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Wednesday, 19 July 2023 05:09

Arresting Putin in South Africa would be declaration of war - Ramaphosa

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said a court order that would force him to commit to arresting Russian leader Vladimir Putin if he attends a BRICS summit in Johannesburg next month would be premature, and effecting such a ruling would be tantamount to a declaration of war. The Democratic Alliance, South Africa’s main opposition party, approached the country’s High Court to compel the government to honor an International Criminal Court warrant issued against Putin that’s related to war crimes during the invasion of Ukraine. South Africa is a signatory to the Rome Statute that established the ICC and is bound…

Tuesday, 18 July 2023 19:25

After widespread condemnation, Tinubu orders review of N8,000 palliative

President Bola Tinubu has ordered the immediate review of the proposed N8000 conditional cash transfer to Nigerians to cushion the effect of the petrol subsidy removal. In a statement on Tuesday night, Dele Alake, special adviser on special duties, communications and strategy, said Tinubu has also directed that the whole gamut of the palliative package of government be unveiled to Nigerians. “That the N8,000 conditional cash transfer programme envisaged to bring succour to most vulnerable households be reviewed immediately. This is in deference to the views expressed by Nigerians against it,” the statement reads. The Cable

Tuesday, 18 July 2023 04:14

Nigeria inflation hits 7-year high on food, fuel prices

Nigeria’s monthly inflation rate soared to a seven-year high in June, after President Bola Tinubu scrapped fuel subsidies and allowed the currency to weaken before declaring a state of emergency to control staple food costs. Prices rose 2.1% in the month, the most since May 2016, and annual inflation quickened to 22.8% from 22.4% in May, according to the data published on the National Bureau of Statistics’ website. That was less than the median estimate of seven economists in a Bloomberg survey of 23%. The annual and monthly upswings were fueled by higher food prices. Annual food inflation quickened to…

Tuesday, 18 July 2023 04:04

FG confirms first anthrax case on Niger state farm

Federal Government has officially confirmed the first case of anthrax in the country. A statement released by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Monday signed by Columba T. Vakuru, Chief Veterinary Officer of Nigeria, said animals showing signs of a possible case of anthrax on a farm in Suleja, Niger State, were reported to the Office of the Chief Veterinary Officer of Nigeria on July 14, 2023. “The case was in a multi-specie animal farm comprising of cattle, sheep and goats located at Gajiri, along Abuja-Kaduna express way Suleja LGA Niger State, where some of the animals had…

Sunday, 16 July 2023 03:31

FG approves 9,000 petrol stations for autogas co-location

There are over 9,000 licensed filling stations across the country that are fit for the co-location of facilities that dispense autogas fuel, the Federal Government has said. It disclosed this in a communique issued by the Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology at the end of the stakeholders’ engagement forum on the provision of technical manpower and facility for the development and promotion of autogas as transportation fuel in Nigeria. The conference, with the theme, ‘Autogas as an alternative fuel for transportation in Nigeria’, showed that there was a need for alternative options for transportation fuels such as Liquefied Natural Gas,…

Saturday, 15 July 2023 04:33

UK increases study visa fee, others to raise money to give its doctors, teachers pay raises

The UK government says the state-funded national health service (NHS) will increase from £624 per year to £1,035 per year. According to the government, the cost of study visas is to also go up by 15 percent (from £363 to £417) and work visas by 20 percent (from £1,235 to £1,482 for a period of more than three years). John Glen, chief secretary to the UK treasury, said the prices of visit and work visas, post-study work (PSW) visas will rise. Similarly, he said the cost of study visas, certificate of sponsorship (COS), indefinite leave to remain (ILR), settlement status,…

Saturday, 15 July 2023 04:32

DisCos seek FG’s approval to hike electricity tariffs

Eleven electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) have sought the approval of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to review tariffs. This was contained in a joint application dated 14th July, 2023 titled, “Notice of Application for Rate Review By the Electricity Distribution Companies.” They established their calls for rates review on the requirement to incorporate changes in macroeconomic parameters as well as other elements affecting the quality of service, operations and sustainability of the companies. “Pursuant to Section 116 (1) and 2(a&b) of the Electricity Act 2023 and other extant rules, the eleven (11) successor electricity distribution companies (“DisCos”) have filed…

