It was anguish, yesterday, as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, raised the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, by 15 per cent across the country. The development confirmed earlier reports that plans were underway to fully deregulate the sector and that subsidy would no longer apply from this week. However, the complete deregulation effect, yesterday, pushed the price of the product to N1,030 per litre, from N897 per litre in Abuja, while the price rose to N998 per litre, from N855 per litre in Lagos. Checks by our correspondent indicated that the Dangote…

The Federal Government, under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, has secured loans worth $6.45bn from the World Bank in just 16 months. The amount increased to the new figure following the recent approval of three new loans totalling $1.57bn from the World Bank for various projects in Nigeria and is expected to increase further in the coming months. This was as the international lender approved no fewer than 36 loan requests to the Federal Government, amounting to a substantial total of $24.088bn within five years. These approvals, aimed at financing various development projects nationwide, arrive alongside increasing concerns about…

In a move that underscores the tensions within Nigeria’s federal system, 16 state governments have approached the Supreme Court, seeking a declaration that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is unconstitutional. The states argue that the EFCC’s establishment violates the principle of federalism, which allocates certain powers and responsibilities to states, and they contend that the agency lacks constitutional authority to operate in their jurisdictions without state consent. The suit, originally filed by the Kogi State Government (SC/CV/178/2023), now includes states such as Ondo, Edo, Oyo, Ogun, and Enugu, among others. At the heart of the case is the…

Human rights violations in Nigeria have reached alarming levels under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) reporting an unprecedented 305,300 cases in September 2024 alone. This disturbing figure highlights a growing trend of abuse, with the commission raising the alarm over the surge in complaints since Tinubu assumed office last year. Anthony Ojukwu, the Executive Secretary of the NHRC, expressed deep concern over the escalating number of human rights abuses, noting that each statistic represents a real person whose dignity has been violated. “These figures are not just numbers—they are lives shattered by injustice, fear,…