The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, has revealed that the country currently spends $600m on fuel importation monthly. He stated that the high import bill is due to neighbouring countries, up to Central Africa, benefiting from the country’s fuel imports. The minister stated this during an interview on AIT’s Moneyline programme, which was posted on its Youtube channel on Wednesday. Edun explained that the situation was the reason President Bola Tinubu removed fuel subsidy, as the country does not know the exact amount of fuel consumed internally. According to a report by the National…
Author: UZDO Media
The Dangote Refinery is planning to sell a 12.7 per cent stake in 2024 for loan servicing, Fitch Ratings, a credit rating agency says in a report released on Monday. Fitch recalled that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited had earlier planned to acquire a 20 per cent stake in the refinery. However, the rating agency indicated that the decision of the national oil firm not to exercise its option of acquiring an additional 12.75 per cent as of June 2024 may impact the group’s ability to service loans. In 2021, the NNPC acquired a 7.25 per cent stake in…
Tensions escalated in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, on Tuesday as the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protests entered the sixth day. Protesters besieged a mansion in Ada George, Ohio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state owned by a former governor of the state and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike. The mansion was targeted by over 50 protesters. The group marched from Agip Junction and gathered in front of Wike’s house, singing the old national anthem, “Arise, O Compatriots.” Armed policemen formed a barrier to keep the protesters at a distance and prevented them from approaching the mansion. The protesters…
DANIEL ADAJI discusses how people are embracing cheaper substitute food as a way to cope with high inflation in the country In June, Nigeria’s inflation reached a 28-year high of 34.19 per cent, causing hardship for many Nigerians. The situation is worsened by a 40.87 per cent increase in food inflation, which is attributed to insecurity in the country’s agricultural regions. As a result, many people are struggling to afford essential food items. The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2024 report by the United Nations indicated that about 172 million Nigerians or 78.7 per cent of…
A soldier with the Nigerian Army, on Tuesday, shot dead a 16-year-old #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protester in the Samaru community in Zaria, Kaduna State. The teenage protester was identified as Ismail Mohammed. The Director of Army Public Relations, Major General Onyeama Nwachukwu, confirmed the development in a statement on Tuesday titled “Unfortunate death of a protester by a soldier in Zaria.” Nwachukwu explained that the incident happened on Tuesday when troops of the Nigerian Army received a distress call to help disperse some hoodlums, who had gathered in Samaru burning tyres and attacking security personnel. Nwachukwu added that the mob attempted to…
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said that those benefiting from the lucrative business of fuel importation are going to make efforts to frustrate the Dangote Petroleum Refinery. Obasanjo stated this in the wake of allegations by the President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, that some ‘mafias’ were making efforts to frustrate the $20bn refinery. This came as it was gathered on Monday that the multi-billion dollar refinery and other domestic refineries had yet to purchase crude oil in naira based on the directive of President Bola Tinubu to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited. In an interview with…
Chelsea have decided to completely give up on their chase of Napoli star Victor Osimhen, switching focus to Atletico Madrid’s Samu Omorodion. The Blues had been in close contact with the Partenopei for a number of weeks now as the two clubs discussed a possible swap deal involving Romelu Lukaku and a hefty lump sum of cash. Negotiations proved complicated and slow, causing some anxiety in Campania. Napoli are still seriously targeting Lukaku, regardless of the Osimhen situation, as they look to keep new coach Antonio Conte happy, but need to sell the Nigerian striker before they can invest in…
Perhaps I should not be alive. But I am, despite the odds. I am still frail and fragile. But now, I can stand on my feet again, bearing testimony to those sacred words of the Almighty Allah himself that, “No soul can ever die except by Allah’s leave and at a term appointed (Quran 3: 145).” It all started on February 19 when I drove myself into a government hospital in Abuja for an elective surgery. The surgery itself was meant to last for a few minutes and I should return home not later than two days thereafter. That was…
No fewer than 4,877 victims of human trafficking from Nigeria have voluntarily returned to the country since 2017, a report by the International Organisation for Migration has shown. The victims returned to Nigeria under the IOM’s Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration programme, with women and girls constituting nearly 88 per cent (4,261) of the returnees, while men accounted for 13 per cent (616). The data showed that most victims fall within the age bracket of 18 to 39 years, with those aged 18 to 25 being particularly susceptible to recruitment by traffickers. Within the first quarter of 2024 alone, the…
Justice T. N . Nzeukwu of the Imo State High Court has convicted and sentenced a pastor, Desmond Eke, to eight years imprisonment for raping his church member’s wife. Eke, the founder of Deliverance Ministry of the Good Shepherd, Umuehieta Avu, Owerri West Local Government Area of Imo State was found guilty of taking advantage of the woman who had vested so much trust in him. The convict was tried on three counts that bordered on raping the victim who is also a member of his church and administering a stupefying substance on his victim which made her dizzy and…