Author: Binta Kabir

NIGERIA loses an estimated $26 billion yearly to power failures. This is according to the latest Africa Trade Barometer report which said the cost excludes spending on off-grid generators. “Economic losses arising from Nigeria’s electricity shortages are estimated to be USD 26 billion annually, without accounting for spending on fuel for off-grid generators, which is estimated to be a further USD 22 billion,” the report by Standard Bank said. It said businesses spend about $22 billion annually on off-grid fuel to offset the impact of power shortages. This further pushes operational costs. “In Nigeria, surveyed businesses must contend with a…

DANGOTE Cement Plc, Obajana Plant, has carried out a series of community service and public awareness programmes as part of its activities for this year’s Sustainability Week in Kogi State. Speaking, Dr. Eseosa Ighile, Head of the Sustainability Department at Dangote Cement Plc, Obajana, highlighted that the company was using Sustainability Week to engage with and support local communities through donations and outreach. She said: “Obajana Sustainability Champions visited the Ministry of Mercy orphanage in Lokoja, providing essential supplies, food items, and spending quality time with the children and residents. The day was filled with fun activities, including games, and…

THE Federal Executive Council has approved the establishment of the Creative Economy Fund to ensure the deepening of the sector following the conclusion of the FEC meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu. Minister of Arts, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, told State House correspondents that the council approved the establishment of the fund on Wednesday. “FEC gave approval for the creation of a Creative Economy Development Fund. “This is a special purpose vehicle that will allow members within the creative economy to have access to funding and use their IP as collateral in terms of monetisation. “We…

UJU Kennedy-Ohanenye, a Nigerian lawyer, entrepreneur, politician, and film producer on Wednesday topped the list of the major casualties of President Bola Tinubu’s first cabinet reshuffle. For keen watchers, it would be difficult if not impossible for her to survive the weeding exercise going by many and needless controversies the female politician stoke since her assumption of office. Perhaps, the most controversial Minister during her short stint in the nation’s Federal Executive Council. She contested for the first female candidate for the presidency under the All-Progressives Congress (APC) during the 2023 general elections but later stepped down for Tinubu. Her…

THE Federal Government through the Minister of Works, David Umahi, has issued a seven-day ultimatum to Julius Berger to accept the Federal Government’s offer of N740.79bn for the completion of the 82km section II of the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano road. The ultimatum was issued during a courtesy visit to the Minister by the new Managing Director of Julius Berger Plc, Dr Pier Lubasch, accompanied by the outgoing Managing Director, Dr Lars Richter, at the Ministry Headquarters in Abuja. A statement later signed by the Special Adviser (Media) to the Minister of Works, Orji Uchenna, on Wednesday, said the company risks termination of…

A KANO State Federal lawmaker, Farouk Lawan, and former member of the House of Representatives, who was sentenced to five years imprisonment for demanding and accepting a $500,000 bribe has regained his freedom. It’s worth noting that Lawan’s conviction was upheld by the Supreme Court on January 26, 2024. He was found guilty of soliciting a $3 million bribe from Femi Otedola, a Nigerian billionaire oil tycoon while serving as chairman of the House of Representatives ad-hoc committee investigating fuel subsidy fraud in 2012. “Today marks the beginning of a new chapter in my life as I step out of…

IN a record-breaking deportation flight, 44 Nigerians and Ghanaians were forcibly removed from the UK on Saturday, marking a significant surge in immigration enforcement. According to The Guardian.com/uk The Home Office confirmed the action as part of a broader crackdown on immigration, which has seen the deportation of over 3,600 people since the Labour government came to power in July. This comes as news emerges that asylum seekers arriving at Diego Garcia, a UK-administered island, before the finalization of a treaty between the UK and Mauritius will be relocated to Saint Helena, a British territory in the Atlantic. The Chagos…

THE Federal Government will on November 1, arraign 76 #Endbadgovernance protesters before Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja. The 76 protesters were arrested in Abuja, Kaduna, Gombe, Jos, Katsina, and Kano, during the protests which were held between August 1 and 10, 2024, across several parts of the country. The protests were sparked by widespread economic hardship, leading many Nigerians to take to the streets to express their grievances. During this period, security officials reportedly used tear gas, arrested, and in some cases, shot at protesters. In a charge marked FHC/ABJ/CS/503/2024, dated September 27, and sighted…

FORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo has alluded to the dwindling state of the country to absence of quality leadership, saying that the country is not difficult to manage. The former president stated while fielding questions at the maiden memorial lecture in honour of late Akintola Williams, themed: ‘Leadership Dynamics: Current Realities And Way Forward,’ organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) in Lagos. He, however, admitted the complexities of the country, but stressed that the bedrock of the growth of a nation is behest on the leadership at the helm of affairs. “I always say Nigeria is a…

A TOTAL sum of 1.3 trillion naira has been Disbursed to the federal , state and local government areas for the month of July. The revenue distribution was announced at the August 2024 meeting of the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC), in Abuja. A communiqué issued by FAAC stated that from the 1,358 trillion naira total distributable revenue, the Federal Government received a total sum of N431.079 billion and the State Governments received total sum of N473.477 billion. The figure comprises a distributable revenue of 161 billion naira Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue of N582.307 billion and Electronic Money Transfer…

