Author: Adejuyigbe Francis

A shipment of 25,000 tons of Ukrainian grain is now being prepared for transit from the Turkish port of Samsun to Nigeria as part of the Grain from Ukraine program. This information was provided in a statement by Ukrainian Ambassador to Turkey Vasyl Bodnar. He stated that the grain is currently being stored in Turkey under the aegis of the United Nations World Food Program. The envoy also examined the port and the Fuat Sezgin vessel, which will convey the cargo to Nigeria as part of the Grain from Ukraine program. The ambassador emphasized preparations to deliver another 60 ships…

The Federal government has raised the alarm over the spread of fake online platforms for palliative distribution in the country. The Minister of Trade, Industry and Investment, Doris Uzoka-Anite, disclosed this in a notice through her X handle on Monday. According to the Minister, different unauthorized online platforms claim associations with the Presidential Palliative Programmes and charge people for palliative distribution. She urged Nigerians to ignore such platforms, noting that the only verified platform for the palliative initiative is the one with the government’s endorsement. “It has come to my notice that unauthorized platforms falsely claim association with the Presidential…

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd. (NNPC Ltd.) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with TotalEnergies for the adoption and deployment of a methane detection technology known as Airborne Ultralight Spectrometer for Environmental Application (AUSEA) in all its upstream operations. With the agreement, which is a direct benefit from the Company’s participation at the recently concluded United Nations Climate Change Conference (also known as COP28) in Dubai, UAE, NNPC Ltd. will be able to deploy the TotalEnergies AUSEA technology on its upstream operations sites to ascertain the level of methane emissions from them, with a view to working out…

The Supreme Court, on Tuesday, reserved judgments in appeals filed by the Governorship candidates of the Labour Party (LP), Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour and his counterpart in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Azeez Adediran, against the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu. Sanwo-Olu contested on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the governorship election held in March 2023. The appeals by Rhodes-Vivour and Adeniran are against the earlier judgments of the Court of Appeal in Lagos, which affirmed the two decisions of the election tribunal. The election tribunal had dismissed their petition, challenging Sanwo-Olu’s victory in the last governorship election. A…

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has announced the shutdown of Nigeria’s largest thermal generating station, Egbin Power Station. The development has resulted in electricity outages in certain parts of the country, as the generating set is said to be Nigeria’s largest thermal generating station. In a statement dated Monday, December 18, the TCN said the power station was shut down for maintenance. It said the shutdown was necessary to address a gas pipeline leak. As a result, there will be a decrease of 676MW of power supplied to the national grid for a duration of 72 hours. “This is to…

The Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, has assured the public that the report on investigation into the Kaduna bombing will be out very soon and made public.  Speaking on Channels TV on Tuesday, the CDS acknowledged the public’s concern and emphasized the government’s commitment to uncovering the truth behind the tragic incident. “The Federal Government has set up a committee to look into it,” he stated. “We know at the end of it, the truth will come out and everybody will understand that it was definitely a mistake.” About 100 people were killed by the Nigerian Army airstrikes…

President Bola Tinubu yesterday vowed to uphold the freedom of the media as well as respect divergent views, assuring that his administration would look into extant policies affecting the newspaper industry with a view to reworking them. Speaking at State House, Abuja, during a meeting with members of Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN), Tinubu assured that he would carefully consider the association’s request for a review of policies affecting the newspaper industry. He acknowledged concerns about existing regulations hindering local access to newsprint. According to a statement issued by the president’s media adviser, Ajuri Ngelale, Tinubu said his administration…

A Presidential aide, Bayo Onanuga, has reacted to President Bola Tinubu’s intervention in the lingering political crisis in Rivers State. The president resolved the crisis during a meeting with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State, former governor Peter Odili, and some other stakeholders, held at the State House in Abuja. After the meeting held in the State House in Abuja, which lasted for about three hours, eight resolutions were reached to solve the political tension in the South-South state. Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Oma Ordu; Wike; the National Security Adviser (NSA),…

The Joint National Assembly Committee on Appropriations has given a 48-hour deadline to all sub-committees to submit their reports on the 2024 budget. President Bola Tinubu had last month, presented to the joint session of the National Assembly, N27.503trillion as total projected expenditure for 2024 fiscal year, out of which N18.324trillion is set as targeted revenue while N9.18trillion is deficit to be financed by internal and external borrowings as well as proceeds from privatization. Meanwhile, the Sub-committees have begun submitting their reports to the Senator Olamilekan Adeola, Ogun West APC led, joint committee on Appropriations. The Committee on Tourism chaired by…

Kaduna State Governor Senator Uba Sani, yesterday presented a N458.3 billion budget for the 2024 fiscal year to the state’s House of Assembly for approval. The budget has N318.8 billion as capital expenditure and N139 billion as recurrent expenditure, reflecting a capital-to-recurrent ratio of 69.57 per cent to 30.43 per cent. Governor Sani said the budget prioritised capital spending in line with his administration’s “Sustain Agenda.” He said education was allocated N115 billion (25.19%); health N71.6 billion (15.63%) and economy, covering agriculture, public works, infrastructure, and housing, N93.5 billion (20.42%). Governor Sani expressed confidence in the transformative potential of the…

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Monday inaugurated the 11-man board and management team for the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL). Speaking after the inauguration in his office at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the president charged the board members to focus on profitability, increased production, and robust governance. President Tinubu stressed that their appointment should not be viewed as mere “cake sharing,” urging optimal performance on their part. He also called for a critical review of Petroleum Industry Act and recognition of the Niger Delta’s vital role in producing oil. Addressing State House reporters after the inauguration, Chairman of the…

President Bola Tinubu is currently in a meeting with the Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara. The former governor of Rivers State, Peter Odili, and some other stakeholders are in the meeting held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The meeting comes amidst the rift between the Rivers Governor and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike. The FCT Minister was earlier seen at the State House. The meeting may not be unconnected to the recent defection of 27 members of the State House of Assembly, who are loyalists of the FCT Minister. The lawmakers dumped the Peoples Democratic…