Category: Daily Trust

Spiro Nigeria, the manufacturer of electric powered motorbikes of different ranges, has reiterated its commitment to providing affordable and efficient mobility for Nigeria.

For decades, the mobility sector in Nigeria has been powered by fossil fuel, which is not only environmentally unfriendly, but has become more expensive to run.

However, with the global shift to renewable energy, Spiro has positioned itself to provide alternatives via its electric motorcycles.

Aside from its operations in other African countries, Spiro Nigeria has, in the last one year and three months, built a reputation for itself in providing affordable mobility through its electric powered motorbikes of different ranges, spread across different parts of the country.

With its manufacturing facility fully established in Ogun state, Rahul Gaur, Director of Spiro West Africa, said, ‘We have built upon a model which offers affordable mobility solutions to the rider. We have made relevant changes to the product which is a very Nigeria-fit product, strong, durable and offering cheaper cost on running every day.

‘We have offered the bike at almost the price of a petrol bike and when it comes to the energy which is the fuel for any electric bike, we again have done a lot of work to make it very competitive and saving for the rider approximately 30 percent cheaper than any petrol bike.’

According to him, riders of Spiro bikes are happy. ‘I am very excited when I meet the riders claiming that they don’t have to go to the maintenance centres more often now. For the petrol bikes, the downtime is higher, the parts need more maintenance’, he said.

Spiro which is the largest electric mobility company in Africa, operates the largest battery swapping infrastructure in 8 countries on the continent. Spiro intends to transform the African economies through substitution of expensive imported fossil fuel-based transportation into affordable, and accessible electric mobility solutions locally made in Africa, by Africans, for Africa and the world.

This far, Spiro has achieved over half a billion kilometres of CO2 free travel, crossed 23 million battery swaps and operated over 1295 battery swapping stations with more than 45,000 motor bikes in circulation. Through its expanding regional production network and upcoming facilities in different African countries, Spiro is committed to deliver affordable, locally manufactured electric mobility solutions at scale across Africa.

The National Universities Commission (NUC) has approved 13 new degree programmes for Nigerian universities as part of its efforts to strengthen academic relevance and align higher education with global trends.

The commission announced the addition of the programmes to the Core Curriculum and Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS) in a circular addressed to all vice-chancellors.

The circular was released by the NUC spokesperson and signed by the Executive Secretary, Professor Abdullahi Yusufu Ribadu.

According to the commission, experts drawn from the Nigerian university system participated in the development of the 70 per cent national component of the new programmes in March 2025.

Universities are expected to develop the remaining 30 percent institutional component in line with CCMAS provisions.

The newly approved programmes include Artificial Intelligence, Classical Christian Education, Human Kinetics with a focus on sport management, Geomatics Engineering, Community Health Science, Intelligence and Security Studies, Islamic Economics and Finance, Parasitology and Entomology, Telecommunication Science, Water Sanitation and Hygiene, Cooperative Economics and Management, Nuclear Science, and Nuclear Engineering.

The commission urged universities wishing to offer any of the new programmes to begin implementation in the 2025/2026 academic session, following a successful resource assessment visit.

Vice-Chancellors were also directed to circulate the approved CCMAS documents to relevant faculties, departments, and academic planning units.

A Kano State Magistrate Court No. 27, sitting at Miller Road, has ordered the remand of six men over alleged criminal conspiracy, armed robbery, and illegal possession of weapons.

The defendants-Abdurrahman Aliyu, Abubakar Aminu, Salisu Usaini, Abdulmutallif Sa’ad, Sulaiman Abdullahi, and Aliyu Aliyu-were arraigned by the prosecution counsel, Barrister Maryam Halilu Dantiye.

According to the prosecution, the suspects allegedly traveled from Kaduna State to Kano, where they broke into the residence of one Alhaji Naziru Lawan at Dorayi Babba Quarters.

During the robbery, they were said to have carted away valuables worth millions of naira and assaulted the victim’s wife, forcibly removing a gold tooth from her mouth before escaping.

The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to all the three charges.

The magistrate, Hauwa Abba Musa, ordered their remand in a correctional facility and adjourned the case to November 24, for further hearing.

The House of Representatives on Thursday mandated its Committees on Police Affairs and Interior to summon the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, and the Commandant-General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Ahmed Abubakar Audi, to explain why plain-clothed and unidentifiable security operatives man checkpoints across the South East and South South regions.

This followed a motion by Rep. Ibe Okwara Osonwa, who described the practice as a national security risk and a gross violation of operational protocols.

Osonwa noted that the Nigerian Police Act, 2020, and other relevant operational guidelines mandate officers to wear proper uniforms and carry visible identification to ensure accountability, transparency, and the protection of citizens’ rights.

