Ridoola's blog

The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has announced the official fare for the 2025 Hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia. The announcement was made on Monday, January 20, by NAHCON's Executive Chairman, Professor Abdullahi Usman, who detailed the fare structure across various zones in the country. Pilgrims from the Southern States will pay ₦8,784,085.59, while those from the Northern Zone are charged ₦8,457,685.59. READ ALSO: FCT sets January 30 registration deadline for 2025 Hajj Pilgrims from Borno and Adamawa will pay the least, at ₦8,327,125.59. Professor Usman attributed the fare stability to extensive collaboration among stakeholders, including representatives from the Presidency and the Forum of Executive Secretaries of State Pilgrims Welfare Boards. “This modest effort to keep the fare within range was the result of tireless consultations. We are grateful to the Presidency and all contributors for their support,” he said. NAHCON underscored the importance of ea...

The Parliamentary Support Group (PSG) has applauded Tolulope Abiodun Odunaiya, Executive Secretary of the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD), for her exceptional leadership and achievements since her appointment in November 2023. In a statement by its President, Comrade Charles Abakpa , the PSG commended Odunaiya for her transparency during PTAD’s recent budget defence at the National Assembly, where she outlined the agency's alignment with President Bola Tinubu ’s pension reform agenda. “Under her stewardship, PTAD has consistently made timely pension payments, settled inherited liabilities, and introduced innovative programs like the I Am Alive confirmation initiative, ensuring database integrity and preventing fraud,” Abakpa noted. Odunaiya’s efforts to streamline payment processes have reduced delays, improving pensioners' satisfaction. READ ALSO: N800bn in 2025 budget not enough for road infrastructure needs - Umahi tells Reps Her initiatives include...

Luka Nizassan, Etsu Kwali, Kwali Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has rated FCT Minister Nyesom Wike high on school rehabilitation and upgrades across the territory. Nizassan stated this in an Interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday. NAN reports that Wike had on March 21, 2024, inaugurated the rehabilitation, upgrade and reconstruction of public secondary schools across the FCT. The Minister had explained that the move was part of President Bola Tinubu 's administration’s efforts to improve access to quality education in public schools. The Kwali traditional ruler said that so far, renovations were ongoing in more than 75 schools across the six area councils of the FCT with some already completed. He said that as of mid-2024, the Wike-led FCT Administration had renovated Government Technical Secondary School, Kwali, and Junior Government Secondary School, Pai. He added that the renovation of the Government Secondary School, Kwali...

The death toll in the Dikko tanker explosion has risen to 86, with 80 of the victims buried in a mass grave. Alhaji Abdullahi Baba-Arah , the Director General of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Minna on Sunday. He said five of the victims were carried away by their relatives for burial while one died at the Dikko Primary Healthcare Centre. Baba-Arah said that the mass burial was carried out by NSEMA in collaboration with authorities of the Gurara Local Government Council and volunteers. He confirmed that the number of injured persons was now 55. NAN recalls that the tanker explosion occurred on Saturday morning on the Dikko-Maje road in Gurara Local Government Area of Niger. The incident happened when a tanker loaded with petrol fell and an attempt was made to transfer its content. NAN reports that some residents had besieged the fallen tanker, scooping fuel. An attempt to switch on a generator to ease t...

The Lagos State Ministry of Environment and Water Resources has arrested and subjected some individuals to community services for defecating on the Ile Epo pedestrian bridge in the Abule Egba area of the state. This was disclosed by the agency’s commissioner, Tokunbo Wahab in a social media post on Saturday. Wahab stated, “ The Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources enforcement team has taken decisive action at Ile Epo Pedestrian Bridge, addressing the issue of hoodlums who defiled the bridge with waste and defecation.” The offenders were arrested on Saturday and tasked with cleaning the bridge, removing all waste and restoring it to a hygienic condition. Similarly, the commissioner said criminal hotbeds in the state capital were raided and hoodlums nabbed. He said: “ In the early hours of today, the Lagos State Environmental Task Force embarked on a raid of some notable spots within Ikeja. “Some miscreants had turned them into safe havens to perpetrate evil acts by unl...

The United States users of TikTok have been left marooned as the popular short-video app shut down operations in the country following a federal ban. The social media platform went dark around 10:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 18, 2025, 90 minutes before its expected shutdown deadline. Users received a pop-up saying: "Sorry, TikTok isn't available right now." At the same time, the app was no longer available on Apple's iOS Store and Google's Play Store. The development came after the Supreme Court, in a ruling last Friday, upheld the law prohibiting TikTok's continued operations in the US except the platform divested to a non-Chinese owner. In April 2024, the US Congress enacted a bipartisan law mandating TikTok's parent company ByteDance to either bequeath the US version of the app to new owners who must not have any ties to Beijing or face a total shutdown slated to take effect on Sunday, January 19, 2025. However, the company said divestment  “is ...

The Gombe State Police Command has arrested five teenagers for beating a man to death after an argument at a wedding ceremony. Spokesperson of the Command, DSP Buhari Abdullahi disclosed this on Friday, January 17, 2025. He said the suspects including Jauro Babawuro (17), Yayaji Bello (16), Baffaji Adamu (16), Babangida Dotti (18), and Yaya Bapati (17), were arrested after the victim’s parent lodged a report. According to the Police PPRO, the incident occurred on December 21, 2024 around 10pm "On 12/12/2024 at about 2000hrs, information received from Officer in charge of Ribadu Police out station, that on same date at about 1800hrs one Dotti Manu age 50yrs 'm' of Wuro Wandara village via Ribadu district, reported at the station that on 21/12/2024 at about 2200hrs during wedding ceremony altercations ensued between his son and the above-mentioned suspects and the suspects used sticks and beaten up the said Lamido 'm' as a result he sustained an internal in...