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Saturday, 21 January 2023 05:36

NNPC spent N4.39trn on fuel subsidy in 2022 - Report

NNPC spent 4.39 trillion naira ($9.7 billion) on a petrol subsidy last year, latest data from the state-owned firm showed on Friday, a cost the government has blamed for dwindling public finances. NNPC did not remit funds to federal accounts last year, its data showed, leaving a hole in public finances at a time when the government has been warning that low revenues and large deficits left it unable to stimulate the economy. Successive governments in Nigeria have tried and failed to remove or cut the subsidy, a politically sensitive issue in the country of 200 million people. Nigeria imports…

Saturday, 21 January 2023 05:35

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak fined for failing to wear seat belt

U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was fined by police on Friday for taking off his seat belt to film a social media video in a moving car. Sunak, 42, has apologized for making an “error of judgment” while recording a message for Instagram from the back of an official government car during a visit to northwest England on Thursday. The Lancashire Police force said it had looked into video “circulating on social media showing an individual failing to wear a seat belt while a passenger in a moving car in Lancashire.” The force said, without naming Sunak, that it had…

Saturday, 21 January 2023 05:19

What to know after Day 331 of Russia-Ukraine war

Western tanks won’t be game changer in Ukraine – Kremlin If the US and its allies supply Ukraine with heavy tanks, the consequences for Kiev will only be negative, while it will not seriously impact Russia’s military operation in the country, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed on Friday. His comments came as top defense officials from Washington and its partners convened at America’s Ramstein Air Base in Germany to discuss further military aid for Ukraine. The US Department of Defense previously announced that one of its top goals for the meeting was to convince Berlin to provide its Leopard 2…

Friday, 20 January 2023 05:31

EU, UK, others warn citizens against travels to and within Nigeria due to risks of election-related violence

The United Kingdom and Australia have asked their citizens to avoid travel to Nigeria in the latest security advisories issued on Thursday. Also, the European Union warned that insecurity might prevent elections from holding in parts of the country, adding that “security climate” was very hostile. In October last year, the United States, UK, Canada, Germany, and Bulgaria issued terror alerts, warning their citizens in Nigeria to avoid shopping malls, religious centres and hotels which they said could be targeted by terrorists. But the Federal Government dismissed the advisories, describing them as false and assured Nigerians to go about their…

Friday, 20 January 2023 05:30

Buhari ‘warmly’ welcomes Emefiele as CBN gov visits Aso Rock twice in one day

Calls for the sack of the embattled Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, may have hit the brick wall as President Muhammadu Buhari welcomed back the CBN chief who recently returned to the country from his annual leave. “You are welcome back. I am grateful that you are well received,” Buhari told Emefiele during a meeting at the State House on Thursday. This is Emefiele’s first meeting with the President since he resumed duty on January 16. Later on Thursday evening, the CBN chief returned for another meeting with the President but declined to comment on the issues discussed. Hours earlier,…

Friday, 20 January 2023 05:29

CBN ‘begs’ banks to pick up new Naira notes

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says it has been begging commercial banks to pick up the new Naira notes. The apex bank had redesigned N200, N500, and N1000 notes, saying the old ones will cease to be legal tender by January 31. However, there have been concerns over this as the new notes are scarce less than two weeks to the deadline. To check the scarcity, the CBN introduced different measures, including banning over the counter payment with the new notes. The apex bank had directed commercial banks to fill their ATMs with the new note but yet the problem…

Friday, 20 January 2023 05:28

Mining agency rakes in N14.6bn revenue from licence issuance - Official

Federal government, through the Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office, says it generated N14.59 billion in five years (2018 to 2022). Obadiah Nkom, director-general of NMCO, said this at the 63rd session of the state house ministerial briefing, organised by the presidential communications team in Abuja. He said the agency in 2018, 2019, and 2020, generated N1.55 billion, N2.38 billion, and N2.57 billion, respectively. However, between 2021 and 2022, the agency’s revenue fell from N4.3 billion to N3.79 billion. The director-general attributed the drop in revenue to changes in its internal operating system which temporarily affected inflows. According to Nkom, 100 percent…