The lawmaker warned that the rising presence of unidentifiable security operatives at checkpoints creates a dangerous climate of ambiguity, making it difficult for citizens to distinguish between genuine security personnel and criminal impersonators, especially amid rising insecurity in both regions.

‘The gross lack of proper identification at checkpoints poses a severe risk to national security and public safety,’ he said, adding that the situation has also fuelled extortion, harassment, and abuse of power by errant officers who are difficult to trace or discipline due to the absence of proper identification.

The House directed the IGP and the NSCDC Commandant-General to enforce strict compliance with existing rules requiring all officers on checkpoints, patrols, and stop-and-search duties to appear in full official uniform with clearly visible ranks, names, and identification tags.

Leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from the North-West zone have distanced themselves from the endorsement of former Minister of Special Duties, Tanimu Turaki (SAN), as the region’s consensus candidate for the position of National Chairman.

Addressing journalists in Abuja on Thursday night, the party’s National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature, said the purported endorsement did not reflect the collective decision of stakeholders from the North-West.

Bature, who spoke on behalf of the zone’s leaders, described the announcement as unilateral and lacking proper consultation.

‘The North-West has not met to agree on that position. What we want to make clear is that this zone has not adopted anybody as a candidate for the position of PDP National Chairman,’ he said.

His comments followed Wednesday’s announcement by the Chairman of the PDP National Convention Organising Committee and Governor of Adamawa State, Ahmadu Fintiri, that Turaki had been adopted as the North’s consensus candidate. Fintiri, however, added that any aspirant not satisfied with the decision was free to contest.

The development comes as the PDP prepares for its national convention scheduled for November. At its 102nd National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held on August 25 in Abuja, the party resolved to zone its 2027 presidential ticket to the South and the National Chairmanship to the North. The position was subsequently micro-zoned to the North-West.

Bature explained that the North-West stakeholders were yet to hold any formal meeting to decide on a consensus candidate, stressing that the process should involve wide consultation among leaders of the zone.

‘Consensus is achieved through consultation. We were not consulted before the announcement was made. The meeting that was supposed to hold yesterday at the instance of the Zamfara governor was postponed, and yet a candidate was adopted without the zone’s input,’ he said.

He added that the North-West, being the party’s strongest zone, would soon present its preferred candidate for the chairmanship position.

‘We are the strongest zone in the PDP, and we disagree with the decision announced by the governors. We will have our own candidate whom we will nominate for the position,’ Bature stated.

Prominent PDP leaders and stakeholders present at the Abuja briefing included former National Secretary Ibrahim Tsauri, the PDP’s 2023 Kaduna governorship candidate, Isa Ashiru Kudan, and Mustapha Lamido, son of former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido.

Three suspected kidnappers have been arrested by operatives of the Kwara State Police Command while allegedly plotting to abduct a businesswoman.

The incident, it was gathered, happened along the Iponrin-Oke Oyi route in the Ilorin East Local Government Area of the state.

The suspects, identified as Abubakar Yusuf (20), Tukur Yahaya (22), and Kabiru Muhammed (22), were apprehended during a joint operation involving the police and local vigilante groups at the Iponrin Maraffa axis.

According to police sources, the suspects were intercepted while allegedly making arrangements to kidnap a woman known for her frequent business trips along the route.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, SP Adetoun Ejire Adeyemi, said the suspects were cooperating with investigators and have provided credible information to aid the recovery of weapons and the arrest of their accomplices.

‘Items recovered from them included a wooden plank and several mobile phones. However, intelligence gathered by the command indicates that the fleeing accomplices are in possession of firearms used in previous criminal operations,’ she noted.

A late afternoon fire outbreak has destroyed more than 500 stalls at Shuwaki Market in Ghari Local Government Area of Kano State.

The incident occurred around 3:25pm on Wednesday, according to a statement by the Public Relations Officer of the Kano State Fire Service, Saminu Yusif Abdullahi.

Abdullahi said the fire service control room received an emergency call from Abdulmalik Muhammad of the Ghari Fire Station, reporting the inferno.

He said, ‘The crew on duty from the Danbatta Fire Station was immediately dispatched to the scene. On arrival, they found that the market – measuring about 3,000 by 2,500 feet with approximately 1,000 temporary stalls – was engulfed in flames. About 529 stalls were completely burnt to the ground.’

He added that the firefighters successfully contained the blaze, preventing it from spreading to other parts of the market.

The service attributed the cause of the fire to suspected activities of individuals believed to be intoxicated residents of the market area.

No lives were lost in the incident, but the fire service reiterated its warning against unsafe practices that could lead to fire outbreaks, particularly in public markets across the state.

