LAGOS lawmakers have impeached Mudasiru Obasa as Speaker. News Point Nigeria reports that he was impeached on Monday during plenary. Obasa was accused of multiple statutory and financial infractions. He was subsequently replaced by his deputy Mojisola Meranda. Mrs Meranda, who represents Apapa Constituency 1, was also a former chief whip of the house. Mojeed Fatai is now the Deputy Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly. Obsaa has been engulfed in a series of controversial circumstances in terms of financial dealings. The removal comes barely a month after Obasa was accused of allegedly spending N17 billion to fix…
Author: Abimbola Daniels
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WITH less than 15 months to recapitalisation deadline, banks have stepped up preliminary consultations on the prospect of business combinations. The ongoing recapitalisation is heading down to more competitive capital raising ahead of the March 31, 2026 deadline. As of the last count, only three banks have met the new capital requirements stipulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Investment banking sources yesterday said there have been “more talks around mergers and acquisitions” as banks consider alternative options to fresh capital raising. They said while the banks are expected to flood the market with offers, many of them have…
FORMER president Olusegun Obasanjo has paid tribute to the late American President Jimmy Carter, recalling how the former US leader visited Nigeria to plead for his release during the reign of military junta leader Sani Abacha. Obasanjo spoke on Sunday at a memorial service in honour of Carter who died at 100. “President Carter was one of my foreign friends who stuck their necks out to save my life and to seek my release from prison. On President Carter’s visit to Nigeria, he got Abacha to agree to take me from detention to house arrest on my farm,” Obasanjo said…
THE Police Command in Lagos State says the 45-year-old teacher, Stella Nwadigo, who allegedly abused a three-year-old pupil of Christ-Mitots School in Ikorodu area of the state is already in its custody. The Command’s spokesperson, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, disclosed this in a post he shared on his X handle @benHundeyin on Wednesday. “The teacher is currently in our custody, while investigation is ongoing,” he said. It could be recalled in a two-minute video, which went viral on Wednesday morning, that a teacher was seen subjecting the boy to rounds of slaps over his inability to write numerical figures. The teacher…
JUSTICE Rahman Oshodi of the Ikeja Special Offences Court has dismissed an application of the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, challenging the jurisdiction of the court on charges of abuse of office to the tune of $4.5 billion and N2.8 billion. Justice Oshodi, in his ruling yesterday, held that the court has jurisdiction to try Emefiele on the charge. The court, however, agreed with lawyers to Emefiele, that counts 1 to 4 of the charge are unconstitutional, as they are not based on any existing laws in Nigeria. On April 8, 2024, the EFCC…
AFRICA’s Global Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, has cemented its position as a leading customer-centric institution, emerging among the Top 5 banks, in various survey’s segmentation, in the recently released KPMG 2024 West Africa Banking Industry Customer Experience Survey. The survey showed that the bank earned an impressive second place in SME Banking as well as a third place in Retail Banking, marking a significant leap in rankings that highlights UBA’s transformation under its Customer First (C1st) philosophy. UBA has also cemented its position as a leading customer-centric institution, emerging among the Top 5 banks, in various survey’s…
THE Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Monday, granted bail to Olamide Thomas, the woman accused of threatening President Bola Tinubu’s son, Seyi Tinubu, of ₦10 million and one surety in like sum. Thomas was arrested and arraigned on December 20 on three counts for allegedly threatening Seyi Tinubu, the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun and the Police Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, through a viral social media post. The charges, filed by police counsel A.A. Egwu in suit number FHC/ABJ/CR/636/2024, listed Thomas as the sole defendant. In count one, Thomas was accused of knowingly transmitting a video on…
THE Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), Africa’s leading champion of entrepreneurship, is pleased to announce that applications for its 2025 Entrepreneurship Programmes are now open. Aspiring and existing entrepreneurs from across Africa are invited to apply for a chance to receive world-class training, expert mentoring, and non-refundable seed capital funding to scale their businesses. Programmes Open for Application: 1. Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF)Entrepreneurship Programme: the flagship TEF Entrepreneurship Programme is open to all entrepreneurs across Africa with innovative business ideas or existing businesses not older than five years. This year, there is a special emphasis on businesses leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI)…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has said he is focused on creating a Nigeria that works for everyone. Tinubu who is currently in Lagos for the Christmas and New Year festives gave the assurance when he paid a visit to Lagos Island on Friday. He assured that his administration is people-centric. “I appreciate your support, which further fuels my determination to create a brighter future for a Nigeria that works for everyone—one we will all be proud to call our country.” He asked the masses to cooperate with him in creating a better country. “We must work and pray together for a…
IN a bid to guarantee supply security at affordable prices for its customers, Ardova Plc, one of Nigeria’s major integrated downstream oil and gas businesses has agreed to a bulk purchase framework with Dangote Refinery. This was revealed in a statement by the Head of Brands and Corporate Communications, Ardova Plc, Grant Onome on Monday. According to the statement, the partnership will see Ardova Plc off take a full slate of petroleum products from the refinery. While Ardova Plc has been a significant off-taker from the refinery since its inception, Onome said the new framework will institutionalise a more robust…
