The Federal Ministry of Education (FME) has announced that students at the 112 Federal Government Colleges will now return to school on January 12, 2025, instead of the originally scheduled January 5.

The extension, as confirmed by the Permanent Secretary of FME, Dr. Nasir Sani-Gwarzo, is due to ongoing renovations at several schools.

A circular issued to school principals explains the change, following approval from the Minister of State for Education, Dr. Suwaiba Ahmad.

At Kings College in Lagos, there has been no official update on the resumption schedule, leaving some parents confused.

Typically, senior students preparing for exams like WASSCE and NECO return first, but no formal notice has been issued this year.

Meanwhile, parents are currently making payments of N58,000 for SS III students.

The breakdown includes payment of boarding fees of N30,000, the balance of WAEC, NECO, and NABTEB fees of N11,000.

Other fees include N2,000 for medical, ICT training, extra lessons, and utility, and N1,000 for sports, vocational, clubs, societies, and security.

The Labour Party (LP) has strongly rejected rumors suggesting that it is in a partnership with President Bola Tinubu in anticipation of the 2027 elections. These rumors claimed that the LP had struck an agreement to support Tinubu’s bid for a second term should he choose to run.

In response, the LP’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Obiora Ifoh, issued a statement on Friday, labeling these allegations as baseless and unfounded. He emphasized that the party has continually dismissed any notion of collaboration with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) concerning the upcoming 2027 general elections.

Ifoh asserted that the Labour Party remains the most prominent opposition party in Nigeria, with the party’s National Chairman, Barrister Julius Abure, being a leading critic of the current government. “Our National Chairman is at the forefront of challenging the policies of the government, consistently voicing opposition to the actions of the current administration,” Ifoh said.

The spokesperson also highlighted the party’s ongoing efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s democracy. These include the establishment of an Electoral Reform Committee aimed at ensuring free, fair, and transparent elections, as well as the introduction of an e-membership registration system that has already attracted a significant number of new members.

Ifoh further expressed disappointment over the defamatory nature of the rumors, calling it “ridiculous and unfortunate” for anyone to attempt to undermine the Labour Party’s efforts in such a manner. “For anyone to try to tarnish the reputation of a party that is actively working to reshape the political landscape in Nigeria is truly unfortunate,” he remarked.

Finally, the Labour Party spokesperson challenged Deji Adeyanju and anyone else promoting such claims to provide concrete evidence to support their accusations. “We call on Deji Adeyanju and others to present factual proof if they believe that the leadership of our party or Mr. Abure has any intention of working with President Tinubu or the APC for the 2027 elections,” Ifoh stated firmly.

The Federal government has confirmed that it has stopped the October monthly Federation Account Allocation Committee, FAAC revenue payment to Rivers State amid the ongoing crisis in the oil rich state.

The Spokesperson of the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Bawa Mokwa, disclosed this exclusively to an online newspaper on Friday.

This comes as the Nigerian Government on Wednesday announced the approval for the disbursement of N1.1411 trillion as the October 2024 Federation Accounts Allocation Revenue to Federal, State, and local government councils.

However, a report emerged that FAAC revenue in October was not disbursed to Rivers State following a court stopping the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigerian government from carrying out such action.

Reacting to the development, Mokwa said the OAGF as a government agency will respect the court order.

Meanwhile, he stated that the October monthly FAAC revenue has not been disbursed to respective states as of filing the report.

“What I got is that the October 2024 FAAC has not been distributed yet. However, the Federal Government will obey the court order on the matter of Rivers State allocation.

“We are going to follow due diligence as long as there is no contrary order. In case there is a contrary, the status will remain,” he revealed.

He added, “The process of disbursement of the October 2024 monthly allocation is going.”.

Recall that on October 30, this year, Justice Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court barred CBN and the Nigerian government from disbursing monthly allocations to the Rivers State government.

This comes after an originating summons filed by the factional Rivers State Assembly, led by Martin Amaewhule.

The Amaewhule case was based on the grounds that the Rivers State Executive, under the leadership of Simi Fubara, was yet to comply with the order of a Federal High Court directing it to re-present the 2024 appropriation bill to the Amaewhule-led faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

In the past month, the Amaewhule faction, backed by Wike, former Governor of Rivers State, had been in a political battle with Fubara.

Recall that upon the emergence of Fubara as governor, he fell apart with his predecessor, Wike, which had led to a month-long crisis in the oil-rich state.

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