Irate students at the College of Health Sciences and Technology in Jega, Kebbi State, have set the residence of Provost Haruna Saidu-Sauwa on fire and vandalized his vehicle.

The protest erupted over allegations that the college management extorted N23 million from students regarding index registration for 250 graduating students.

According to a source within the college, the controversy originated from a newly introduced public health programme, initially affiliated with Reproductive Health and the Public Health Association of Nigeria. The college merged the programme with the Environmental Health Department to secure certification, leading to a demand for an additional N65,000 from each student for index registration, on top of the N30,000 already paid.

Accusing the management of extortion, the students responded violently by stoning vehicles and setting the provost’s residence on fire. College staff fled the scene in fear before security personnel arrived.

Kebbi Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, Nafiu Abubakar, stated that further details will be provided once information from the Divisional Police Officer in Jega is available.

The college’s mission to produce skilled healthcare professionals is now under scrutiny as the ongoing crisis raises concerns about its commitment to ethical standards.

The Federal Government has revoked a section of the Abuja-Kaduna highway contract being handled by Julius Berger.

The media reports that the contract was awarded to Julius Berger in 2018 when former President Muhammadu Buhari was in power.

While the Kaduna-Zaria section has been completed and Zaria-Kano section almost done, the Abuja-Kaduna section has recorded 27 percent progress in 6 years.

Speaking during the inauguration of rehabilitation of the highway on Thursday, Minister of Works, Sen. David Umahi, accused Julius Berger of playing politics with the project.

He said the company was seeking for N1.5trn for the project but it was reviewed to N740bn by the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

“Berger said to do this entire job, it needs N1.5tr, we started negotiation since September last year writing letters every week. Eventually, we told them that despite the ones they are requesting, it will still take them four years to complete as there have been traffic jam and kidnapping on the road.”

“We presented the option of balkanising the road into three which the President approved. When we did that, Berger accepted it and the rate. But we did not know they were playing games by continue to play delay tactics and at that time their side was N710bn, both completed and those to be done. Later, they came back that they wanted an increase to N740bn, we went to FEC and they gave approval only for them last week to say they need another increase to N903bn.

“Even if we accept it, other contractors will want the same and it will increase the project to about N4bn per kilometre which is on asphalt. Our position is that we are not increasing this project for Julius Berger beyond N740bn, the game is over. If they are not doing it, we will give it those that will do it on the same quality of the coaster road at a cheaper rate. They have put the project into politics, so they are using it to de-market our administration and we say enough is enough.”

He stated that the road which is 375km dualised (750km) will see the addition of 7.5 kilometers in Kogi and Kano States.

Speaking earlier, the ministry ‘s Director of Highway Construction, Engr. Bakare, said the project was de-scoped while the outstanding sections of the project were re-awarded to Dangote and BUA.

He said the length of the road to be constructed by Dangote is 38 kilometre dual within the section one and will cost N145bn with a 14 months completion date.

Similarly, the project which was formerly funded by the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF), will now be paid for through the Tax Credit Scheme.

Nigerian billionaire and Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Refinery, Aliko Dangote, has seen his net worth double to $28 billionollowing the commencement of operations at his long-anticipated oil refinery.

As reported by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index on Thursday, the launch of Nigeria’s highly anticipated oil refinery, now fully operational, has substantially boosted the wealth of the nation’s industrial magnate.

Dangote’s refinery, situated within the Lekki Free Trade Zone in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, stands as the world’s largest single-train oil refinery and one of the most advanced, with the capability to process a wide range of global crude oil types.

“It has the potential to transform Nigeria’s economy by making the country self-sufficient in fuel production. And it has more than doubled his net worth to $27.8 billion,” stated Bloomberg.

Expectations are high, with reports suggesting the refinery is set to reshape Nigeria’s energy sector by producing refined petroleum products domestically, potentially ending the country’s dependence on fuel imports.

Analysts predict Dangote’s wealth could grow even further in the coming months.

As the refinery ramps up production and expands its portfolio of refined products, Dangote is poised to dominate Nigeria’s fuel market, with plans to export a portion of the output to other African nations.

At 67, Dangote has built most of his wealth through his 86 per cent stake in Dangote Cement, a company valued at over $9 billion, with operations in ten African countries.

In addition to cement, the Dangote Group has interests in sectors such as food production, fertilisers, and real estate.