RoundReports

The leadership of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has reiterated confidence that the five-star Radisson Hotel and Conference Centre, Yenagoa will be completed and commissioned in December 2026, as South Africa’s Edison Corporation pledged world-class service delivery for the project. Speaking at the end of a one-day project management tour and workshop held at the Nigerian Content Tower, the NCDMB Executive Secretary, Felix Omatsola Ogbe, described the hotel as a priority investment for the Board and a potential catalyst for tourism and business travel in Bayelsa State. Ogbe said the Board had resolved key technical and financial components of the project, including contracting strategies and scope of work, adding that progress would be closely monitored to ensure timely delivery.  He commended Edison Corporation and the project contractor, Megastar Technical and Construction Company, for maintaining momentum on site. The Edison Corporation delegation,...

Nigeria says it is prepared to play a stabilising role in global energy markets as escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East continue to unsettle oil supply and push prices higher. The Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, said Abuja was willing to support international efforts to maintain energy security, particularly as production and transport disruptions affect key oil-producing states in the Gulf region. Rising instability across parts of the Middle East has constrained output and logistics in countries including Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq, fuelling fears of shortages and contributing to price volatility on global markets. Speaking through a statement issued on Saturday by his Special Assistant on Media, Rabiu Ibrahim, Idris said Nigeria remained ready to contribute where necessary. “ Nigeria is ever ready to contribute to energy security around the world. Whatever Nigeria can do to ease tension, it will do. The world needs oil, and Nigeria is there ,” the minister s...

Residents of Ozoro in Isoko North Local Government Area (LGA) have rejected what they describe as misleading claims on social media portraying the Aluedor festival as a “ rape festival, ” insisting the tradition is an infrequently observed fertility rite. Speaking to Vanguard by phone, community indigene Comrade Lucky Agelive said the Aluedor festival is a sacred cultural practice carried out intermittently, sometimes once in a decade or more, and confined to the Oramudhu quarter of Ozoro. According to Agelive, the rite centres on prayers for fertility, with symbolic acts performed by women seeking children.  He stressed that the observance does not involve the wider community and is preceded by repeated public announcements cautioning residents, particularly women, to stay indoors during the ritual period. “ Announcements are made weeks in advance, in English and Isoko, making it clear that people should avoid the area at specific hours ,” he said. Addressing viral videos that sh...

Cuba has been hit by another island-wide power failure, officials confirmed on Saturday, intensifying a mounting energy crisis that has left millions without electricity this month. The Ministry of Energy and Mines said the National Electric System collapsed, cutting power across the entire island and leaving more than 10 million residents without electricity.  Authorities have since initiated emergency procedures to restore the grid, though no firm timeline for a full recovery has been announced.  Checks revealed this blackout is the third nationwide collapse of Cuba’s power network in March, underling the severe strain on the country’s ageing infrastructure.  READ ALSO : Cuba Plunged into Nationwide Blackout as Power Grid Collapses The closures come as the island grapples with critical fuel shortages linked to a tightened US-imposed oil blockade, which has drastically reduced imports of the fuel needed to run generating plants.  Just days earlier, state energy offi...

The United States (US) has deployed multiple MQ-9 surveillance drones alongside about 200 troops to Nigeria to provide intelligence and training support to the Nigerian military amid escalating insurgent violence in the north. US and Nigerian officials said the mission is limited to surveillance and advisory assistance, with no American personnel embedded in frontline units and no drone strikes authorised. The deployment, reported on Saturday, was made at the request of Nigerian authorities to help identify, track and respond to terrorist threats. A US defence official described the threat as a shared security challenge, stressing that the operation focuses strictly on intelligence collection and advisory support. Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters confirmed that US forces are operating from the Bauchi airfield in the northeast.  Maj Gen Samaila Uba, director of defence information, said the effort builds on a newly established US–Nigeria intelligence fusion cell delivering actionable ...

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has announced plans to screen aspirants seeking to contest for national offices at its 2026 national convention. In a notice issued by the party’s Aspirants’ Screening Committee, those who have successfully purchased and submitted Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms were invited to attend the exercise. According to the statement, the screening will take place on Tuesday, 24 March 2026, at the Transcorp Hilton Abuja, with proceedings scheduled to begin at 9 am. READ ALSO : 2027: Tinubu Orders Appointees Seeking Office to Resign by March 31 According to the committee, attendance is compulsory for all aspirants who are required to appear in person with all relevant supporting documents for verification. The notice was signed by the committee’s secretary, Isa Yuguda, and shared on the party’s official X account on Sunday with contact phone numbers also provided for further enquiries. Screening exercise forms a central part of preparations for the...

Nigeria’s Minister of Works, David Umahi, has instructed his legal team to head to court following the resurgence of accusations by Tracy Ohiri, whom he says has failed to provide evidence to support her claims. Ohiri has repeatedly accused the former Ebonyi State governor of owing her N280 million for campaign materials supplied during his tenure as a party chairman.  She has also made claims of s£xual harassment in a video that circulated widely on social media. The dispute had appeared to cool after Ohiri was arrested and prosecuted over the allegations, and later issued a public apology withdrawing her claims.  That reversal followed the intervention of her lawyer, Marshall Abubakar, after which the contentious posts were deleted. However, days later, Ohiri returned to social media with renewed accusations, prompting a fresh response from the minister. In a statement released by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Francis Nwaze, Umahi said he had made it clear during ea...

The Delta State Police Command has arrested 11 additional suspects in connection with the s£xual assault of women by a group of youths in the Ozoro area of the state, as investigations into the incident intensify. RoundReports understands that the latest arrests followed an analysis of video footage and intelligence by operatives of the Command’s Special Assignment Team, acting on the directive of the Commissioner of Police.  The suspects included Samson Atukpodo, Steven Ovie, Ugbevo Samson, Afoke Akporobaro and Evidence Oguname, alongside six others. Confirming the development on Saturday, the police spokesperson, Bright Edafe, said the new arrests bring the total number of suspects in custody to 15. Police preliminary findings, he said, indicate that the incident was carried out by criminal elements who took advantage of the situation to commit acts of s£xual violence, stressing that such conduct does not reflect any legitimate cultural practice. Aina Adesola, the Commissioner of...

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has condemned the s£xual assault of women during a festival in Ozoro, Delta State, describing the incidents as a national disgrace and a profound failure of law, morality and leadership. In a statement released on Friday, the association said women were openly chased, stripped, groped and s£xually violated in public during the festival, while groups of young men carried out the attacks and others watched, filmed and applauded.  The NBA said the acts were not isolated excesses but a clear display of lawlessness and gender-based violence. According to the association, what occurred in Ozoro cannot be described as culture or celebration, but a breakdown of social order and respect for human dignity. The statement read: " A society reveals its true character in how it treats its women. Where women are chased, stripped, groped, violated, and publicly humiliated by mobs under the guise of celebration, what is on display is not culture. It is barbarity....

The Delta State Police Command has arrested five people, including the community head and chief organiser of the Ozoro festival, over the alleged s£xual assault of women during the annual event in the state. Police spokesman Bright Edafe said the suspects include Chief Omorede Sunday and four others from Oramudu quarters in Ozoro.  In a statement posted on X on Friday, Edafe said the Commissioner of Police, Aina Adesola, had ordered their immediate transfer to the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID). According to the police, the arrests followed the circulation of videos online showing groups of young men allegedly harassing women during the festival, including tearing their clothes and subjecting them to molestation.  The incident was reported to have occurred on Thursday, 19 March, during celebrations in Ozoro. Accounts from the community suggested that women were expected to remain indoors during the festival, with those found outside becoming targets for harassme...