BILLION

First batch of petrol, 27 million litres imported by an independent marketer has arrived in the country, putting an end to a downstream monopoly market once enjoyed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited. The vessel, ST Nnene earlier billed to arrive since last week, but was held down off Lome waters due to adverse weather, birthed at Ijegun-Egba on Wednesday following the official end to subsidies by President Bola Tinubu on May 29. ST Nnene,  The PUNCH  gathered, had cost Emadeb Energy’s Chief Executive Officer, Adebowale Olujimi, and its bank partners of $17m (about N13b) to hire. Five financial institutions- Polaris, First Bank, Union Bank, Access Bank and Fidelity bank had bankrolled the deal. This was as foreign exchange rose from N745 to one dollar three weeks ago, to N845 as of Tuesday, and crude price rising to $80 per barrel as of 1:45pm Nigerian time on Wednesday. Until now, state oil firm NNPCL had enjoyed a monopoly downstream market for ye...

Members of the organised private sector, on Wednesday, expressed fear over the possible shutdown of businesses and job losses following the hike in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited and fuel marketers. On Tuesday, the NNPCL and other oil marketers raised the price of petrol from about N537/litre to between N617 and N630/litre, a development that triggered widespread anger across the country. Commenting on the matter, the President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Francis Meshioye, said the unpredictability of fuel price hikes would take a serious toll on manufacturers who already had to readjust budgets to factor in the added costs caused by the removal of fuel subsidy. He said the increase in fuel price had already raised the cost of logistics, which would be compounded by the latest hike. He stated that given the trend, there were fears among manufacturers that this might not be th...

Nigerians are not relenting on their quest to make sure the right thing is done following the petitions against The announcement of Tinubu as Winner of February 29th Presidential Election. They are actively following the judiciary process as Billboards boldly written All Eyes On The Judiciary was seen in Benin City .

Kano, Oyo, Kwara and Osun states governments have declared Wednesday (today), a work-free day to mark the beginning of the 1445 Islamic (Hijrah) New Year. A statement by the Kano State Commissioner of Information, Baba Dantiye, on behalf of Governor Abba Yusuf, said the governor enjoined residents of the state to pray for its peace. “The governor, who congratulated Muslims around the world on the dawn of the new Islamic year, enjoined the civil servants and the people in the state to pray for peace and tranquillity as well as economic development of our dear state and the country at large,” the statement said. Similarly, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State declared Wednesday (today) as a public holiday in the state in commemoration of this year’s Hijrah 1445AH. The governor, in a statement  by his Chief Press Secretary, Sulaimon Olanrewaju, congratulated Muslim faithful on the commencement of the New Year, while  enjoining them to use the occasion to pray for  ...

Kano Obidients can't wait anymore. We wanna begin to ball. Let the show begin already. More to come already.

The Federal Government, on Monday, said plans are underway to undertake a nationwide vaccination of cattle, sheep and goats, following a confirmed case of anthrax in Niger State. The Niger case comes weeks after the Federal Government alerted Nigerians to the outbreak of the deadly disease in some neighbouring countries within the West African sub-region. The government, in June, specifically stated that the disease was widespread in northern Ghana, bordering Burkina Faso and Togo. Consequently, the FG advised Nigerians to desist from the consumption of cow hides, otherwise known as ponmo, smoked meat and bush meat. Anthrax is caused by the spore-forming bacterium, Bacillus anthracis, which primarily affects animals, such as cattle, sheep, and goats. The disease can be contracted by humans who come in direct contact with infected animals or contaminated animal products, such as meat, wool, or hides. Anthrax may be contracted through the inhalation of spores, while cutaneous...

The suspended Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa, has spent 33 days in the custody of the Department of State Services. The secret police arrested Bawa on June 14, hours after his suspension by President Bola Tinubu. The Director of Information, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Willie Bassey, in a statement announcing Bawa’s suspension, cited  “weighty allegations of abuse of office levelled against him” as the reason for the President’s decision. Since his arrest, the DSS has kept mum on the specific offences for which Bawa was arrested, the level of investigation and whether charges would be filed against him in court. A statement by the DSS spokesperson, Peter Afunanya, shortly after Bawa’s suspension  on June 14, said the embattled EFCC chair arrived at the facility of the DSS in response to an invitation. “The Department of State Services has invited Abdulrasheed Bawa, the suspended Chairman ...

The National Secretary of All Progressives Congress, Senator Iyiola Omisore has been officially replaced with the Deputy National Secretary of the party, Festus Fuanter. Fuanter, who hails from Plateau State, officially assumes his new position as the acting national secretary on Monday. The announcement was made by the new Acting National Chairman, Senator Abubakar Kyari, shortly after the crucial meeting of the National Working Committee held at the party secretariat on Monday. Addressing journalists, Kyari confirmed that both Omisore and the erstwhile National Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, are no longer part of the APC leadership. He said, “We are here to address the happenings and recent developments regarding the party. The NWC wishes to inform you about the resignation of the National Chairman Senator Abdullahi Adamu and that of the National Secretary, Senator Iyiola Omisore”. Kyari said that according to the Constitution of the APC, he is now the acting national...

The sudden resignation of the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, and National Secretary, Senator Iyiola Omisore, was spurred by the manner they handled the contentious audit report of the party’s account, The PUNCH has learnt. This is as indications emerged that President Bola Tinubu and governors elected on the platform of the party have started shopping for a replacement for the departed officials. Adamu and Omisore handed over their resignation letters on Sunday amid controversies about the reason for their actions. Their resignation letters were officially confirmed at an emergency meeting held by the National Working Committee at the party headquarters in Abuja on Monday. The announcement was made by Adamu’s successor, Senator Abubakar Kyari, who has taken over the mantle of leadership in acting capacity in line with the party’s constitution. Omisore’s attempt to join the NWC meeting was thwarted as he was prevented from...

