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Saturday, 13 August 2022 06:09

Cash-strapped FG implements additional 5 percent tax on telephone services

Nigeria, Africa’s biggest wireless market, is moving ahead with a proposed 5% tax on voice calls, mobile data and text messages to tackle a mounting fiscal crisis. Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed announced the implementation of the tax, delayed since last year, in an emailed statement that highlighted the government’s strained financial picture. As of April, Africa’s biggest crude producer spends more on debt servicing than it brings in revenue. “Although Nigeria is celebrated as the largest economy in Africa, translating this wealth into revenues remains a challenge,” Ahmed said. The statement did not say when collections of the levy, which…

Saturday, 13 August 2022 06:07

FG met demands of terrorists who attacked Abuja-Kaduna train, but they failed to keep their own side of the bargain - Presidency

Garba Shehu, presidential spokesman, says negotiations between the federal government and kidnappers who attacked an Abuja-Kaduna train did not yield the expected result. He said this on Friday in an interview published by BBC Hausa. On March 28, a Kaduna-bound train was attacked by gunmen, with several persons killed, injured and abducted. Relatives of the abducted victims have held several protests in the country, urging the government to rescue their loved ones. President Muhammadu Buhari, on Thursday, met with the relatives of the abducted victims in Abuja, where he assured them that efforts were on to ensure the safe rescue…

Saturday, 13 August 2022 06:04

What to know after Day 171 of Russia-Ukraine war

Ukraine and Russia are accusing each other of risking disaster by shelling Europe's largest nuclear power plant, occupied by Russian forces in a region expected to become one of the next big front lines of the war. DIPLOMACY * Russia has told the United States that diplomatic ties would be badly damaged and could even be broken off if Russia is declared a "state sponsor of terrorism" by the U.S. Senate, TASS cited a top foreign ministry official as saying. * Ukrainian President Zelenskiy renewed his call for European Union states to ban visas for Russian nationals to keep the…

Friday, 12 August 2022 05:45

El-Rufai writes Buhari, says terrorists are creating parallel govt in Kaduna

Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has raised the alarm that terrorists are now forming a parallel government and permanent operational base in Kaduna. In a July memo written to President Muhammadu Buhari, which was exclusively obtained by Premium Times, El-Rufai warned the president about the consolidation of the terrorists, who belong to Ansaru al-Musulmina fi Bilad al-Sudan, a splinter Boko Haram group. The group, which pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), in 2020, is said to be responsible for many of the high-profile abductions, like the armed attacks on the police in Kaduna State. In the…

Friday, 12 August 2022 05:43

Nigeria currently has 219 universities. Here are the numbers hosted by each state

Ogun, Delta and Osun States top the list of states with the highest number of universities in Nigeria. This is according to data obtained from the National Universities Commission. NUC regulates activities in Nigerian universities, including accreditation of institutions and courses among others. According to the data, Nigeria currently has a total of 219 universities -49 federal universities, 59 owned by state governments and 111 private universities. An analysis of the NUC data revealed that Ogun State boasts of 16 accredited universities, a federal university, two state-owned universities, and 13 private universities. Delta State, which is second on the list,…

Friday, 12 August 2022 05:41

Oyo NUJ mourns as Ex-Tribune Editor, Gboyega Lawal is buried

Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Oyo State Council, has condoled the family of a veteran journalist, Gboyega Lawal, whose remains were laid to rest on Thursday at the Century Parks & Gardens Cemetery, Aba Oke Junction, Ibadan - Abeokuta Road, Ibadan. Lawal who died last week at the age of 60 years, was a former Group Business Editor at the African Newspapers of Nigeria (ANN) Plc, the publisher's of the Tribune titles, for many years. A statement by the Oyo NUJ Chairman, Ademola Babalola, described the deceased as a thoroughbred professional who mentored many of today’s print journalists in the…

Friday, 12 August 2022 05:39

What to know after Day 170 of Russia-Ukraine war

Russia and Ukraine accused each other of shelling Europe's biggest nuclear power plant as the U.N. chief proposed a demilitarised zone at the site amid fears of a catastrophe. Ukraine's Energoatom agency said the Zaporizhzhia complex was struck five times on Thursday, including near where radioactive materials are stored. Russian-appointed officials said Ukraine shelled the plant twice, disrupting a shift changeover, Russia's TASS news agency said. The U.N. Security Council met on Thursday to discuss the situation. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on both sides to halt all fighting near the plant. "The facility must not be used as part of…