Friday, 20 January 2023 05:27

What to know after Day 330 of Russia-Ukraine war

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE Ukraine expects decisions on tanks at Western defence leaders' meeting Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskiy said his government was expecting "strong decisions" from defence leaders of NATO and other countries meeting on Friday to discuss boosting Ukraine's ability to confront Russian forces with modern battle tanks. The meeting at Ramstein Air Base in Germany is the latest in a series since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly 11 months ago, and where future weapons supplies will be discussed, particularly of Germany's Leopard 2 tanks used by armies across Europe. Berlin has veto power over any decision to export the tanks and…

Thursday, 19 January 2023 06:04

NNPC gets N1.9trn tax credit to construct 44 federal roads

Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the recommendation for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPC Ltd) to invest N1.9 trillion in the reconstruction of 44 federal roads under the tax credit policy. The council gave the approval at its meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Osinbajo’s spokesperson, Laolu Akande, briefed State House correspondents on behalf of the Minister of Works and Housing, “The Federal Executive Council approved the recommendation to invest in the reconstruction of selected federal roads under the Federal Government Road Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit…

Thursday, 19 January 2023 06:01

FAAC: FG, states, LGs share N990bn for December, 2022

Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) has shared a total of N990 billion as December 2022 federation revenue to the federal, state and local government councils and other relevant agencies in the country. The amount includes the gross statutory revenue, value-added tax, exchange gain and electronic money transfer levies. The federal government received N375.306 billion, the states received N299.557 billion, the local government councils got N221.807 billion, while the oil-producing states received N93.519 billion as derivation (13 per cent of Mineral Revenue). The details were contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting of the Federation Account Allocation…

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Thursday, 19 January 2023 06:00

Buhari extends IGP’s tenure; Police Minister explains why

Minister of Police Affairs, Mohammed Dingyadi, has said the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba, will not be retiring midway into the general elections as earlier expected. He made the clarification while fielding questions from State House reporters after the first Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting of the year. Dingyadi, who said Baba already had an appointment letter extending his term in office, added that the Police Act 2020 had changed the rules for an IGP’s retirement. Reports in the media lately suggested that the IGP would be clocking 60 years on March 1, 2023, and would be expected…

Thursday, 19 January 2023 05:56

US redirecting Israel-stored munitions to Ukraine

The United States is diverting munitions stored in Israel to Ukraine for use in the war against Russia, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, saying the decision was made last year. An Israeli official confirmed the report to Reuters, saying that then-Prime Minister Yair Lapid approved the transfer although the United States does not formally need such consent. For decades, the Pentagon has stored munitions in Israel to serve as emergency resupplies for the country in wartime - or for handover to other U.S. allies. According to the New York Times, the munitions Washington decided to move from Israel…

Thursday, 19 January 2023 05:55

What to know after Day 329 of Russia-Ukraine war

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE We couldn’t ignore what was happening in Ukraine – Putin Russia could not stand idly by when Kiev started eliminating people just for associating themselves with Russian culture, language and traditions, President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday as he explained the reasoning behind Moscow’s ongoing military operation in Ukraine. Speaking at an event dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the breakthrough of the blockade of Leningrad, Putin noted that the Donetsk and Lugansk regions were “historical territories” of Russia and that he ultimately made the decision to launch the military operation in order to end the eight-year-long war…

Wednesday, 18 January 2023 10:24

Gambian vice president is dead

Gambia's Vice-President Badara Alieu Joof has died of illness in India, President Adama Barrow said on Tuesday. Joof, 65, was appointed vice president of the West African country in 2022. He had previously served as education minister. Barrow said on Twitter that Joof had died "after a short illness" without providing further detail. The vice president had left Gambia about three weeks ago to seek medical treatment. Reuters

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