Author: Lawan

•Reforms, stronger private investment to power recoveryThe World Bank has raised its forecast for Nigeria’s economic growth in 2026 to 4.3 per cent, up from the 4.0 per cent expansion recorded in 2025, as improving macroeconomic stability and a gradual recovery in private investment strengthen the country’s outlook. The projection was contained in the lender’s October 2026 Africa Economic Update, released on Tuesday. The World Bank also projected that Nigeria’s economy would grow by 4.4 per cent annually in 2027 and 2028. The lender attributed the improved outlook to the impact of ongoing economic reforms, better macroeconomic management, strengthening investor…

•Warns against disruption in supply chainA fresh crisis is brewing in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector following the decision by Dangote Petroleum Refinery to stop selling petrol to major oil marketers importing petroleum products into the country. The refinery’s latest position is that it will no longer supply petrol to marketers found to be blending its products with imported petrol. The development has, however, triggered a backlash from marketers, who dismissed the allegation of product blending as unfounded and warned that the move could disrupt petrol supply and distribution across the country. National President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners…

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has begun studying the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the Supreme Court judgment on provisions governing political party membership registers and primaries to determine its next line of action ahead of the 2027 general elections. INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this at a world press conference and national stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, saying the commission received the CTC that morning following complaints and enquiries about the implications of the ruling. Amupitan said political parties, aggrieved aspirants and members of the National Assembly had drawn the commission’s attention to the September 24…

Diezani’s UK acquittal irrelevant, EFCC tells Abuja court The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has urged the Federal High Court in Abuja to disregard the acquittal of former Petroleum Resources Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, by a United Kingdom court, arguing that the judgment has no bearing on the ongoing Nigerian case over assets linked to her. The commission made the submission in a further counter-affidavit filed against Diezani’s application to tender the June 17 judgment of the Southwark Crown Court in London, where she was discharged and acquitted of bribery allegations. Diezani had sought to introduce the UK judgment as…

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has mourned the 25 personnel and passengers who lost their lives in an accident involving an NAF ATR 42 aircraft, NAF 931, in the Igbokoda area of Ondo State. The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, expressed profound condolences to the families, loved ones and colleagues of the victims, describing the incident as a deeply painful moment for the Nigerian Air Force and the nation. The CAS assured the bereaved families of the Service’s full support during the difficult period.NAF 931 had 25 people on board, comprising five crew members…

US President Donald Trump has approved the execution by firing squad of Nidal Malik Hasan, the former Army psychiatrist convicted of killing 13 people in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting in Texas. The Pentagon announced the decision on Monday, saying Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth had recommended that Hasan be executed by a US Army firing squad, with Trump approving the recommendation. The Secretary of the Army will determine the date and location of the execution. If carried out, the execution will be the first by the US military since 1961, making Hasan’s case one of the rare instances in which…

Chief Ralph Obioha, a veteran pro-democracy icon, businessman, and former lawmaker, has passed away. ​Obioha rose to prominent national and international status during Nigeria’s turbulent 1990s as a frontline chieftain of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO). Following the military junta’s annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, Obioha spearheaded the external pro-democracy movement from Canada and the United States, advocating for the restoration of mandate alongside other exiled activists. ​Beyond his pivotal role in NADECO, Obioha served as a member of the House of Representatives during Nigeria’s Second Republic and later founded the Justice Party (JP), which fielded Rev.…

President Bola Tinubu has declared three days of national mourning and directed that national flags be flown at half-mast across the country in honour of the 25 passengers and seven crew members who died in the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) aircraft crash in Ondo State. Tinubu also ordered an immediate investigation into the crash of the ATR-42 aircraft near a naval base in Igbokoda, headquarters of Ilaje Local Government Area, while on a routine mission from Benin to Lagos. The identities of the deceased personnel will be released by the Air Force after their families have been notified. Tinubu, in…

Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa has said a technical or mechanical problem may have been responsible for the crash of a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) aircraft in Igbokoda, Ilaje Local Government Area of the state. The governor made the disclosure on Monday while speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, shortly after the accident occurred in a swampy area opposite the Naval Base in Igbokoda. The ATR-42 aircraft, identified by its tail number as NGR 931, was flying from Benin to Lagos on a routine mission when it reportedly lost communication with the control tower.Aiyedatiwa said the circumstances suggested that the…

Kidnappers holding 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members abducted in Imo State have reduced their ransom demand from ₦1 billion to ₦100 million, while relatives say the victims are being beaten by their captors. The victims were abducted last Thursday while travelling from Ibadan to their respective NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states. The gunmen attacked the vehicles along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Umunoha, Imo State. The kidnappers initially demanded ₦50 million for each victim and reportedly gave the families 24 hours to raise the ₦1 billion ransom. But Alhaja Alimot Akande, whose 25-year-old sister,…