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Saturday, 04 November 2023 04:55

Nigeria to get $150m Abacha loot from France - Presidency

France is set to return $150 million, another tranche of the loot traced to Sani Abacha, former Nigerian military leader, to the country. Ajuri Ngelale, special adviser to the president on media and publicity, made the announcement in a statement on Friday following a meeting between President Bola Tinubu and Catherine Colonna, the minister of Europe and foreign affairs of France. Tinubu thanked France for the return of the loot, saying it would be used in developing the country. “Thank you for the good news on the return of Abacha loot. We appreciate your effective cooperation concerning the return of…

Saturday, 04 November 2023 04:54

Naira appreciates at parallel market on dollar liquidity

The naira continued its appreciation streak against the dollar, strengthening to N980/$ in the parallel market on Friday. Aminu Gwadabe, president of the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), made this known in a statement. Earlier in the day, the naira had appreciated to N1,040 against the dollar at the parallel section of the foreign exchange market. He said the naira rebound is the manifestation of measures of dollar liquidity injection and naira mopping through the instrumentality of interest rate hikes. “It is a good development as it is a great risk to speculate, hoard and substitute…

Saturday, 04 November 2023 04:53

NLC,TUC announce nationwide strike over Ajaero’s brutalisation, abduction

Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) have announced plans for a nationwide strike beginning on Wednesday, November 8, in response to the recent abduction and physical assault of their president, Joe Ajaero. The incident occurred on Wednesday, when the Imo State Police Command, allegedly acting on the orders of the State Governor, abducted Ajaero from the NLC state council secretariat in Owerri, where he was waiting for colleagues to join him for a peaceful protest rally. According to the labour unions, Ajaero was blindfolded, beaten to a pulp, brutalised, humiliated, and violated by the…

Saturday, 04 November 2023 04:52

Rwanda introduces visa-free entry for Nigerians, others

Rwandan President Paul Kagame has introduced visa-free travel for Nigerians and all Africans. Rwanda is now one of the African countries after Seychelles, The Gambia and Benin, that provides visa-free entry for all African citizens. “Let there be no mistake about it. Any African can get on a plane to Rwanda whenever they wish and will not pay a thing to enter our country,” Kagame was quoted on BBC News Africa X handle on Thursday. He added that the move was aimed at taking advantage of Africa’s growing tourism market, driven by the continent’s growing middle class. Rwanda has been…

Friday, 03 November 2023 04:51

Local banks receive payment as CBN begins settlement of FX backlog

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has started clearing the foreign exchange (FX) forwards backlog in banks. Payment commenced on Wednesday, a source in the apex bank said while confirming the development. On September 22, Wale Edun, the finance minister and coordinating minister of the economy, said the overdue forward payments were behind the depreciation of the naira. Edun said settling the forex backlog would increase FX supply in the foreign exchange market and strengthen the local currency against the dollar. The naira, on Tuesday, depreciated to N1,185 per dollar at the FX parallel market and strengthened to N786 at the…

Thursday, 02 November 2023 04:55

Dangote, 5 modular refineries ready to produce petrol, diesel, others; but no crude oil - Report

Failure to supply crude oil to domestic refineries, including the multi-billion dollar Dangote Refinery, has stalled the production of refined petroleum products at the facilities. This is also as the 650,000 barrels per day Dangote refinery in Lagos missed the October production projection it had earlier set. The October production target miss made it the second time in 2023 that Dangote Refinery would raise hopes of Africa, especially Nigeria, of a possible end to petrol importation. Failure to begin production means that Nigeria will continue to rely on fuel importation. It was gathered on Wednesday that amid Nigeria’s continued imports…

Thursday, 02 November 2023 04:53

Foreign debt to top $51bn as Tinubu seeks senate’s approval for fresh $7.8bn loan

Nigeria’s foreign debt is expected to rise further to about $51 billion, following President Bola Tinubu’s request to the Senate, seeking approval to borrow additional $7.8 billion and €100million, as part of his 2022-2024 borrowing plan. Some financial analysts have debunked the official reasons given for the borrowing, claiming it was rather meant as a bridging loan to cushion the country’s current balance of payment crisis. Nigeria’s foreign debt as at June 2023, was put at $43.2 billion, while domestic debt is put at N54.1 trillion, bringing public debt to N113.4 trillion. With the presidential request for new borrowing, coupled…

