Author: Alexander

The Federal Government has again defended its removal of subsidy on petroleum despite the cost of living and inflation soaring in the aftermath of the move. Nigeria had for years swapped crude for gasoline that it then subsidises for its domestic market, causing a huge drain on revenue, and foreign exchange and contributing to ballooning debt. But during his inauguration in May, President Bola Tinubu ended the long-running arrangement to support fuel prices in Nigeria, the continent’s most populous country and biggest economy. The move saw the price of the commodity move from N190 to over N600 per litre with…

The Nigerian Army have busted another illegal Refinery in Oyigbo Local Government Area of Rivers State, recovering over five million litres of stolen crude oil. The exercise was carried out on Wednesday by the General Officer Commanding 6 Division of the Nigerian Army, Major General Jamal Abdusallam. This is in continuation of the raiding of illegal refineries to ensure zero operation as declared by the Chief of Army Staff. Leading a team of officers and men of the Nigerian Army into vast hectares of rain forest located around the Oba-Ama and Izoma, Kom Kom in Oyigbo L.G.A, the GOC noted…

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, and an early childhood education specialist, for themselves and on behalf of the Alliance on Surviving COVID-19 and Beyond, Hauwa Mustapha, have sued the Federal Government (through the Attorney General of the Federation), the Minister of education, the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Their suit is over their failure to access N68bn Universal Basic Education Commission funds to provide free basic education for every Nigerian Child of school age. The Attorneys General of the 36 states of the Federation and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja were also listed as respondents in…

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has lauded the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for releasing $64.44 million in blocked airline funds. but said $700 million remains blocked in Africa’s most populous nation. The group disclosed it was in consultations with airline members to verify the release of these revenues “While this development is encouraging it’s crucial to recognize that approximately $700 million remains blocked with Nigeria’s commercial banks. As such there’s a considerable journey ahead in fully addressing the issue,” IATA said. “This is exacerbated by the devaluation of the Nigerian Naira, which has dropped significantly against the US…

The President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, has constituted the National and State Houses of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal to hear and determine petitions that may arise from the conduct of Surulere 1 Federal Constituency Bye-Election for 2024. The election is scheduled to be held on Feb 3, 2024. The Surulere Federal Constituency I seat became vacant due to the resignation of the former occupant, Femi Gbajabiamila, who after winning, was appointed by President Bola Tinubu as his Chief of Staff. A statement issued by the Secretary of the By-Election Tribunal, Ibrahim Mahmud Usman to notify the…

A fire has destroyed several shops at Gusau Central Market, killing one person. The fire reportedly broke out at around 9 p.m. last night in the furniture section of the state capital’s largest market. The Commander of the Nigerian Fire Service, New Market office, Hamza Mohammed, informed Channels Television that a shop owner whose name is yet to be identified died while attempting to enter his shop to extinguish a fire forcefully. Firefighters from the state command have been battling the inferno since 9 p.m. yesterday, preventing it from spreading to other shops.

The Port Harcourt Division of the Rivers State High Court has granted an ex-parte order restraining the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies from arresting, detaining, and or harassing Edison Ehie. The order which was granted following a motion ex-parte filed by the Chief of Staff to the Governor had sought to stop the police from arresting him over his alleged involvement in the burning of the Hallowed Chambers of the Rivers State House of Assembly last year. Presiding Judge, Sika Aprioku granted the order before adjourning the matter to the 6th of February for hearing of the substantive…

The Presidency, on Tuesday, described as “reckless”, a statement by ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar calling for the resignation of President Bola Tinubu over rising killings and kidnappings in Nigeria. In a statement, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga said contrary to Atiku’s claims, Tinubu is on top of the security situation in Nigeria. Atiku, Nigeria’s Vice President from May 1999 to May 2007, was one of Tinubu’s main challengers in the 2023 presidential poll, scoring 6,984,520 votes to come second with Tinubu, a former Lagos State governor, winning the election with 8,794,726 votes. Atiku,…

The Supreme Court has affirmed the election of Governor Ahmadu Fintiri as Governor of Adamawa State. Justice John Okoro who prepared and read the lead judgement on Wednesday dismissed the appeal by the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Aisha Dahiru. While dismissing her appeal for lacking in merit, the five-member panel led by Justice John Okoro held that the act of the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Hudu Ari, was an act of irresponsibility and criminality. Justice Okoro further held that it is the returning officer who must announce results, as this is to avoid chaos and anarchy.…

The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, on Wednesday revealed that the anti-graft agency uncovered how a religious sect in Nigeria is laundering money for terrorists. This was as he also revealed that another religious body was found to be protecting a money launderer after some money suspected to have been laundered was traced to the organisation’s bank account. Speaking during a public engagement on youth, religion, and the fight against corruption, as well as the launch of the fraud risk assessment project for ministries, departments, and agencies, Olukoyede stated that the EFCC was investigating…