Nigerian

The Nigerian government has flagged off a N40 billion mass metering project to end the era of estimated billings in the Nigerian Army formations nationwide. Bolaji Tunji, special adviser on strategic communication and media relations to the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday. “The Federal government has begun the mass metering of the Nigerian Army formations nationwide with a promise to end the era of estimated billings in the power sector,” Mr Tunji said. Speaking during…

President Bola Tinubu has directed the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to return food items that were confiscated at border communities to owners on the condition that they would be sold in the Nigerian markets to boost food sufficiency. This was disclosed Saturday by the Comptroller General of the NCS, Adewale Adeniyi, during an interface with residents of border communities in Kongolam and Mai’Adua border stations. Mr Adeniyi hinted that the president has decided to exercise his power “according to the feelings…

The House of Representatives is moving to review the parameters of the 2024 budget due to the depreciation of the Naira against major currencies. The House, on Thursday, mandated its Committees on National Planning and Economic Development, Appropriation and Finance, to review the parameters in the budget, particularly the exchange rate. This resolution followed a motion of urgent public importance moved by Kafilat Ogbara (APC, Lagos) during plenary. The naira was on a free fall for months following the decision…

Vice President Kashim Shettima on Wednesday mourned the former Group Chief Executive Officer of Access Holdings Plc, Herbert Wigwe, and his family, who tragically died in a helicopter crash in the United States of America. Mr Shettima, in a lyrical eulogy, described the late Mr Wigwe as an early bloomer who transformed the Nigerian banking industry, recalling his visionary leadership and unwavering dedication to his community. Addressing a crowd of mourners in Lagos during the funeral service of the late banker,…

The Nigerian Navy (NN) says its teams operating under Operation Delta Sanity have nabbed a syndicate of 13 crew members. It said the crew comprised of one Ghanaian and 12 Nigerians on board a Ghanaian owned and registered vessel known as Motor Tanker (MT) SWEET MIRI. This is contained in a statement by the Director of Information, Navy, Adedotun Ayo-Vaughan, a rear admiral, on Monday in Abuja. Mr Ayo-Vaughan said the operation was conducted on 25 February atabout 174 nm (approximately 320km) off Nigeria’s coast,…

Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, says Nigeria has comprehensive data on its Lithium reserves, available at the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency for investors to peruse. The minister made the disclosure in Doha, Qatar on Saturday, at a meeting with Qatari businessmen on the sidelines of the visit of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the Arab country. In a statement by his Special Adviser, Kehinde Bamigbetan, Mr Alake said that mineral exploration initiated by the Federal Government identified…

The Nigerian government has paid over $120 million to offset some of the debts owed to the gas companies (GasCos), an official has said. The Director, Decade of Gas Secretariat, Ed Ubong, disclosed this at the ongoing 7th edition of the Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES 2024) in Abuja on Thursday. “The arrears gas producers are owed as of last year was about $ 1.3 billion. But I am pleased that between October 2023 and the end of January, the government has paid over $120 million to offset some of that…

Bfree, a tech-enabled debt collection startup based in Nigeria, was founded to automate and introduce ethical debt recovery processes after its founders witnessed the use and adverse effects of aggressive retrieval techniques, such as incessant calling and debt-shaming, by predatory digital lenders. After its launch in 2020, the startup introduced a number of scalable debt recovery methods including a self-service platform, which allows borrowers to set up new payment plans, and conversational AI tools (chatbots and…

The Nigerian government has detained two executives of the Binance crypto exchange platform amid efforts to stabilise the nation’s foreign exchange market and salvage the value of the local currency. Sources familiar with the matter told PREMIUM TIMES that the two executives were detained in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, a day after they flew into the country as part of moves to negotiate with the Nigerian authorities amid a crackdown on the crypto platform. Last week, PREMIUM TIMES reported how the Nigerian…

The Nigerian government on Thursday said it is interacting with critical sectors to ensure there was no exportation of Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG), also known as cooking gas. The government said this is part of its effort to tackle the rise in the price of cooking gas in the country. Ekperikpe Ekpo, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), disclosed this at an internal stakeholders’ workshop in Abuja on Thursday, according to a statement signed by Oluwakemi Ogunmakinwa, deputy director of press and…