Author: Adejuyigbe Francis

The World Bank has finally disbursed about $299.99 million to Nigeria out of the $800 million approved for the National Social Safety Net Program-Scale Up.  According to information from the Bretton Woods institution, with about 37.5% of the entire loan disbursed, there is a pending balance of about $442.88 million. The National Social Safety Net Programme-Scale Up was approved by the World Bank on December 16, 2021, and is expected to run till June 30, 2024. The $800 million programme is to be implemented by the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs & Poverty Alleviation. With this loan, the Federal Government…

President Bola Tinubu will, on Thursday, join other Heads of State and Government in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau, to celebrate the country’s 50th Independence Anniversary and Armed Forces Day.  Presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, announced this in a statement on Wednesday. He said President Tinubu would arrive in Bissau on Thursday for the ceremony, which will be hosted by President Umaro Sissoco Embalo. Ngelale said Guinea-Bissau marked its 50th Independence Anniversary on September 24, 2023, but the government had scheduled all celebrations for November 16, 2023. He said the president who would honour invitation to Guinea-Bissau for Independence Day commemoration is expected to…

Richard Arnold has stepped down from his role as Manchester United’s chief executive. Arnold, 52, has been with United since 2007, acting as the club’s managing director from 2013. He replaced Ed Woodward as chief executive in February 2022. His departure from Old Trafford was confirmed on Wednesday afternoon and comes amid strong speculation that Sir Jim Ratcliffe is to buy a 25% stake in the club in a proposed £1.3 billion investment. Board member Patrick Stewart has been appointed interim chief executive. Arnold oversaw the appointment of Erik ten Hag in 2022 as United won their first trophy in…

The Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures the rate of change in the prices of goods and services, increased by 0.61 per cent to 27.33 per cent in October compared to 26.72 per cent in the preceding month, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) stated Wednesday. Also, year-on-year, the headline inflation was 6.24 per cent higher compared to 21.09 per cent recorded in October 2022. According to the CPI report for October, which was released by the statistical agency, year-on-year, food inflation rose by 7.80 per cent to 31.52 per cent from 23.72 per cent in the corresponding period in…

Nigerian rapper, Oladipupo Olabode Oladimeji, popularly known as Oladips, is dead. In a video shared online, Oladips was heard asking his friend about his whereabouts, urging him to quickly take him to the hospital. While the rapper was being rushed to the hospital, his friends around him were heard repeatedly shouting his name, but he failed to respond. In a last Instagram story before the incident, Oladips called out his friend, Onlyonelifetime, for leaving him alone at his house during a critical period. However, in a post via Instagram, his friend said the rapper’s mother opposed the idea of hospital…

Wale Edun, minister of finance, says the successful implementation of the ongoing domestic reforms will increase Nigeria’s revenue to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio by 17 percent in the next three years. Edun said this during a presentation at the launch of Afrinvest’s 2023 Nigerian banking sector report in Lagos on Tuesday. He said the revenue-to-GDP ratio will increase to 25 percent in 2026 from 8 percent in 2023. The minister, who was represented at the event by Armstrong Takang, the managing director of the ministry of finance incorporated, said the successful implementation of the reforms will also raise the…

The Kogi APC Governorship Campaign Council has urged security agencies to quickly arrest Senator Dino Melaye, the Peoples Democratic Party candidate in Saturday’s Governorship election, for cybercrime. The party alleges that he confessed to the crime during a live television programme. According to Kingsley Fanwo, Director, Media and Publicity/Spokesman of the Campaign Council, Melaye’s claim of having access to the back-end server of the Independent National Electoral Commission on national TV is equivalent to “walking into the prison yard and demanding to be locked up.” Fanwo who spoke at a recent APC “Thank you press conference” which took place at…

A High Court in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has directed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the Imo State Governorship Election, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, to stop parading himself as the Party’s national secretary. Justice M. M. Adamu delivered the ruling following a motion filed by a party member, Douglas Nwachukwu, on October 30 through his lawyer, F. S. Jimba. Anyanwu, who was at the PDP’s Wadata House headquarters yesterday, was reportedly advised to vacate the premises due to the court’s suspension of his role, according to Leadership newspaper. The latest court decision aligns with a similar directive from a…

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Tuesday announced that it has extended the validity of the old N200, N500 and N1,000 notes indefinitely. The apex bank’s Director, Corporate Communications, Isa AbdulMumin disclosed this in a statement titled, “CBN To Allow Old Design Naira Banknotes As Legal Tender, Ad Infinitum” Abdulmumin said the decision is line with international best practices and to forestall a repeat of earlier experiences implementing the policy. The apex bank introduced the redesigned N200, N500 and N1000 denominations in October 2022 and certain deadlines were set for the old design of these denominations to cease as legal…

The Police Service Commission (PSC) has expressed its commitment to a credible and transparent process in the ongoing recruitment exercise at the Police Academy, Wudil, Kano. The chairman of the commission, Dr Solomon Arase, gave the assurance while briefing journalists during a visit to the commandant and the management staff of the academy. Arase, who is a former Inspector General of Police, said, “When we were setting up the recruitment board, we brought everybody on board. Under such a circumstance, it is very difficult for you to influence it.  “I can assure you that it is not shared by any…

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said his administration inherited serious liabilities from his predecessors, lamenting that Nigeria has serious deficits in port and power infrastructure, as well as agro-allied facilities. The President, who said he would not make any excuses, however noted his government also inherited assets. He stated this on Monday night, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, while advancing negotiations concerning a multi-billion dollar infrastructure finance facility from the Islamic Development Bank to fund a multi-sectoral portfolio of infrastructure projects at the federal and sub-national levels in Nigeria. The President’s spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, announced the negotiation in a statement on…

A Canadian investigation team is currently in the Federal Capital Territory to probe an explosion that occurred at the Canadian High Commission in Nigeria, as reported by ThePunch. The fire incident occurred on November 6, 2023, which claimed the lives of two people and left two others injured. The commission suspended its operations following the fire incident except for the visa application centres which remained open in Abuja and Lagos. According to the statement made by the Public Affairs staff of the commission on Tuesday, Demilade Kosemani, the investigation team would work with relevant Nigerian authorities to carry out their…