President Bola Tinubu has dissolved the board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, removing Group CEO Mele Kyari and Chairman Pius Akinyelure alongside all other directors appointed in November 2023.

A new 11-member board was announced early Wednesday, with Bashir Bayo Ojulari taking over as Group CEO and Ahmadu Musa Kida as the new non-executive chairman. The changes, effective immediately, come as part of Tinubu’s push to “enhance efficiency, attract investment, and drive gas commercialisation”.

New Board Composition

The reshuffle introduces fresh faces, including:

- Adedapo Segun (Chief Financial Officer, retained from previous board)

- Bello Rabiu (North West),

• Yusuf Usman (North East),
• Babs Omotowa (North Central)

- Austin Avuru (South-South) -David Ige (South West)

-Henry Obih (South East)

- Mrs. Lydia Shehu Jafiya (Federal Ministry of Finance)

- Aminu Said Ahmed (Ministry of Petroleum Resources)

Immediate Mandate: Strategic Review & Value Maximisation

Invoking his powers under the Petroleum Industry Act (2021), Tinubu directed the new board to conduct an urgent review of NNPC’s assets and joint ventures to ensure optimal performance and profitability.

Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga, who announced the changes via X, stated that the overhaul aims to restore investor confidence, boost local content, and accelerate Nigeria’s energy transition."

Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has finally declared war on Ponzi schemes, with a new law empowering it to jail fraudsters for up to 10 years and slam them with a N40 million fine—a move that could have saved millions of Nigerians from infamous scams like MMM, MBA Forex, and Loom Money Nigeria if enacted earlier.

SEC Director-General Emomotimi Agama announced the crackdown during an interview on Arise TV, revealing that the newly signed Investment and Securities Act (ISA) 2025 now gives the Commission the legal teeth to pursue and punish Ponzi operators, something it previously struggled with.

"With the new law, they now face a 10-year jail term and beyond," Agama declared, adding that the N40 million penalty is just the starting point.

"We will ensure every illegal profit is disgorged—fraudsters will not only be jailed but also forced to return their victims' money."

A Lesson from Nigeria’s Ponzi Graveyard

The timing couldn’t be more critical. Nigeria has long been a hunting ground for Ponzi schemes, with infamous collapses like:

- MMM Nigeria (2016): The Russian-originated scam collapsed, wiping out billions from hopeful investors.    

- Loom Money Nigeria (2017): A pyramid scheme that lured Nigerians with a "pay-to-join" model before crashing.

- MBA Forex (2020): Promised unrealistic forex returns before vanishing with depositors’ funds.

Many of these fraudsters operated with impunity, exploiting weak regulations and desperate investors. Now, the SEC says the new law will ensure that future Ponzi kingpins face harsh penalties and asset seizures.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reported that Nigeria's net foreign exchange reserves (NFER) reached $23.11 billion in 2024, marking the highest level in three years. This represents a substantial increase from $3.99 billion recorded at the end of 2023, $8.19 billion in 2022, and $14.59 billion in 2021.

Net foreign exchange reserves, which adjust gross reserves to account for near-term liabilities such as FX swaps and forward contracts, are considered a more accurate indicator of the country's ability to meet immediate external obligations.

Additionally, Nigeria's gross external reserves rose to $40.19 billion at the end of 2024, up from $33.22 billion at the end of 2023.

CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso attributed this growth to deliberate policy choices aimed at stabilizing the economy. "This improvement in our net reserves is not accidental; it is the outcome of deliberate policy choices aimed at rebuilding confidence, reducing vulnerabilities, and laying the foundation for long-term stability," Cardoso stated.

The CBN identified several key factors driving this improvement:

- Strategic reduction in short-term FX liabilities, particularly swaps and forward obligations

- Policy reforms that restored confidence in the FX market

- Increased foreign exchange inflows, especially from non-oil sources

While the bank noted that reserves have continued to strengthen in 2025, the first quarter figures reflected some seasonal and transitional adjustments, including significant interest payments on foreign-denominated debt.

In a spectacular display of defiance, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan turned the Kogi State Government and the Nigerian Police into laughingstocks as she bypassed their roadblocks and curfews by dropping in—literally—via helicopter to a rapturous welcome from her supporters.

Despite desperate attempts to stop her homecoming rally—including a "security" ban on gatherings, a sudden Okehi LGA curfew, and police warnings—Natasha simply took to the skies, leaving the flustered state authorities scrambling. As government officials presumably stood guard at empty checkpoints, she descended in a white helicopter, sending her ecstatic constituents into a frenzy.

