NIGERIAN NOTCH

  President Bola Tinubu-led federal government maybe struggling to navigate the International Monetary Fund (IMF) prescription for the removal of subsidies on petrol and power, which will move the economy towards a path of sustainable growth. While financial experts have commended the government’s efforts in halting the slide of the Naira without resorting to international creditors, they believe the government is adopting policies recommended by the IMF, which could prove politically difficult to fully implement. So far, the government has only succeeded in implementing partial removals of the subsidies in both the oil and power sectors, a far cry from the recommendations of international creditors. At least one analyst is of the view that the government is failing to adopt simple solutions that could help the country save billions in foreign currency by cutting down on the importation of petroleum products. Founder and chief executive officer of the Centre for the Pro...

The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has cautioned that shanty dwellers and caravan owners along the shorelines of the 700-kilometer Lagos-Calabar coastal road project won’t be compensated by the federal government. He noted that only those with permanent structures will be compensated during the course of demolition for the road project. Umahi disclosed this while addressing a stakeholders meeting on Lagos-Calabar highway project alongside with property owners seeking for compensation on the planned demolition of houses along the coastal highway project. The Minister also stressed that he inherited over 2,600 projects from the past administration, adding that the incumbent government in its efforts to bolster infrastructure milestones appropriated funds for the projects in the 2024 budget towards completion. He added that the Ministry of Works has a funding gap of N2.7 trillion while maintaining that the president was committed to closing the gaps with the prudency to drive...

NIPCO GAS is about to promote the use of Compressed Natural Gas, CNG, as alternative to Premium Motor Spirit, PMS also called petrol in the commercial city of Lagos after it has announced completion of four CNG stations in Lagos. The facilities would be opened for commercial operations by end of April to become the first of its kind in the state which is now contending with long queues at filling stations. The managing director ,NIPCO Gas Ltd ,Nagendra Verma, briefing the media on the development at the weekend, said the firm has been involved in AutoCNG development and expansion since 2009. Verma, who assured sustainability of supply after commissioning said presently, for Cars, Taxis and Keke’s; AutoCNG is being sold at NGN200/standard cubic feet scm against the petrol price of NGN610 per litre, in Lagos and NGN230/scm against the PMS price of NGN670/ltr in Abuja. The managing director, further informed that similarly for heavy commercial vehicles; AutoCNG is being sold a...

........ Charges Them On Party Unity And Cohesion  President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has charged the All Progressives Congress (APC), in the south south geo-political zone, to work harder so that the visibility of the party in the region will grow from one state to more states. Akpabio gave the charge while receiving in courtesy, APC chairmen from the south south region, in Abuja on Sunday. Akpabio, who noted that he understood the challenges being faced by the chairmen, assured them that "in the days ahead, a meeting of critical stakeholders comprising State chairmen, National Assembly members, Ministers and other Appointees from the region would be convened to work out modalities to support the party at various state chapters, as a way of engendering unity and understanding, amongst all party members to foster social cohesion between the party and elected/ appointed officials in Government." He commended the APC Chairmen for their visit and used the opp...

Movie producer, Adanma Luke, the producer of the movie Junior Pope was shooting before he drowned has said that the late actor was given a life jacket but rejected it. Recall that Luke has come under fire following the death of actor Junior Pope and three others after their boat capsized on the Anam River in Anambra State while returning from the location of her movie, ‘The Other Side Of Life.’ Breaking her silence since the incident, Luke Adanma claimed that Junior Pope was provided with a life jacket but rejected it because it was dirty. Junior Pope: 'I was supposed to be on that boat', Adanma Luke breaks silence Nollywood actress Adanma Luke, who was the producer of the movie titled “The Other Side of Life,” has broken her silence on the incident that led to the deaths of actor Junior Pope and four others.… pic.twitter.com/RVSm2S39dm — Vanguard Newspapers (@vanguardngrnews) April 13, 2024 She described the incidents of the past few days “as a dream” she wished sh...

Who else recalls that during the run-down to the 2015 presidential election, a group of smart thinkers led by the current Renewed Hope president of Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, brought a man with a proven 12 million followership base as shown in the presidential polls of 2011 and made him the presidential candidate of the APC. The candidate, Mohammed Buhari, went on to defeat the then-incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan. In 2023, as "Anambra Decides 2025" draws near, a similar effort was ignited with the blessing of the same astute political thinker to bring about a change of baton in Anambra State; from the stillborn APGA party to the Renewed Hope, APC party, under the candidature of a civilian general whose core followership in the state consists of numerous staunch loyalists cut across different age brackets, driving his political structures, who trust and follow him to any platform he goes. You may recall that a fraction of the above numbers d...

The Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara can be described by all forms and standard as the last man standing due to his resilience in tackling headlong the political tusnami that almost swept him off his feet recently .This is so, as he is however gradually gaining his feet as a leader to be reckoned with in the politics of the state. To the admiration of his numerous supporters within and outside Rivers, the Governor is now talking tough at every forum without minding whose ox is gored. Since January this year, the once “weak, docile and incompetent” Fubara ( as many tagged him) has suddenly become an ironclad lion literarily constituting a terror in the political camp of his detractors most to the excitement of his teeming supporters. “Let me say it here if that action that I have accepted to follow will be taken for my weakness, I will surprise them”, the governor dared, apparently referring to the implementation of President Bola Tinubu’s 8-point peace agreem...

The announcement of the planned release of a new National Identification Number in the country by the Federal Government last week, the National Identity Management Çommission, NIMC has provided further clarifications on the proposed ID. In a statement released and signed by Head of Corporate Communications, Kayode Adegoke on Friday, the Commission said the new National ID Card is coming as a single, convenient, and General multipurpose card (GMPC), eliminating the need for multiple cards. The single card with GMPC is said to have multiple use cases. as: Payments/Financial, Government intervention/services, travel, etc. The card, according to the National Identity Management Commission is working with the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System to deliver the payment and financial use cases. “The card will be powered by the AFRIGO card scheme, an indigenous scheme powered by NIBSS. Applicants for the card will have to request with their NIN thro...

Nnewi, a city in Anambra State, is partnering with the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) to establish an auto industrial park, funded by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank). According to a statement, NADDC said the goal was to create a mutually beneficial relationship, where Afreximbank would provide funding and possibly other resources. “The park aimed to provide a centralised location for the manufacturing and assembly of automotive components, vehicles, and related products,” the statement said. Joseph Osanipin, director-general of National NADDC during a visit to Eric Intong, regional chief operating officer of Afreximbank on the partnership agreement emphasised the significance of the Industrial Park, describing it as a new solution to the challenges confronting parts manufacturers in Nigeria. “This will also invigorate the automotive sector and propel Nigeria towards a future of enhanced job creation and economic prosperity,” he said....

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, NCDC, has confirmed the death of 150 persons from Lassa fever between January and March 2024, in 125 local government areas in 27 states of the federation. Cumulatively from week one to week 13, 2024, NCDC said the deaths were reported with a case fatality rate (CFR) of 18.6 percent, which is higher than the CFR for the same period in 2023 (17.5 percent). Disclosing this in its Lassa Fever Situation Report Epi Week 13, March, 25–31, 2024, the agency said out of a total of 5,295 suspected cases reported, 806 were confirmed. According to the report, in week 13, the number of new confirmed cases decreased from 25 in Epi week 12, 2024 to 15. These cases were reported in Ondo, Bauchi, Plateau and Edo states. In total for 2024, 27 states have recorded at least one confirmed case across 125 LGAs, even as 62 percent of all confirmed Lassa fever cases were reported from Ondo, Edo, and Bauchi states, while 38 percent of cases wer...