Author: Staff Reporter
MDGIF Invests N287bn in 62 Gas Infrastructure Projects – FG The Federal Government (FG) says the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund (MDGIF) has invested over N287 billion in various gas infrastructure projects with 16 companies across 62 projects as of October 2025. Mr Farouk Ahmed, the Chief Executive, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja. Ahmed, represented by the authority’s Legal Adviser and Secretary, Dr Joseph Tolorunse, said this at the maiden conference of the Energy Correspondents Association of Nigeria (ECAN), commemorating the fourth anniversary of the PIA. The maiden conference was…
Senate Approves N1.15trn Loan to Fund 2025 Budget Deficit The Senate on Wednesday approved President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s request to establish a ₦1.150 trillion domestic borrowing programme aimed at closing the funding gap in the 2025 budget deficit. The decision followed the consideration and adoption of a report presented by the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debt, chaired by Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko. President Tinubu’s request, detailed in a communication dated October 31 and read during plenary on November 4, was made in line with the provisions of the Debt Management Office (Establishment) Act, 2003, and the Fiscal Responsibility…
Lagos to Establish Wealth Fund for Infrastructure, Innovation The Lagos State Government is set to introduce a bill to establish a Wealth Fund aimed at driving infrastructure development, innovation, and job creation for its growing population. Speaker of the House, Mr Mudashiru Obasa, confirmed this during a public hearing organised by the Assembly’s Committee on Finance on Wednesday in Lagos. The bill is titled: ‘A Bill for a Law to Establish the Lagos State Wealth Fund to Receive, Manage and Invest in a Diversified Portfolio of Medium- and Long-Term Assets for the Benefit of Lagos State and Future Generations.’ Obasa,…
Reps to Probe Oil Companies for Failing to Pay 3% Host Trust Fund The House of Representatives has resolved to investigate alleged failure of oil companies to release 3 per cent of their annual operating expenditures to Host Communities Development Trust Fund (HCDTF). The resolution was a sequel to the adoption of a motion sponsored by Rep. Hart Godwin at plenary on Wednesday in Abuja. Moving the motion, Godwin said that in 2021, the Petroleum Industry Act, (PIA) was enacted to provide legal governance, regulatory and fiscal frameworks for the Nigerian Petroleum Industry and the development of host communities. He…
Pensioners Give FG Deadline, Plan Naked Protest Nov. 24 The Coalition of Federal Pensioners of Nigeria has threatened a nationwide naked protest on Nov. 24 if government fails to pay their outstanding pension increment arrears and palliative allowances. The coalition’s National Chairman, Mr Mukaila Ogunbote, announced this during a news conference on Tuesday in Lagos. Ogunbote, who is also the Chairman, Nigeria Union of Pensioners, NIPOST Chapter, said the protest would hold if the Federal Government failed to fulfill the promise of paying the N32,000 approved pension increment arrears and the N25,000 palliative allowance approved since 2023. He said the…
1bn Illicit Weapons Fuelling Conflicts in Africa, Worldwide, UN Warns The United Nations (UN) has warned about the widespread proliferation of approximately one billion small arms and light weapons (SALW) in circulation globally, fueling conflicts in Africa and around the world. Adedeji Ebo, the Director and Deputy High Representative, UN Office for Disarmament Affairs, told the Security Council in New York that illicit weapons are sustaining conflict, terrorism and criminal networks across multiple regions. Ebo said “more than one billion firearms are in circulation globally”. “The illicit trade and misuse of small arms and light weapons fuels armed violence, terrorism…
Bank Failure: NDIC Laws Now Stronger to Prosecute Parties at Fault–MD The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), says its laws are now stronger and more effective to carry out its bank liquidation mandate. Ths is contained in a statement issued by Hawwau Gambo, NDIC’s Head, Communication and Public Affairs Department, in Abuja on Sunday. Gambia quoted Mr Thompson Sunday, the Corporation’s Managing Director as saying that NDIC’s powers in liquidation of failed insured institutions had been enhanced with the enactment of the NDIC Act No. 30 of 2023. Sunday said that the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020,…
Court Forecloses Nnamdi Kanu’s Defence, Fixes Nov. 20 for Judgment The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Friday, foreclosed Nnamdi Kanu’s defence and adjourned until Nov. 20 for judgment in the alleged terrorism offences preferred against him by the Federal Government. Justice James Omotosho fixed the date after Kanu’s defence was foreclosed following his insistence that he would not enter his defence under a repealed laws. Justice Omotosho held that Kanu, having exhausted the six days allocated to him by the court to conduct his defence, had waived his right to do so. The judge said he would have extended…
FEC Approves PH Airport Concession, Biometric Checks at Terminals The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved a series of key aviation projects, including the concession of Port Harcourt International Airport and the introduction of biometric verification systems across Nigerian airports. Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, disclosed this while briefing State House correspondents after the FEC meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Keyamo said eight memos from his ministry were considered and approved, covering airport management, infrastructure, safety, and modernisation initiatives. He said one of the approvals was for contracts to…
NIS to Introduce Single-Travel Emergency Passport for Nigerians The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has announced plans to introduce a Single Travel Emergency Passport (STEP) to replace the existing Emergency Travel Certificate (ETC) for Nigerians abroad. The Comptroller-General of Immigration, Kemi Nanna Nandap, said the new document forms part of the agency’s ongoing reforms to strengthen identity management and border governance in line with global best practices. She made the announcement while speaking at the Joint Thematic Meeting of the Khartoum, Rabat, and Niamey Processes, co-hosted by Nigeria in collaboration with the Government of France. The meeting brought together key migration…