Nelson Ugwuagbo

The Chinese leader, President Xi Jinping, has pledged $50billion for development in Africa, including military aids to the continent.

The Chinese leader also pledged another $280 million in aid to African countries while proposing partnership actions to jointly advance modernization with Africa.

President Xi said China appreciates its ties with African nations and that China and Africa should rally their populations together to become a powerful force and write a new chapter in global peace, prosperity, and progress.

According to President Xi, the 10 actions, to be implemented in the next three years, cover areas of mutual learning among civilizations, trade prosperity, industrial chain cooperation, connectivity, development cooperation, health, agriculture and livelihoods, people-to-people and cultural exchanges, green economic development and common security.

To implement the 10 partnership actions, the Chinese government will provide RMB360 billion yuan of financial support through the next three years.

The Nigerian Government has approved a 50 per cent increase in the feeding allowance for prison inmates in Nigeria, effective from August 2024. This is geared towards addressing rising food costs and improve inmate welfare.

This was confirmed by the spokesperson for the Nigeria Correctional Service, Abubakar Umar.

He described it as the “first phase” of a broader review intended to enhance living conditions for inmates.

“The inmate feeding allowance has been increased by 50 per cent, effective from August 2024. This is just the first phase,” Umar said.

He added that further reviews would follow, particularly due to the soaring cost of food.

“The FG will also consider additional reviews. This is just the first phase. Normally, there is a period when inmate feeding allowances are reviewed. Following a presentation during the budget process, the FG deemed it necessary to adjust the allowance due to the rising cost of food. Further adjustments are expected,” Umar explained.

For the 2024 budget year, the NCoS has been allocated over N24.4 billion for catering materials and foodstuffs.

The need for an increase in the feeding allowance has been a public concern, especially after it was revealed in December 2023 by the Controller General of the NCoS, Haliru Nababa, that N750 was allocated per day for each prisoner, while N800 was spent daily on feeding each of the 900 dogs in the service.

Inmate welfare issues gained further attention recently after a viral video from the Afokang Custodial Centre in Calabar, Cross River State, showed inmates being served poorly cooked meals.

This sparked public outrage and led to an investigation ordered by the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, into the conditions at the facility.

The NCoS confirmed that the investigation is ongoing, emphasising that the incident does not reflect the overall standards of care and commitment to inmate welfare across the country.

On Wednesday, commercial tricycle operators, popularly known as ‘Keke riders,’ joined forces with a group of disgruntled women and youths in Delta State to stage a peaceful protest. The demonstration was sparked by the acute scarcity of premium motor spirit, which has been further worsened by the government’s recent announcement of a fuel price hike.”

It was learnt that by the early morning hours, the scene was set with hundreds of market women and Keke riders traversing the bustling metropolis of Warri and Effurun, voicing their demands for President Bola Tinubu to take immediate action and reverse the escalation in fuel prices.

The protesters were equipped with placards and engaged in vocal protests, expressing their discontent and indignation towards the fuel price hike, which has escalated the fuel cost to nearly ₦1,100 per litre, further aggravating their economic hardships.

Some of the placards bore inscriptions such as “Tinubu, intervene now to alleviate commuters’ suffering’; ‘Tinubu, activate Warri and Kaduna refineries without further delay,’ ‘We are suffering in silence, the fuel price hike is a killer.”

The protesters appealed to President Tinubu to implement immediate measures to mitigate the crisis and offer relief to the Nigerian populace.

It was gathered that a segment of the protesters made their way from the well-known Deco Road towards Enerhen, expressing their discontent over the severe economic strain exacerbated by the excessive increase in fuel prices, in addition to the scarcity of resources.

According to The information, most of the service stations along the Warri-Sapele road were shut to motorists on Wednesday morning, with those that remained operational charging petrol prices above ₦1,000 per litre.

As a result, this situation adversely impacted commuters within the metropolitan area and those travelling between states, as drivers increased their fares for transportation.

The typically vibrant Airport Junction in Effurun, a key hub for interstate travel, appeared significantly diminished on Wednesday, as prospective travellers faced difficulties in purchasing tickets, and transport operators voiced their frustration over the lack of access to fuel.

Kenneth Okonkwo, former spokesman of the Labour Party presidential campaign council, has stated that Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, and President Bola Tinubu are not fit to contest in the 2027 election. Okonkwo, a Nollywood legend, declared that the two former presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP), Atiku and Obi, respectively, along with the President, have failed Nigerians.

Okonkwo asserted that the trio has failed Nigerians, rendering them unfit to lead the country in the future. He specifically mentioned Atiku Abubakar, former presidential candidate of the PDP, and Peter Obi, former presidential candidate of the LP, alongside the current President, Bola Tinubu.

Speaking on Arise TV, on Tuesday, Okonkwo regretted that instead of thinking about consolidation and living up to their duties as opposition parties; the PDP and Labour Party have allowed the APC-led administration to get away with inhuman policies responsible for the hardship Nigerians are facing.

