Author: Adejuyigbe Francis

Lagos Metropolitan Transport Authority (LAMATA) is perfecting plans to increase trips on the Blue Line 13-kilometre rail corridor from 54 to 76 trips before the end of the year. The Managing Director of the agency, Abimbola Akinajo, disclosed this at a briefing in Lagos, organised in commemoration of the agency’s 20 years of operations. The agency’s boss also gave timelines for the completion of the second phase of the Blue Line and the commencement of operation on the Red Line. Akinajo said the second phase of the Blue Line Rail project, from Mile 2 to Okoko, which construction has started,…

The Nigeria Immigration Service on Friday said that barring unforeseen technical issues, Nigerians would get their passports three weeks after the day of submission of the application. The Comptroller General, Mrs Caroline Adepoju, disclosed this on Friday while speaking to newsmen at the unveiling of the Igbogbo Passport Front Office in the Igbogbo-Baiyeku Local Council Development Area of Ikorodu, Lagos State. Adepoju, who said the opening of the Igbogbo office was her first assignment after her confirmation as the substantive Comptroller General of the NIS earlier on Friday, said, “I can tell you, barring all technical problems, you should be…

The Senate Appropriations Committee Friday night released some highlights of the 2024 budget, especially the sectoral allocations. In the fiscal document, the ministries of Works, Finance and Defence got the highest share of the N8.7 trillion capital component of the 2024 budget. The Ministry of Works gets N521.3 billion, followed by Ministry of Finance with N519.9billion while N308.2 billion was allocated to the Ministry of Defence. Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare is earmarked N304.4 billion while N265.4 billion was proposed for capital projects in the Ministry of Education. Ministry of Power N264.2 billion, Government owned Entetprises N820.9 billion,…

The Federal government has ended the monopoly enjoyed by maritime giant, Intels, on the sector.  Documents had revealed that the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) had directed the NPA to engage the new contractors who had been pre-qualified for the job. The new companies approved for engagement by the BPP were ICA Logistics Limited (for Lagos Pilotage District), Pacific Silverline Limited (for Warri Pilotage District), Nextee Oil and Gas Trading Company (for Bonny/Port Harcourt Pilotage District) and Isasha Investments Limited (for Calabar Pilotage District). The new firms were then asked to take over the Service Boat Operations Monitoring contract previously…

There was pandemonium on Friday when a faction of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), stormed the National Hospital, Abuja, to attack two injured members of another faction. The two injured members were undergoing treatment following injuries sustained during an earlier clash between the factions. Several patients were forced to flee their hospital wards and beds following the violent attack by the NANS factions. Police officers, however, intervened by manning the National Hospital and dispersing the rioters in a bid to restore law and order. According to ThePunch, police officers were deployed to the Central Area where the hospital…

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday evening in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, witnessed the signing of an accelerated performance agreement aimed at expediting the implementation of the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI) to improve electricity supply in Nigeria. The agreement, consummated on the sidelines of the COP28 climate summit, was signed by Mr. Kenny Anuwe, the Managing Director and CEO of FGN Power Company, and Ms. Nadja Haakansson, Siemens Energy’s Senior Vice President and Managing Director for Africa. The PPI, formerly known as the Nigeria Electrification Roadmap Initiative, was the outcome of the visit of former…

Senate Committee on Gas Resources probing the N250 billion Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) intervention funds to some firms in the oil and gas sector has threatened to involve the anti-graft agencies to recover the money from defaulting beneficiaries. The panel gave the threat when the affected companies, numbering 14, who had so far collected N135 billion out of the funds, appeared before it yesterday, to defend the utilisation of the loans they collected. The members described as unacceptable, the fact that there was no synergy between the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the CBN on the project. They also…

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says it will freeze accounts without a Bank Verification Number (BVN) or National Identification Number (NIN) from April 2024. This is according to a Friday circular by the apex bank which instructed banks to place a “Post no Debit” restriction – which prevents customers from making withdrawals, transfers, or any other debits “for all existing Tier-1 accounts/wallets without BVN or NIN”. “Effective immediately, any unfunded account/wallet shall be placed on ‘Post No Debit or Credit’ until the new process is satisfied.  Effective March 1, 2024, all funded accounts or wallets shall be placed on…

The Northern Caucus chairman in the House of Representatives, Alhaji Ado Alhassan Doguwa, has debunked as incorrect the report that President Bola Tinubu presented an empty budget box during his budget presentation on Wednesday. “What people don’t know is that the President had submitted a flash drive of the whole budget before his presentation to the joint chambers,” he said. In a statement he released titled “Stop the Misrepresentation of Facts: We Did Not Receive Empty 2024 Budget Box from President Tinubu,” Doguwa said the speculation is unfounded. Doguwa said: “I write in response to the mischievous insinuations that Mr.…

Prince Kassim Afegbua has declared his interest to contest the forthcoming Edo 2024 governorship election under the All Progressives Congress (APC). Speaking during an interaction with the Correspondent Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Edo State Council at its secretariat in Benin City, Afegbua said he would not run government of Memorandum of Understanding if elected. He also said infrastructural decay, leadership deficiency, amongst others currently witnessed in the state made him to join the governorship race. He said the needless fight and altercations among the leaders of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party in the state, coupled with the…

Athletic Bilbao have tied Nico Williams down to a new contract amid reported interest from the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Liverpool. Williams’s previous deal was set to expire at the end of this season, sparking rumours of a potential free transfer away from Bilbao in the summer. But the 21-year-old has now put pen to paper on a contract which will run until 2027, potentially fending off interest from outside for the time being. A buy-out clause in the deal has not yet been disclosed. The Spain international rose through the ranks at San Mamés and has so far made 96 appearances…

OPEC+ has lowered Nigeria’s oil production target for 2024 to 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd), from its previous target of 1.74 million bpd. The move comes as the group of oil-producing countries seeks to manage supply and demand in the global oil market. Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer, has struggled to meet its production quotas in recent years due to underinvestment and security issues. However, the country’s output has picked up in recent months, helped by more production offshore. OPEC+ also lowered Angola’s oil production target for 2024 to 1.11 million bpd, from its previous target of 1.28 million…