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Niger: Minister Makes U-turn, Announces Donations As Mass Wedding Holds Today

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The Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, on Thursday, announced scholarships and gave various gift items to 100 orphaned girls in Niger State, ahead of their mass wedding today (Friday).

The mass wedding is being sponsored by the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Abdulmalik Sarkindaji.

The minister had kicked against the mass wedding of the young girls, saying it was a violation of the Child Rights Act.

Kennedy-Ohanenye, who addressed a press conference in Abuja, noted that she had petitioned the Inspector General of Police to stop the wedding, adding that she also filed a lawsuit, seeking an injunction to restrain the Speaker from going ahead with the mass wedding.

In response, the Speaker lambasted the minister for dabbling into a religious and cultural issue she did not understand.

He said the minister acted without first making any effort to understand the circumstances that confronted the girls, which made it necessary for their weddings to be sponsored.

The Speaker also received the backing of the Niger State Council of Imams and the Muslim Rights Concern, which both warned the minister to steer clear of the mass wedding, which they insisted must go on as scheduled.

Ahead of the mass wedding, the minister, represented by her Special Assistant on Private Sector, Adaji Usman, was in Niger to announce scholarships for the girls and to also give them other items, such as wrappers and foodstuffs.

The items were given out to the 100 young girls at the palace of the Emir of Kontagora, Mohammed Muazu.

The minister, through Usman, presented 10 Point of Sale machines, 100 wrappers and 350 bags of 10kg bags of rice.

She announced a scholarship to university level for any of the girls who wish to go to school.

Also, the Emir of Kontagora announced the donation of a sewing machine to each of the girls.

Kennedy-Ohanenye also directed that bank accounts be opened for all the 100 intending brides where a stipend will be sent to them for the next six months to enable them to settle down in their husband’s houses

She blamed the media for escalating the initial controversy surrounding the marriage of the 100 orphans, saying “I did not intend to stop the marriage but to be sure if the girls are of marriageable age and were not being forced into it.

“Every parent will want to marry out her wards if they attain the right age for marriage. The initial opposition to the planned marriage was misunderstood, hence the media war between my office and the Speaker’s.”

While thanking the Speaker for the way the issue was handled, the minister promised that the girls would be closely monitored in their various husband’s houses so that the objectives of the empowerment scheme would not be defeated.

In his remarks, the Speaker said it was regrettable that this intention to support the marriage of the 100 girls was politicised.

He said, “It was pure politics from my constituency. They misinformed the minister that I am playing politics with the lives of the children by forcing them into marriage.

“And the minister, because of her passion for women and the girl child, quickly waded into the matter even though she could not find out the true position of things and the media began to amplify the whole matter.

“But thank God today I have been vindicated. The minister and the whole world have seen that these girls are of marriageable age and nobody is forcing them into it. It is being done with their consent.

“I decided to support the marriage out of genuine concern for these girls, the majority of whom are orphans as a result of the insecurity in my constituency. It was with a pure heart.

“I equally commend the minister for this empowerment scheme for the girls; she has shown that she is a mother and really meant well for the girl child in this country.”

In his remarks, the Emir thanked God for the peaceful resolution of the matter.

He disclosed that all the necessary medical tests, including HIV/AIDS, genotype, Hepatitis B and pregnancy tests, were conducted and the results were handed over to the representatives of the minister.

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Rivers Assembly Formally Serves Impeachment Notice To Gov. Fubara

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The Rivers State House of Assembly has formally served an impeachment notice to Governor Siminalayi Fubara and Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu.

 

The move marks the third major attempt to remove the governor since 2023, following his return to office in September 2025 after a six-month state of emergency.

 

Recall that the assembly on Thursday during an emergency plenary, commenced the impeachment of the governor and his deputy.

 

26 members of the House accused the governor of misconduct, capable of undermining democracy in the state.

 

The notice which was addressed to the governor, contained the signature of at least 19 lawmakers.

 

The notice also contained about 8 alleged gross misconducts by the governor and his administration.

