NIA: $202m Missing, Not $44m—Reps

By Adedapo Adesanya The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a suit against President Bola Tinubu over his failure to stop the former governors now serving as ministers in his administration from collecting life pensions and other retirement benefits from their states. The ministers mentioned in the suit are Mr Badaru Abubakar, Mr Nyesom Wike, Mr Bello Matawalle, Mr Adegboyega Oyetola, Mr David Umahi, Mr Simon Lalong, Mr Atiku Bagudu and Mr Ibrahim Geidam. In the suit number FHC/L/CS/1855/2023 filed last Friday at the Federal High Court in Lagos, the ministers are to be joined in the suit

By Adedapo Adesanya Following President Bola Tinubu’s visit to India last week, the country’s oil company, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals Limited on gas supply in a bid to promote the use of natural gas by large-scale gas utilization industries. The deal, if actualised, will allow both parties to explore and develop suitable opportunities within the remits of their interests across the hydrocarbon value chain in Nigeria. According to NNPC Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Mr Mele Kyari, “NNPC Limited is on the threshold of making value

By Aduragbemi Omiyale An artificial intelligence-powered feature, Dream Screen for Shorts, designed to redefine how creators use YouTube, has been unveiled by the video streaming platform. The feature was introduced by the tech giant on Thursday alongside others at the Made On YouTube event. It was created to allow YouTube creators to reach more viewers. According to the firm, Dream Screen allows creators to add AI-generated video or image backgrounds to their Shorts simply by typing an idea into a prompt. With Dream Screen, creators will be able to generate new, fantastic settings for their Shorts that are only limited

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A socio-political group known as Save Enugu Group has congratulated Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State on his recent Supreme Court victory. The organisation described the victory as well-deserved, urging politicians in the state to join forces with the governor to move the state forward. Last Friday, the country’s apex court dismissed an appeal filed by the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the governorship election in the state, Mr Uche Nnaji. The opposition party challenged the victory of Mr Mbah of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the March 18, 2023, gubernatorial poll, asking

By Adedapo Adesanya The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has assured the international community of Nigeria’s preparedness and determination to go after the assets of drug traffickers and barons in any part of the country. This was disclosed by the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the agency, Mr Mohamed Buba Marwa, in his presentation at the ongoing third committee session of the 76th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). According to a statement by NDLEA’s spokesman, Mr Femi Babafemi, the NDLEA boss said that, “Nigeria will remain undaunted in adopting dynamic strategies to counter new approaches adopted by organised

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A $35 million Series B funding round has been secured by Flutterwave, Cofounder and CEO of the tech firm, Mr Olugbenga Agboola, announced on Tuesday. In a message personally signed by him, Mr Agboola said the funding round was co-led by Grey Croft and eVentures with additional participation from CRE Ventures, FIS, Visa, Green Visor and Endeavor. He also said the company was planning to expand into regions like Francophone and Northern Africa, stating that, “We also want to grow our market share in regions we’re present in – East, South, and West Africa so, we will

By Dipo Olowookere The government of Japan has donated about $3 million to support UNICEF’s continuing emergency response to the prolonged drought in Somalia. The funding support, an Emergency Grant Aid, will assist the UN body’s ongoing lifesaving work for women and children hit by the devastating drought in Somalia and will also fund essential health, sanitation and hygiene and nutrition services for some of the worst affected communities.  No fewer than 175,000 people will benefit from the kind gesture for more than six months in Somalia and will allow UNICEF to sustain and upscale its emergency sanitation and hygiene

By Modupe Gbadeyanka From 2021, every adult living in Kaduna State would be required to pay a compulsory N1,000 yearly as development levy. The Executive Chairman of the Kaduna State Internal Revenue Service (KADIRS), Mr Zaid Abubakar, confirmed this in a notice posted on the official Facebook page of the agency, which is linked to the official website of the tax body, http://www.kadirs.kdsg.gov.ng/news.php. Mr Abubakar noted that the payment of the levy was in line with Section 9 (2) of the Kaduna State Tax Codification and Consolidation Law, 2020. The money would be used for the development of the state

By Dipo Olowookere As part of General Electric’s investment commitment to Africa, the company deepens its presence in the continent with the opening of new offices in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Friday. General Electric is the world’s leading digital industrial company. The newly inaugurated facility has the capacity to host up to 60 staff members and represents a tangible commitment from GE towards a long-term partnership with its Ethiopian customers. “GE’s presence in Ethiopia is a demonstration of the government’s efforts to create a conducive business environment for foreign investors and further underpins the government’s commitment to support economic value

By Ahmed Rahma Activities are yet to commence at Nigeria’s land border with the Benin Republic, Seme border, despite the directive of the federal government on Wednesday that it should be reopened immediately. Two days ago, after the weekly Federal Executive Council n(FEC) meeting in Abuja, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, said the Seme border and three other land borders closed in August 2019 should be reopened with immediate effect. But reports suggest that the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and the others are still expecting official directives to reopen

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The National Assembly has been applauded by the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Dr Maikanti Baru, for the improved relations between the two bodies. Speaking during an interactive session between the management of NNPC and members of the House of Representatives Committee on Local Content at the NNPC Towers in Abuja, Dr Baru pointed out that a smooth relationship with the legislature was very imperative for progress. He described the session as a “paradigm shift that would deepen the relations between the National Assembly and the Corporation,” saying further that, “It is

By Modupe Gbadeyanka On Monday, the money market rates from to double digits at the close of business as market participants made provisions for the forex wholesale intervention by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Specifically, the Open Buy Back (OBB) rate moved from 6.67 percent to 10.17 percent yesterday, while the Overnight (OVN) rate jumped to 10.83 percent from 7.33 percent. The rise in these market rates followed a drop in system liquidity levels during trading yesterday. “We expect rates to remain at these levels after the break, with some respite expected later via OMO maturities,” analysts at Zedcrest