Tag: local updates

The federal government Tuesday revealed that trade facilitation programmes of the current administration have increased the country’s trade balance to N6.5trillion in the second quarter of 2024. It also said efforts to maximise economic opportunities through increased exports, accounted for 60.89 per cent, or N19.42tn of total trade, a figure that represents a slight increase of…

The federal government has proposed N47.9 trillion as the total expenditure in the 2025 budget. Atiku Bagudu, the minister of budget and economic planning, told journalists on Thursday after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu. The approval is part of the Medium Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, and Fiscal Strategy…

In a surprising political move, Abia Onyike, a former Commissioner in Ebonyi State, has officially announced his departure from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to join the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Onyike made this announcement on Wednesday at a formal ceremony held in Owutu Edda Ward in Edda Local Government Area. Onyike has a…

The court of appeal sitting in Abuja, has disqualified Olusola Ebiseni as the Labour Party (LP) candidate for the upcoming Ondo state governorship election. As reported by The Punch on Wednesday evening, November 13, Ebiseni was sacked by a three-member panel of justices, in a unanimous judgment read by Justice Adebukola Banjoko. The appeal court’s…

Bishop David Abioye is inviting Nigerians and the general public to his first crusade after leaving Bishop David Oyedepo’s Living Faith Church (Winners Chapel). The programme is themed “Revive Us Again” and it is billed to hold at the MKO Abiola National Stadium Velodrome in Abuja on Saturdays, the 23rd and 30th of November, 2024.…

United States President-elect Donald Trump has been welcomed to the White House by outgoing President Joe Biden as part of a traditional transition meeting. The meeting between the two rivals in the Oval Office on Wednesday comes after a confrontational election campaign, in which Biden dropped out over the summer following a disastrous debate performance…

President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Pete Hegseth, a Fox News host and Army veteran, to serve as his secretary of defense. Hegseth’s selection was a surprise, as he was not among those considered as a likely pick by members of Trump’s team, sources familiar with the discussions told CNN. Sources said that it came down…

President Bola Tinubu is back in Abuja after his trip to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, where he participated in the just concluded extraordinary Arab-Islamic summit. The president arrived at the Presidential Wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport at about 8 pm and was received on arrival by senior members of the administration, including the…

President-elect Donald Trump announced that he has chosen John Ratcliffe to serve as his CIA director. Ratcliffe had been high on the list of potential attorney general candidates, sources told CNN. He currently serves as co-chair at the Center for American Security at the America First Policy Institute, a Trump-linked think tank. Ratcliffe, a former…

  The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) has called on the federal government to urgently mitigate the negative impact of fuel subsidy removal and the exchange rate volatility on the economy. Arising from the three-day All Nigeria Editors Conference (ANEC) in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa state capital, the editors decried economic constraints and rising operational costs,…

The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has warned that internet-based crimes often referred to as yahoo yahoo should not be treated with kid gloves as it cost the country over $500,000 (Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars) in one year. Speaking during an oversight visit by members of the…

The Archbishop of Canterbury has resigned, days after a damning report into a prolific child abuser associated with the Church of England In his resignation statement, Justin Welby said the report “exposed the long-maintained conspiracy of silence about the heinous abuses of John Smyth” He said when he was told in 2013 that police had been…

Newly-sworn in Governor of Edo state, Senator Monday Okpebholo, Tuesday, unveiled his administration’s bold five-point agenda, with a promise to deliver on them in the next four years.  The governor spoke in Benin City, the Edo state capital, during his swearing-in ceremony. Governor Okpebholo listed security, infrastructure and road development, affordable healthcare, water and food…

Senator Monday Okpebholo has just been sworn-in as Edo State Governor in a historic inauguration event which took place in Benin. The ceremony took place on Tuesday at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City, the state capital, two months after the All Progressives Congress (APC) clinched the ticket to the Dennis Osadebay House. Okpebholo…

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has called for an end to Israeli aggression in Gaza, warning that “the conflict in Palestine has persisted for far too long, inflicting immeasurable suffering.” Addressing the extraordinary Arab-Islamic Summit, convened to address the current situation in the Middle East Monday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, President Tinubu expressed deep concern on the humanitarian…

A number of stakeholders have expressed united opinion on the need for Nigeria to adopt an alternative system of democratic governance to the current presidential, which, according to them, has failed the country. The Parliamentary System Support Group (PSSG), a body made of 83 members of the 10th House of Representatives, held its National Dialogue…

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) Monday announced that it has reached an agreement with Dangote Refinery for its members to directly lift petrol from the facility. IPMAN national president, Abubakar Maigandi Shettima, told journalists in Abuja that the agreement also covers the direct lifting of automotive gas oil (diesel) and kerosene. Shettima…

Elder statesman and Afenifere chieftain, Dr Femi Okurounmu has cautioned President Bola Tinubu to change his laid-back posture on the ongoing crisis in Rivers State as there are indicators that the power play ensuing might set the entire Niger Delta region on fire. His contention is that aside from the likely issue of violence in…

Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State has disclosed the setting up of a Committee to investigate the immediate-past administration of Godwin Obaseki over its failure to inaugurate 14 Edo Assembly lawmakers-elect into the 7th Assembly. News Direct reports that Okpebholo made this known while giving his inaugural speech as the new governor of the state. Governor…

The Governor of Edo State, Senator Monday Okpebholo and his deputy, Dennis Idahosa have been sworn in on Tuesday. The Chief Justice of the state, Daniel Okungbowa, administered the oath to the number one and two citizens of the state at the stadium at Samuel Ogbemudia, Stadium. They both swore to uphold the constitution and…