Victor EzejaHere are top 10 stories from Nigerian newspapers today, 8th September 2024, in business and economy, politics, and entertainment among others.
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1. Dangote Refinery Free To Sell Petrol To Marketers – NNPCL
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has said it will not be the sole distributor of Dangote Refinery’s Petrol, adding that the Refinery and other domestic refiners are free to sell directly to any marketer on a willing buyer, willing seller basis.
The NNPCL spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye, made this known in a statement on Saturday, dismissing the claims that the national oil company will be a sole off-taker of the Dangote Refinery’s petrol.
The NNPCL was reacting to the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC’s) claim that the organisation hiked the price of petrol, to undermine the efforts of Dangote Refinery to reduce the price of petroleum products in the country.
2. High Demand For Foreign Exchange Weakens Naira
The value of the Nigerian currency, naira, has continued to weaken due to increased demands for foreign currency.
There are indications that the quest for foreign travel, school fees payment abroad, and the planned food import duty waiver have increased demands for foreign exchange thereby pushing the naira to a fresh depreciation last week.
The naira had appreciated on Monday, and thereafter dropped between Tuesday and Thursday, reaching N1,639.41/$ last week. It however, strengthened to N1,593.32 on Friday.
3. CBN Approves $20,000 for Eligible BDCs at N1,580 Exchange Rate
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says it has approved 20,000 dollars each for eligible Bureau de Change (BDC) operator at the rate of N1,580 to a dollar.
This is according to a statement issued by Dr Williams Kanaya, the acting director, Trade and Exchange Department of the apex bank.
The measure is to increase dollar supply to the retail segment of the foreign exchange market. Read more
4. Tinubu’s Media Aide, Ajuri Ngelale, Resigns
Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Media & Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, has resigned his position.
Ngelale announced his resignation on Saturday. Tinubu has also accepted his resignation.
Ngelale also resigned from his appointment as Special Presidential Envoy on Climate Action, and Chairman, Presidential Steering Committee on Project Evergreen. Read more
5. Nigerian Govt Imposes Levy on Transactions Above N10,000 on Opay, Moniepoint, Others
Nigerian government has imposed a deduction of N50 Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) from every inflow of N10,000 and above received by customers of Fintech companies, including Opay, Moniepoint, and others.
The online payment platforms have informed their users that starting from 9 September 2024, fees in compliance with Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) laws will be implemented. Read more
6. LCC Urges Nigerian Govt To Sustain Power Reforms
Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry has called on the Federal Government to maintain power sector reforms and initiatives to boost electricity supply to industries.
Director-General of the LCCI, Dr Chinyere Almona, called for increased efforts in developing the power sector, noting that as of July, there was a registered unmetered population of about 13.1 million.
7. Falconets Reach World Cup Last 16
Nigeria’s Falconets secured their place in the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup Round of 16 after a 4-0 victory against Venezuela in their final group stage match on Saturday night.
A 1-0 victory against Korea Republic gave the Falconets their first points, and they would have secured their spot in the next round but lost to Germany 3-1 in their second group game on Wednesday.
The win propelled the Falconets to second place in their group, behind Germany.
8. New LP Caretaker Committee Appointment Deepens Obi, Otti VS Abure, Others’ Crisis
The Labour Party (LP) has been enmeshed in fresh crisis following the appointment of an interim leadership to replace the Julius Abure-led.
Presidential candidate of the party in the 2023 general elections, Mr Peter Obi, and other critical stakeholders, led by Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, on Wednesday, announced the formation of a caretaker committee of the party to be led by Former Finance Minister and Senator, Nenadi Usman.
Usman’s appointment followed an extended stakeholders meeting held in Umuahia, Abia State capital.
Julius Abure-led National Working Committee of the party rejected the outcome of the meeting, describing at as unconstitutional.
9. SERAP To Tinubu: Reverse Petrol Price Hike In 48 Hours, Probe NNPCL
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on President Bola Tinubu to direct the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to immediately reverse the hike in the pump price of petrol across its retail outlets in the country.
SERAP also urged the president to direct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Mr Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, and appropriate anti-corruption agencies to probe allegations of corruption and mismanagement in the NNPCL.
10. Team Nigeria Takes Medal Tally to 5, As Ugwunwa Adds Silver
Nigeria’s Flora Ugwunwa won a Silver medal in the Women’s Javelin F54 event at the ongoing Paralympic Games in Paris, with a throw of 19.26m to take Nigeria’s medal haul to five Saturday.
Flora’s latest medal win brings her individual Olympic medal haul to three in three consecutive Paralympic Games. Recall that the 40 year old clinched 2 gold in Rio and Tokyo respectively. Read more
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
