French oil group, TotalEnergies, on Monday disclosed that it was selling a 40 percent stake in Nigerian offshore exploration licences to a subsidiary of US giant, Chevron. TotalEnergies signed an agreement to sell its stake in licences for two areas covering 2,000 square kilometres in the West Delta basin to Star Deep Water Petroleum Limited, subject to regulatory approval, it said in a statement. TotalEnergies will operate the sites, retaining a 40 percent stake, with its consortium partner South Atlantic Petroleum holding 20 percent. “This new joint venture reinforces TotalEnergies’ global offshore exploration collaboration with Chevron” after the French firm…
Author: Admin
Christmas indeed came early for the people of Ekiti State this year. For them, the celebration began on December 10, 2025 when the Ekiti Agro-Allied International Cargo Airport in Ado-Ekiti commenced commercial flight operations signaling a new phase of development under the leadership of Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji as Governor of the State. On that day, Ekiti did not just celebrate the birth of a world class airport which invariably will bring the markets and the world closer to Ekiti, the people celebrated the power of vision and the beauty of unity. The emphasis was on how unity breeds peace, how…
Igbo groups in the diaspora, including American Veterans of Igbo Descent AVID, Ambassadors for Self Determination, have condemned the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, over his recent comments that the agitation for Biafra should be jettisoned. Umahi had claimed that the Federal Government, under President Bola Tinubu, has ended every form of marginalisation against the Igbo.The groups, in a statement yesterday, dismissed the comment as an insult to the sensibility of the Igbo, saying Umahi lacks the mandate to speak for Ndigbo. The statement was signed by Dr Sylvester Onyia, President, American Veterans of Igbo Decent; Ben Nwankwo, for…
Human rights activist, Muhammed Bello Buhari, has faulted the Nigerian government’s newly announced ban on the admission and transfer of students into Senior Secondary School Three (SS3), warning that the policy overlooks the realities of insecurity and displacement in Northern Nigeria. OSUN DEFENDER reports that the federal government recently announced a nationwide ban on the admission and transfer of students into SS3 in both public and private secondary schools across the country. The directive was issued by the Federal Ministry of Education in a press release dated December 14, 2025, and signed by the Director of Press and Public Relations,…
This Ekiti kidney saga is heartbreaking on all sides – for the patient whose life is now tied to dialysis, and for a surgical team whose work has now been judged in the full glare of social media.From the Ekiti State Government’s own statement, the panel of enquiry was clear on one crucial point: this was a surgical complication, not organ harvesting for rituals. At the same time, the same report recommended dismissal of the lead surgeon and suspension of the whole theatre team, with government now committing to fund a transplant and two years of follow-up care. So, whatever…
President Bola Tinubu sends heartfelt felicitations to Ekiti State Governor Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji on his 58th birthday on December 21, 2025. The President highlights Oyebanji’s stewardship and commitment to the development of the state over the years, through his position as Secretary to the Committee on the Creation of Ekiti and later in his public service positions. Oyebanji was Special Adviser to the state’s first civilian governor, Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo, and later became his Chief of Staff. He was Commissioner for Integration and Intergovernmental Affairs during the first-term administration of the immediate-past governor of the state, Dr Kayode Fayemi, and…
Ekiti State Governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji will on Tuesday, December 23rd, 2025 sign the 2026 Appropriation Law following its passage by the State House of Assembly.The Governor, in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media, Yinka Oyebode, will also assent to two new laws. They are: Ekiti State Revenue Administration Law, 2025 and Ekiti State College of Technology, Ijero Ekiti Law 2025The law signing event will hold at the Ekiti State Executive Council Chamber, Governor’s Office, Ado- Ekiti by 10.00am. Members of the state House of Assembly and the State Executive Council as well as other top government…
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nentawe Yilwatda has dismissed opposition criticism of the ruling party, saying recent political realignments across the country underscore the APC’s growing national appeal and organisational strength. Speaking at the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting on Friday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Mr Yilwatda said the party’s growing appeal stems from deliberate efforts to build a pan-Nigerian political platform grounded in progressive principles. He added that the party’s structured mobilisation campaigns across the country continue to draw Nigerians from diverse backgrounds, enhancing organisational strength ahead of future elections. The chairman highlighted…
A former Resident Electoral Commissioner for the Independent National Electoral Commission in Ekiti State, Professor Abdulganiy Olayinka Raji has died. Professor Raji who is also a Professor of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering at the prestigious University of Ibadan was said to have died peacefully in his sleep on Friday, December 19, 2025 at his Country home residence in Ogbomoso, Oyo State.Professor Raji was the former INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Ekiti, Ogun and Osun States. According to his family, Janazah Prayers holds on Saturday December 20, at Ogbomoso Central Mosque, Oja’agbo at 11 am and will later be buried at…
Chanukah is a time for communities to come together and celebrate the resilience of the Jewish people, all the more so in the wake of the recent terror attack against the Jewish community in Sydney and the shooting at Heaton Park in Manchester. Acts of hate and intimidation have no place anywhere, least of all in a city like London that rightly prides itself on being open, diverse and multicultural. These disgraceful acts of hatred and vandalism must be taken seriously and dealt with decisively.