News
US to move visa services in Abuja to Lagos
The services to be provided at the hub locations include all routine nonimmigrant visas – tourist, business, and petition-based – as well as immigrant visas.
The United States has announced a major visa shake-up across Africa, with routine visa services at its embassy in Abuja and 24 other diplomatic posts set to be discontinued effective August 1, 2026.
The US Department of State said that the realignment to regional hubs was part of efforts aimed at strengthening national security, cutting government waste, and ensuring more uniform screening, vetting, and adjudication standards.
According to a statement released by the State Department, President Trump’s administration is putting America and Americans first by realigning overseas operations to advance US priorities efficiently and effectively.
Other diplomatic posts affected by the routine visa realignment include Asmara, Bamako, Banjul, Brazzaville, Bujumbura, Conakry, Cotonou, Durban, Freetown, Gaborone, Harare, Juba, Libreville, and Lilongwe.
The rest are Lusaka, Maputo, Maseru, Mbabane, N’Djamena, Niamey, Nouakchott, Ouagadougou, and Windhoek.
The State Department stressed that the realignment does not change the operating status of any of the embassies and consulates or the important work they continue to conduct on behalf of the American people.It also clarified that the policy does not affect any currently valid US visas.
It explained that the immigrant visa categories being realigned include immediate relative, IR; family preference, FP; employment-based, EB; fiancée/fiancé, K visas; adoptions; diversity visas; and follow-to-join asylee and refugee, V92/V93, cases.
However, routine visa services, according to the State Department, will continue at US embassies and consulates in Lagos, Abidjan, Accra, Addis Ababa, Cape Town, Dakar, Dar-Es-Salaam, Djibouti, Johannesburg, Kampala, Kigali, Kinshasa, Lome, Luanda, Malabo, Monrovia, Nairobi, Port Louis, Praia, and Yaoundé.
The services to be provided at the hub locations include all routine nonimmigrant visas – tourist, business, and petition-based – as well as immigrant visas.
News
Boat Mishap Claims Lives in Goronyo (Photos)
Residents of Gorau, an agrarian community in Goronyo Local Government Area of Sokoto State, have been thrown into mourning following a boat accident that claimed many lives.

Malam Tukur, Head of Operations at the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Sokoto Zonal Office, confirmed the incident. He said details remain sketchy because the security situation has prevented humanitarian workers from accessing the area.

According to him, NEMA officials, working with the National Inland Waterways Authority and state emergency agencies, are en route to the community. Their journey was delayed by an early morning bandits’ attack.

Local sources said the boat was carrying about 40 passengers, including men and women, with the majority of occupants being children aged between 10 and 15 when it capsized.

Superintendent of Police Ahmad Rufai, spokesman of the Sokoto State Police Command, said the command would issue a statement on the development soon.

Over forty five bodies have been recovered so far a local journalist in Gorou community of Goronyo local government area of Sokoto state said.
According to him rescue operations is still ongoing as officials of the National Emergency Management Agency NEMA arrived the affected community. He said about 90 boarded the ill-fated boat and so far only 9 persons have been rescued.
Though this is not an official position, as Humanitarian workers on ground are yet to issue a statement.
News
Okorocha Sues Uzodinma Over Bid for Imo West Senatorial Seat
Former Governor of Imo State Rochas Okorocha has dragged Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma to court over what he has termed the governor’s inordinate ambition to contest the Imo West Senatorial seat despite his subsisting term in office as governor until 2028.
In the affidavit attached to the suit filed before a Federal High Court in Abuja, Senator Okorocha states that Uzodinma’s tenure in office as governor will expire at midnight on January 14, 2028, having taken the oath of office and been sworn in on January 15, 2024.
He said Uzodinma, whose tenure would not have expired by the year 2027 when the Senate will be inaugurated after the general election in 2027, also purchased expression of interest and nomination forms for the party’s senatorial ticket.
He urged the court to declare that it was unconstitutional for INEC to publish the name of Uzodinma as the APC’s candidate when it was not he who emerged as the winner of the primary election conducted on May 18.
Mr Okorocha prayed the court for an order directing INEC to recognise and publish his name as the duly nominated candidate of the APC to contest the poll.
He alleged that the direct primary election was conducted on May 18 and that he emerged victorious, having secured 150,780 votes while Uzodinma scored 102,158 votes.
He is also asking the court to prohibit Uzodinma, whether by himself or through the APC or anyone however named, from parading himself as the nominated candidate of the party to contest the election.
Respondents in the suit are INEC, Uzodinma and the APC.
News
Gov. Adeleke Prostrates Before Elder Brother After Re-Election Win
Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke has drawn widespread praise after a video emerged showing him prostrating fully before his elder brother, Dr. Adedeji Adeleke, in a traditional Yoruba gesture of respect and gratitude.
The clip, shared on social media by media publisher Dele Momodu, captures the re-elected governor lying flat on the floor before his older brother — the father of Afrobeats star Davido — shortly after Adeleke was declared winner of the August 15, 2026 Osun governorship election. In the footage, the governor is seen thanking his brother for his support during the campaign and asking for his prayers. Dr. Adedeji Adeleke responded by removing his cap and offering prayers for the governor and his administration as family members and associates looked on.
Adeleke secured 511,067 votes to defeat his closest rival, Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress, who polled 444,815 votes. The Independent National Electoral Commission declared him the winner days before the viral moment.
The gesture has sparked positive reactions online, with many Nigerians highlighting the governor’s humility and the strong cultural values of the Adeleke family. Commenters noted that the display of respect for elders remains a hallmark of Yoruba tradition, even for someone holding high office.
Governor Adeleke has previously described his elder brother as a father figure and trusted adviser whose counsel he values highly.
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