FG Orders Immediate Release of N22.68b to Ex-Nigeria Airways Workers

By Dipo Olowookere President Bola Tinubu has arrived at the National Assembly to present the 2024 Appropriation Bill to the federal lawmakers. The President got to the parliament at about a few minutes past 11 am on Wednesday, November 29, 2023, and was accompanied by the Vice President, Mr Kashim Shettima; his Chief of Staff, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila; the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Abdullahi Gandoje; and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr George Akume; among others. He is expected to present the 2024 budget of N27.5 trillion to a joint

By Adedapo Adesanya A Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja, has adjourned an alleged procurement fraud case involving ex-Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, to January 18 and 19, 2024, for continuation of trial. Mr Emefiele is standing trial on a six-count amended charge on alleged procurement of vehicles to the tune of N1.6 billion. He had pleaded not guilty to the charges. He was granted bail on November 17, 2023, to the tune of N300 million, and two sureties and remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre, pending when he meets his bail conditions. However,

By Adedapo Adesanya Global energy company, GE Vernova, has used a series of events during Compliance Week to emphasise the critical role of ethics and compliance in business growth and success. The week-long initiative, held across Nigeria with more than 100 attendees, involved employees, suppliers, legal experts, and customers, highlighting GE Vernova’s unwavering commitment to fostering a culture of integrity and transparency. Speaking on this, Mrs Ozim Ifeoma Ibeziako, Executive General Counsel for GE Vernova’s Gas Power business in Africa, said, “At GE Vernova, we believe that integrity is the cornerstone of any successful business. “Our Compliance Week is an

By Bliss Okperan The Minister of FCT, Mr Nyesom Wike, has been advised to extend an olive branch to the Governor of Rivers State, Mr Siminialayi Fubara. The Minister, who handed over the reins of Rivers State to Mr Fubara, has been at loggerheads with his successor. A few weeks ago, some lawmakers of the Rivers State House of Assembly loyal to Mr Wike attempted to impeach the Governor, but President Bola Tinubu quickly intervened and doused the tension. However, all is still not well with both parties, with the Minister granting an interview last week to accuse his ‘political

By Dipo Olowookere As part of its West Africa expansion, connectivity and data centre solutions operator, MainOne, has secured a license to expand national and international connectivity services in Cote d’Ivoire. The C1B license, received from Minister Bruno Koné, the country’s Minister for Communication, Digital Economy and Postal Services, will enable MainOne land its submarine cable and build transmission infrastructure in Cote d’Ivoire, to strengthen connectivity, reduce international capacity costs and support wholesale customers, major operators and Internet Service Providers. Cote d’Ivoire authorities believe that the construction of a fourth cable authorised by the government will improve the international connectivity

By Investors Hub Asian stocks ended broadly higher on Monday after the U.S. Senate approved a budget blueprint that paves the way for tax cuts and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party scored a big win in the nationwide parliamentary election Sunday, paving the way for a continuation of loose monetary policy. Chinese shares finished marginally higher as home-price growth data disappointed investors and markets awaited cues from a key political congress. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 181 points or 0.64 percent at 28,305 in late trade. Japanese shares rallied as the dollar hit a

By Adedapo Adesanya The speaker of the Ninth House of Representatives, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, is proposing a bill that will prohibit the late payment or underpayment of staff salaries and other entitlements across all sectors in Nigeria. The bill also recommends penalties such as fines and imprisonment for employers who delay salary payments of their employees. The bill reads in part: “An employer who withholds salary, wage, pension and any other benefit and emolument of any worker for a period of seven days and above, in respect of other monetary benefits shall pay 30 percent of such monetary benefits for

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The convener of Nigeria for Peace Project (N4P), Mr Sheriff Mulade, has joined others to appeal to Nigerians to embrace peace, noting that the country’s unity was non-negotiable, as only peace can guarantee sustainable development. The Niger Delta environment advocate while speaking on Monday in continuation of his week-long peace advocacy visit to the northern states of the federation, reiterated that the absence of peace breeds chaos, which he said the country does not need at the moment. Speaking with the Kano State Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Bishop John Namaza Niyiring, the National

By Dipo Olowookere UNAIDS International Goodwill Ambassador, Victoria Beckham, and her son, Brooklyn Beckham, have completed a three-day mission to Kenya with Born Free Africa and UNAIDS to raise awareness about HIV. Their visit focused on preventing new HIV infections among newborn children and keeping their mothers healthy and the urgency of promoting HIV testing, prevention and treatment for young people, especially adolescent girls and young women. During the mission, Victoria and Brooklyn Beckham travelled across the country visiting exciting projects that aim to reduce the effects of HIV in Kenya. They met with community and health workers to understand

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has released the newly approved standard for petroleum related products. SON said the old NIS 116: 2006 Standard for premium motor spirit (petrol) would now be NIS 116: 2017 Petroleum motor spirit (petrol). Also, the NIS 149: 2006 Standard for gas oil (diesel oil) is now NIS 948: 2017 Standard for diesel fuel (AGO). In the same vein, the NIS 141: 2006 Standard for Household kerosene (HHK) is now NIS 949: 2017 Standard for household kerosene (HHK). The agency has advised all relevant stakeholders to update their NIS collection by contacting

By Dipo Olowookere The suspension earlier placed on the Nigeria Financial Intelligent Unit (FIU) by the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligent Units has now been removed. This followed the removal of the NFIU from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and domiciled in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), with the agency re-christened as the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU). This was lawfully done with the amendment of section 1(2) (C) of the EFCC Establishment Act, which removed the FIU from the EFCC. On July 5, 2017, Nigeria was suspended from the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units because

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A Swiss security company, SICPA SA, has been convicted of corporate criminal liability in connection with acts of corruption and has been directed to pay CHF 81 million. With the penalty order issued in accordance with Art. 102 para. 2 SCC in conjunction with Art. 322septies SCC, SICPA has acknowledged that it failed to take all necessary and reasonable organisational precautions to prevent bribes to foreign public officials. It was gathered that SICPA and its former employee have declared that they will not be appealing against the penalty orders, which will be legally binding. According to reports,