However, several traders who suffered losses in the fire expressed their devastation and called on the government for urgent assistance.

Malam Abdullahi Mudi, a groundnut seller who lost goods worth over N2 million, said the inferno had ruined his only source of livelihood.

‘I just restocked my store a day before the incident. Everything I had is gone. I don’t even know where to start from,’ he lamented.

Amina Ibrahim, who sells female clothing materials, said she narrowly escaped the fire while trying to rescue some of her wares.

‘The fire spread so fast that we couldn’t save anything. I lost over N1.5 million worth of goods. I am appealing to the state government to come to our aid,’ she said.

Usman Ali, a butcher, described the incident as a ‘disaster beyond words,’ adding that many traders were thrown into sudden poverty.

‘Most of us operate on loans. Now that everything is gone, we are left with huge debts and no business,’ he said.

For Rukayya Sulaiman, who trades in foodstuffs, the tragedy has left her family in distress.

‘I lost bags of rice, beans, and other items I bought on credit. I have five children to feed. This fire has destroyed everything we worked for,’ she said.

Another trader, Garba Musa, who sells mobile phone accessories, said he lost both his goods and cash savings.

‘I just withdrew N300,000 to buy new stock. The money and everything I had inside are gone. I don’t know how to recover from this loss,’ he told Daily Trust.

The victims appealed to the state government and well-meaning individuals to provide relief materials and financial assistance to enable them to restart their businesses.

At the time of filing the report, the total worth of properties lost could not be ascertained as officials said they are still trying to collect the data.

Speaking on the development, a seasoned businessman who patronises local markets, Bashir Adamu, described the Shuwaki Market inferno as ‘a severe economic setback’ for the affected traders and the local economy.

He said, ‘Incidents like this go beyond individual loss; they disrupt local supply chains, reduce household income, and increase poverty levels in already vulnerable communities. Many small traders depend entirely on daily sales for survival, so such fires can push them into long-term debt.’

Adamu also called for urgent policy intervention, noting that ‘most market structures in Kano and across Nigeria are not designed with fire safety in mind, especially those in the villages or rural areas.’

He advised the government to ‘enforce standard fire prevention measures, provide insurance schemes for small businesses, and establish emergency recovery funds for traders affected by disasters.’

Eight years later, the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) has lifted the suspension placed on the shares of Aso Savings and Loans Plc, ending almost a decade of inactivity by the company.

The resumption of trading was effective October 21, 2025, after eight years of inactivity.

At the close of trading on Thursday, October 23, 2025, the stock price rose by 9.9% to close at N0.60 kobo per share, up from N0.55 kobo.

A total of 11, 300,155 units were exchanged in 17 trades valued at N6.78 million. Thus, the stock price rose by 10 kobo in two trading sessions between Wednesday, October 22 and Thursday, October 23.

It would be recalled that the mortgage institution’s shares had been frozen at N0.50 since July 5, 2017, following its failure to meet statutory filing obligations under the NGX’s Default Filing Rules.

In a formal notice signed by the Head of Issuer Regulation Department, the Exchange announced that Aso Savings had successfully submitted all outstanding financial statements, thereby satisfying the conditions for lifting the suspension.

‘Trading License Holders and the investing public are hereby notified that the suspension placed on trading in the shares of Aso Savings and Loans Plc has been lifted,’ the statement read.

The price of foodstuffs, especially local rice, beans, guinea-corn, maize, millet, cassava flour, yam, and garri, has further crashed by up to 50 percent in various rural markets in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), our correspondent reports.

Abuja Metro, who visited Abaji main market on Wednesday-a market that holds every five days in the area council-reports that a mudu (measure) of local rice, which was sold between N2,000 and N1,800 two months ago, is now sold between N1,500 and N1,300 during the market day.

Findings also showed that a mudu of maize, which was sold between N800 and N600, is now sold between N350 and N400 per mudu.

Similarly, a mudu of white big beans, which sold at N2,500, is now N2,000. A mudu of guinea-corn, previously sold at N1,000, is now N750, and a mudu of millet, which sold at N1,200, is now N900.

However, some traders at the Abaji market, who spoke to our reporter, said prices for some foodstuffs vary, especially beans and rice, which they said are of different types.

‘We have local rice that is so clean you might mistake it for foreign rice. But there is also another locally harvested rice whose appearance makes the price different, though the difference is not more than N200,’ said a trader, Mrs. Asibi Haruna.

Further findings also showed that five tubers of yam, which cost between N10,000 and N15,000 two months ago, are now sold for prices ranging from N4,000 to N7,000, depending on their sizes.

