Author: Ogochukwu Ndubuisi

FCTA Approves N795.6m to Insure Movable, Immovable Assets The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has approved N795.6 million to provide a 12-month insurance cover for its movable and immovable assets. Mrs Grace Adayilo, FCT Head of Civil Service disclosed this in Abuja on Thursday, while briefing journalists on the outcome of the FCT Executive Committee meeting, the first in 2025. Adayilo said that the committee approved the contract to four insurance companies and three insurance brokers. According to her, the insurance policy is mainly to safeguard FCT’s assets against various risks, including damage, loss or destruction. “This will ensure the…

Trade Union Congress Rejects Proposed 65% Hike in Electricity Tariff The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has rejected the proposed 65 per cent increase in electricity tariffs. TUC position is contained in a communique issued at the end of its first quarter of 2025 National Administrative Council (NAC) meeting held on Thursday in Abuja. Addressing newsmen after the meeting, Mr Festus Osifo, President of TUC, said the NAC, on behalf of the congress, “strongly” condemned the proposed 65 per increase in electricity tariffs. “It is alarming that the government is considering this hike when the previous increment has already…

Nissan to End Merger Talks With Honda Nissan Motor Co. has formally informed Honda Motor Co. of its decision to terminate merger negotiations. This move would likely bring an end to the restructuring attempt that aimed to create the world’s third-largest automotive group. Local media reported this on Thursday, Nissan CEO, Makoto Uchida directly conveyed the decision to Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe during a meeting in Tokyo on Thursday, Nikkei reported. The move followed Nissan’s board meeting on Wednesday, where the company solidified its plan to withdraw from the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in December 2024. The merger discussions…

Saudi Arabia Rejects Trump’s U.S. Gaza Takeover Proposal The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia says it has “unequivocally rejected” Trump’s proposal for the U.S. to take over the Gaza Strip, a Palestine territory. A statement from the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Saudi Arabia was vehemently opposed to the idea, and would rather continue its efforts to establish an independent Palestinian state. Saudi Arabia stressed that Palestinians would “not move” from their land and it would not normalise ties with Israel without the establishment of a Palestinian state. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirms that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s…

NDDC Begins N50,000 Monthly Payment to 10,000 Niger Delta Youths The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has began the payment of N50,000 monthly stipends to 10,000 indigenous youths from the Niger Delta under its Youths Internship Scheme. Mrs Seledi-Thompson-Wakama, Director of Corporate Affairs at the NDDC, disclosed this to journalists in Port Harcourt on Thursday. She explained that the beneficiaries would undergo practical, hands-on training across the various organisations for 12 months to develop critical skills. During the inauguration of the scheme on 31 July, 2024, Senate President Godswill Akpabio announced the Federal Government’s approval of a N50,000 monthly stipend…

LCCI Seeks Suspension of 4% Customs Processing Charge The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has urged the Federal Government and Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to suspend enforcement of the newly introduced four per cent processing charge. Dr Chinyere Almona, Director General, LCCI, made the call on Thursday in Lagos, via a statement. Almona expressed concerns over the abrupt implementation of the processing charge, which took effect on Feb. 4. She urged government and the customs service to engage in a structured sensitisation process to ensure stakeholders were adequately informed and prepared before its implementation. She noted that while…

China Files Complaint With World Trade Organisation Against U.S. Tariffs China has lodged a complaint with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) over the new tariffs imposed by the United States on goods from China, the WTO said on Wednesday. “China has requested WTO dispute consultations with the U.S. in regard to new tariff measures applied by the U.S. on goods originating in China,’’ the organisation said in a statement. New 10 per cent tariffs imposed by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump on all Chinese imports took effect on Tuesday. China responded by announcing tariffs of 15 per cent…

Google Drops Pledge Not to Use AI for Weapons Google on Wednesday said it has removed a pledge from its artificial intelligence (AI) principles that had said the company would not use the technology to develop weapons. The technology giant had rewritten the principles that guide its development and use of AI which is published online, but a section pledging not to develop tech that causes or is likely to cause harm has now been removed. That section said the firm would not pursue applications in the areas of weapons or “that gather or use information for surveillance violating internationally…

CBN Sets New FX Rules for Bureau de Change Operators The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued new guidelines restricting Bureau de Change (BDC) operators to purchasing foreign exchange from a single authorised dealer per week. The bank also directed the BDCs to comply with Know Your Customer (KYC) measures. The apex bank, in a circular signed by W. J. Kanya, Acting Director, Trade and Exchange Department, mandated a weekly purchase cap of $25,000 per BDC from authorised dealers. “A BDC shall approach its preferred Authorised Dealer Bank (ADB) and can only procure the said amount from only that…

World Food Program Earmarks $2.5b to Fight Hunger, Malnutrition in Nigeria The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) says it has budgeted 2.5 billion dollars in the 2023 to-2027 Nigeria Country Strategy Plans (CSP) geared towards achieving zero hunger and improved nutrition across the country. Mr Seriene Loum, Head of Programme, WFP said this at the Co-creation workshop organised by the organisation in collaboration with National Social Investment Programme Agency (N-SIPA) on Wednesday in Abuja, Loum who represented WFP Country Director, said WFP strategic goal was to ensure a word without hunger in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (1…