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Sunday, 12 November 2023 04:49

Pope sacks US Bishop opposed to LGBTQ, abortion

Pope Francis has dismissed Bishop Joseph E. Strickland of Tyler, Texas, one of his fiercest critics among U.S. Roman Catholic conservatives, a Vatican statement said on Saturday. It is very rare for a bishop to be relieved of his duties outright. Usually bishops in trouble with the Vatican are asked to resign before submitting a resignation, which the pope accepts. Popes make such moves, considered drastic, when a bishop refuses a request to resign. Strickland is 65, 10 years shy of the usual retirement age for bishops. Strickland had said earlier this year that he would refuse to resign if…

Saturday, 11 November 2023 04:44

FG threatens landlords with triple ground rent on unoccupied properties

Federal Government says it will start charging owners of completed unoccupied houses triple ground rents instead of the single rate normally charged from three months after completion.Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa, said this in an interview with journalists during his continuation to site visits of housing projects constructed by the government and its agencies on Friday in Abuja. The projects inspected are the Suleja (Dikko) Prototype, Public-Private Partnerships Cooperative, Gwagwalada National Housing Programme and Guzape Federal Housing Authority (FHA) under the PPP arrangement. Dangiwa affirmed that the issue of completed unoccupied properties was prevalent in the FCT…

Friday, 10 November 2023 05:02

Businesses collapse, smuggling thrives - this is the situation at border communities 3 months after Tinubu shut gateways with Niger

Commercial activities in border communities of Katsina, Sokoto, Borno and Zamfara states have collapsed following closure of the country’s borders with Niger Republic in the wake of the military takeover of power in the Francophone country on August 3. Checks by our correspondents on the border communities in Katsina, Sokoto, Borno, and Zamfara within the week revealed that commercial activities in the communities have been paralysed with long lines of trucks loaded with goods still stranded at the borders. However, despite the heavy presence of security operatives, smuggling thrives across illegal borders in the states. In the Jibia Local Government…

Friday, 10 November 2023 05:01

Court annuls ‘FG-made’ laws denying tax debtor’s right of appeal

Federal High Court, Abuja, on Thursday, struck down some “offending provisions” which took away the right of appeal of a tax debtor. Specifically, the affected provisions include the Tax Appeal Tribunal (Procedure) Rules ( 2021), the Federal High Court of Nigeria (Federal Inland Revenue Service) Practice Directions (2021) and the Federal High Court of Nigeria (Tax Appeals) Rules (2022). The judge, James Omotosho, in a judgment, held that the provisions were unconstitutional as they cut back on constitutionally-provided right of appeal. The first provision voided by the court was Order III Rule (6) (a) of the Tax Appeal Tribunal (Procedure)…

Friday, 10 November 2023 05:00

Fire incident: Canadian High Commission announces continuation of Visa issuance in Abuja, Lagos

Canadian high commission says its visa application centres in Abuja and Lagos remain open to the public despite suspension of operations in the nation’s capital. The high commission announced a discontinuation of its services in Nigeria on Tuesday, hours after a fire outbreak gutted a section of its building in Abuja. The Canadian government said the explosion killed two people, including a locally engaged employee, adding that operations in Abuja had been suspended till further notice. However, in a statement released on Thursday by Demilade Kosemani of the public affairs department, the high commission said the suspension of operations did…

Thursday, 09 November 2023 04:59

Naira continues slide after CBN only clears little fraction of FX backlog

The naira weakened after efforts by the Central Bank of Nigeria to clear a backlog of matured foreign-exchange forward contracts left a number outstanding. It slumped about 7% to 1,150 naira per dollar on the parallel market on Wednesday from 1,070 the previous day, according to Abubakar Mohammed, chief executive officer of Forward Marketing Bureau de Change Ltd. That reversed naira strength last week after CBN announced it had cleared foreign-currency contracts with an unspecified number of banks. The move was a key step targeted by the government to help stabilize the naira, which has fallen sharply since it reformed…

Thursday, 09 November 2023 04:57

Old and new Naira notes remain legal tender; neither should be rejected - CBN

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says that all banknotes remain legal tender after reports of anxiety among some members of the public over the legality of old naira banknotes. In a statement on Wednesday, Isa AbdulMumin, director, corporate communications, said the old naira notes should not be rejected, as they will be issued alongside redesigned banknotes in adequate quantities to banks for the benefit of their customers. CBN said: “Our attention has again been drawn to reports of a scarcity of cash across some major cities in the country despite assurances of sufficient cash stocks in all locations across the…

