commends Saudi Arabia over Compensation
By: Michael Mike
The Federal Government of Nigeria has commended Saudi Authority over compensation of Nigerians who died in the 2015 during the annual pilgrimage to Holy sites in the Islamic country.
Five Nigerians lost their lives and two sustained various degree of injuries, however the Saudi Authority has compensated those affected.
The Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Nigeria, Faisal Al-Ghamdi, on Wednesday handed over on behalf of the Saudi government the cheques to five representatives of those who lost their lives and the other two Nigerians who sustained injuries
Director, Consular and Legal Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bolaji Akinremi, led the Nigerian delegation in the company of the Chairman/CEO, National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Zikrullah Hassan, to the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Abuja.
The Saudi Arabian Ambassador, who spoke in Arabic, prayed for the repose of the souls of the departed and prayed that God continue to console their families.
Ambassador Akinremi commended the Saudi government and appreciated them for the kind gesture and the hand of fellowship extended to the family of the affected Nigerians.
He said: “On behalf of the Nigerian government, we want to commend the Saudi authorities, particularly the Ambassador here who during his own tenure, one year of arrival here, he took this up, I remember several meetings we held together in Foreign Affairs, with His Excellency Geoffrey Onyeama, His Excellency Zubairu Dada, and His Excellency Tanimu Aduda where we brought this to their attention that this is pending.”
He praised the effort of the Ambassador of Saudi, the Ambassador took it up, “even his predecessor, may his soul rest in perfect peace he did his own best. We must also give kudos to Ambassador Yahaya Lawal, our Ambassador in Riyadh, who took up the challenge as well, I think this credits goes to everyone.”

His said: “Nigerian government is saying our friendship with Saudi will continue, we are also encouraging people not to be discourage that one accident is not enough to stop people from performing their spiritual responsibility. We will continue to relate very well with the Saudi authority, we will continue to promote our friendship and we look forward to having good news from the families of the beneficiaries, we don’t expect this to lead to fracas where they will not be able to amicably share this among themselves, but rather going to make their faith in God get stronger and their family bond to get stronger”
Ambassador Bolaji said, “we really excited by this news, we are here we have seen it the checks has been issued in the names of the representatives of the victims, as you know 5 people died, they cannot be here physically, so the families of those 5 people sent representatives, 2 others sustains various level of injuries and they were all compensated. This have great significant, number one, the Saudi Authority fulfilled their promises, also despite the fact that the ugly incident was not called by anybody, the Saudis authorities still compensate the people as they recognized that the people left the country for pilgrimage and not intention to go and die. “
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According to the Bolaji, the compensations were in two grades, those who died that is permanent lose, compensation cannot bring them back but they have families and responsibilities, they were given 1 Million Saudi riyal, those who sustained injury are given half a million Saudi riyal.
On his part, Zikrullah Hassan, the Chairman/CEO, National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) said, we “7 people were compensated, 5 representatives of the dead and 2 who suffered injuries. I want to commend everyone for this effort, the Hajj Commission, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and our Ambassador in Saudi Arabia who has worked round the clock to ensure that today becomes a reality.”
The NAHCON Chairman advice those intended to go the Hajj this year to upgrade the techonology skills, in his words, “we advise those who want to go to Hajj to queue in and get ready because Hajj this year will be technologically moderated. It is not going to be as usual, we are ready at the Hajj Commission and all the States are up to it”
In September 24, 2015, during the annual Muslim pilgrimage an accident occurred near the holy city of Mecca, in Saudi Arabia, that stands as the deadliest in the long history of hajj disasters.
At least 717 people taking part in the Hajj pilgrimage were killed in a stampede near the Islamic holy city of Mecca, officials in Saudi Arabia says. Another 863 people were injured in the incident at Mina, which occurred as two million pilgrims were taking part in the Hajj’s last major rite. It is the deadliest incident to occur during the pilgrimage in 25 years.
2015 Hajj Stampede: FG commends Saudi Arabia over Compensation
National News
UNILORIN Alumni Commences Tinubu on Appointment of Nandap, Omotowa, Aribisala

UNILORIN Alumni Commences Tinubu on Appointment of Nandap, Omotowa, Aribisala
By: Michael Mike
The National Headquarters of University of Ilorin Alumni Association has lauded President Bola Tinubu for appointing three of its members into various leadership positions in the country.
Those appointed were Comptroller General of Immigration, Mrs Kemi Nandap,, whose tenure was elongated till December 2026, Non Executive Director of NNPC, representing North Central, Mr Babs Omotowa- and the Pioneer Vice Chancellor of Federal University of Technology and Environmental Sciences, Iyin-Ekiti, Prof. James A. Aribisala.
In a congratulatory message to the trio, the National President, Prof. AbdulRasaq Kilani, and the National Secretary, Dr Barakat Raji, said the Association received the news of the appointments with excitement.
The Alumni, who commended President Tinubu for selecting the best for their various positions, assured him that the three alumni would not disappoint him in attaining the goals set for them to achieve.
While felicitating with the appointed members on their well-deserved appointment, the Association charged them to always show the excellence in them in surpassing the targets set for them by Mr President.
The Association who extolled the pedigrees of the appointed members in their various fields, implored them to live up to the expectations of the slogan of the institutions “better by far” in all ramifications.
The Alumni then prayed for their successful tenure and tasked them not to hesitate to reach out to them whenever their services are needed in any capacity towards national development.
UNILORIN Alumni Commences Tinubu on Appointment of Nandap, Omotowa, Aribisala
National News
President Tinubu reconstitute NNPC Board, remove Kyari Mele

