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Friday, 22 December 2023 04:50

Nigeria finally off the hook as P&ID’s $11bn damages appeal application fails at London court

Nigeria is off the hook for an $11 billion damages bill over a collapsed gas processing project that was procured by bribery after the award was thrown out by London's High Court. The West African country faced having to pay the sum – representing around a third of its foreign exchange reserves – to Process & Industrial Developments (P&ID), a company based in the British Virgin Islands. But the High Court ruled in October that P&ID paid bribes to a Nigerian oil ministry official in connection with the gas contract signed in 2010, and failed to disclose this when it…

Friday, 22 December 2023 04:49

Naira notes scarcity returns on anniversary of Emefiele’s failed cashless campaign

Nigerians are hoarding cash again amid memories of a failed official campaign around this time last year to demonetize high-value naira notes. Most ATMs have been unable to dispense cash and bank branches have cut daily cash payment limits to either 5,000 or 10,000 naira ($11.24) from 20,000 naira to deal with the shortages that first emerged in October but have worsened this month ahead of the festive season. Point-of-sale operators have increased charges for dispensing cash by as much as three times this month, citing an inability to access banknotes. The Nigeria Labour Congress, the country’s largest workers’ union,…

Friday, 22 December 2023 04:48

Senate confirms 11 Supreme Court Justices appointed by Tinubu

Senate has confirmed the appointment of 11 Supreme Court justices appointed by President Bola Tinubu to fill the vacancies on the apex court bench. The confirmation followed the consideration and adoption of a report by the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, during Thursday’s plenary. Tinubu had asked the Senate to confirmed the nominees, who were recommended by the National Judicial Council to fill the vacant positions following death and resignation of some justices. The nominees confirmed are Haruna Tsammani (North East) who chaired the Presidential Election Petition Court, Moore Adumein (South South), Jummai Sankey (North Central),…

Thursday, 21 December 2023 04:37

Nigeria’s public debt rose to N87.9trn in Q3 2023 - DMO

Debt Management Office (DMO) says Nigeria’s total public debt rose to N87.91 trillion in the third quarter (Q3) of 2023. DMO disclosed this on Wednesday. The latest figure represents a 0.61 percent or N530 billion increase compared to N87.38 trillion recorded in the second quarter (Q2) of 2023. In the previous quarter, the total debt stock had increased by 75.29 percent. According to DMO, the surge was occasioned by the N22.71 trillion ways and means advances obtained by the federal government from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). “The total public debt as at September 30, 2023, was N87.91 Trillion…

Wednesday, 20 December 2023 04:42

Naira falls below parallel market rates at official window

Naira dropped to a record low against the dollar on the official market on Tuesday in thin trading, swinging widely to levels seen on the unofficial parallel market, where the currency trades freely. The naira fell as low as 1,248 to the dollar, during mid-day trading, LSEG data showed after it opened at 927 naira on Tuesday. It later recovered to 845 naira. Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Olayemi Cardoso has said he would allow market forces to determine exchange rates while setting clear, transparent and harmonised rules governing market operations. The comments and chronic dollar shortages on the official…

Tuesday, 19 December 2023 04:49

From N3.5trn in 2022, FG doubled domestic borrowing to N7.04trn in 2023 - DMO

Director-General, Debt Management Office, Patience Oniha, disclosed on Monday that the Federal Government borrowed N7.04 trillion locally in 2023, adding that the figure was the FG’s domestic target for the year. She revealed this while speaking to CNBC Africa on the sidelines of the discussions for the establishment of the African Debt Managers Initiative Network spearheaded by the African Development Institute of the African Development Bank in Abuja. Oniha said, “I am happy to say that in 2023, the new domestic borrowing was N7.04 trillion, and as we speak, that has been raised in full. “So, I don’t need to…

Tuesday, 19 December 2023 04:48

More Nigerians migrated abroad in 2023 than ever before – IOM

The United Nations migration body, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), has disclosed that more Nigerians migrated abroad in 2023. The IOM Chief of Mission in Nigeria, Laurent De Boeck, disclosed this during a media parley on Monday in Abuja. According to him, no fewer than 260,000 Nigerians approached the IOM for assistance to leave the country in 2023. “This 2023 number is the highest number we have ever had. We know now that those people have requested visas but they did it in a regular way which is positive. “The UK is the number one destination for those 260,000…

