News
Port-Harcourt Brought To Standstill For Hi-Life Fest Quarterfinals

The Garden City of Port-Harcourt on Sunday, July 21, played host to the quarterfinals of Nigeria’s foremost indigenous Igbo music talent show, Hi-Life Fest, as 8 contestants continued their quest to become the next Hi-Life Fest King.
Following the completion of the regional auditions which began in June, two contestants had emerged from each of the regions which included Asaba, Awka, Enugu, and Aba.
The contestants were resuming for the crucial stage of the competition after returning from Lagos where they had undergone a week-long mentorship session.
Within the period, they were under the tutelage of veterans in the music industry including Sunny Nneji, Life Beer Ambassador Phyno, KCee, and music producer Selebobo.
They also got a chance to thrill excited audiences with pop up performances in Ladipo market and Okota, as part of the activities during the mentorship programme.
The Carnival Ground, Elekahia, Port-Harcourt was filled with guests and lovers of highlife music who have followed the competition from the regionals and were delighted to have the contestants in their city. The ambience was also perfect as they enjoyed the refreshing taste of ice-cold Life Continental Lager.
The contest for the night soon began as the contestants brought their A-game on stage, giving Chief Bright Chimezie and his panel of Judges a hard time figuring out whom to drop and who progresses.
The dance category was also highly competitive as the troupes lit up the stage with their breathtaking routines which had the crowd roaring in excitement.
After compilation of results, Ofu Obi, Akamarama and Megastar dance crew progressed to the Semi-Finals while Umeze cultural dance group was eliminated. In the music category, Okafor Chukwudi and Kingsley Otuya were eliminated, while the remaining six contestants proceeded to the quarter-final.
Life Beer Ambassador Flavour and 2017 Hi-Life Fest King Chibest David were also on ground to thrill the guests who savoured every moment of their performances. Flavour who is fresh off the release off his new single “Mercy” featuring Semah, relished his time on stage and delivered a performance that will live long in the memories of all in attendance.
The Semi-Finals of the competition returns to Enugu in a fortnight at Shoprite, in the state capital. Weekly episodes of the competition are currently being aired on SoundCity TV every Sunday at 8 p.m.
This year, the overall winner of Hi-Life Fest will get a whopping sum of 5 million Naira cash prize, while the first and second runner-ups will go home with N2 million and N1 million Naira respectively, courtesy of Life Continental Lager.
The Hi-Life Fest talent hunt show now in its third consecutive year is a proud initiative of Life Continental Lager, the beer expertly brewed from the finest choice of grains, hob extracts and the purest of waters.
News
FG May Forfeits $4m from World Bank Loan over Audit Flop

Federal government may lose $4 million from a World Bank loan after failing to get a pass mark on key audit standards in its revenue-generating agencies, such as the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigeria Customs Service.
This is according to a World Bank restructuring paper dated June 2025.
The amount, which is the equivalent of around N6.2 billion with an exchange rate of N1,568 per dollar, could have helped to address one of Nigeria’s infrastructural deficits.
The fund formed part of the $103 million Fiscal Governance and Institutions Project, a public financial management initiative financed through a credit facility from the International Development Association.
Accordingly, the revenue assurance audit covering the FIRS and Customs for the 2018 to 2021 financial years was assessed as not achieved because the reports submitted did not meet international auditing standards.
“Revenue assurance audit of Main Income Generating Agencies, including the Federal Inland Revenue Service and the Nigeria Customs Service for FY 2018–2021, with an allocation of $4m.
“These Intermediate Results to be implemented by the Office of Auditor-General of the Federation were assessed as not achieved by the Independent Verification Agent because the reports submitted for verification did not meet the requisite international auditing standards.”
Also, the unsuccessful audit was one of ten performance-based conditions under the project that the government could not deliver before the closing date of June 30, 2025. Consequently, the Federal Ministry of Finance formally requested the cancellation of $10.4 million in project funds.
“The FMF has requested cancellation of $0.9m of unused funds for technical assistance and $9.5m, which is the amount allocated to 10 performance-based conditions, which will not be achieved by the close of the project on June 30, 2025,” the document read.
Further analysis shows that $4.5 million was tied to the uncompleted Revenue Assurance and Billing System, while $1 million was allocated to the development of a National Budget Portal.
According to the document, the Budget Office of the Federation, which was responsible for the portal, did not submit any evidence of achievement. In addition, $0.9 million in technical assistance funding was left uncommitted and has also been cancelled.
News
CDCFIB Warns against Recruitment Racketeers

Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire and Immigration Services Board (CDCFIB) has warned job seekers to be wary of fraudsters circulating inappropriate recruitment information.
The warning came against the backdrop of social media publications that President Bola Tinubu has ordered massive recruitments into some government agencies.
The agencies listed in the report were the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS); the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC); the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS) and the Federal Fire Service (FFS)..
The agencies are all under the Ministry of Interior, headed by Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.
However, while responding to the reports, the Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire and Immigration Services Board (CDCFIB) cautioned Nigerians against falling into the traps of job racketeers.
The Board acknowledged a Presidential approval for the recruitment of personnel in the four (4) Paramilitary Services under its purview, but insisted that due process would be followed on the matter.
Major Gen. Abdulmalik Jibrin (rtd), board secretary, said in a statement that “there are series of processes which leads to the actual recruitment exercise.”
“The Board wishes to reiterate that for all its recruitment processes, appropriate notifications would be done via adverts in the national dailies and it would be carried out in a fair and transparent process devoid of payment of any fee.
“To this effect, members of the public should be weary of the activities of recruitment racketeers who may want to take advantage of unsuspecting job seekers to rob them of their hard-earned resources”, Gen Jibrin said.
News
Concerned Nigerians Ask EFCC to Release Abiodun, CBEX Promoter

Adefowora Abiodun, one of the alleged promoters of the CBEX investment scheme, who voluntarily surrendered to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in April following a ruling by Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja, is still languishing in the custody of the anti-corruption agency.

Adefowora Abiodun, one of the alleged promoters of the CBEX investment scheme,
Concerned Nigerians who have been following the matter have urged the EFCC to release him unconditionally since he honoured their invitation without being arrested.
The court had approved the EFCC’s request to arrest and detain six individuals connected to the scheme, including Abiodun.
Alongside Abiodun, five other individuals—Adefowora Oluwanisola, Emmanuel Uko, Seyi Oloyede, Avwerosuo Otorudo, and Chukwuebuka Ehirim—were declared wanted by the EFCC for their involvement in the alleged fraudulent investment scheme, which was valued at over $1 billion.
Fadila Yusuf, EFCC’s legal counsel, had submitted evidence that led to their public declaration as wanted individuals.
After the announcement, Abiodun, who was shocked by the declaration, alongside his legal team, presented himself to the EFCC headquarters in Abuja, expressing his willingness to cooperate with the investigation.
Babatunde Busari, his legal counsel, explained that Abiodun’s decision to submit voluntarily was made in order to clear his name and address the media narratives circulating about the case.
Despite the return of investor funds and CBEX’s assurance that withdrawals would be allowed by June 25, Abiodun has been in detention for over a month, triggering speculation about the EFCC’s high-handedness and rights abuse.
His legal team is now advocating for his release on administrative bail, emphasizing that the ongoing detention is unwarranted under the circumstances since he submitted himself for investigation.
According to one of the family sources, “Keeping him in a cell for over one month would send a negative signal to other Nigerians who would be declared wanted by the EFCC in the future. It would discourage Nigerians who have clear cases from surrendering themselves voluntarily to security agencies if, at the end of the day, they don’t receive mutual respect for surrendering themselves.”
He added that CBEX is not a Ponzi scheme.
Reacting to the agitation by concerned Nigerians, Dele Oyewole , EFCC spokesman hinted that the agency obtained a remand order to keep him beyond 48 hours.
According to him, “Anybody that we are holding beyond 48 hours, be rest assured that we have a lawful remand order from the magistrate court to hold him beyond 48 hours.
“We are a law-abiding commission. Concerning that suspect, we are holding him on the basis of that remand order.”
- E-Financial3 days ago
Cyber Crime: Hackers to Hold Secret Conference 3.0 July 25
- General News3 days ago
Wema Bank Workers, Others Arraigned over Alleged N8.9Bn Cybercrime
- Telecom3 days ago
Gaps on Phone Number Recycling Fuel Identity Theft, Data Breaches- ICIR
- E-Business3 days ago
FG Enrolls 59,786 Inmates on NIN Platform
- General News3 days ago
Music Stars, Comedians Light Up “Evening with Glo” in Ijebu Ode
- E-Financial3 days ago
SEC Flags ‘Punisher Coin’ As High-Risk Scheme
- Telecom2 days ago
Telcos Hit by Major Outages across Lagos, Enugu, Others
- E-Business2 days ago
Human Hacking: When Cyber Criminals Target You