Author: Opalim Lifted

The US is planning to evacuate some of its staff and families from its embassy in Niger after military troops took authority there, according to a US official, even though the mission will stay open and top leadership will continue to function from there. In the war against Islamist rebels, Niger is an important Western ally. Foreign nations have decried the seizure, saying that it will give the terrorists an advantage. According to an anonymous spokesperson, a final decision was still pending, but it seemed probable. “This is a prudent move in case the security situation deteriorates, and the core…

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has delisted another 18 Digital Money Lenders (DMLs) for operating without regulatory authorization in agreement with Google. Mr. Babatunde Irukera, the Commission’s Executive Vice Chairman, stated this on Wednesday in Abuja. According to Irukera, the DMLs are in breach of the Limited Interim Regulatory/Registration Framework and Guidelines for Digital Lending, 2022. He stated that the commission has issued an order to Google to remove the apps from the Play Store. According to Irukera, the injunction also prohibits payment gateways or services from offering or continuing to provide services to the impacted firms.…

The Immediate Past Vice President of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, GCON, has reaffirmed his commitment to the ruling Party, APC, even as he expressed his regrets for his inability to attend the caucus meeting of the Party scheduled for Wednesday, August 2, 2023. Future Perspectives: UNESCO backs Osinbajo’s EdTech organization The Media Office of Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, Vice President (2015–2023), said this in a statement. In a letter of apology addressed to the Acting Chairman of the Party, the former VP explained that he was already abroad for engagements to which he had long been committed when he received…

One of the major highlights of the new administration of President Bola Tinubu has been the suspension of the payment of subsidy for premium motor spirit, PMS, commonly called petrol. Though there have been so many reforms introduced into the system since the inauguration on May 29, 2023, the removal of fuel subsidy seemed to have been the most daring move ever made by any administration. Come to think of it, as critical as fuel subsidy removal is to the turnaround of the economy, successive governments have hit brick walls in their attempts to end the subsidy regime. And, ever…

The Department of State Services, DSS has sent some of its personnel to the grounds of the Lagos State Assembly, where members of the Nigeria Labour Congress are now protesting. As protesters gathered at the complex’s gate, the operators were seen on the premises. According to Chronicle NG, irate protestors tore down the gate of the National Assembly in Abuja to gain access to the facility.

Femi Falana, SAN, a human rights lawyer, joined the organized labour movement in Lagos State to protest the Federal Government’s elimination of the fuel subsidy. Protesters gathered at the Ikeja underbridge in Lagos State on Wednesday. The NLC had issued a seven-day ultimatum to the government, threatening a nationwide strike on Wednesday, August 2, 2023.

The National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) asked associations and guilds in the film production value chain on Tuesday to step up efforts to promote professionalism in the industry. Its Executive Director, Alhaji Adedayo Thomas, made the demand at an interactive session with stakeholders held by the NFVCB in Lagos. Adedayo stated that organisations and guilds must try to educate their members about the need to not lower costs at the expense of obtaining a high degree of professionalism. He emphasized that appropriate processes must be followed in order for the sector to develop. “Stop cutting costs at the…

Former Ivory Coast President Henri Bedie, who was part of an old line of politicians that dominated politics in the West African country for a century, died on Tuesday at the age of 89, a close relative told reporters. After Ivory Coast’s independence from France in 1960, Bedie became the country’s second president. He reigned from 1993 to 1999, when he was deposed in a military coup following an economic downturn and charges of corruption. He was long remembered—and in some ways reviled—for his role in promoting the issue of “ivoirite,” or Ivorian identity, which fueled tensions between those who…

ECOWAS defence chiefs will meet in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, for two days starting Wednesday to discuss last week’s coup in Niger, they said in a statement on Tuesday. The defence chiefs met following the decision of the Authority of West African Heads of State and Government at their Extraordinary Session held on July 30, 2023, in Abuja, Nigeria.

The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) has provided 50,000 doses of the vaccine to the Lagos State Government in the fight against Anthrax . On Tuesday, FMARD, in partnership with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), began a three-day sensitization tour to the state Ministry of Agriculture to prevent the spread of the illness. The delegation made a courtesy call on the permanent secretary and the Cattle Market Abattoir in Oko-oba Agege, the report said. The FMARD Permanent Secretary, Dr. Ernest Umakhihe, represented by the Deputy Director, Dr. AbdulKareem Durosinlorun, stated that the vaccination sensitization…