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Friday, 08 December 2023 04:32

Nigeria spends about N3bn to send govt officials to COP28, Premium Times calculations show

The federal government is spending at least N2.7 billion to sponsor delegates to attend the United Nations’ annual climate summit, COP28, which started in Dubai last Thursday and will continue until at least 12 December. Nigeria has 1,411 delegates, ranking third among countries with the highest numbers of delegates at the meeting. Only the host country, UAE (4,409), and Brazil (3,081) have more participants than Africa’s most populous country. Other delegations surpassing 1,000 participants include China which registered 1,411 people just like Nigeria, followed by Indonesia with 1,229, Japan with 1,067 and Turkey with 1,045. Parties to this Convention from…

Friday, 08 December 2023 04:31

From Buhari to Tinubu: How the treasury is looted ‘legally’ via estacodes

In 2012, Aruma Oteh, former director-general of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) while appearing before a committee of the House of Representatives, accused Herman Hembe, former chairman of the House Committee on Capital Market, and his deputy, Chris Azubogu, of converting $4,095 to personal use. The money was given to Hembe as an estacode to attend a conference in the Dominican Republic, but he failed to attend the conference, thereby allegedly committing an offence contrary to section 308 of the Penal Code Act Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Abuja) 2004 and punishable under section 309 of the…

Thursday, 07 December 2023 04:44

NJC okays elevation of 11 Justices to Supreme Court, others to lower courts

National Judicial Council, NJC, has recommended the elevation of 11 Justices to the Supreme Court. The legal body took the decision at its 104 meeting that held in Abuja on Wednesday. The Council, in a statement made available to newsmen through its Director, Information, Soji Oye, said it considered the list of candidates presented by its Interview Committee and at the end of deliberations, recommended the 11 Justices for the apex court bench. It gave names of the successful candidates as: Jummai Hannatu Sankey; Chidiebere Nwaoma Uwa, Chioma Egondu Nwosu-Iheme; Haruna Simon Tsammani; Moore Aseimo A. Adumein; Obande Festus Ogbuinya;…

Wednesday, 06 December 2023 04:53

Naira projected to fall further as foreign reserves shrank by $4.07bn in 11 months

Nigeria’s foreign reserves dropped by $4.07 billion in 11 months of 2023 amid Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) intervention in the foreign exchange market. Nigeria’s foreign exchange buffer closed November 30, 2023 at $33 billion; dropping by nearly 11 per cent or $4.07 billion from $37.069 billion it opened this year. CBN governor, Olayemi Cardoso, recently disclosed that it responded to the backlog of foreign exchange forward obligations with payments made to 31 banks. According to him, “We have been subjecting these payments to detailed verification to ensure only valid transactions are honoured. In a properly functioning market, it is…

Wednesday, 06 December 2023 04:52

Thousands of federal civil servants yet to get Nov salaries due to ‘technical glitch’

Several workers at federal ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) are yet to receive their November salaries. One of the affected civil servants who spoke with TheCable said some workers at the federal ministry of labour and employment have not been paid since October. The staff, who asked not to be named, said they were told that the government is broke. “Only a few members of staff have been paid half of their November salary while the previous two months are still outstanding,” the labour ministry worker said. Some of the workers said they have received no explanation from the authorities…

Tuesday, 05 December 2023 04:45

Oil & gas exports dominate as Nigeria records N3.5trn trade surplus in 9 months

National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says Nigeria recorded a N3.5 trillion trade surplus between January and September of 2023. NBS made this known in its foreign trade report for the third quarter (Q3) of 2023 on Monday. In the nine months of the year, according to the bureau, Nigeria’s exports totalled N23.3 trillion and total imports N19.7 trillion — which gives a trade surplus of N3.5 trillion. A trade surplus is an economic indicator of a positive trade balance in which the exports of a nation outweigh its imports. On foreign trade for Q1 2023, NBS said total exports were…

Tuesday, 05 December 2023 04:44

FG admits to funding 422 delegates to Dubai COP28

Amid raging criticism over Nigeria’s large delegation to Dubai for the COP28 climate summit, the Federal Government said it only sponsored 422 delegates out of the 1,411 Nigerians reported to be at the conference. A source in the Presidency had on Sunday night disclosed that the number of delegates sponsored by the government was less than 100. But the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, in a statement on Monday said 422 delegates were chosen from the Presidency, National Council on Climate Change, Federal Ministry of Environment, All Ministries, Office of the Vice President, National Assembly, and federal…