He said, “I completely agree with you that we need new faces, 100%, and that was why I have said it, that Atiku, Peter Obi, Tinubu should step aside. And the reason is because the ruling party has failed, the opposition has failed. Are you aware that in the House of Representatives, you have more opposition members as representatives than the ruling class? If they had come together, and that’s why I said, coming together to form a consolidated fortune, before you even begin to talk about merger, I did not say merger is not important.

“I’m saying you don’t just finish an election, and the first thing you start talking about is the next election. You consolidate and form alliances amongst yourselves to work together as opposition. If all the opposition members in the House of Representatives had come together, they would have produced the Speaker and the Vice.”

A human rights lawyer, Okonkwo stated that the argument that all opposition parties in the build-up to the 2023 general election promised to remove fuel subsidy, should not be used to justify President Tinubu’s poor economic policy on fuel subsidy removal.

“Now, what you said about subsidy. The three parties agreed subsidy should go. The three parties did not say that subsidy should be irresponsibly, without plans, removed on the first day before a president sets up his cabinet, before a president makes any plan for the cushioning effect.

A president in the inauguration ground said first subsidy is gone. The opposition parties did not subscribe to that. I came to your studio the next day, saying we should be careful coming out of oil subsidy, that from the way this is done, it is unsustainable, and it is still on record.

“What is the objective of the government? Security and welfare of the people. This president is in China, in a new presidential jet that is unnecessary, while people are dying for security problems in Sokoto, in Maiduguri, and then you’re saying that is what should be done? No, this government is nepotistic and despotic. It is very self-centered and egocentric, all about itself,” Okonkwo stated.

The Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) has taken credit for the recent attack where no fewer than 87 people were killed in Yobe State.

The terrorists struck Mafa town around 4 pm on Sunday, killing residents and burning homes and shops.

Yesterday, reports emerged that the remains of 37 villagers who lost their lives during the attack were recovered.

It was revealed that the bodies of the victims had been taken to Babbangida General Hospital in preparation for a mass burial scheduled for 10 am.

The burial will be attended by Yobe State Deputy Governor, Hon Idi Barde Gubana, along with other senior government officials. It will take place at the Babangida Emir’s Palace, the administrative centre of Tarmuwa LG.

Sources who spoke to reporters earlier noted that no fewer than 87 people were killed by the terrorists in the latest attack.

Subsequently, in a letter in Arabic obtained journalist on Tuesday, ISWAP admitted to the attack.

They claimed the village was targeted for supposedly giving information to the military, which resulted in the deaths of their members.

The letter reads: “This is a message from the soldiers of the Caliphate in the West Africa Province to the leaders, mukhtars, and the rest of the residents and farmers in the town of Mafa and the villages around it.

“You have been tempted to remain in your countries in safety. The soldiers of the Caliphate will not harm you, nor threaten you with your money, nor hinder you from any activity of yours, whether agriculture, trade, etc., until you have arrogantly raised yourselves to a position in which you believe that your hands will reach our brothers with harm and remain uninterrupted.

“You have harmed our brothers in the past days in the town of (Bangaro) and its environs, and you cooperated and sympathized with the apostates in killing our brothers, and when we arrived in the area, we did not harm you.

“Rather, we limited ourselves to those whose hands were stained with the blood of our brothers, and who were attacked by their weapons, according to the information we found. We thought that by doing so we had warned you with the language of war, hoping that you would be deterred.

“However, this increased your arrogance and arrogance, so you repeated the same crime in the month of Safar.”

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has announced that the Dangote refinery is expected to supply 25 million liters of petrol daily this month.

This development comes after the refinery officially began petrol production on September 3.

According to the NMDPRA, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has agreed to supply crude oil to the refinery in naira. This agreement was reached at the NMDPRA headquarters in Abuja, paving the way for the refinery to commence operations.

The refinery is initially expected to supply 25 million liters of petrol into the domestic market this September, with plans to increase this amount to 30 million liters daily from October 2024. This development is a significant milestone for the refinery, which had faced several delays and disputes with regulatory authorities.

The Dangote refinery had initially announced plans to begin production of petrol in June, but faced several setbacks, including a minor delay that pushed the commencement date to July. Despite further delays, the refinery has finally begun production, with plans to increase output in the coming months.

The federal executive council (FEC) had approved a proposal by President Bola Tinubu directing the NNPC to sell crude oil to Dangote refinery and other refineries in naira. This development followed several disputes between the refinery, the NNPCL, NMDPRA, and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

The commencement of petrol production by the Dangote refinery is a significant development for Nigeria, which has long relied on imported petrol to meet domestic demand. With the refinery’s production expected to increase in the coming months, Nigeria may finally achieve self-sufficiency in petrol production.

Following a Presidential order, the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, and the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, have arrived at the Headquarters of the 8 Division Nigerian Army in Sokoto.

They were received by Brigadier General Ajose, the General Officer Commanding 8 Division and Force Commander of the Joint Task Force North West Operation Hadarin Daji.

The high-level visit aims to assess the security situation in Sokoto State, with a focus on strengthening the troops’ operational capacity and boosting their morale.

This comes after President Bola Tinubu directed Defence chiefs to relocate to the state following a series of deadly bandit attacks.

