News
‘I’m Standing By The Gate’: Shaibu Denied Access To Edo Govt House Office
The Deputy Governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu, has been denied access to his old office at the Government House in Benin, the state capital.
Shaibu arrived at the Government House on Monday morning but met the gate leading to his office under lock and key.
He says is yet to receive a formal letter from the governor’s office and that according to him is the proper channel to transmit a directive pertaining to the relocation to a new office.
“Up till now, I don’t have any official communication that I should relocate. The only people that have official communication are my civil servants. The civil servants have official communication but I don’t. As I am speaking to you now, I am standing by the gate,” he said while on a phone call to a yet-to-be-identified person.
Last week, a letter said to be from the office of the Head of Service, Anthony Okungbowa, was reported to have been sent to the Permanent Secretary, Office of the Deputy Governor directing Shuaibu to relocate to a new office situated at No 7, Dennis Osadebey Avenue, GRA, Benin City.
However, sources close to Edo’s number two citizen claimed that the new office is abandoned and in dire need of rehabilitation.
‘Absolute’ Loyalty
The development is the latest in the tussle between Governor Obaseki and his deputy. While there have been speculations about plans to impeach Shaibu, the Edo Assembly has denied such.
Obaseki had also accused his deputy of plotting a coup against him. But at a recent gathering to mark the anniversary of the state’s creation, Shaibu described his principal as a brother, saying he remains loyal to him despite their political differences.
“As for the issues that are around town when I was away, I really would not want to talk. Issues that concern my governor are not things I like to speak about on camera. No, no, no! He is my elder brother and boss and I don’t think I should talk about anything. And if I have issues with him, I think it is better settled at home and not in the media. I am well brought up,” he said on the sidelines of a thanksgiving service in Benin to mark the 32nd anniversary of Edo State.
“I can tell you that from my Christian background if you make a vow with God that you want to do something, you must fulfill it. And the vow I have taken with God is that I will continue to support Godwin Obaseki as the governor of Edo State from the beginning to the end.
“But that does not stop anything that has to do with ambition. Ambition is personal and it does not affect loyalty. My loyalty to the governor remains absolute. I see that everybody is doing solidarity. I am also in solidarity with the governor. I am also declaring my unalloyed solidarity and loyalty to the governor and nothing more.”
News
LASG declares 176 estates illegal for lacking approved layouts
Permanent Secretary, Office of Physical Planning, Oluwole Sotire, disclosed that some of the identified illegal estates include Adron Homes, Elerangbe; Aina Gold Estate, Okun-Folu; Diamond Estate, Eputu; Prime Water View Garden, Ikate-Elegushi, and Royal View Estate, Ikota, among others.
Lagos State Government has declared 176 estates at the Eti-Osa, Ajah, Ibeju-Lekki, and Epe axis of the state illegal.
Permanent Secretary, Office of Physical Planning, Oluwole Sotire, disclosed that some of the identified illegal estates include Adron Homes, Elerangbe; Aina Gold Estate, Okun-Folu; Diamond Estate, Eputu; Prime Water View Garden, Ikate-Elegushi, and Royal View Estate, Ikota, among others.
He added that the illegal estates compromised the sustainable development ethos and the T.H.E.M.E.S+ agenda of the government by operating without approved layouts.
Consequently, the government has given the owners a 21-day ultimatum to process their layout approvals.
The estates, which were deemed illegal due to the failure of the owners to obtain layout approvals from the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, were listed in a document published by the ministry, yesterday.
News
VISA: US demanding $15,000 down payment for some visitors
The funds will be returned if the applicant complies with all visa terms. If the applicant remains in the United States past the deadline, the funds will be forfeited.
The US State Department says that some visa applicants will soon be required to pay bonds of up to $15,000 to discourage visa overstays as part of President Donald Trump‘s crackdown on migration.
Starting later this month, the pilot program will require applicants from certain countries to pay a sum of “no less than $5,000” as collateral for the issuance of their visa.
The funds will be returned if the applicant complies with all visa terms. If the applicant remains in the United States past the deadline, the funds will be forfeited.
“Consular officers may require covered nonimmigrant visa applicants to post a bond of up to $15,000 as a condition of visa issuance,” the agency said in a notice to be published Tuesday in the US Federal Register.
The 12-month program would only affect foreign nationals from countries considered to have “high visa overstay rates” based on a 2023 Department of Homeland Security report, the notice said.
News
Ex-servicemen protest nonpayment of entitlements by Finance Ministry
We the voluntary discharged soldiers of 2024 demand full payment of our benefits, including shortfalls in gratuity, SDA, parking allowance and four months’ salary cuts.
• Ex-servicemen protest at the Ministry of Finance Office, Abuja, August 5,2025
ABUJA—A group of retired soldiers shut down the Federal Ministry of Finance, Abuja, yesterday, while protesting the non-payment of their gratuity, Security Debarment Allowance, SDA, and other entitlements.
The Vanguard reported that the angry protesters carried placards with messages such as: “We are 1st and 2nd Quarter Retirees of NA 2003. We are living heroes and deserve to be recognized and treated right—not celebrated as fallen heroes when we are no more,” and “We the voluntary discharged soldiers of 2024 demand full payment of our benefits, including shortfalls in gratuity, SDA, parking allowance and four months’ salary cuts.
The protest, which began at about 7 a.m., left ministry workers stranded for hours, as they were unable to access their offices as the aggrieved ex-servicemen, comprising men and women, demanded the immediate release of their outstanding allowances.
They claimed to be members of Voluntary Discharged Soldiers, who retired from the Nigerian Army in the first two quarters of 2024.
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