Tuesday, 05 December 2023 04:43

Kaduna govt, witnesses confirm at least 50 killed in military drone attack

Civilians were killed in Nigeria's northern Kaduna state following a military drone attack targeting insurgents and bandits on Sunday night, the state governor, a religious leader and witnesses said on Monday. Nigeria's military, which is backed by the United States, Britain and other non-Western allies in a long war against Islamist insurgents in the northeast, has also been unleashing deadly aerial assaults for years in other parts of the country. Kaduna governor Uba Sani said Muslims taking part in Maulud celebrations in Tudun Biri village "were mistakenly killed and many others injured following a military drone attack targeting terrorists and…

Tuesday, 05 December 2023 04:42

UK announces stricter visa measures to reduce net migration

Britain announced plans to slash the number of migrants arriving by legal routes on Monday, raising the minimum salary they must earn in a skilled job by a third, amid pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to tackle record net migration figures. High levels of legal migration have dominated Britain's political landscape for more than a decade and were a key factor in the 2016 vote to leave the European Union. Sunak has promised to gain more control after lawmakers in his Conservative Party criticised his record ahead of an election expected next year, with the opposition Labour Party far…

Monday, 04 December 2023 04:47

Hospitals limit patients intake after 1,197 doctors emigrated since Tinubu assumed office - Report

The migration of doctors and other health workers to other countries is taking a toll on hospitals across the country as the institutions have reduced the number of their outpatients and surgeries due to a shortage of manpower. The PUNCH investigations on Sunday showed that almost all the health institutions were battling with the shortage as they could not cope with the high number of patients who thronged the government hospitals, which were affordable compared with private ones. Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Health had on Wednesday raised the alarm that not less than five wards with…

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Monday, 04 December 2023 04:47

US embassy says 180,000 Nigerians interviewed for visas so far this year

Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S., Embassy in Nigeria, David Greene, has revealed that they have interviewed over 150,000 Nigerians while further noting that the embassy has interviewed about 30,000 students this year. Greene made this statement during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja. He said, “What folks do not know is that this year we have interviewed more than 150,000 people. “This is in addition to 30,000 students. Hundreds of thousands of students have had the opportunity to seek visas from the U.S. We are doing the best we can to get proper ways for…

Sunday, 03 December 2023 04:49

With total delegation of 1,411 along with Tinubu, Nigeria has largest African representation at COP28 in Dubai

Nigeria has the highest number of registered delegates from Africa at the ongoing COP28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. According to a list published by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Nigeria is also third-highest overall in number of delegates at the conference. The provisional total for COP28 indicates that 81,027 delegates registered to attend the summit in person. With a further 3,074 attending virtually, this takes the overall total to 84,101, a report released on Friday by Carbon Brief said. The figure is 30,000 more than those who travelled to Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt for COP27…

Sunday, 03 December 2023 04:49

Scores of US soldiers want to overthrow government – Pentagon

Extremism in the ranks remains a troubling trend for the US military, as evidenced by the fact that 78 service members were suspected of being advocates for the overthrow of their own government, an annual Pentagon report has revealed. The report, released this week, also showed that 44 service members were suspected of supporting or engaging in terrorism in the past year. Overall, the 183 allegations of extremism across all branches of America’s military marked a 25% increase from the previous year’s level. In addition to cases in which service personnel allegedly advocated revolution or supported terrorism, the study documented…

Saturday, 02 December 2023 05:06

Nigeria’s inflation pushes manufacturing into contraction for second consecutive month - Report

Nigeria’s manufacturing activity shrank for the second straight month in November, affected by rising price levels that kept customers at bay. This is contained in the Stanbic IBTC Bank Nigeria Purchasing Manager Index (PMI) released Friday. PMIs track the prevailing direction of economic trends in manufacturing and service sectors, providing credible data on business conditions to analysts, decision-makers and investors. A reading above 50 indicates an improvement, while that below that threshold means a contraction. The report said Friday that the country’s PMI for November was 48, down from 49.1 the month before. New orders and output both receded in…

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