Author: Festus Adeloye

UK annual inflation climbed further above the Bank of England’s target rate in November, official data showed Wednesday, firming expectations that it will avoid cutting interest rates this week. The Office for National Statistics said in a statement that the Consumer Prices Index reached 2.6 per cent in the 12 months to November, up from 2.3 per cent in October. The BoE, which decides on rates Thursday, has an inflation target of 2.0 per cent. The data is a blow to the Labour government, which has found efforts to grow the economy come unstuck since winning power in July. “I…

Syria’s conflict has not ended even after the departure of  Bashar al-Assad, the UN’s envoy to the country warned Tuesday, as the Security Council called for an “inclusive” political transition. Geir Pedersen, the UN’s special envoy for Syria, also called at the Security Council for Israel to “cease all settlement activity in the occupied Syrian Golan” and said an end to sanctions would be key to assisting Syria. Speaking about Turkish-backed and Kurdish fighters, Pedersen warned “there have been significant hostilities in the last two weeks, before a ceasefire was brokered.” “A five-day ceasefire has now expired and I am seriously…

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has restored Sylvester Ezeokenwa as the national chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of the Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday. He said that the decision of the Commission followed the judgement of the Supreme Court which has been served on the Commission. Olumekun stated that the electoral body at its meeting earlier in the day addressed the protracted leadership tussle within APGA, which has been the subject of legal battles. Olumekun said that in compliance with the judgement, the Commission…

Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, has returned two parcels of land in Kaduna city to the family of the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, two years after they were revoked and seized by former governor Nasir El-Rufai. The reinstated lands include a property located at No. 9 Abakpa GRA, Kaduna, measuring 2,284 square meters, covered by Kaduna State Certificate of Occupancy No. 30575, and another at No. 1 Degel Road, Ungwan Rimi GRA, Kaduna, measuring 3,705 square meters, with Certificate of Occupancy No. 11458. Reuben Atabo (SAN), the Abacha family’s lawyer, revealed to newsmen that the Right of…

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, said on Tuesday the agency is launching legal proceedings against the manufacturer of Lung Detox Tea and the maker of the circulating online viral video that accused the agency of accepting financial inducements to approve the controversial product. Meanwhile, the agency said while the manufacturer of the unregistered herbal product, “Lung Detox Tea,” is already in their custody, the maker of the video is still at large. Addressing journalists in Lagos, the Director-General of NAFDAC, Professor Christianah Adeyeye, denied these allegations, describing it as a deliberate attempt to damage…

TikTok asked the US Supreme Court on Monday to temporarily block a law that would force its Chinese owner to sell the popular online video-sharing platform or shut it down a month from now. The appeal to the nation’s top court came on the same day that TikTok Chief Executive Shou Zi Chew met with US President-elect Donald Trump, according to an NBC News report. At a press conference Monday, Trump said he has “a warm spot” for TikTok and that his administration would take a look at the app and the potential for a ban. The law, signed by…

An Osun State High Court sitting in Ilesa has issued a restraining order against the state governor, Ademola Adeleke, and Ilesa kingmakers from nominating a new Owa Obokun of Ijesaland. The court’s decision follows a suit numbered HIL/117/2024, filed by Prince Debo Adeyemi and 10 others on behalf of members of the Ofokutu Royal Family of Bilaro Oluodo Ruling House. Other defendants in the case, apart from Adeleke, include the Obanla of Ijesaland, Chief Folorunso Adeniyi, and 11 other kingmakers, the Ijesa Central Traditional Council, the Osun State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Adesuyi Haastrup, and the Osun State…

The National Bureau of Statistics has revealed that Nigerians paid a total of N2.23tn as ransom over the 12 months between May 2023 and April 2024. This sum was paid by households affected by kidnapping incidents, highlighting the growing threat posed by criminal activities in the country. According to the NBS’s latest Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey report, an estimated 51.89 million crime incidents were recorded across Nigerian households in the reference period. The survey showed that the North-West region had the highest incidence of crime, with 14.4 million cases reported, followed by the North-Central region with 8.8 million…

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed international development expert, Aisha Garba, as the new Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission. A statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, on Tuesday, described Garba as a seasoned education specialist with over 24 years of experience in designing and implementing impactful education programmes across Nigeria and beyond. The statement read in part, “With over 15 years of hands-on experience at the World Bank, Garba has consistently led end-to-end design and management of education programmes and reforms, from conceptualisation to completion and impact assessment.” The…

An Irish regulator helping police European Union data privacy said Tuesday it had fined Facebook-owner Meta 251 million euros ($263 million) for a data protection failure that saw Facebook accounts hacked. The Data Protection Commission (DPC) criticised Meta for a security flaw in its video upload function which hackers were able to exploit to gain full access to other users’ Facebook profiles. Over a two week period in 2018, unauthorised users were able to hack into around 29 million Facebook accounts globally. The personal data involved included email addresses, phone numbers, locations and places of work. “The failure to build…