President Bola Tinubu on Sunday, in Kenya, said the forces that plundered Africa in the past and still seek to impede its progress today will not find easy inroads into the continent. Tinubu said Africa was now strong and its leaders would no longer remain passive as they worked to harness their vast resources to better their respective countries. “But here and now, let it be said to whomever the new scramblers might be, that our continent may be old, but our spirit is new. And it is strong. The bad that took place in the past must stay there. It shall never be repeated,” Tinubu told his counterparts at the Fifth Mid-Year Coordination Meeting of the African Union in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital. The forum also featured deliberations amongst the various regional economic communities, the regional mechanisms and the African Union Member-States. The President’s Special Adviser on Special Duties, Communications and Strategy, Dele Alake, revealed this in a statement he signed on ...

Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has advised that age should not be seen as a barrier to pursuing educational dreams, saying one of the conditions he was given before his 2022 governorship ambition was for him to complete his education. Adeleke spoke at the combined 9th undergraduate and 5th postgraduate convocation ceremonies of the Adeleke University, Ede, Osun State, on Sunday, where 75 postgraduate and 537 undergraduate students were conferred with various degrees. The governor, who said after losing 2018 governorship election he was subjected to the worst personality attacks and assaults, added that he had to leave the country to escape attack and to complete his degree programme, after his elder brother, Dr. Deji Adeleke insisted he must complete his education, or forgo his 2022 governorship ambition. He said, “Dr Tajudeen Adeleke encouraged me to move ahead. Before I went on exile, he called me to a meeting where we discussed.  He told that I should look at ...

The Nigerian Navy has excavated and dismantled oil equipment of a suspected oil syndicate on Oil Mining Lease-18 in Elem Krakama Creek in the Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State. The Navy said it dismantled the equipment used in siphoning crude precisely on Oil Well 17 operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited. The Commander, Nigerian Navy Ship Pathfinder, Commodore Suleman Ibrahim, said the Navy spotted the illicit activities by its patrol helicopter on July 11, 2023. Ibrahim, who led newsmen to the site on Saturday, said the discovery led to the dismantling of the multiple pipelines buried in the ground. He also said four suspects, engaging in the illegal oil bunkering, were arrested in a separate incident. He said excavation was done in collaboration with the NNPCL, and expressed shock at the level of expertise deployed by the suspects. Ibrahim stated that such massive oil theft could not be done by as amateurs, saying the syndicate were sophis...

Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has condemned the National Assembly over the decision to allocate N70 billion as palliatives for its members. Falana, in a press statement released on Sunday, said the move is illegal and contemptuous. The allocation of N70 billion, disbursed among 306 newly elected members, in addition to N40 billion set aside for the purchase of Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) and bulletproof cars for principal officials and members, has become contentious with many Nigerians criticizing the lawmakers for being insensitive at a time when the economy is biting hard. In the statement, Falana called attention to the blatant breach of the relevant provisions of the Nigerian Constitution and urged the immediate reversal of these controversial measures. He said, “Out of sheer insensitivity coupled with impunity, the members of the National Assembly, regardless of political affiliation, conspired to breach the relevant provisions of the Constitution of the Federa...

Anger has continued to trail the decision by the National Assembly to earmark N70bn for its members out of the N819bn federal supplementary budget passed by the legislature last week. The lawmakers had said the N70bn was earmarked to support “the working conditions of National Assembly members.” But many Nigerians have described the N70bn budgetary allocation for lawmakers as insensitive while majority of Nigerians are grappling with economic hardship heightened by the removal of fuel subsidy. In a statement on Sunday, an advocacy group, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project urged the Senate President, Mr Godswill Akpabio, and Speaker of House of Representatives, Mr Tajudeen Abbas, “to drop the scandalous plan to spend N40bn on 465 exotic and bulletproof cars for members and principal officials, and N70bn as ‘palliatives’ for new members.” SERAP urged them to “repeal the 2022 Supplementary Appropriation Act to reduce the budget for the National Assembly by N110bn...

No fewer than 42.69 million poor Nigerians were excluded from the Federal Government’s N5,000 monthly cash transfer since its inception in 2016, according to findings by  The PUNCH. In June 2023 edition of the Nigeria Development Update, the World Bank disclosed that only 19.4 per cent of Nigerians benefitted from the programme. With an estimated population of 207.25 million (based on World Bank estimates), this meant that only about 40.21 million Nigerians benefitted from the cash transfer programme. The Washington-based bank noted that about 40 per cent of Nigerians (82.9 million people) lived on less than the national poverty line at the end of 2022. On the poverty rate, the bank said, “The majority of Nigerians are either poor or economically insecure, just one shock away from falling into poverty. About 40 per cent of Nigerians—82.9 million people— lived on less than the national poverty line in 2018/19.13. An additional one quarter of the population—some 52.6 mill...

There were controversies, on Sunday, over the alleged resignation of the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Senator Abdullahi Adamu. While some sources confirmed to The PUNCH that the embattled chairman had resigned from his position, others said it was a rumour. The PUNCH could not officially confirm the alleged resignation as of press time, while top APC chieftains contacted by our correspondents gave conflicting information. This is coming two days before the long-awaited crucial National Caucus and National Executive Committee meetings of the party. An APC NWC member confirmed the alleged resignation to our correspondent on Sunday night on condition of anonymity. Also, our correspondent could not immediately confirm when Adamu threw in the towel, but he was said to have been ordered to quit by President Bola Tinubu. It was gathered that his resignation letter was delivered to the President by Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma. The APC spokesman, Felix M...