The federal executive council (FEC) has scrapped the ministry of Niger Delta and the ministry of sports development.

Bayo Onanuga, special adviser on information and strategy to the president, announced the development in a statement on Wednesday.

He said the decision was made during the council meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu at the State House in Abuja.

The presidential spokesperson said the National Sports Commission (NSC) will take over the responsibility of the sports ministry.

A newly established ministry of regional development is expected to oversee all the regional development commissions.

The commissions include the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), North West Development Commission (NWDC), South West Development Commission (SWDC), and North East Development Commission (NEDC).

The FEC, he said, also approved the merger of the ministry of tourism with the ministry of culture and creative economy.

CCB CHAIRMAN SWORN IN

Before the commencement of the FEC meeting, President Tinubu swore in Abdullahi Bello as the new chairman of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB).

Bello will oversee the operations and key activities at the CCB in line with the provisions of the code of conduct and ethical standards.

Speaking with State House correspondents after the ceremony, the CCB chairman said Nigeria has the necessary systems and institutions to combat corruption.

Bello said he intends to focus on delivering the bureau’s mandate to ensure integrity and prevent corruption.

Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), lashed out at residents of the Lugbe area over alleged land grabbing.

On Tuesday, the minister paid a visit to the area after residents reportedly protested and prevented the demolition of their properties.

Donning a blue suit and his trademark bowler hat, a furious Wike, who was surrounded by security operatives, gave a coterie of the residents a lecture on how to legally acquire land.

“It cannot work. You cannot come to a place and seize land and say it is your own. We will not allow that. If not for lawlessness…” the minister said in a raspy tone.

“If you do not know what to do, we will teach you what to do.”

The residents protested the minister’s claim and said they had documents to prove legal ownership of the land.

“We are not land grabbers, we are developers. We have papers. We have submitted these papers to the authorities,” they chorused.

It was all Wike needed to fly off the handle.

“Shut up!” the minister thundered.

“Every land in the FCT belongs to the FCT. The supreme court said the area councils do not have that power to allot land. And that was why the area councils came to us to grant them that request.

“The only thing you can do is go to court. If you like harass us. I will not settle you because you have taken laws into your hands.

“Who told you you can talk? Is it because I came down to talk to you? If you think that you take something… you are not the only one. Be careful. Stupid.”

Recently, the FCT administration has been demolishing properties over alleged flouting of the city’s masterplan.

Mukhtar Galadima, director of development control at FCTA, said the structures were illegally erected by alleged land grabbers.

In March, Wike told the house of representatives committee on FCT that some officials of the federal capital development authority (FCDA) illegally allocated land to individuals and developers before he was appointed minister.

“Every year, we have no less than 1,000 suits, and all these require a lot of money. As we speak today, we have more than 600 judgments on FCT,” he said.

The federal government has withdrawn the money laundering charges filed against Tigran Gambaryan, an executive of Binance Holdings Limited.

In April, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arraigned Binance, a cryptocurrency firm, and Gambaryan, on allegations of money laundering.

Gambaryan has been in detention since February following the clampdown on the cryptocurrency firm over alleged manipulation of the Nigerian currency.