 

In a post on its official Facebook page,the assembly said, “The impeachment notice has been successfully served on the Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara”.

 

 

 

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NCC, CBN Set To Roll Out Refund Framework For Failed Airtime And Data Transactions

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In line with the consumer-focused objectives of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the two regulators have drawn up a framework to address consumer complaints arising from unsuccessful airtime and data transactions during network downtimes, system glitches, or human input errors.

 

The framework is the outcome of several months of engagements involving the NCC, the CBN, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), Value Added Service (VAS) providers, Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), and other relevant stakeholders. These engagements were prompted by a rising incidence of failed airtime and data purchases, where subscribers were debited without receiving value and experienced delays in resolution.

 

The Framework represents a unified position by both the telecommunications and financial sectors on addressing such complaints. It identifies and tackles the root causes of failed airtime and data transactions, including instances where bank accounts are debited without successful delivery of services. It also prescribes an enforceable Service Level Agreement (SLA) for MNOs and DMBs, clearly outlining the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder in the transaction and resolution process.

 

Under the new framework, where a purchaser is debited but fails to receive value for airtime or data—whether the failure occurs at the bank level or with an NCC licensee—the purchaser is entitled to a refund within 30 seconds, except in circumstances where the transaction remains pending, of which the refund can take up to 24 hours.

 

The framework further mandates operators to notify consumers via SMS of the success or failure of every transaction. It also addresses erroneous recharges to ported lines, incorrect airtime or data purchases, and instances where transactions are made to the wrong phone number.

 

Speaking on the development, the Director of Consumer Affairs at the NCC, Mrs. Freda Bruce-Bennett disclosed that the framework also establishes a Central Monitoring Dashboard to be jointly hosted by the NCC and the CBN. According to her, the dashboard will enable both regulators to monitor failures, the responsible party, refunds, and track SLA breaches in real time.

 

“Failed top-ups rank among the top three consumer complaints, and in line with our commitment to addressing these priority issues, we were determined to resolve it within the shortest possible time,” she said.

 

“We are grateful to all stakeholders—particularly the Central Bank of Nigeria and its leadership—for their tireless commitment to resolving this issue and arriving at this framework, and for ensuring that consumers of telecommunications services receive full value for their purchases.

 

“So far, pending the approval of management of both regulators on the framework, MNOs and banks have collectively made refunds of over N10 billion to customers for failed transactions.”

 

Mrs. Bruce-Bennett further noted that implementation of the framework is expected to commence on March 1, 2026, once the two regulators have made final approvals, and technical integration by all MNOs, VAS providers and DMBs is concluded.

 

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PRESIDENT TINUBU HAILS NRS CHAIRMAN, ZACCH ADEDEJI, ON HIS BIRTHDAY

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President Bola Tinubu congratulates Dr Zacch Adedeji, the Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service, on his birthday.

 

President Tinubu commends Adedeji’s sterling leadership of the 83-year-old revenue agency, the introduction of fresh ideas, the adoption of global best practices, the automation of systems, and the upskilling of staff members for the greater good of the nation.

 

“I salute the NRS Chairman for his visionary and charismatic dedication in restructuring, aligning and managing the revenue profile of the country.

 

“He recorded a historic achievement, meeting the budget targets in the Third Quarter of 2025, and stimulating the economy for prosperity.

 

“Zacch has also been instrumental in the adoption of the National Single Window, a transformative federal digital platform to streamline import and export processes, enhance transparency and reduce cargo clearance from 21 days to one week,” the President remarks.

 

Dr Adedeji previously served as a senior member of Procter & Gamble’s management team, as Commissioner of Finance for Oyo State, and as Executive Secretary of the National Sugar Development Council, where he established the National Sugar Institute.

 

He also served as Special Adviser to the President on Revenue before being appointed as FIRS chairman in September 2023.

 

The President prays that the Almighty God will grant the NRS Chairman more years of good health, wisdom and strength to keep serving the nation.

 

 

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