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Tuesday, 21 May 2024 04:59

Students of states-owned institutions excluded from student loans - for now - FG says

Ahead of the Students' Loan portal launch this Friday, the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has announced that it will initially offer loans to students in federal tertiary institutions. The Fund specified that only students from institutions that have uploaded their data onto its dashboard will be eligible to apply. Akintinde Sawyerr, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of NELFUND, made this announcement on Monday during a Pre-Application Sensitisation Press Conference in Abuja. He stated that the first phase of the scheme will benefit 1.2 million students from federal universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, and technical colleges. Sawyerr encouraged students in federal…

Tuesday, 21 May 2024 04:57

Air Peace responds to UK regulator’s claims, says all safety standards adhered to

Air Peace, Nigeria’s flag carrier, has responded to allegations of safety violations in the United Kingdom. The airline, in a statement on Monday, asserted that its operations have been under intense scrutiny by authorities since its inaugural flight to London. The allegations stem from a report titled "Ramp Inspection," dated April 7, in which the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority (UK CAA) raised concerns about Air Peace’s compliance with certain UK safety regulations. The UK CAA claimed that Air Peace was using Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) functions without operational approval. However, Air Peace described the report as false, stating that…

Tuesday, 21 May 2024 04:56

Heritage Bank customers stranded, unable to withdraw funds from accounts

Customers of Heritage Bank Plc, a major Nigerian financial institution, have called on the government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to urgently address ongoing issues that have left them unable to conduct transactions for the past three weeks. In interviews with PREMIUM TIMES, many customers expressed frustration over their inability to withdraw funds from their accounts, leading to significant hardship. Despite the bank's notification of a "system refresh exercise" on May 13, which it claims to have completed successfully, customers reported continued difficulties accessing their money. Several account holders noted that while deposits into their accounts were not…

Monday, 20 May 2024 04:17

Crashed helicopter carrying Iranian President Raisi found, ‘completely burnt’. Here’s what we know so far

Hopes are fading that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his foreign minister have survived a helicopter crash in mountainous terrain and icy weather, an Iranian official said on Monday after search teams located the wreckage. "President Raisi's helicopter was completely burned in the crash ... unfortunately, all passengers are feared dead," the official told Reuters. Rescue teams fought blizzards and difficult terrain through the night to reach the wreckage in East Azerbaijan province in the early hours of Monday. “We can see the wreckage and the situation does not look good,” the head of Iran’s Red Crescent, Pirhossein Kolivand, told…

Monday, 20 May 2024 04:16

UK regulator reports Air Peace over alleged safety violations

The United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority (UK CAA) has reported Nigeria’s Air Peace to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) for allegedly violating aviation safety regulations. This comes just three months after Air Peace began operating its Lagos-London route. The UK CAA has sent two mandatory occurrence reports concerning Air Peace, which have now been forwarded to the NCAA. The complaints were detailed in a letter titled "United Kingdom SAFA Ramp Inspection Report" (reference number: CAA-UK-2024-0217) and "NATS Management System Safety Report." In response, the NCAA has requested clarification from Air Peace on the issues raised. The NCAA’s letter, with…

Sunday, 19 May 2024 04:59

Nigeria collapsed right from Tinubu’s first day in office – Babachir Lawal

Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, has asserted that Nigeria experienced a collapse following the inauguration of President Bola Tinubu on May 29, 2023. Speaking on Trust TV's Daily Politics, Lawal criticized Tinubu's sudden announcement of fuel subsidy removal on inauguration day, which he believes triggered a severe economic crisis before a cabinet was formed. Lawal highlighted that the immediate removal of the fuel subsidy caused a significant increase in transportation costs, which is essential for both businesses and the general populace in Nigeria. He argued that implementing such a drastic policy without having a cabinet…

Saturday, 18 May 2024 04:35

FG halts transfer of electricity regulatory oversight to states

Adebayo Adelabu, the Minister of Power, announced the federal government's decision to suspend the transfer of regulatory authority over electricity to state governments. This was revealed during the 8th Africa Energy Market Place (AEMP) conference held in Abuja on Friday. Earlier in April, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) had transferred oversight of the electricity markets in Ondo, Ekiti, and Enugu to the states' electricity regulatory bureaus (OSERB). However, Adelabu stated that the suspension was necessary to ensure state governments and power sector stakeholders fully understand the requirements for operating an electricity market. Adelabu emphasized that a thorough understanding of…