Thursday, 02 November 2023 04:52

NLC president, Ajaero, ‘beaten up and blindfolded’ in Imo

Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) says Joe Ajaero, its president, was brutalised in Imo state. The NLC said Ajaero was beaten and blindfolded immediately after he was arrested by security operatives. Earlier on Wednesday, Ajaero was reportedly picked up from the Imo council secretariat of the NLC by heavily armed police officers. Denying the arrest, the police command in Imo said the NLC president was taken into protective custody to avoid being lynched by a mob. Reacting to the incident, Benson Upah, media head of the NLC, in a statement, said the phones and personal belongings taken from the NLC president…

Wednesday, 01 November 2023 04:41

Tinubu sets up joint committee of FG officials, govs for constitutional review on police reforms

President Bola Tinubu has set up a constitutional review committee to carry out “comprehensive” police reforms. Bala Mohammed, governor of Bauchi, announced the development while speaking to State House correspondents at the end of a meeting of the Nigeria police council chaired by Tinubu on Tuesday. The council at the meeting confirmed Kayode Egbetokun as the substantive inspector-general of police (IGP). According to Mohammed, members of the committee include Ibrahim Geidam, minister of police affairs; Nuhu Ribadu, national security adviser (NSA); Solomon Arase, chairman of the police service commission (PSC); and AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, governor of Kwara and chairman of the…

Wednesday, 01 November 2023 04:41

OPEC oil output rises for third month on improved production in Nigeria, others

OPEC oil output has risen for a third straight month in October, a Reuters survey found on Tuesday, led by increases in Nigeria and Angola and despite ongoing cuts by Saudi Arabia and other members of the wider OPEC+ alliance to support the market. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries has pumped 27.90 million barrels per day (bpd), the survey found, up by 180,000 bpd from September. Production in August had risen for the first time since February. The steady rise in OPEC output is largely being driven by a small number of producers managing to overcome internal or…

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Wednesday, 01 November 2023 04:38

Prominent Church leader, Taiwo Akinola, tasks FG on declining Naira exchange rates, insecurity, others

Presiding Bishop of Rhema Christian Church and Towers, Taiwo Akinola, as part of the Church’s annual convention, addressed a press conference during which the respected cleric examined a host of issues of national importance. Here’s the full text of the conference: 1. Economy a). Concerns about the National Currency Gentlemen of the Press, when you came here last year, the first national challenge we highlighted was the disheartening state of our currency. Now, to say that the value has further taken the worst form would certainly be an understatement. Last year we lamented that the Dollar to Naira exchange rate…

Tuesday, 31 October 2023 05:41

Massive protest in Rivers as gov, predecessor are locked in power tussle. Here’s what we know so far

Business and other activities in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, were crippled yesterday, following a massive demonstration by youths in the state who were protesting an alleged plot by the Rivers State House of Assembly to impeach Governor Siminalayi Fubara. The protest followed an incident, where Fubara narrowly escaped being shot as he tried to access the House of Assembly complex, on Moscow Road, Port Harcourt, after a reported explosion at the complex, carried out by suspected political thugs on Sunday evening. Many observers believe what is unfolding in Rivers State is simply a case of the governor trying…

Tuesday, 31 October 2023 05:38

FEC approves submission of N2.17trn supplementary budget to N’Assembly

Federal executive council (FEC) has approved the submission of a supplementary budget of over N2.17 trillion to the national assembly. The council gave the approval on Monday at its weekly meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu. At its last meeting, FEC had proposed the sum of N26 trillion for the 2024 budget, which will be submitted to the national assembly before December 31. Atiku Bagudu, minister of budget and economic planning, said the council had approved the 2024-2025 medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF) and fiscal strategy papers (FSP) at the FEC held last Monday in Abuja. The national assembly’s approval…

Tuesday, 31 October 2023 05:34

State Assembly workers begin nationwide strike over financial autonomy to state legislatures

Members of the Paliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN) has embarked on a nationwide strike over delay in granting financial autonomy to state assemblies. On Monday, the Sokoto, Nasarawa, Katsina, Abia, Anambra and Jigawa chapters of the association shut down the houses of assembly in their respective states. The union had given state governments a 21-day ultimatum and further extended it to one week. In May 2020, former President Muhammadu Buhari signed an executive order granting financial autonomy to the legislature and judiciary across the 36 states of the country. However, the former president suspended the gazetting of the order…

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