SPEECH BY THE HONOURABLE MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND NATIONAL ORIENTATION, MOHAMMED IDRIS, fnipr, AT THE SIXTH EDITION OF THE 2025 MINISTERIAL PRESS BRIEFING SERIES, AT THE NATIONAL PRESS CENTER, RADIO HOUSE, ABUJA, ON THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2025.

Protocol.

I welcome you to this sixth edition of the 2025 Ministerial Press Briefing Series, featuring the Honourable Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu.

Since we kicked off the 2025 series in February, we have hosted Ministers representing a total of seven Ministries, providing first-hand facts and figures to Nigerians at home and abroad, on the policies programmes of the Renewed Hope administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Today will not be any different – I have no doubt that you will hear a lot about the impressive efforts of the administration in advancing electricity access and affordability across the country. For President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, electricity is pivotal to the administration’s major goal of industrialising Nigeria for jobs, skills, exports and prosperity.

As is our tradition here, this briefing is being broadcast live across digital and traditional platforms, and you will have the opportunity to out forward your questions to the Honourable Minister.

My request to all the representatives of the media present here, and those joining virtually, remains the same: I urge you to report accurately and without recourse to sensationalism. We owe it to Nigerians to present the news to them with every sense of professionalism and responsibility, with the intention of informing and educating.

The media will always be powerful stakeholders in nation-building and democratic evolution, and for us as a government, we will continue to accord you all the necessary respect and support.

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

Before I close, let me use this opportunity to reiterate to our friends and colleagues in the fourth estate of the realm, our commitment to a modern and thriving media industry in Nigeria. I have recently returned from a trip that took me first to the American National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Conference and Workshop, in Las Vegas, under the theme “The Technology, The Trend, The Future.”

I was accompanied on that trip by the heads of agencies under the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, and we were able to hold several successful meetings and forge valuable partnerships aimed at strengthening the technical and technological capacity of Nigeria’s broadcasting sector – partnerships that the media industry will undoubtedly benefit from.

Following that, I was in Paris, France for the Nigerian Business Forum hosted by the French government’s Business France enterprise. On the sidelines of that Forum, I met with executives of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), to further finetune the imminent take-off of a first-of-its-kind Media and Information Literacy Institute that Nigeria will be hosting, here in Abuja. That Institute will go a long way towards strengthening Nigeria’s media environment, and supporting journalists to carry out their functions even more effectively.

I have shared these to reaffirm the commitment of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration towards the lasting transformation of Nigeria’s media landscape. It is that unwavering commitment that is equally fuelling interventions like this Ministerial Press Briefing Series, as well as our Town Hall Meetings, which we will take to every part of the country in due course.

On that note, let me invite my brother, the Honourable Minister of Power, to take the floor and make his presentation for the next twenty minutes, after which we will take the Q&A session.

I thank you for listening, and God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Mohammed Idris, fnipr
Minister of Information and National Orientation
Abuja, Nigeria
17 April 2025

U.S. President, Donald Trump blocked an Israeli plan to launch a strike on Iranian nuclear sites, The New York Times reported on Wednesday, as efforts intensify to revive negotiations aimed at curbing Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

The United States and Iran, which have not maintained diplomatic relations for over four decades, are currently engaged in talks to establish a new nuclear agreement, following Trump’s withdrawal from the 2015 landmark deal during his first term in office.

According to the report, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi are scheduled to meet in Rome on Saturday, marking the highest-level nuclear negotiations between both nations since the collapse of the original accord.

In March, Trump reportedly sent a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, proposing direct talks but warning of potential military action if diplomatic efforts failed to yield results.

Senior Trump administration officials told The New York Times that Israel had approached Washington for support in carrying out an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, with the plan under review for several months.

However, during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent visit to the White House, Trump informed Israeli officials that he would not endorse the strike. Instead, he publicly announced the resumption of direct negotiations with Tehran.

Iran has repeatedly denied pursuing nuclear weapons, though it has ramped up its nuclear activities following the U.S. withdrawal from the 2015 deal.

The latest report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expressed “serious concern” over Iran’s nuclear stockpile, revealing that the country possesses approximately 274.8 kilograms of uranium enriched up to 60% purity — a level approaching weapons-grade.

Brigadier-General Chima Ekeator, leader of the Nigerian Army Force Headquarters Recruitment Sensitisation Team in Anambra State, has raised concerns over the alarmingly low number of applicants from the South-East in the ongoing Nigerian Army recruitment exercise.

Speaking during a sensitisation meeting with youth leaders and President-Generals (P-Gs) of various communities in the state, Ekeator disclosed that only 200 youths from the entire South-East region had registered, compared to over 4,000 applicants from other regions. “This sensitisation is essential because, according to records, only 200 persons have registered from the South-East, while in other regions, no fewer than 4,000 individuals have applied,” he said. “We are calling on youth leaders and community heads to return to their communities and mobilise young people to take advantage of this opportunity.”Ekeator stressed the importance of increased participation from the region to ensure it fully utilises its recruitment quota and strengthens South-East representation within the Nigerian Army.

Representing the Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, the Commissioner for Youth Development, Mr. Patrick Aghamba, reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to supporting the initiative. He urged traditional rulers and community leaders to mobilise at least 10 youths from each community to participate in the recruitment processAlso speaking at the event, the Commissioner for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Community Affairs, Mr. Tony-Collins Nwabunwanne, encouraged eligible youths between the ages of 18 and 22 to seize the opportunity and enlist in the Nigerian Army..