Author: Ogochukwu Ndubuisi

BOI Empowers NYSC Members with N2bn Loan Scheme to Boost Entrepreneurship The Bank of Industry (BOI) has unveiled a two billion Naira entrepreneurship programme designed to provide affordable loans to National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members. The BOI Managing Director, Dr Olasupo Olusi said this at the inauguration of the fund on Wednesday in Abuja. Olusi, who was represented by the Executive Director for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) at BOI, Mr Shekarau Omar, said that it was part of efforts to tackle unemployment and promote youth-led enterprises. He said that the initiative was tagged the “2bn BOI–NYSC Entrepreneurship…

NMDPRA Boasts of Transparent Petroleum Regulatory Framework Mr Farouk Ahmed, Authority Chief Executive, Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), says the authority has created Nigeria’s most transparent and predictable petroleum regulatory framework. Ahmed, represented by Mr Ayo Cadoso, South-West Regional Coordinator of NMDPRA, stated this on Tuesday at the ongoing 2025 COREN Summit in Lagos. The summit is with the theme ‘Refinery – Key to Energy Security in Africa.’  According to Ahmed, the NMDPRA has developed and gazetted 18 key regulations covering every phase of refinery development, from establishment through to operations. He said, “These regulations were not…

My Resignation not Admission of Guilt – Nnaji The Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Mr Uche Nnaji, says his resignation from President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet is not an admission of guilt but a personal choice. This is contained in a statement he signed in Abuja. Nnaji was appointed as minister by the administration of President Bola Tinubu in August 2023, but resigned amidst controversies surrounding allegations of certificate forgery. He noted that over the past week, an orchestrated, sustained campaign of falsehood, politically motivated, and malicious attacks were waged against him across print, electronic and social media platforms. He…

N210trn Audit Gap – NNPCL Responds to Senate Queries The Senate Committee on Public Accounts says the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPCL) has responded to 19 queries raised against it in the audit reports of 2017 to 2023. Chairman of the Committee Sen. Aliyu Wadada made the clarification in an interview with newsmen in Abuja. Wadada said that NNPCL had responded to the queries, adding that the committee is yet to critically look at the responses provided by NNPCL. The committee had on July 29, gave the Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Mr Bayo Ojulari, three weeks to respond to…

FTSE Russell to Upgrade Nigeria to Frontier Market Status Two years after de-ranking, FTSE Russell has announced a plan to upgrade the Nigeria index to frontier market from unclassified status following its annual country classification review for countries monitored by its global equity and fixed income indices. The reclassification stems from Nigeria’s elimination of capital controls that limit foreign investors’ ability to repatriate dollars abroad, the global index provider said in its annual country classification review for countries monitored by its global equity and fixed income indices. According to the review, FTSE noted that the Nigerian market meets five FTSE…

France’s Political Crisis Deepens: Macron Faces Calls for Early Polls France is facing a deepening political crisis, with growing calls for President Emmanuel Macron to call an early presidential election. Édouard Philippe, Macron’s first prime minister, has urged the president to appoint a new premier to pass a budget and then call early elections to resolve the crisis. “We are not going to prolong what we have been experiencing for the past six months. Another 18 months is far too long and it is damaging France. The political game we are playing today is distressing,” Philippe said on RTL radio.…

INEC Chairman Yakubu Resigns, Agbamuche-Mbu Assumes Acting Role Professor Mahmood Yakubu has stepped down as Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), paving the way for National Commissioner May Agbamuche-Mbu to take over as Acting Chairman. The handover ceremony took place during INEC’s quarterly meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) in Abuja. In his farewell remarks, Yakubu reflected on his 10-year stewardship, highlighting INEC’s digital transformation under his leadership. “Together, we built a foundation for credible elections in Africa’s largest democracy,” he said, thanking staff, political parties, the National Peace Committee, civil society groups, security agencies, and the media…

Trump Reportedly Calls off Diplomatic Efforts with Venezuela U.S. President, Donald Trump, has called off efforts to reach a diplomatic agreement with Venezuela, reported The New York Times, citing U.S. officials. During a meeting with senior military leaders on Thursday, Trump instructed Richard Grenell, the special presidential envoy leading negotiations with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and other top Venezuelan officials to stop talks. He urged them to stop all diplomatic outreach, including talks with Maduro, the officials said on Monday. According to the report, Trump has become increasingly frustrated with Maduro’s refusal to voluntarily give up power and with Venezuelan…

Tinubu Declines Assent to 2 National Assembly Bills President Bola Tinubu has declined assent to two bills recently passed by the National Assembly. The two bills declined are the Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology Establishment Bill 2025, and the National Library Trust Fund Establishment Amendment Bill 2025. Tinubu conveyed his decline on the bills in two separate letters addressed to President of Senate, Mr Godswill Akpabio and read at plenary on Tuesday. Tinubu in the letter on the bill seeking to establish the Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology, said it was tainted with fundamental defects. He said: “I convey to…

DisCos collect N564bn in Q2 2025 – NERC The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) says Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) collected N564.71 billion total revenue in the second quarter of 2025 out of N742.34 billion billed to customers. The commission disclosed this in its 2025 Second Quarter Report obtained from its website in Abuja on Tuesday. The report said that this translates to a collection efficiency of 76.07 per cent in comparison to the total revenue collected by all DisCos in 2025 First Quarter. It said that the first quarter revenue was N553.63 billion out of N744.26 billion billed to customers,…