President Tinubu reconstitute NNPC Board, remove Kyari Mele
By: Our Reporter
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved a sweeping reconstitution of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited board, removing the chairman, Chief Pius Akinyelure and the group chief executive officer, Mallam Mele Kolo Kyari.
In a statement signed by Bayo Onanuga,
Special Adviser to the President (Information & Strategy), President Tinubu removed all other board members appointed with Akinyelure and Kyari in November 2023.
The new 11-man board has Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the Group CEO and Ahmadu Musa Kida as non-executive chairman.
Adedapo Segun, who replaced Umaru Isa Ajiya as the chief financial officer last November, has been appointed to the new board by President Tinubu.
Six board members, non-executive directors, represent the country’s geopolitical zones. They are Bello Rabiu, North West, Yusuf Usman, North East, and Babs Omotowa, a former managing director of the Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas( NLNG), who represents North Central.
President Tinubu appointed Austin Avuru as a non-executive director from the South-South, David Ige as a Non-executive director from the South West, and Henry Obih as a non-executive director from the South East.
Mrs Lydia Shehu Jafiya, permanent secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, will represent the ministry on the new board, while Aminu Said Ahmed will represent the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
All the appointments are effective today, April 2.
President Tinubu, invoking the powers granted under Section 59, subsection 2 of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, emphasised that the board’s restructuring is crucial for enhancing operational efficiency, restoring investor confidence, boosting local content, driving economic growth, and advancing gas commercialisation and diversification.
President Tinubu also handed out an immediate action plan to the new board: to conduct a strategic portfolio review of NNPC-operated and Joint Venture Assets to ensure alignment with value maximisation objectives.
Since 2023, the Tinubu administration has implemented oil sector reforms to attract investment. Last year, NNPC reported $17 billion in new investments within the sector. The administration now envisions increasing the investment to $30 billion by 2027 and $60 billion by 2030.
The Tinubu administration targets raising oil production to two million barrels daily by 2027 and three million daily by 2030. Concurrently, the government wants gas production jacked to 8 billion cubic feet daily by 2027 and 10 billion cubic feet by 2030.
Furthermore, President Tinubu expects the new board to elevate NNPC’s share of crude oil refining output to 200,000 barrels by 2027 and reach 500,000 by 2030.
The new board chairman, Ahmadu Musa Kida, is from Borno State. He is an alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he received a degree in civil engineering in 1984. He also obtained a postgraduate diploma in petroleum engineering from the Institut Francaise du Petrol (IFP) in Paris
He started his career in the oil industry at Elf Petroleum Nigeria and later joined Total Exploration and Production as a trainee engineer in 1985.
Musa became Total Nigeria’s Deputy Managing Director of Deep Water Services in 2015. Last year, he became an Independent Non-Executive Director at Pan Ocean-Newcross Group.
Apart from his oil industry career, Ahmadu Musa Kida is a former basketballer and the president of the Nigerian Basketball Federation(NBBF) board.
Ojulari, the new NNPC Limited Group CEO, hails from Kwara State. Until his new appointment, He was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Renaissance Africa Energy Company. His Renaissance recently led a consortium of indigenous energy firms in the landmark acquisition of the entire equity holding in the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC), worth $2.4 billion.
Like Kida, Ojulari is also an alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He worked for Elf Aquitaine as the first Nigerian process engineer to begin a stellar career in the oil sector. From Elf, he joined Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd in 1991 as an associate production technologist.
Apart from working in Nigeria, he worked in Europe and the Middle East in different capacities as a petroleum process and production engineer, strategic planner, field developer, and asset manager. In 2015, he became the managing director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO).
During his career, he was chairman and member of the board of trustees of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE Nigerian Council) and a fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers.
President Tinubu thanked the old board members for their dedicated service to NNPC Limited, particularly their efforts in rehabilitating the old Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, which enabled them to resume petroleum product production after prolonged shutdowns. He wished them well in their future endeavours.
President Tinubu reconstitute NNPC Board, remove Kyari Mele
National News
Uromi Killing: NHRC Demands Protection for All Nigerians

Uromi Killing: NHRC Demands Protection for All Nigerians
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has condemned the recent gruesome killing of 16 traveling hunters in Edo State, who were mistook for kidnappers.
The Executive Secretary of the Commission Dr. Tony Ojukwu expressed deep concern over the horrific incident, which highlights the dangers of mob justice and the urgent need for effective law enforcement and respect for human rights.
He said: “We commend Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, for his swift and decisive action in suspending the Commander of the Edo State Security Corps, CP Friday Ibadin (Rtd.), and banning all illegal vigilante groups operating in the state, but more need to be done.”
Ojukwu said the Commission wishes to use this opportunity to remind the government and the people of Nigeria that every individual has the right to life, as enshrined in Chapter 4 of the 1999 Constitution as amended as well as Article 4 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
He equally said the Commission emphasized that the freedom of movement, as guaranteed by the Constitution and Article 12 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and Article 12 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, has been grossly violated in this dastardly incident.
Ojukwu said: “We at the Commission demand that all the perpetrators be fished out and brought to justice. We call on the government to take concrete steps to prevent such incidents in the future, there is no justification for jungle justice anywhere in the world.”
He emphasized that every Nigerian has the right to life, dignity, and freedom from violence, regardless of their ethnicity, religion, or occupation, assuring that the Commission will continue to advocate for the protection of human rights and the rule of law in Nigeria.
Ojukwu said: “We urge the Edo State Government to continue its investigation into the killings and ensure that all perpetrators face the full wrath of the law. On our part, we will continue to monitor the process of investigation to ensure that justice is served. This will serve as a deterrent to others.
“Promotion and protection of human rights is paramount to national development, let’s all imbibe the culture of respect for human rights and fundamental freedom to make Nigeria a better place.”
Uromi Killing: NHRC Demands Protection for All Nigerians
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