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Fuel marketers push for fresh price hike as Naira crumbles to 920/$ Oil marketers have insisted on a possible hike in the pump price of petrol, as the value of the Naira against the dollar continues to plunge further. Oil dealers and marketers on told Punch on Thursday, August 24, that with the exchange rate at N920/$, the pump price of petrol could not remain at N617/litre, particularly if the current exchange rate lingered.  The oil marketers, however, pointed out that since the Federal Government had insisted that it would not increase the petrol price, it must then be “subsidising the commodity secretly, based on the prevalent exchange rate reality.” According to findings the ex-depot price of petrol was around N585/litre on Thursday. The projected cost of N680/litre, going by the current forex rate, means that the government might be forced to spend about N95/litre as subsidy.  Last week, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority sta...

Trump surrenders to Fulton County authorities in Georgia 2020 election case Former United States President, Donald Trump has surrendered himself to authorities in the state of Georgia in response to 13 felony charges handed down by a Fulton County grand jury. Trump, 77, arrived at Rice Street Jail in Atlanta, where he is expected to get fingerprinted and have a mug shot taken. He will then be released on a $200,000 bond, which was negotiated earlier in the week. Recall, that Trump was indicted in a fourth criminal investigation on August 14 after prosecutors presented evidence related to the former president and his political allies' attempts to reverse the outcome of Georgia's 2020 election. A 23-member grand jury, by majority vote, approved the criminal charges proposed by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' office. The outcome was a 98-page indictment containing 41 counts against a total of 19 defendants. The 13 felony counts against Trump include, a...

NDLEA Denies Appointing singer, Naira Marley as Ambassador The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has denied appointing singer Naira Marley as its ambassador following a recent meeting with the Chairman of the agency, Mohamed Buba Marwa. Femi Babafemi, spokesman of the agency disclosed in a statement that the meeting was held to encourage Naira Marley to use his skills and platforms to put out content that will discourage millions of his followers and Nigerian youths from substance abuse. The statement read;  “This clarification became necessary following continued misrepresentation of the purpose of the visit especially on online platforms where some reports suggest that the British-Nigerian singer was appointed as an NDLEA Ambassador. “This is misleading and absolute falsehood as the pictures of the visit and the short video containing Naira Marley’s advocacy message to his followers were properly captioned and shared by the Agency without any suggestion of such app...

No federal university is allowed to charge tuition fees — FG The Federal Government has insisted that no federal university is allowed to charge tuition fees in the country. Mr David Adejo, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Mr David Adejo, disclosed this on Tuesday, at a public hearing by the House of Representatives ad hoc committee on student loans in Abuja. Adejo said that the recent increase in charges by federal universities in the country was unfortunate. “What they collect is charges to cover the cost of accommodation, ICT, and power, among others. It is the Governing Councils of the Universities that have the power to approve such charges for them. “The only university that increased charges after the signing of the student loans act is the University of Lagos. “They came to the Ministry with a proposal to increase their charges because all Governing Councils were dissolved and we gave them approval. “Immediately that was done, there was a resolution from ...

‘Nigerians Don’t Believe I’m on the Same Level as American artists’ – Burna Boy Afrobeat singer, Damini Ogulu, popularly known as Burna Boy, has lamented that most Nigerians don’t believe he is on the same level as American music stars. He complained of not being respected enough by his countrymen because of how he sounds. He stated this in an interview with Los Angeles Times. The singer said his forthcoming album, “I Told Them…,” is his flippant response to naysayers who have attempted to discredit him, both at the beginning of his career and now. The self-styled “African Giant” bemoaned how Nigerians often rate up-and-coming American rappers above him. He said, “To this day, there’s many Nigerians who can tell you an American rapper who just started their career, and they’ll say they’re bigger than Burna Boy. They don’t understand it. They’ll say, ‘There’s no way someone who talks like me, can even be on the same level as an American artist.” Burna Boy said American songs...

FG dissolves Advertising Standard Panel over ‘all eyes on the judiciary’ billboards The Federal Government has dissolved the Secretariat of the Advertising Standard Panel (ASP) over its approval of billboards with the title: ‘All Eyes on The  Election Tribunal Judges.’ The ‘All Eyes on the Election Tribunal Judges” narrative started as a social media campaign by the supporters of the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the last Presidential election, Peter Obi. The campaigners are alleging plans by the judiciary to favour the incumbent President Bola Tinubu.   According to the FG the advertisement was a blackmail of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal. The Director-General of the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) Dr. Olalekan Fadoləpo, announced the dissolution of the Panel in a statement released on Tuesday, August 15. Fadolapo said the Council has also suspended its Director and Deputy Director in charge of Regulations to al...

President Tinubu reportedly Considering Temporary Subsidy On Petrol President Bola Tinubu is said to be  considering a “temporary subsidy” on petrol as crude oil prices and foreign exchange rates continue to rise.  According to the information received by TheCable from presidential sources, the proposal is “firmly on the table” and the “realistic” amount of petrol consumed in the country is now known following the removal of subsidy shortly after Tinubu’s inauguration.  One of the sources noted that the amount spent on subsidy “can now be controlled”. This is coming after the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited said there are no plans to hike pump prices despite the rise in crude oil prices, landing cost, and fall in the value of the naira. Excedel World reports that Nigerians have continued to groan under harsh economic realities following the removal of petrol subsidy in May 2023. Following the removal of the fuel subsidy, the price of petrol...

“Military is happy and better under democracy,” DHQ tells those calling for coup in Nigeria  The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) said that the military is happy and better under democracy, and that there are no plans for a coup in Nigeria. The DHQ made thia known in a statement released on Friday, August 11, following reports calling on the military to interfere in the nation’s democracy and distract it from performing its constitutional responsibilities.  According to the statement signed by the Director of Defence Information, Brig Gen Tukur Gusau, “The Defence Headquarters frown at a report being circulated online about welfare issues in the Armed Forces of Nigeria. The report’s call on the military to interfere in our democracy is highly unpatriotic, wicked, and an attempt to distract the Armed Forces of Nigeria from performing its constitutional responsibilities. "While the leadership of the AFN gives priority to the welfare of its personnel, however, we detest any...

Two young men arrested for gang-raping 15-year-old girl in Abia community Two young men have been arrested for allegedly gang raping a 15-year-old girl in Isiala Ngwa South Local Government Area of Abia State. The suspects were arrested by men of the Abia State Community Policing/Vigilant group, Mkpuka unit in Isiala Ngwa South on Friday, August 11, 2023.  They gang-raped the teenager identified simply as Miss A from Arongwa in Osisioma Local  Government Area of the state. The suspects identified as Eze Ebere from Arongwa in Osisioma LGA and Precious Chiamaka of Umuagu Omoba in Isiala Ngwa South, have been handed over to the appropriate authority.

Marketers propose N720/litre, suspend fuel imports Oil marketers have said that the cost of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, would rise to between N680/litre and N720/litre in the coming weeks, if the dollar continues to trade at N910 to N950 at the parallel market. They also hinted that dealers seeking to import PMS were being forced to put the plans on hold due to the scarcity of foreign exchange to import the commodity. The warning came barely one week after the local currency crossed the N900/dollar ceiling, with the naira selling at over 945/dollar at the parallel market on Friday. Oil dealers said the CBN Importers and Exporters official window for foreign exchange, which boast of a lower exchange rate of about $740/litre, had remained illiquid and unable to provide the $25m to $30m required for the importation of PMS by dealers.  They said this development had led to the suspension of petrol importation by dealers who were initially eager to im...