Friday, 17 May 2024 04:32

N1.2trn available in the FAAC account for April. This is how it was shared among FG, states, LGs

The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) announced that the federal, state, and local governments shared N1.2 trillion for April, 2024. This information was disclosed in a communiqué released at the conclusion of the May 2024 FAAC meeting by Bawa Mokwa, Director of Press and Public Relations in the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF), on Thursday. The allocation for April represents an increase of N85 billion compared to the N1.12 trillion distributed in March. The breakdown of the N1.2 trillion includes N284 billion in distributable statutory revenue, N466 billion in distributable value-added tax (VAT) revenue, N18 billion from…

Friday, 17 May 2024 04:31

36 State Assembly Speakers endorse state police creation

The speakers of Nigeria’s 36 state houses of assembly have endorsed the national assembly's efforts to establish state police. This decision was outlined in a communiqué released after the Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures met in Abuja on Thursday. The communiqué was signed by Adebo Ogundoyin, Speaker of the Oyo House of Assembly and Chairman of the Conference. The speakers believe that state policing would address the growing insecurity in the country. "To achieve this, the Conference appeals to the National Assembly, Presidency, and other relevant stakeholders to leverage the ongoing constitution review exercise," the communiqué stated. Both chambers…

Friday, 17 May 2024 04:30

Labour opposes FG’s plans to spend N20 trillion Pension Fund for these reasons

The Organised Labour has expressed strong disapproval of the Federal Government’s plan to use the N19.66 trillion pension funds for infrastructure development. This stance was detailed in a joint letter from the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) addressed to the Minister of Finance on Thursday in Abuja. The letter, signed by NLC President Joe Ajaero and TUC Deputy President Tommy Etim-Okon, was titled “Leave our Pension Fund Alone: Do not Tamper with Workers’ Funds.” The Labour leaders stated that the announcement has caused significant anxiety among Nigerian workers, who are the primary contributors to these…

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Friday, 17 May 2024 04:29

Students loan portal to open May 24, FG announces

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has announced that its student loan application portal will officially open on May 24, 2024. Akintunde Sawyerr, Managing Director of NELFUND, made this announcement in a statement on Thursday, marking a significant step toward making education more accessible and inclusive for all Nigerian students. "Through the portal, students can now access loans to pursue their academic aspirations without financial constraints," Sawyerr stated. The announcement, signed by Nasir Ayitogo, the Fund’s Media and Public Relations Lead, emphasized that the portal offers a user-friendly interface for students to conveniently submit their loan applications. "We encourage all…

Thursday, 16 May 2024 04:48

Like Buhari, Tinubu seeks to utilize N20trn pension fund for infrastructure projects

The federal government has announced a strategic plan to utilize the N20 trillion pension fund, alongside other domestic resources, for infrastructure development in Nigeria. This initiative was disclosed by Wale Edun, the coordinating minister for the economy and finance, after a federal executive council (FEC) meeting chaired by President Bola Tinubu. Edun emphasized the government's focus on leveraging domestic financial resources, particularly pension and life insurance funds, to foster national growth. He highlighted the potential to channel over N20 trillion available domestically into critical sectors like housing and long-term mortgage provision. As part of the plan, the government aims to…

Thursday, 16 May 2024 04:46

‘It’s an insult’, Labour fumes over FG’s offer of N48k as new national minimum wage

On Wednesday, organized labour representatives walked out of a minimum wage committee meeting with the Federal Government in protest over the proposed new wage of N48,000. The labour unions, including the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), had initially demanded a new minimum wage of N615,000 and set a deadline of May 31 for the government to finalize the negotiations. The Tripartite Committee on New National Minimum Wage resumed negotiations on Wednesday. Sources from Vanguard reported that representatives of the NLC and TUC were furious over the government's offer. Theophilus Ndubuaku, one of the…

Thursday, 16 May 2024 04:44

Nigeria's inflation hit 33.69% in April, marking 15 consecutive months of increase - NBS

Nigeria has experienced 15 consecutive months of rising inflation, with the rate reaching 33.69% in April, according to the latest consumer price index report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released on Wednesday. This represents a 0.49% increase from the March inflation rate of 33.2%. On a month-on-month basis, April 2024's headline inflation rate was 2.29%, 0.73% lower than the 3.02% recorded in March 2024. This indicates that the rate of increase in the average price level in April was slower than in March. The food inflation rate in April 2024 soared to 40.53% year-on-year, a significant rise of…

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