A visit to Kwaita market in Kwali Area Council on Thursday, which holds every four days, showed that a mudu of rice, which was sold between N1,800 and N1,600 few months ago, is now sold for N1,200 and N1,100, though sellers noted the price depends on the variety of rice.

A mudu of beans, which was sold at N2,500, is now N2,000. Traders clarified that the big beans variety is sold at N2,000, while the small white beans is sold between N1,400 and N1,600.

A mudu of guinea-corn, which sold at N1,000, is now N750 per mudu, and a mudu of millet, which sold at N1,200, is now N900.

A trader at Kwaita village market, Malam Garba Abdullahi, said the crash in foodstuffs was due to the bumper harvest experienced by farmers in various rural communities in the FCT.

‘Unlike last year, when I always traveled to the north to buy bags of beans to bring here to sell, this year, local farmers are bringing their harvest to the market to sell in droves. However, one cannot only attribute the crash of foodstuffs to the bumper harvest alone; rather, the lack of money in people’s hands to buy the foodstuffs is the major challenge,’ he said.

Also, at Paikon-Kore and Dobi markets in Gwagwalada Area Council, findings showed that prices of foodstuffs have further crashed by up to 65 percent in the area.

Some traders, who spoke to our reporter on Thursday, said prices of foodstuffs, especially grains, have crashed beyond expectations, noting that consumers mostly come from neighboring towns with trucks to buy in large quantities.

‘For example, a big bag of maize, which was sold for N30,000 two months ago, is now sold between N18,000 and N20,000. Similarly, a bag of guinea-corn, which sold at N35,000, is now N25,000,’ a trader identified as Mathew Nyiste said.

Nyiste said despite the challenges of crop destruction by cows in rural communities, the majority of rural farmers were still able to enjoy a bumper harvest this year.

‘Although, the major problem is that there is no money in people’s hands, as the country’s economy is biting harder on the people. This has contributed to the crash of foodstuffs in the market because the majority of consumers have no money to buy the food, despite the crash,’ he said.

Further findings at Kwaku village market in Kuje Area Council of the FCT also showed that the prices of foodstuffs-comprising rice, beans, guinea-corn, millet, yam, and cassava flour-have crashed.

It was gathered that the price of a mudu of rice, beans, millet, and cassava flour, as well as tubers of yam, had crashed by up to 67 percent during the last village market, which held on Sunday in the area.

Mr. Wabari James, a resident of Kwaku village, told our reporter that a mudu of rice, which sold at N1,700, is now N1,100. A mudu of beans, which sold at N2,300, is now between N1,600 and N2,000. He added that a medium size of five yam tubers is now sold for N3,500 to N4,000.

‘But the major problem is that there is no money. If not for that, foodstuffs in Kwaku market this year are cheap. However, only a few traders who come from Abuja city and parts of Kogi and Edo states are buying in large quantities,’ he said.

Major General (rtd) Mainasara Abdul Masanawa, a defence innovation and industrial development expert, has said that Nigeria must be self-sufficient in military equipment production to end terrorism.

Masanawa stated this at the 6th Abuja Forum 2025 held at the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) in Abuja on Thursday.

The programme, themed ‘Deepening the Implementation of the ‘China-Africa Cooperation 2035 Vision’ – Forging a Closer China-Africa Community with a Shared Future: Putting Theory into Practice’, was organised by The Gusau Institute and attracted participants from within and outside Nigeria.

He said that if Nigeria finds a way to produce military equipment locally, it would be easier for Africa to tackle terrorism.

‘How do we support the Sahel region in fighting terrorism or counter-terrorism? We need to be self-sufficient. How can we be self-sufficient if we are dependent on imports virtually on our defence list, which actually take a minimum of one year to arrive when that contract is awarded?

‘So, the solution is for us to be able to produce all or most of our defence list. And that’s why the military industrial companies are working.

‘And if Nigeria gets its own military defence industrial companies regular rights, you’ll find that we can supply most of this defence equipment to our friendly neighbouring Sahel and other parts of African countries,’ he said.

According to Mainasara, if there is no peace, there can’t be any meaningful development.

He added, ‘If we have the facilities and the equipment to fight or to suppress terrorism absolutely, then there will be development, not only in Nigeria but in the whole of the Sahel region and other parts of Africa.

‘China has been very cooperative in supplying us, because I know in the past, they were able to establish the 7.62mm by 39 ammunition production line in Daikon.’

Earlier, Lt. Gen. Aliyu Gusau Muhammed (rtd), said that the 2035 Vision for China-Africa Cooperation offers a bold and structured framework for building a more equitable and resilient future.

He said, ‘But as the theme reminds us, the real challenge lies in implementation. This is where institutions like ours-research centres, think tanks, academic bodies, and policy hubs-must step forward to support decision-makers.’