"Nobody and nothing can stop me from coming home. I’m an Ebira person; this is my land," she declared in Ebira, mocking the failed blockade. "I’m the daughter of the late Jimoh Abdul Akpoti. I know my roots; I’m not a bastard, and I’m not afraid of anybody."

The state government, led by Governor Usman Ododo and his predecessor Yahaya Bello, had thrown everything at stopping her—public rally bans, phantom "security concerns," even a shameless police advisory urging her to cancel her Sallah celebration.

But Natasha, ever the strategist, reframed the event as a simple festive gathering, leaving the government looking both tyrannical and incompetent.

"Yesterday, we heard rallies were banned, roads would be blocked, convoys stopped," she taunted. "But this isn’t politics—it’s Sallah! Since when did celebrating with my people become a crime?"

Her triumphant return comes amid a broader political witch hunt, including a dubious six-month Senate suspension (orchestrated by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, whom she has accused of sexual harassment) and a manufactured "recall" effort.

Yet, as the state’s heavy-handed tactics backfired spectacularly, one thing became clear: Natasha doesn’t just play the game—she rewrites the rules.

While Kogi’s rulers and the Police fumed on the ground, Natasha soared above them—both literally and politically!

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Russia says it cannot accept U.S. proposals on Ukraine 'in current form'

Russia cannot accept U.S. proposals to end the war in Ukraine in their current form because they do not address problems Moscow regards as having caused the conflict, a senior Russian diplomat said, suggesting U.S.-Russia talks on the subject had stalled.

The comments by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov suggest Moscow and Washington have so far been unable to bridge differences which President Vladimir Putin raised more than two weeks ago when he said U.S. proposals needed reworking.

They come as U.S. President Donald Trump appears to be growing increasingly impatient with what he has suggested might be foot-dragging over a wider deal by Moscow.

Trump in recent days has said he is "pissed off" with Putin and has spoken of imposing sanctions on countries that buy Russian oil if he feels Moscow is blocking a deal.

Ryabkov, a specialist in U.S.-Russia relations, said Moscow was not yet able to move forward with a deal however.

"We take the models and solutions proposed by the Americans very seriously, but we can't accept it all in its current form," Ryabkov was quoted by state media as telling the Russian magazine "International Affairs" in an interview released on Tuesday.

"As far as we can see, there is no place in them today for our main demand, namely to solve the problems related to the root causes of this conflict. It is completely absent, and that must be overcome."

Putin has said he wants Ukraine to drop its ambitions to join NATO, Russia to control the entirety of four Ukrainian regions it has claimed as its own, and the size of the Ukrainian army to be limited. Kyiv says those demands are tantamount to demanding its capitulation.

'VERY COMPLEX'

Asked about Trump's latest remarks about wanting Putin to do a deal on Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters earlier on Tuesday that Moscow was "continuing our contacts with the American side".

"The subject is very complex. The substance that we are discussing, related to the Ukrainian settlement, is very complex. This requires a lot of extra effort."

Russia also said on Tuesday it was fully complying with a U.S.-brokered moratorium on attacking Ukraine's energy facilities.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told state TV that Defence Minister Andrei Belousov had briefed Putin on alleged Ukrainian violations during a meeting of Russia's Security Council on Tuesday. Russia passed a list of the violations to U.S. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Lavrov said.

Before the weekend, Trump had taken a more conciliatory stance towards Russia that has unnerved the United States' European allies as he tries to broker an end to the conflict in Ukraine, now in its fourth year.

But in recent days, and amid lobbying by Europeans such as Finland's president urging him to hold Russia to account, he has adopted a tougher tone.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

‘Progress’ emerging in US talks – Lavrov

Moscow and Washington are making progress in removing obstacles in diplomatic relations and plan to meet for the next round of talks, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday.

Speaking to journalists, Lavrov noted that both presidents had approved the continuation of negotiations.

“There was a meeting in Istanbul, and a second round is being prepared,” Lavrov said, noting that the sides are “in contact by phone and video conference.”

Lavrov said he did not want to make predictions, but cited “some progress and a willingness on the part of our American partners to lift these completely unacceptable obstacles to the normal work of diplomats in both capitals.”

Russia and the US have imposed various restrictions on each other in recent years, including limiting the number of diplomatic personnel, constraining banking access, and seizing diplomatic properties.