THE Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority and authorities in the aviation industry have agreed to extend operational hours to 10 pm at sunset airports. The Sunset airports are those operating between the hours of 7 am and 7 pm due to the absence of night flying facilities. In the communique at the end of the meeting signed by the NCAA Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, the agency said the development was part of measures to address incidents of flight disruptions, especially at airports without 24-hour operation. This newspaper had earlier reported how most times, whenever there are…
THE Federal Government has accused the Central Bank of Nigeria of misappropriating N2.73tn in interest payments from Ways and Means advances, raising serious concerns over irregularities in managing government funds. The allegation was disclosed in the consolidated financial statement of the Federal Government for the year ended December 31, 2021, submitted to the National Assembly by the Auditor-General, Shaakaar Chira, with reference number AuGF/AR.2021/01 and dated July 31, 2024. The Ways and Means facility, a temporary loan mechanism provided by the CBN to the government to finance budget deficits, is at the centre of the controversy. According to the report,…
THE National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says its operatives on Christmas Eve intercepted two boats loaded with 1,960 kilograms of Ghanaian Loud, a strong strain of cannabis at the Eleko beach in Lekki area of Lagos. The operatives arrested six foreign nationals who had brought the consignments from Ghana during a midnight operation on Christmas Eve. A statement released on Sunday by the NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, said the suspects include two Ghanaians, Godsway John (38) and Freedom Kelvin (33), and four Beninese: Chegoun Hounsou (23), Gadabor Nyameto (47), Adantg Sasa (34), and Ayao Kayivi (21). According to him,…
NIGERIA Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) , have concluded plans to impose a “No Fly List”, on unruly passengers who destroy operational facilities and attack airline personnel at airports across the country on account of delayed or canceled flights. The authorities said as much they are not in support of airlines violating the rights of passengers, experiencing either delay or cancellation of their flights should be used as a license to carry out wanton destruction of airport facilities or invasion of the airside to disrupt aircraft movement. Speaking at a stakeholders’ forum yesterday…
THE Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has expressed concerns over high rate of flight delays and cancellations in recent times. Ag. Director-General Civil Aviation (DGCA), Capt. Chris Najomo disclosed that out of 5,291 flights operated in September 2024; 2,434 were delayed while 79 were cancelled. He added that out of 5,513 flights operated in October 2024, 2791 were delayed while 111 flights were cancelled. Najomo spoke on Friday during a stakeholders’ meeting with the theme, “Finding lasting solutions to flight disruptions.” The stakeholders meeting is being attended by Airline Operators; Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN),…
THE National Coordinator of Operation Whirlwind, Hussein Ejibunu, has announced that 15,325 litres of seized Petroleum Motor Sprit, popularly known as petrol, will be auctioned to the public to ease transportation hardship during the festive season. According to a post on the service’s official Facebook page, Ejibunu made the announcement while addressing journalists in Ikeja recently. He highlighted the recent seizure of 613 Jerrycans of PMS with a duty paid value of N27.5m by operatives in the Lagos-Ogun Axis. Ejibunu added that the operation has been on since 27 May 2024 and has yielded positive results. He stressed that the…
THE Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has initiated enforcement action against five airlines (two international and three domestic operators) for various violations of Part 19 of the NCAA regulations. The violations include the non-payment of refunds within the stipulated time frame, non-responsiveness to the NCAA’s directives, missing luggage, manhandled luggage, short-landed baggage, delayed and cancelled flights, amongst others. A spokesman for NCAA, Michael Achimugu, disclosed this to journalists at the corporate headquarters of the Authority in Abuja on Tuesday. While Achimugu did not disclose the airlines whose sanctions he signed today, sources close to the Authority told News Point Nigeria…
THE Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigerian Communications Commission have directed Deposit Money Banks and Mobile Network Operators to settle the long-standing N250bn USSD debt dispute. The directive, titled “2nd Joint Circular of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigerian Communications Commission on the Resolution of the USSD Debt Issue Between Deposit Money Banks and Mobile Network Operators,” was exclusively obtained by our correspondent on Monday. This move coincides with the report by this newspaper, which revealed that telecom operators had called for a structured payment plan from regulators to address the mounting debt that has caused significant…
THE Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria has said that petrol is going to sell at N935 per litre beginning from Monday (today) based on the latest arrangement with the Dangote Petroleum Refinery. IPMAN’s National President, Maigandi Garima, said the reduction in Dangote refinery’s ex-depot price for petrol and the uniform arrangement being put in place, would enable marketers to sell at N935 in their outlets nationwide, incurring a cost of N36 on logistics. “Dangote refinery has brought another new arrangement of loading and pricing by which marketers would pay a fixed ex-depot price of N899.50k. “The refinery is running…
THE Dangote Refinery said it is partnering with MRS to sell Premium Motor Spirit or petrol at ₦935 per litre nationwide at its retail outlets. The development comes after the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited also slashed prices below ₦1,000 per litre. In a statement posted on his X account on Saturday, also said the President of the Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote commended President Bola Tinubu for the positive impact of the naira for crude swap deal on the Nigerian economy, which has led to a reduction in prices of petroleum products in the country. “To provide succour to…