Thursday, 11 August 2022 07:03

FG has borrowed fresh N2.45trn from CBN through ‘Ways & Means’. This is what that means

Federal Government’s total borrowing from the Central Bank of Nigeria through Ways and Means Advances rose from N17.46tn in December 2021 to N19.91tn in June 2022. According to data from the CBN, this shows that the Federal Government borrowed N2.45tn from the apex bank within six months. The N19.91tn owed the apex bank by the Federal Government is not part of the country’s total public debt stock, which was N41.60tn as of March 2022, according to the Debt Management Office. The public debt stock only includes the debts of the Federal Government of Nigeria, the 36 state governments, and the…

Thursday, 11 August 2022 06:53

China calls US 'main instigator' of Ukraine crisis

China, which Russia has sought as an ally since being cold-shouldered by the West over its invasion of Ukraine, has called the United States the “main instigator” of the crisis. In an interview with the Russian state news agency TASS published on Wednesday, China’s ambassador to Moscow, Zhang Hanhui, accused Washington of backing Russia into a corner with repeated expansions of the NATO defence alliance and support for forces seeking to align Ukraine with the European Union rather than Moscow. “As the initiator and main instigator of the Ukrainian crisis, Washington, while imposing unprecedented comprehensive sanctions on Russia, continues to…

Thursday, 11 August 2022 06:52

What to know after Day 169 of Russia-Ukraine war

Heavy fighting raged around the eastern Ukrainian town of Pisky on Thursday as Russia pressed its campaign to seize all of the industrialised Donbas region, while to the west Kyiv accused Moscow of using a nuclear plant to shield its artillery. An official with the Russia-backed Donetsk People's Republic said Pisky, on the frontlines just 10 km (6 miles) northwest of provincial capital Donetsk, was under control of Russian and separatist forces. "It's hot in Pisky. The town is ours but there remain scattered pockets of resistance in its north and west," the official, Danil Bezsonov, said on Telegram. Ukrainian…

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Wednesday, 10 August 2022 06:50

Nigeria faces dire fiscal challenges as budget deficit projected to be 3 times revenue - Bloomberg

Nigeria must cut gasoline subsidies and boost revenue collection to avoid a sharp deterioration in government finances next year, the nation’s budget office said. The budget deficit may rise to 12.4 trillion naira ($29 billion) next year -- almost three times total revenue, or 5.5% of gross domestic product -- if the government continues paying fuel subsidies, according to a medium-term expenditure framework published on the office’s website. The subsidies will cost 6.72 trillion naira, it said. The budget shortfall would balloon from a projected 7.35 trillion naira in 2022 despite plans not to fund capital expenditure in 2023 if…

Wednesday, 10 August 2022 06:49

There were hot arguments among ministers at the last FEC meeting over $418m to pay Paris Club debt consultants. This is what happened

President Muhammadu Buhari has rejected fresh plans to deduct $418 million from the federation account to settle consultants over controversial Paris Club debt. According to a Premium Times report, Buhari directed Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, to suspend plans to begin the deductions during the federal executive council (FEC) meeting of August 3, where the matter was extensively discussed. Last week, the 36 state governors raised the alarm over a purported attempt to commence the deduction of $418 million from federation account. “The attention of the NGF has been drawn to yet another attempt by the Attorney General of the…

Wednesday, 10 August 2022 06:44

NRC reduces Lagos-Ibadan train daily frequency from 6 to 2 return trips over hike in diesel prices

The hike in diesel price has forced Nigeria Railway Corporation to reduce the number of trips on the Lagos-Ibadan Train Service by about 66.67 per cent, it was gathered on Tuesday. It was also learnt that the corporation had sent recommendations to Federal Ministry of Transportation for an adjustment in the transport fare on the train service. Managing Director, NRC, Fidet Okhiria, told our correspondent that though the service was still running, its trips had been reduced due to the persistent hike in diesel price. Diesel prices have risen by over 300 per cent in a few months, forcing transporters…

Wednesday, 10 August 2022 06:41

What to know after Day 168 of Russia-Ukraine war

A senior Ukrainian official suggested a series of explosions at a Russian air base in Crimea could have been the work of partisan saboteurs, as Kyiv denied any responsibility for the incident deep inside Russian-occupied territory. The adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy also suggested Russian incompetence as a possible cause of Tuesday's blasts. They killed one civilian and injured eight, according to the health department in Russia-annexed Crimea. Huge plumes of smoke could be seen in videos posted on social media from Crimea, a holiday destination for many Russians. Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 and used…

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