Tuesday, 19 December 2023 04:44

Pope approves blessings for same-sex couples

Pope Francis has formally approved allowing priests to bless same-sex couples, with a new document explaining a radical change in Vatican policy by insisting that people seeking God’s love and mercy shouldn’t be subject to “an exhaustive moral analysis” to receive it. The document from the Vatican’s doctrine office, released Monday, elaborates on a letter Francis sent to two conservative cardinals that was published in October. In that preliminary response, Francis suggested such blessings could be offered under some circumstances if they didn’t confuse the ritual with the sacrament of marriage. The new document repeats that condition and elaborates on…

Monday, 18 December 2023 04:46

Airlines hike airfares ahead of Christmas, New Year holidays. This is how much it costs to your destination

As the yuletide approaches, air passengers are facing increasing discomfort over the high cost of tickets. Checks by our correspondent showed that ahead of Christmas and New Year, many seats have been booked; and as the festive period draws nearer, available seats are becoming more expensive. The eastern routes are the most affected, with Enugu flight tickets selling between N171,000 and N200,000. Checks by our correspondent indicate that the base fare to Port Harcourt is N99,000 and projected to hit N138,000 as bookings increase. Lagos to Owerri, from December 5 sells between N114,400 and N190,600 for a one-way economy ticket…

Sunday, 17 December 2023 04:44

Current Supreme Court worst in 45 years, Agbakoba laments

Olisa Agbakoba, former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), says the current supreme court is the “worst” in his 45 years of legal practice. Agbakoba spoke on Thursday in Abuja at a colloquium to mark the 61st birthday of Senate President Godswill Akpabio. The colloquium was attended by President Bola Tinubu and many political stakeholders, including members of the national assembly. Speaking at the event, Agbakoba narrated how the “mafia” in the National Judicial Council (NJC) rejected his application to join the bench of the apex court. “I was the first, accompanied by my brother, Wole Olanipekun, who applied…

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Saturday, 16 December 2023 04:52

Nigeria's inflation rises to 18-year high amid worsening cost-of-living crisis

Nigeria's annual inflation rose in November for the 11th straight month to the highest level in 18 years, adding pressure on the central bank to tackle the rise amid a worsening cost-of-living crisis in Africa's largest economy. Consumer inflation rose to 28.20% in November from 27.33% in October, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Friday. The last time Nigerians experienced this level of inflation was in August 2005, official data shows. On Dec. 13, the World Bank warned Nigeria to control inflation, and tasked the central bank to tighten monetary policy, build market confidence around free foreign…

Saturday, 16 December 2023 04:51

FAAC allocation to FG, states, LGs for November crosses the N1trn mark

Federation account allocation committee (FAAC) says it shared N1,088.783 trillion with the three tiers of government in November 2023. FAAC disclosed this in a communique issued at the end of its meeting in Abuja on Friday. The amount disbursed in November represents an increase of N181.82 billion compared to October’s allocation of N906.955 billion. According to the communique, a total revenue of N1.620 trillion was earned in November 2023. Out of the gross revenue, the deduction for the cost of collection was N60.960 billion; while total transfers, interventions and refunds were N470.592 billion. Meanwhile, from the N1.088 trillion distributable revenue,…

Saturday, 16 December 2023 04:45

Despite condemning illegal actions by FG, Supreme Court blocks release of Nnamdi Kanu

The Supreme Court on Friday overturned a judgment by a lower court that dropped terrorism charges against separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu, ruling that trial on the charges should continue. Kanu, a British citizen who leads the banned Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), disappeared from Nigeria after skipping bail in 2017. He was arrested in Kenya in 2021 and charged with terrorism. Friday's ruling by Lawal Garba reinstating Kanu's seven-count terrorism trial at a lower federal court has effectively extended his detention, which began two years ago after his arrest. "Even though illegalities were committed with the deployment of brutal force…

Friday, 15 December 2023 04:48

24m Nigerians slipped into poverty in the last 5 years - World Bank

The World Bank says poverty rate in Nigeria has increased to 46 percent in 2023, representing 104 million poor Nigerians. This was disclosed in World Bank’s Nigeria development update titled ‘Turning the corner: From reforms & renewed hope, to results,’ on Wednesday. World Bank said Nigeria’s poverty rate rose from 40 percent in 2018 to 46 percent this year, as the number of poor people increased from 79 million to 104 million. According to the report, more people have fallen below the poverty line due to sluggish growth and rising inflation. “Sluggish growth and rising inflation have increased poverty from…

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