Thursday, 09 November 2023 04:56

Tinubu signs N2.17trn 2023 Supplementary Budget

President Bola Tinubu has signed the second 2023 supplementary appropriation bill, totalling N2,176,791,286,033 into law. The bill was recently passed by the National Assembly amid controversy over the provision for a presidential yacht by the Navy and over N6bn allocated for vehicles to the State House. The signing took place during a brief event on Wednesday in his office at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The occasion was witnessed by President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio; Speaker, House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas; Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele; Chairman Senate Committee on Finance, Olamilekan Adeola; Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, Abubakar…

Wednesday, 08 November 2023 05:02

NLC, TUC mobilise workers for nationwide strike over assaults on Ajaero

The leaderships of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have ordered their members to embark on a nationwide strike from November 14. According to Channels TV, the leaderships of the labour bodies reached the resolution after an extraordinary national executive council (NEC) meeting held in Abuja on Tuesday. The unions said nationwide mobilisation of members and allies have begun immediately. The announcement comes days after Joe Ajaero, president of NLC, was reportedly picked up from the Imo council secretariat of the congress in Owerri by heavily armed police officers. The NLC in a statement had…

Wednesday, 08 November 2023 05:00

FG wants 40% cut from federal varsities’ IGR; ASUU, VCs say no

Academic Staff Union of Universities and the Committee of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities have described plan by the Federal Government to automatically deduct 40 per cent from the Internally Generated Revenue of universities in the country as an attack on the university system. The FG, in a letter dated October 17, 2023, and titled ‘Implementation of 40% automatic deduction from internally generated revenue of partially-funded Federal Government institutions,’ said it would begin the deduction with effect from November 2023. The letter signed by the Accountant-General of the Federation, Oluwatoyin Madein, Director of Revenue and Investment, Office of the Accountant-General…

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Wednesday, 08 November 2023 04:58

NNPCL launches new 'Nembe' grade of crude as production rises

Nigeria's state oil firm NNPC Ltd on Tuesday said it had launched a new grade of crude called Nembe, as Africa's largest oil producer aims to ramp up crude production. The country has long dealt with output declines due to crude theft, attacks on pipelines in the Niger Delta and a lack of investment, causing a dwindling of government revenue and large fiscal deficits. But output has picked up in recent months. Nembe production was formerly added to the Bonny Light stream more than three years ago, until instances of sabotage on the Nembe Creek Trunk Line (NCTL) hamstrung output,…

Tuesday, 07 November 2023 04:57

Naira resumes fall, again exceeds 1,000 per dollar at parallel market

The naira crashed against the dollar on Monday, falling to 1,030/$ on the average in the parallel market, losing the momentum it gathered last week. This represents a N80 loss or a 8.42 per cent decline of the local currency compared to the N950 it closed the week at last Friday. This is also the first time the naira is falling since the Central Bank of Nigeria began to clear some of its FX backlog last week. Currency traders, also known as Bureaux De Change operators, told our correspondent that the naira was trading at between N990 to N1,030/$. A…

Tuesday, 07 November 2023 04:56

Lagos is 3rd worst city to live in Africa, says Economist Intelligence Unit report 2023

Business Insider Africa presents 5 worst cities to live in Africa. Cities such as Lagos (Nigeria) and Algiers (Algeria) have gained ground, with some improvements in their healthcare and education systems. The list is courtesy of Economist Intelligence Unit. Africa is a continent of remarkable diversity, and its cities are a testament to it. Each city has its unique mix of culture, history, and opportunities. However, in certain pockets of this varied landscape, daily life is marred by challenges arising from ongoing political instability, economic hardships, and a shortage of basic services. The Economist Intelligence Unit in its report "The…

Tuesday, 07 November 2023 04:55

Two killed as diesel tank explosion ignites fire at Canadian High Commission Abuja

Federal Capital Territory Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) says two men died in the fire outbreak that gutted a section of the Canadian high commission in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital. Isa also confirmed that a diesel tank explosion was responsible for the fire incident. Nkechi Isa, FEMA spokesperson, made the confirmation in a statement Monday evening. Earlier, it was unclear what had started the fire at the Canadian high commission building. However, there were reports that there was an explosion at the commission’s power-generating plant. According to Isa, the diesel tank exploded around 10:45 a.m. in the commission’s generator house when two…

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