ONE of Nigeria’s leading financial houses Guaranty Trust Bank Plc has confirmed an attempt to compromise its website domain. The hacking attempt occurred on Wednesday, just a day after the bank renewed its domain name, causing a temporary disruption to the website, which left customers unable to access online services. This led to widespread concern and media reports suggesting that the bank’s website had been cloned, potentially putting customer data at risk. In a statement on Thursday signed by its management and sent to our correspondent, the bank stated that the incident was unsuccessful and its website was not cloned.…

22 MORE state-owned tertiary institutions have been cleared by the Nigerian Education Loan Fund to apply for student loan. “The Nigeria Education Loan Fund has announced that students from the following 22 state-owned tertiary institutions can now apply for loans on its portal: nelf.gov.ng “This followed a review by the committee responsible for the Student Verification System. Prior to this, 86 state-owned institutions were cleared, bringing a total of 108 institutions whose students are now able to apply,” the statement posted via @NELFUND on X said. The onboarding of the 22 state-owned institutions brings the total number of approved state…

A COUPLE who live in Nigeria’s “divorce capital” are being hailed for their long marriage having recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Mahmud Kabir Yusuf and Rabiatu Tahir spoke to BBC Hausa about the secrets of their happiness, and about why so many marriages fail in the northern city of Kano, in a video that has generated much comment. Yusuf puts it down to his wife’s generous nature. “She is a very unselfish person and she overlooks a lot which has contributed to the success of our marriage,” the 76-year-old said. This prompts a smile from Rabiatu, who is in…

JUSTICE Emeka Nwite has declined to grant bail to suspended deputy commissioner of police, Abba Kyari, and two other suspended senior police officers. In separate rulings, the court held that the defendants had not brought any evidence in court to warrant the court’s discretion. Justice Nwite said that the court must exercise its discretion judiciously, and in this case, the court cannot grant bail to the defendants. Kyari is facing an eight-count charge bordering on drug trafficking brought against him by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency. The NDLEA alleged that Kyari and his men, sometime between January 19 and…

NIGERIA ‘s inflation rate increased to 33.95 per cent in May 2024, the National Bureau of Statistics disclosed in its latest data. This represents an increase of 0.26% points when compared to the April 2024 headline inflation rate, according to the NBS Consumer Price Index report released on Saturday. The data revealed that on a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 11.54% points higher compared to the rate recorded in May 2023, which was 22.41%. This shows that the headline inflation rate (year-on-year basis) increased in May 2024 when compared to May 2023. On the contrary, on a month-on-month…

THE Nigeria Data Protection Commission has said more than 1000 financial institutions, schools, insurance companies, and consultancy firms are currently undergoing investigations for various degrees of breaches of citizens’ data. This was as the commission’s National Commissioner, Vincent Olatunji, revealed that four major banks and three other institutions have faced sanctions and incurred fines totalling N400m for infractions related to breaches of citizens’ data. Olatunji revealed this on Tuesday during an interactive session with journalists to mark the first anniversary of President Bola Tinubu’s signing into law of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission Act in Abuja. On June 12, 2023,…

THERE is heavy presence of tight security in and around the Federal High Court complex sitting at Court road in Kano as the hearing on emirate tussle begins. This newspaper reports that Policemen and operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) have manned their vehicles in strategic places around the court, restricting movement. Currently, there is a diversion of vehicles passing through Court road leading to Zoo road and Gyadi-Gyadi area. The nationwide strike over minimum wage embarked had affected the sitting of the Federal High Court in Kano on the restraining order on the reinstatement of Malam Muhammadu…

THE Federal Government has warned workers planning to embark the indefinite strike declared by labour unions that they risk six months jail term. Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), gave the warning in a statement on Sunday. Fagbemi said Section 18 of the Trade Disputes Act requires a worker employed in any essential services to give their employer 15 days notice before ceasing their services and any who did not comply would be liable on conviction to a fine or imprisonment for six months. He said the fundamental importance of the 15-day notice is…

A 70-YEAR-OLD grandfather has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) with 57.2kg of cannabis in Nasarawa State. Also arrested were two suspects with 426kg of cannabis in Ekiti State, NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi disclosed this in a statement on Sunday. This is as the anti-narcotics agency seized codeine-based syrup and Loud, a synthetic cannabis strain worth over N2.1 billion at the Port Harcourt seaports and the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos. “Large consignments of codeine-based syrup and Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis worth over N2.1bn in street value have been intercepted at…

THIRTY-FIVE thousand people have applied for the Federal Government’s student loan scheme one week after the portal went live. This is according to the Managing Director of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund Akintunde Sawyerr who said about 60,000 persons have registered on the education loan platform. “So far, we’ve had 60,000 plus registrations. In fact, it’s registration; registration is not applications for loans. We’ve had about 50% of that,” he said on Friday’s edition of Channels Television’s Politics Today. “So about 30,00 to 35,000 people have actually applied for loans. So, it’s about 50% of the registrations.” While explaining why…