Author: Adejuyigbe Francis

The Federal government has announced the disbursement of N150 billion small grants and loans to business owners in Nigeria. The two disbursement programmes are the Presidential Conditional Grant and the Presidential Palliative Loan. The programmes, according to a statement signed by the Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Doris Uzoka-Anite, are targeted at alleviating the impact of the fuel subsidy removal which came into effect on June 1. The statement reads: “In the Presidential Conditional Grant Programme, the Federal Government will disburse a grant sum of N50,000.00 to nano businesses across the 774 local government areas in the country.…

The Federal Government has earmarked a total of N13.8bn for the upkeep of former presidents, vice-presidents, heads of state, Chiefs of General Staff, retired heads of service, permanent secretaries, as well as retired heads of government agencies and parastatals in the 2024 fiscal year. The beneficiaries include former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari, as well as ex-vice-presidents Atiku Abubakar, Namadi Sambo and Prof Yemi Osinbajo. Also expected to benefit from the windfall are ex-military Heads of State, General Yakubu Gowon and General Abdusalami Abubakar, as well as a former dictator and self-styled military President, General Ibrahim Babangida,…

Nigeria will rollout 100 electric buses in a step towards a sustainable and eco-friendly future, President Bola Tinubu said Saturday. The “pioneering initiative” is to “significantly” reduce Nigeria’s carbon footprint and modernise the country’s transportation systems,” Tinubu said in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on the margins of the COP28 climate summit. ”This initiative stands as a testament to our dedication to environmental stewardship as clearly exemplified through our collaboration with the Africa Carbon Market Initiative. Our visionary plan is a strategic guidepost, directing Nigeria towards becoming an investment-friendly destination for carbon market investments,” presidential spokesman Ajuri Ngelale quoted his principal…

The Federal Government has approved the promotion of 32,361 personnel across the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) and the Federal Fire Service, all services within the Ministry of Interior. The Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who was represented by the Comptroller General of the NSCDC, Dr. Ahmed Audi, at a press briefing on Friday night, gave the breakdown of the promotion in the various service as: NIS, 4,598; NSCDC, 21,398; FFS, 1,680; NCoS, 4,498. The Minister expressed appreciation to President Bola Tinubu for his concern for the…

Arsenal moved four points clear at the top of the Premier League table with victory over Wolves at Emirates Stadium. The Gunners, 6-0 winners over Lens in midweek, took an early lead when Bukayo Saka got the better of Craig Dawson in the penalty area before firing low into the bottom corner. It was 2-0 not long afterwards, Martin Odegaard finishing a magnificent team move involving Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus to double the hosts’ advantage. Gabriel Martinelli struck the outside of the post with a low shot, while Leandro Trossard and Jesus both went close as Arsenal pressed for a…

Lagos Metropolitan Transport Authority (LAMATA) is perfecting plans to increase trips on the Blue Line 13-kilometre rail corridor from 54 to 76 trips before the end of the year. The Managing Director of the agency, Abimbola Akinajo, disclosed this at a briefing in Lagos, organised in commemoration of the agency’s 20 years of operations. The agency’s boss also gave timelines for the completion of the second phase of the Blue Line and the commencement of operation on the Red Line. Akinajo said the second phase of the Blue Line Rail project, from Mile 2 to Okoko, which construction has started,…

The Nigeria Immigration Service on Friday said that barring unforeseen technical issues, Nigerians would get their passports three weeks after the day of submission of the application. The Comptroller General, Mrs Caroline Adepoju, disclosed this on Friday while speaking to newsmen at the unveiling of the Igbogbo Passport Front Office in the Igbogbo-Baiyeku Local Council Development Area of Ikorodu, Lagos State. Adepoju, who said the opening of the Igbogbo office was her first assignment after her confirmation as the substantive Comptroller General of the NIS earlier on Friday, said, “I can tell you, barring all technical problems, you should be…

The Senate Appropriations Committee Friday night released some highlights of the 2024 budget, especially the sectoral allocations. In the fiscal document, the ministries of Works, Finance and Defence got the highest share of the N8.7 trillion capital component of the 2024 budget. The Ministry of Works gets N521.3 billion, followed by Ministry of Finance with N519.9billion while N308.2 billion was allocated to the Ministry of Defence. Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare is earmarked N304.4 billion while N265.4 billion was proposed for capital projects in the Ministry of Education. Ministry of Power N264.2 billion, Government owned Entetprises N820.9 billion,…

The Federal government has ended the monopoly enjoyed by maritime giant, Intels, on the sector.  Documents had revealed that the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) had directed the NPA to engage the new contractors who had been pre-qualified for the job. The new companies approved for engagement by the BPP were ICA Logistics Limited (for Lagos Pilotage District), Pacific Silverline Limited (for Warri Pilotage District), Nextee Oil and Gas Trading Company (for Bonny/Port Harcourt Pilotage District) and Isasha Investments Limited (for Calabar Pilotage District). The new firms were then asked to take over the Service Boat Operations Monitoring contract previously…

There was pandemonium on Friday when a faction of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), stormed the National Hospital, Abuja, to attack two injured members of another faction. The two injured members were undergoing treatment following injuries sustained during an earlier clash between the factions. Several patients were forced to flee their hospital wards and beds following the violent attack by the NANS factions. Police officers, however, intervened by manning the National Hospital and dispersing the rioters in a bid to restore law and order. According to ThePunch, police officers were deployed to the Central Area where the hospital…

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday evening in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, witnessed the signing of an accelerated performance agreement aimed at expediting the implementation of the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI) to improve electricity supply in Nigeria. The agreement, consummated on the sidelines of the COP28 climate summit, was signed by Mr. Kenny Anuwe, the Managing Director and CEO of FGN Power Company, and Ms. Nadja Haakansson, Siemens Energy’s Senior Vice President and Managing Director for Africa. The PPI, formerly known as the Nigeria Electrification Roadmap Initiative, was the outcome of the visit of former…

Senate Committee on Gas Resources probing the N250 billion Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) intervention funds to some firms in the oil and gas sector has threatened to involve the anti-graft agencies to recover the money from defaulting beneficiaries. The panel gave the threat when the affected companies, numbering 14, who had so far collected N135 billion out of the funds, appeared before it yesterday, to defend the utilisation of the loans they collected. The members described as unacceptable, the fact that there was no synergy between the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the CBN on the project. They also…