Author: Ogochukwu Ndubuisi

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,…

ADC’s Mission Beyond Attaining Power in 2027 – Mark National Chairman of African Democratic Congress (ADC), Sen. David Mark, says the party’s mission extends beyond attaining power in 2027. Mark stated this during the inaugural meeting of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) in Abuja on Tuesday. According to him, ADC’s primary goal is to establish a political legacy that future generations will be proud to inherit. He said that the party was not seeking power for its own sake, but to build a lasting legacy. “We are in a marathon; we must compete and win. Failure is not an…

Libya to Resume Local Elections in October Libya’s elections body on Monday said it will resume municipal polls on Oct. 20, covering dozens of local councils in towns across the country. The High National Elections Commission (HNEC) said the vote will take place in areas where councils’ terms have ended or where temporary committees are in charge. It said preparations for polling day are under way. The move to hold local polls came amid a prolonged stalemate in national politics. HNEC said the presidential and parliamentary elections planned for December 2021 collapsed due to disputes over electoral laws and the…

Nigeria Aims to Refine More Oil Locally – Lokpobiri Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, says the Federal Government is determined to ensure that every barrel of crude produced in Nigeria adds real value at home and abroad. He said this while speaking at the 2025 COREN Summit in Lagos on Tuesday. Lokpobiri, who was represented by his technical adviser, Ndah Adaba, said improving local refining capacity and energy security remains central to Nigeria’s development goals. The theme of the summit is “Refinery – Key to Energy Security in Africa”. It brought together engineers, policymakers, and energy…

FCCPC Withdraws Criminal Charge Against MultiChoice Chairman, MD The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), on Tuesday, withdrew the criminal charge filed against MultiChoice Nigeria Limited and its top officers after parties said they had resolved their differences. FCCPC’s lawyer, Daniel Amadi, told Justice James Omotosho of a Federal High Court shortly after the matter was called for arraignment of the defendants. According to Amadi, the matter is for hearing, but we have filed notice of withdrawal filed on Aug. 16. “Parties have settled and we agree to withdraw this suit,” he told the court. The defence counsel, Rolake…