Sokoto and its neighbouring states have been experiencing a surge in banditry and high-level terrorism, making the region a hotspot of insecurity. The visit by the Defence officials is expected to yield solutions to the lingering security challenges.

Further details of the visit and its outcomes are expected to be released soon, providing insight into the measures to be taken to address the security concerns in Sokoto State.

A police officer was killed after gunmen attacked the Oba Police Divisional Headquarters and Oba Civic Centre in Anambra State, throwing petrol bombs at the facilities.

The incident occurred at the early hours of Tuesday according to spokesman for the Anambra Police Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga.

According to Ikenga, a joint security operation led by the Police and involving the Army, Navy, Civil Defence, and other security agencies is currently underway in Oba and its surrounding areas in response to the assault on the police station and civic centre.

He stated that the suspected armed secessionist group began the attack by shooting sporadically in an attempt to breach the police station’s defences, subsequently throwing petrol bombs that set several offices on fire, including the Oba Civic Centre.

“Unfortunately, a police corporal who was fatally wounded paid the supreme price, while the fire was put off with the help of other Police officers on duty and the Joint Security responding team,” Ikenga disclosed.

The Commissioner of Police in Anambra State, CP Nnaghe Obono Itam, condemned the attack, describing it as an assault on the nation’s soul.

He vowed to bring those responsible for the heinous act to justice

Tigran Gambaryan, the Binance executive facing charges of money laundering has raised concerns about his treatment by the Nigerian government.

In a video shared widely on social media by SYMFONI, Gambaryan, who was seen using crutches, accused the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCOs) of neglecting him on orders from the government.

“This is Fucked Up, he was told not to help me. This is an instruction from the government. It is a show, I am an innocent person,” Gambaryan asserted in the video.

This incident follows his recent arraignment at the Federal High Court in Abuja. On August 28, 2024, Gambaryan’s legal team, led by Mark Mordi, SAN, submitted a bail application on his behalf.

However, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), represented by counsel Ekene Iheanacho, opposed the bail request, arguing that Gambaryan’s health condition, which he has lived with for over a decade, does not warrant bail.

“My Lord, I don’t want to go into detail about this issue. Ordinarily, the defendant had been living with this (disk) condition for the past 12 years before he came to Nigeria. It is not as if it is a new issue,” Iheanacho stated.

Gambaryan’s wife, Yuki, also spoke out, calling the situation “entirely unjust” and accusing the Nigerian government of unlawfully detaining her husband after luring him to the country under false pretenses.

In April, Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered that Gambaryan remain in Kuje prison until a decision on his bail application was reached.

Tigran Gambaryan and his colleague, Nadeem Anjarwalla, who is currently at large, were apprehended in February on charges of exploiting Nigeria’s currency through their cryptocurrency platform

The Federal Government has stated that Binance is not registered in Nigeria, has not paid taxes in the country, and has been operating without the necessary regulatory oversight or safeguards to detect criminal activities.

In the meantime, American lawmakers have urged the U.S. government to declare Tigran Gambaryan “wrongfully detained” in Nigeria, adding to the international pressure on the case.

Ogun State Waste Management Authority (OGWAMA) cracks down on environmental violators, sealing off two Chinese companies for operating in filthy conditions and failing to properly dispose of waste.

The enforcement action aims to protect public health and the environment from the harmful effects of poor waste management practices.

The companies are Yibao Industrial Limited, Bara Village along the Sagamu – Abeokuta Expressway and Ronchang Industrial Park, opposite Julius Berger yard Lagos -Ibadan Expressway.

Special Adviser and Managing Director of OGWAMA, Abayomi Hunye who led the enforcement team said the action followed several warnings which were not heeded.

Hunye explained that the two companies were also found guilty of engaging the services of unaccredited waste collectors to evacuate their waste in contravention of section 17 of the Ogun State Waste Management Authority Law of 2020 as well as their continued prevention of the assigned waste collectors to evacuate their waste from their facilities since 2021.

He noted that their unaccredited waste collectors who operate at odd hours were also found guilty of dumping waste on the Sagamu – Abeokuta and Lagos – Ibadan Expressways illegally.

Hunye said, “The essence of shutting them down is to ensure that they comply with the standard ways of managing wastes in the state. We have served them several notices and warnings and they refused to comply.

“We have even gone to their premises for inspections severally to counsel them to clean their environment and engage government approved waste collectors but they were unyielding”

“They both engage unaccredited waste collectors who have no capacities to manage their waste that is why their premises are dirty thereby exposing residents of the state to unnecessary odour and possible underground water infections from their untreated waste”

“So we have no alternative than to shut them down in the overriding public interest as their behaviour and action smacks of gross disrespect to constituted authority especially from companies owned by foreigners who are hellbent on destroying our environment”

He maintained that the state government would not sit back and watch the firms damage the state by engaging in conduct that is not tolerated in their home country.

The OGWAMA boss, however, warned other companies engaging in similar conduct to operate within the state’s waste management laws or risk facing sanctions

He also called on the Community Development Association CDA and other Non-Governmental Organizations NGOs to complement OGWAMA’s efforts by acting as whistle-blowers so that more companies who are in the habit of improper waste management can be brought to justice to further enhance the quality of life of residents of the state.