Author: Chukwu Ikenna

The Federal Government has urged cement manufacturers to lower prices to N7,000, citing improved economic conditions.

This call was made by the Minister of Works, Sen. Engr. Nweze David Umahi, during a meeting at the Ministry’s headquarters in Abuja on February 26, 2025, according to a statement on the ministry’s website.

Umahi noted that the naira has stabilized at about N1,400 per dollar, and petrol prices have dropped, creating a conducive environment for reduced cement costs.

He criticized the current price of N9,500, pointing out that manufacturers increased prices when the dollar was nearly N2,000 but have not adjusted them despite the naira’s recovery.

“Today, a dollar is about N1,400. And let me use the opportunity to express dissatisfaction with the cost of cement.

“We are using this medium to tell the cement manufacturers that at the time, the dollar was almost N2,000, they increased cement from N7,500. Why should today when the President has brought the dollar to stability to about N1400, and is still going down, why should cement be selling for N9,500? We are requesting cement manufacturers to bring down the cost of cement to N7,000,” Umahi stated.

The Works Minister stressed that affordable cement is vital for constructing Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavements and completing key infrastructure projects.

He revealed that some contractors are considering a switch back to asphalt due to high cement costs. Umahi warned that if prices were not reduced within a week, he would escalate the matter to President Bola Tinubu.

Ekaette Akpabio, wife of Senate President Godswill Akpabio, has filed multiple lawsuits against Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the senator representing Kogi Central, over alleged defamatory comments.

On Friday, Akpoti-Uduaghan, in an interview on Arise TV, alleged that the Senate President made sexual advances at her in his office and residence in Akwa Ibom. The Senate President’s wife responded by saying her husband is disciplined, adding that the senator’s claims were “lies.”

In a fundamental rights suit filed at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Ekaette said the “scandalous and salacious” comments made by Akpoti-Uduaghan have caused her and her children “emotional and psychological abuse.” Akpabio’s wife asked the court to restrain Akpoti-Uduaghan from making further “spiteful” statements that infringe on her fundamental human rights.

“AN ORDER awarding the sum of N250,000,000,000.00 (Two Hundred and Fifty Billion Naira only) as exemplary, punitive, aggravated and general damages against the Respondent for her infringement of the fundamental rights of the Applicant alongside,” the fundamental rights suit reads. “Such further or other Orders as this Honourable Court may deem fit to make in the circumstance.”

Ekaette said the Kogi senator’s comments “damaged the reputation of the claimant and indeed her entire family, bringing them into disrepute and opprobrium.” She asked the court to mandate Akpoti-Uduaghan to tender an apology to her family and publish it in two national newspapers.

“AN ORDER OF THIS HONOURABLE COURT compelling the Defendant to pay to the Claimant the sum of ₦1,000,000,000.00 (One Billion Naira only) as punitive and exemplary damages for the ruinous effect of the Defendant’s defamatory words on the Claimant’s family’s reputation,” a portion of the suit reads. “AN ORDER OF PERPETUAL INJUNCTION restraining the Defendant from further uttering any defamatory words or causing to be uttered or spread, any defamatory words against the reputation of the Claimant’s family.”

The Senate President has yet to publicly comment on Akpoti-Uduaghan’s allegations. TheCable’s efforts to get a comment from his media aides have proved futile

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has disclosed that his frustration with the United States administration began after it issued a series of controversial comments five weeks after Trump’s inauguration.

Zelensky, President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, were reported to have been involved in a heated verbal exchange at the Oval office.

The confrontation erupted after Trump and Vance accused Zelensky of not showing public gratitude for U.S. support in Ukraine’s ongoing war efforts.

Reacting to the altercation in an interview with Fox News, Zelensky said: “It’s not about mad.

“When you are in the United States, and for example, the president, vice president or somebody or senators — doesn’t matter, big politicians — when they, for example, say that Ukraine is almost destroyed, that our soldiers run away, that they are not a heroes, that Ukraine lost millions of civilians, that his president is dictator.

“The reaction is that, where is our friendship between Ukraine and United States?

“I do not want to lose our great partners in the United States.

“I respect the president, and I respect the American people,” he said. “I’m not sure that we did something bad.

“We want just and lasting peace. It’s true. We want security guarantees.

“If United States will support NATO … I think that is enough for Ukraine.”

Thousands of WhatsApp users across the globe have reported issues with the messaging app, experiencing difficulties in sending and receiving messages.

Frustrated users took to social media to confirm whether others were facing similar disruptions.

According to Down Detector, the outage began around 3:10 PM and has significantly affected users in both the UK and the US.

The disruption has impacted incoming and outgoing message traffic, with more than 21,000 complaints logged in the UK alone.

Of those reporting issues, 59% said they were unable to send messages, 22% faced server connection problems, while 19% experienced general app malfunctions.

Meta, WhatsApp’s parent company, has yet to release an official statement regarding the outage.

Operatives of Delta state police command have rescued five victims who were kidnapped from a church in Ogwashi-Uku, Delta state on February 22, 2025. They also recovered the ransom of N1,300,000 and thirteen expended cartridges.

The operation, led by the Special Anti-Kidnapping and Cyber-Crime Squad, was carried out following the deployment of officers by Commissioner of Police, CP Olufemi Abaniwonda.

This was made known via a video on the X handle of the Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, Bright Edafe on Friday, February 28.

The caption reads: “The deployment to Ogwashi-uku by CP Olufemi Abaniwomda has paid off almost immediately as all five persons kidnapped from the church at Ogwashi-uku on the 22nd February 2025 have all been rescued and a ransom money of #1,300,000, and thirteen expended cartridges were recovered by operatives of the Special Anti-Kidnapping and cyber-crime squad.”