General
Fuel Subsidy: NEC To Work Out Palliative Measures in Two Weeks

By Adedapo Adesanya
The National Economic Council (NEC) has made moves to provide palliatives for workers and vulnerable groups in the country to ease the impact of the removal of the fuel subsidy by President Bola Tinubu.
The council, after its inaugural NEC meeting on Thursday, chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima, announced that it would set up a committee to work out the modalities for organizing and distributing the palliatives within two weeks.
Members of the committee comprise the Governor of Benue, Mr Hyacinth Alia, for North Central; the Governor of Kaduna, Mr Sani Uba, for Northwest; Bauchi’s Mr Bala Mohammed representing the North East; the Governor of Cross River, Mr Bassey Otu for the South-South; Anambra’s Mr Charles Soludo representing the South East geopolitical zone and Mr Seyi Makinde of Oyo State for the South West.
Speaking to State House correspondents at a briefing, the Governor of Bauchi State, Mr Mohammed, who was flanked by four of his colleagues, said the Council also discussed the possibility of obtaining funds from the World Bank and London partners to implement a Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) programme for vehicles in the country as part of measures to cushion the impact of fuel subsidy removal.
He said the council deliberated on other recommendations, including the one by the organized labour for N702.9 billion consequential adjustment on allowances as well as no less than N25 billion per month, which they requested to cushion the effects of the subsidy removal.
While noting that NEC took very far-reaching decisions and deliberations on the issue of the removal of petroleum subsidy and its general impact on the economy, Mr Mohammed noted that NEC had received recommendations on the issue of the National Salaries, Income, and Wages Commission to help the situation.
The Bauchi governor equally stated that inputs of the committee on palliative, earlier set up and headed by former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, would not be discarded but integrated into the ongoing process.
Recall that on Wednesday, President Tinubu tasked the new council with eight priority areas, including Security, Economy, Job creation, Agriculture, and Infrastructure, among others.
He noted that the task of growing the Nigerian economy was quite enormous, but he and the Governors should have no reason to complain and emphasised the need to harness the nation’s potential to stimulate serious growth.
General
Adelabu Calls for Calm After 100 Days of UCH Power Outage

By Adedapo Adesanya
The Minister of Power, Mr Bayo Adelabu, on Monday addressed students of the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan who are staging a peaceful protest on the lingering power cut at the school.
Business Post reports that the outage has lasted over 100 days, with Monday making it 101 days since the hospital was disconnected from the grid in October 2024 by Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) over an outstanding debt of about N500 million.
The Student Union of the University of Ibadan in conjunction with the College of Medicine staged a peaceful protest to draw the attention of the Federal Government to the development but nothing has been done to the effect.
The protesters demanded an immediate reconnection of UCH and the implementation of a 50 per cent tariff reduction they claim the Minister promised the hospital.
Meanwhile, Mr Adelabu appealed to the students to allow for dialogue while proposing a truce between the IBEDC and UCH.
The students carried placards with different inscriptions such as +100 Days of Darkness: Save UCH; Save ABH Hall; Save Falade Hall; Give Us Light; This Is Not How We Want To Live; Medical School Is Hard Enough—Give Us Light; All We Are Saying, Give Us Light, among others.
The students had protested on January 26, 2025, to the State and Federal Secretariats, Agodi, Ibadan, with the hope that the management would fix the issue, but with the 100-day milestone, the new protest hopes there will be resolution
General
Regional Imbalance: CNPP Proposes Creation of Five States

By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The National Assembly has been advised to consider the creation of five additional states to address regional imbalance in the number of states in the country’s six geopolitical zones to ensure equity, fairness, and justice in the distribution of resources and opportunities among various regions.
Over the weekend, the nation was busy with proposal from some Nigerians on the creation of additional 31 states to bring the total to 67 states.
Reacting to this, the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) submitted that instead of creating almost double of what the country currently has, five fresh states should be created from four regions.
In a statement signed by its Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Mr James Ezema, the CNPP argued that, “Democracy does not support injustice. The basic principles of democracy derive from free, fair, justice, and equitable distribution of resources, and the rule of law.”
The group emphasized that addressing the imbalance in the number of states in each geopolitical zone was crucial for promoting unity, stability, and progress in Nigeria.
“The CNPP proposes that each of the six geopolitical zones should have seven states each, based on economic viability and other relevant factors for the new states to be created.
“Specifically, the North Central and North West zones already have seven states, while the rest of the zones have six states each, except the South East region with only five states.
“There is the need to create one additional state each for the South West, North East, and South-South zones and two additional states should be created in the South East zone.
“Once this is achieved, the National Assembly can consider creating additional states in each of the six geopolitical zones.
“The CNPP believes that this is a necessary step towards ensuring that every region in Nigeria has an equal opportunity to develop and contribute to the growth and prosperity of the nation.
“We urge the National Assembly to take this matter seriously and work towards creating a more just and equitable society for all Nigerians.
“The CNPP has consistently advocated for good governance, transparency, and accountability in Nigeria. The CNPP as the umbrella body of all registered political parties and political associations in Nigeria remains committed to promoting the principles of democracy and ensuring that the rights and interests of all Nigerians are protected and advanced,” it noted.
General
Nigeria, Bahrain to Strengthen Trade, Investment Ties

By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria and Bahrain are working to strengthen diplomatic ties, focusing on trade, investment, and oil and gas cooperation.
The two countries recently engaged in bilateral discussions aimed at facilitating foreign direct investment, enhancing trade and investment opportunities and equally fostering cooperation in the oil and gas sectors.
A statement on Sunday by the spokesman of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Alkasim AbdulKadir, said his boss, Mr Yusuf Tuggar, recently visited Manama in the Kingdom of Bahrain and engaged in bilateral discussions with his Bahraini counterpart, Mr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani.
It was revealed that the meeting focused on strengthening diplomatic relations, facilitating foreign direct investment from Bahrain, enhancing trade and investment opportunities, and fostering cooperation in the oil and gas sectors, with particular emphasis on onshore projects and the development of the 8th train LNG.
Train 8 is part of efforts for Nigeria to boost its Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) capacity but it hasn’t been able to do so because of low investments and insecurity with its energy infrastructure.
The Ministry also said the both parties also deliberated on the training of Nigerian diplomats and collaboration within multilateral forums.
He disclosed that both ministers signed a Joint Communiqué, officially establishing diplomatic relations between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Kingdom of Bahrain, noting that this agreement marks a significant milestone in fostering closer ties and mutual cooperation between the two nations.
He said this development aligns with Bahrain’s ongoing efforts to strengthen international partnerships, stating that recently, Mr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, chaired the third meeting of the national committee for monitoring the implementation of the outcomes of the Bahrain Summit Initiatives, underscoring the kingdom’s commitment to global collaboration.
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