A major flashpoint came in late 2016, when the administration of then-President Barack Obama restricted Russian diplomats’ access to residences in New York and Maryland and later seized additional Russian properties.

Relations deteriorated further under former President Joe Biden, with heightened tensions over the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, prompting further diplomatic and economic restrictions. These included the suspension of flights and closure of US airspace to Russian carriers in coordination with Washington’s Western allies.

Lavrov insisted that Moscow was not the one that initiated such measures, saying Russia responded “according to the principle of reciprocity, which no one has abolished” in diplomacy.

US President Donald Trump has moved away from many Biden-era policies, calling for a swift resolution to the Ukraine conflict and a reset in bilateral ties.

The two countries have held several rounds of high-level talks since Trump took office in January. A meeting in Riyadh on February 18 focused on restoring embassy operations and easing restrictions. The follow-up round in Istanbul on February 27, addressed diplomatic funding and Russia’s proposal to reinstate direct flights between the two countries.

Last week, expert delegations from both sides met again in Saudi Arabia, where, after 12 hours of negotiations, they agreed to revive the Black Sea Grain Initiative. Following the talks, Trump signaled Washington could consider lifting certain sanctions to advance the deal, which is seen as a step toward resolving the Ukraine conflict.

Reuters/RT

Smokers are being urged to kick the habit for 2025 after a fresh assessment of the harms of cigarettes found they shorten life expectancy even more than doctors thought.

Researchers at University College London found that on average a single cigarette takes about 20 minutes off a person’s life, meaning that a typical pack of 20 cigarettes can shorten a person’s life by nearly seven hours.

According to the analysis, if a smoker on 10 cigarettes a day quits on 1 January, they could prevent the loss of a full day of life by 8 January. They could boost their life expectancy by a week if they quit until 5 February and a whole month if they stop until 5 August. By the end of the year, they could have avoided losing 50 days of life, the assessment found.

“People generally know that smoking is harmful but tend to underestimate just how much,” said Dr Sarah Jackson, a principal research fellow at UCL’s alcohol and tobacco research group. “On average, smokers who don’t quit lose around a decade of life. That’s 10 years of precious time, life moments, and milestones with loved ones.”

Smoking is one of the world’s leading preventable causes of disease and death, killing up to two-thirds of long-term users. It causes about 80,000 deaths a year in the UK and a quarter of all cancer deaths in England.

The study, commissioned by the Department of Health, draws on the latest data from the British Doctors Study, which began in 1951 as one of the world’s first large studies into the effects of smoking, and the Million Women Study, which has tracked women’s health since 1996.

While an earlier assessment in the BMJ in 2000 found that on average a single cigarette reduced life expectancy by about 11 minutes, the latest analysis published in the Journal of Addictionnearly doubles the figure to 20 minutes – 17 minutes for men and 22 minutes for women.

“Some people might think they don’t mind missing out on a few years of life, given that old age is often marked by chronic illness or disability. But smoking doesn’t cut short the unhealthy period at the end of life,” Jackson told the Guardian. “It primarily eats into the relatively healthy years in midlife, bringing forward the onset of ill-health. This means a 60-year-old smoker will typically have the health profile of a 70-year-old non-smoker.”

Although some smokers live long lives, others develop smoking-related diseases and even die from them in their 40s. The variation is driven by differences in smoking habits such as the type of cigarette used, the number of puffs taken and how deeply smokers inhale. People also differ in how susceptible they are to the toxic substances in cigarette smoke.

The authors stress that smokers must quit completely to get the full benefits to health and life expectancy. Previous work has shown there is no safe level of smoking: the risk of heart disease and stroke is only about 50% lower for people who smoke one cigarette a day compared with those who smoke 20 a day. “Stopping smoking at every age is beneficial, but the sooner smokers get off this escalator of death the longer and healthier they can expect their lives to be,” they write.

The Department of Health said smokers could find advice, support and resources on the NHS Quit Smoking app and the online Personal Quit Plan, which tailors its advice to individual’s preferences.

Prof Sanjay Agrawal, a special adviser on tobacco at the Royal College of Physicians, said: “Every cigarette smoked costs precious minutes of life, and the cumulative impact is devastating, not only for individuals but also for our healthcare system and economy. This research is a powerful reminder of the urgent need to address cigarette smoking as the leading preventable cause of death and disease in the UK.”

The Guardian, UK