Author: Adejuyigbe Francis

Former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele has fulfilled the conditions of his bail as outlined by the court. Emefiele has therefore left the Kuje prison after meeting the N300 million bail condition. It was gathered that Emefiele’s release warrant was signed by a vacation judge, Justice Othman Musa on 22nd December. Emefiele was in November, granted bail in the sum of N300 million and two sureties in like sum by Justice Hamza Muazu of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja. The sureties must have certificates of occupancy and titles of properties within the Maitama District according to the Judge and…

All thirty-six (36) members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) who had been detained for two years in Abakaliki, the capital of Ebonyi State, have been released by the Ebonyi State High Court. The counsel representing IPOB, Barrister Ifeanyi Ejiofor, confirmed this development in a statement released on Saturday. Initially charged with murder under charge No: HAB/29c/2021, the IPOB members pleaded not guilty, and the case proceeded to a hearing. The prosecution presented six witnesses and closed its case, after which we submitted a No Case Submission. This submission was duly adopted on June 15, 2022, and the ruling was…

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has directed banks to disregard the initial ban on cryptocurrency which it announced two years ago. Haruna Mustapha, CBN’s director of financial policy and regulation, disclosed this in a circular on Friday. The apex bank said it is now providing guidelines and regulations for banks with regard to managing cryptocurrency in line with global trends to avoid its misuse, while urging banks to comply with the guidelines and regulations. See full statement below: FPR/DIR/PUB/CIR/002/003 CIRCULAR TO ALL BANKS AND OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS GUIDELINES ON OPERATIONS OF BANK ACCOUNTS FOR VIRTUAL ASSETS SERVICE PROVIDERS (VASPs)…

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) on Thursday commenced the implementation of the Integrated Market Revenue Management System (IMRMS), a purpose-built digital platform, to capture the informal sector, especially market traders in the federal government’s tax net. The FIRS is partnering with the Market Traders Association of Nigeria (MATAN), the umbrella body for all trading associations in Nigeria with a membership of well over 40 million traders across the country, to collect and remit Value Added Tax (VAT) from traders in the marketplace, using the IMRMS platform. The collaboration is known as the VAT Direct Initiative (VDI), which is part…

Julian Alvarez scored twice as Manchester City won the Fifa Club World Cup for the first time by beating Brazilians Fluminense in Saudi Arabia. Pep Guardiola’s side, taking part in the tournament after winning last season’s Champions League, made the ideal start as Alvarez struck inside the first minute, chesting in from close range after Nathan Ake’s long-range strike hit the post. They added a second before the break when Nino turned Phil Foden’s cross into the back of his own net. England’s Foden then got on the scoresheet himself in the second half when he darted through the middle…

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed February 3, 2024 to conduct 44 supplementary elections. Sam Olumekun, National Commissioner and Chairman Information Voter Education Committee (IVEC) of INEC said this on Friday in a statement tagged ‘timetable and schedule of activities for bye-elections and court-ordered re-run elections’. The elections comprise nine bye-elections and 35 court-ordered re-run elections. “The commission has approved the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for conducting bye-elections resulting from the resignation or demise of Members of the National and State Houses of Assembly. “These vacancies were declared by the Presiding Officers that is the Senate President,…

Governor Inuwa Yahaya has officially endorsed Gombe State’s 2024 budget of N208.064 billion. The budget was signed on Friday, ten days after the state House of Assembly approved it. The signing ceremony took place in Gombe and was attended by the Speaker of the Gombe State House of Assembly, Abubakar Luggerewo, and other prominent government officials. During the event, Governor Yahaya commended the collaborative efforts between the executive and legislative branches of the government, which facilitated a seamless budgetary process in the state. He emphasized that the budget was designed with the people’s best interests in mind, evident in the allocation of 58% of…

A new report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed a litre of Kerosene cost N1287.10 in November 2023, 1.23 per cent less than the amount it was sold in October. The statistics bureau’s data showed that, in November, the price of kerosene per liter fell by 1.23 percent from the N1,303 per liter it sold for in October. According to the study, kerosene sold for N1,588.10, N1,521.97, and N1,512.50 in Adamawa, Imo, and Abuja, respectively, with the highest average price per liter reported in these three states. The report further detailed that Kerosene sold at its lowest in…

Manchester United’s drawn-out ownership saga could be resolved before Christmas Day. Sir Jim Ratcliffe is eager to get a deal signed off before 25 December which would see his Ineos Group pay around £1.25bn to buy 25% of the club. BBC Sport understands there has been fresh impetus around negotiations this week. It is more than a year since the Glazer family announced they were considering selling the club. However, despite several false dawns, the long-mooted deal for Ratcliffe’s Ineos to become minority shareholders has still not been confirmed. It is expected advisers on all sides will work late on…

Nigerians living in the UK earning below £29,000 will no longer be able to bring their families into the United Kingdom due to a new policy on family visas by the UK Home Office. Just days before Christmas, loved ones have to face the reality that they may be separated for even longer as The UK Home Office announced Friday that the salary threshold for family visa will rise to £29,000 in 2024, before then rising in incremental stages. This comes after pressure from parliament led Home Office Minister Lord Sharpe of Epsom to drop the threshold from an initial…

Media Personality, Toke Makinwa, has said she completed all she set out to do during the COP28 Climate Summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Makinwa’s appearance on Nigeria’s 1,411 delegation list sparked outrage, especially on the social media, with many doubting her role at the meeting. During the recent edition of her podcast, TokeMoments, Makinwa admitted that the backlash became really serious when “important people” started calling her. When asked by her guest and popular actress, Ini Edo, how her attendance at the COP28 Climate Summit in Dubai went and if she participated in the panel discussions? “Yes,” Toke Makinwa…

The First Lady of the federation, Remi Tinubu has announced a package of N950 million for 250 retirees from the police and military. Mrs. Tinubu disclosed that each of the beneficiaries will receive N100,000. She announced the development on Thursday while speaking at the launch of the maiden edition of the Renewed Hope Initiative Elderly Support in Abuja. The former Senator said that the scheme was designed to alleviate the effect of the economic situation on senior citizens. According to her, “This economic empowerment programme is borne out of a steadfast commitment to the well-being of our elderly citizens and it marks…