Author: Samuel Akpenpuun

The Senate has begun probe into the continued importation of hazardous petroleum products and dumping of substandard diesel into Nigeria and the activities of the Petroleum Equalisation Fund, including payments made to transporters in the last 10 years. The Senate has therefore set up a 15- Member Ad- hoc Committee to carry out a holistic investigation into the pre-shipment and pre-discharge standard test parameters, adopted by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority, with a view to uncovering loopholes, if any, exploited to get toxic cargoes into the country. Setting up the Committee yesterday in Abuja, the President of the…

The National Labour Congress, NLC, the governors’ interference in the national minimum wage negotiation is unconstitutional. The head of information and public affairs for the National Labour Congress (NLC), Benson Upah, stated this in an interview on Arise Television on Monday. Upah addressed the NLC’s staunch refusal to allow governors to influence the determination of the minimum wage. He said, “The process for arriving at a national minimum wage comprises three parties, which is labour, employers, and government. The government is currently playing a dual role of being the employer as well. “Governors have been part of this process, and…

The Senate has gone into an executive session to discuss a matter of ‘privilege’ involving the Senator representing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Ireti Kingibe. Kingibe and the Minister of the FCT, Mr Nyesom Wike, have been engaging each other in a public row. Only on Monday, Wike had threatened that Kingibe would lose a bid to return to the Senate in 2027, so long as he remained the FCT Minister. On her part, Kingibe had publicly complained that Wike completely sidelined her in the running of the affairs of the FCT. Recall that prior to when the Senate proceeded…

Ghanaian chef Ebenezer Smith, who claimed to have broken the Guinness World Record (GWR) for the longest cooking marathon by an individual, has been arrested. In its Tuesday report, Asaase Radio—a privately owned radio station in Accra, broke the news. The radio station stated that the chef was arrested and detained at the La police station on Tuesday, shortly after he announced his achievements during a press conference in the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel in Accra. The chef was arrested for allegedly defrauding one of the sponsors, Amadia Shopping Mall, of about GHC350,000 from his cooking marathon. BBC reported…

The Lagos State Government on Wednesday called for calm over the flash flood caused by the torrential rainfall experienced throughout the state. The Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr Tokunbo Wahab, made the plea in a statement on Wednesday in Lagos. “Lagos has experienced about nine hours of non-stop rainfall since the early hours of Wednesday. “This is coupled with the heavy rainfall which the state has been experiencing daily since the previous week resulting in the rise in level of the Lagos lagoon,” Wahab said. He said the flash floods which inundated areas such as Iyana-Oworo linking…

South Africa’s new unity government under President Cyril Ramaphosa began being sworn in during a televised ceremony in Cape Town on Wednesday following weeks of coalition haggling. Ahead of the 32 ministers making up the cabinet, Paul Mashatile, who has been re-appointed deputy president, was the first to take the oath. On Sunday, Ramaphosa, 71, unveiled his highly anticipated coalition government, which includes the leader of the former main opposition party and sees the number of ministries rise from 30 to 32. There are also 43 deputy ministers. His African National Congress (ANC), which has governed since the advent of…

President Bola Tinubu has extended his condolences to the family of Kabir Yusuf, who passed away on Tuesday. Chief Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity in a statement on Wednesday, said Yusuf, a veteran journalist was the Federal Capital Territory correspondent for The Triumph Newspaper and Radio France Internationale Hausa. “He covered the State House for many years until his passing. “The president prays for the repose of the soul of the departed and comfort to his family in this time of grief and always,” Tinubu said.

The Rivers State Police Command in an effort to contain the excesses of ONELGA Security Planning and Advisory Committee, OSPAC, across the state has arrested over eight of the vigilante members for their alleged involvement in criminal activities. Police disclosed that the leader of the group, Felix Nwaobakata, was arrested with two human skulls and other bones in his possession. The Police Public Relations Officer of the Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, a Superintendent of Police, in a statement in Port Harcourt, Wednesday, said the action by the police was following repeated complaints from members of the public on activities of OSPAC…

The Central Bank of Nigeria has warned against the continued rejection of old series and lower denominations of the United States of American dollars by its regulated entities in Nigeria. The bank threatened to sanction lenders that rejected the currencies. This was contained in a circular dated June 27, signed by the acting director of the currency operations department, Solaja Olayemi, which was recently released on the website of the apex bank. The circular directed at Deposit Money Banks, Bureau De Change operators and the general public cautioned against the continued rejection of the old series and lower denomination of…

Directors of Access Holdings Plc and their professional advisers yesterday signed off on a N351.01 billion rights issue, paving the way for the offer to open for subscription. The formal signing ceremony held at the group’s Lagos head office, saw the directors and professional parties signing the offer documents, a ceremony that completed all pre-offer processes. Access Holdings will be offering 17.77 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each to existing shareholders at N19.75 per share. The rights issue was pre-allotted on the basis of one new ordinary share for every two existing ordinary shares held as at Friday, June…