News Update

There are indications that civil servants under the federal government payroll will start receiving the new minimum wage payment before the end of September. The Spokesperson of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Bawa Mokwa gave the hint on Thursday.

 Kwara State High Court in Ilorin on Thursday sentenced to death the ‘bloody’ Offa banks’ armed robbers. The court ordered that the convicts: Ayoade Akinnibosun, Ibikunle Ogunleye, Adeola Abraham, Salahudeen Azeez and Niyi Ogundiran be hanged. The convicts had on April 5, 2018, attacked banks and police stations in the ancient city, killing scores of people, including police officers.

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The House of Representatives has told Aliko Dangote, the owner of Dangote Refinery, to disclose the cost he is selling petroleum from his refinery to NNPC Limited and other major marketers. The lawmakers also asked NNPCL to disclose the amount the refinery is paying for crude oil. This resolution followed a motion moved by Oboku Oforji on Thursday during plenary.

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 The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris has said that President Bola Tinubu is implementing a series of transformative policies and reforms to address the missteps of the past and make Nigeria emerge as a formidable economic super power very soon. He said this on Thursday in Abuja at a press conference to unveil the activities lined up for the country’s 64th Independence Anniversary.

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Former President Goodluck Jonathan says Nigeria did not lose $49.8 billion under his administration as stated by the 16th Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, in his new book. According to the former President, who spoke on Thursday in Abuja, the country cannot lose such an amount and still be able to pay salaries.

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 A bill seeking to amend the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to allow for independent candidacy has been re-introduced at the House of Representatives. The bill which is sponsored by the spokesperson of the House of Representatives, Rep Akin Rotimi (Ekiti, APC), was passed for first reading on Thursday.

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The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has predicted thunderstorms from Thursday to Saturday across Nigeria. NiMet’s weather outlook released on Wednesday in Abuja predicted thunderstorms over parts of Kebbi State on Thursday during the morning hours, while in the southern region there are prospects of thunderstorms over parts of Ebonyi, Imo, Abia, Ondo, Edo, Cross River, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, and Delta states during the morning hours.

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 The Senate, on Thursday, passed the South-West Development Commission Establishment Bill 2024 for the third reading. The passage of the Bill on Thursday followed the presentation of a report by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Special Duties, Senator Kaka Shehu Lawan, during plenary.

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About eight persons have been killed in an inter-cult clash in the Awarra and Ochia communities of Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State. A community leader who spoke to reporters on Thursday lamented the inability of the state government to provide security to check the deadly onslaught of cultists in the communities.

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Kwara State Government has said that former Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki lacked moral standing to condemn last weekend’s Local Government elections in the state.

This is contained in a statement by the State Commissioner for Communications, Bola Olukoju.

The Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission, KWASIEC, had declared all the Chairmanship and Councillorship candidates of the ruling APC as winners of the election.

The former President of the Senate had also condemned the outcome of the polls.

Reacting, the State Government in the statement said that as far as people’s welfare was concerned, Saraki lacked the moral standing to talk.

It also alleged that Saraki’s PDP not only fruitlessly tried to frustrate the conduct of the election through the court, but it also mobilised urchins and its local collaborators to disrupt the balloting with their shenanigans and hooliganism after seeing that they lacked the credibility or a record of convincing people to vote for them.

According to the statement, it took the popular will of the people to cast their ballot, stressing that the government has done well enough to win the trust of the people, and that was what played out, regardless of the noise from Saraki’s men.

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The Nigerian Government has disbursed N24.78 billion to 991,261 poor households as part of efforts to tackle economic hardship.

The initiative, themed: ‘the National Cash Transfer Program’ is spearheaded by the National Social Investment Programme Agency with beneficiaries across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

In a statement on Thursday, NSIPA National Coordinator and Chief Executive Officer, Badamasi Lawal, said the disbursement was in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda aimed at cushioning the impact of high prices of goods and services as inflation stood at 32.15 percent in August.

He explained that the Federal Government had in August 2024 paid N3.83 billion to 153,038 households.

Lawal stated that in September 2024, the agency shared N20.96 billion among 838,223 households and each beneficiary household received N25,000 through their designated Financial Service Providers.

from dailypost