Saturday, 15 July 2023 04:32

Nigerian Air Force aircraft crashes in Benue

A Nigerian Air Force (NAF) FT-7NI trainer aircraft crashed at about 4.15p.m. on Friday in Makurdi, Benue State, while on routine training exercise, an official has said. Director, Public Relations and Information of the Nigerian Air Force, Edward Gabkwet, made this known in a statement on Friday in Abuja. Gabkwet, an air commodore, said the two pilots on board survived the crash after successfully ejecting from the aircraft. According to him, there was no loss of lives or damage to any property around the area of impact. “Both pilots are currently under observation at NAF Base Hospital, Makurdi. “Meanwhile, Chief…

Friday, 14 July 2023 04:06

Tinubu follows Buhari, proposes N8,000 monthly for 6 months to 12m households as palliative

President Bola Tinubu has asked the senate to approve a borrowing request of $800 million. The president’s request was in a letter read by Godswill Akpabio, senate president, during plenary on Thursday. Tinubu, in the letter, explained that the loan will be used to scale up the national social safety net programme. He said the new borrowing will be sourced from the World Bank. He assured that the federal government will transfer N8,000 monthly to 12 million poor and low-income households for six months. He said the money would be transferred directly to identified beneficiaries’ accounts. “Please note that the…

Friday, 14 July 2023 04:05

Reps demand pay raise from Speaker

Members of the House of Representatives are demanding an upward review of their salaries and allowances, following the removal of fuel subsidy and the current economic situation in the country. The demand was the outcome of a meeting the lawmakers had on 11 July after going into an executive session during plenary. The complaints from members arising from salaries and allowances forced the House to go into executive session in order to douse tension. The lawmakers had also demanded from the Speaker, Tajudeen Abass, the reason for the delay in the payment of their salaries and allowances, causing some of…

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Friday, 14 July 2023 04:02

FG grounds Max Air Boeing planes over safety concerns

Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority has commenced an investigation into the activities of marketers of aviation fuel, popularly called JetA1. This comes after the operations of all Boeing 737 aircraft in the fleet of Max Air were suspended over safety concerns. The suspension was enforced after some of the airline’s aircraft were involved in series of incidents, one of which showed the moment water was being drained from one of the airline’s planes while on ground in Yola. Speaking in a zoom meeting, Director-General, NCAA, Musa Nuhu, said the agency was investigating fuel marketers as well as the airline. He said,…

Thursday, 13 July 2023 04:39

Nigeria redeems $500m Eurobond debt

Debt Management Office (DMO) says Nigeria has redeemed a $500 million Eurobond on its due date, July 12, 2023. Eurobond is a debt instrument that’s denominated in a currency other than the home currency of the country or market in which it is issued. In a statement on Wednesday, the DMO said the successful redemption of the Eurobond shows the country’s commitment to meeting its debt service obligations. The debt management agency said the Eurobond was issued in July 2013 (as part of a dual-tranche USD1 billion Eurobond) for a tenor of ten years at a coupon of 6.375 percent…

Thursday, 13 July 2023 04:38

Tinubu seeks N500bn N’Assembly approval for fuel subsidy removal palliative

President Bola Tinubu asked lawmakers to approve N500 billion ($638 million) of spending to cushion the impact of the removal of gasoline subsidies in the West African nation. The money will be sourced from a supplementary budget of 819.5 billion naira approved earlier by lawmakers, according to a letter read on the floor of the House of Representatives by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas on Wednesday. The cost of transportation and food prices have soared in Africa’s most populous nation after Tinubu announced the end of fuel subsidies in his inauguration speech on May 29. Labor unions have demanded higher pay and…

Thursday, 13 July 2023 04:37

NLC thumbs down Tinubu’s N500bn subsidy palliative

Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress have thumbed down the N500bn palliative proposed by President Bola Tinubu, stating that it is grossly inadequate to assuage the hardships confronting workers sequel to the fuel subsidy removal. They are demanding a 300 per cent salary increase to enable workers to cope with the challenges imposed by the deteriorating economic situation that came with the removal of the controversial fuel subsidy. But unimpressed by the amount contained in the President’s letter, the NLC noted that the money would not be enough to cater for 133 million Nigerians who are believed to…

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