Victor EzejaHere are the top 10 stories from Nigerian daily newspapers for today, 23rd May 2023 on Politics, business, entertainment and economy.
1. Dangote Refinery, Game Changer For Nigeria’s Economy – Buhari
President Muhammadu Buhari has described the Dangote Petroleum Refinery as a game-changer for Nigeria’s economy. The president stated this on Monday, 22 May 2023, while commissioning the refinery located in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos. Read more
2. Court Declines Atiku, Obi,’s Request For Live Streaming Of Proceedings
The Presidential Election Petition Court has rejected the application for live streaming of court proceedings of the presidential polls.
The petitioners, Peter Obi of the Labour Party and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party had requested the court to grant permission for the transmission of the proceedings. Read more
3. Presidency Names Buhari’s Key Achievements in 8 Years
The presidency through the Presidential Communications Team (PCT) has released a list of President Muhammadu Buhari’s
major achievements in key sectors, including on the economy, power, security, justice, housing, and infrastructure, among others.
4. 10th Assembly: Opposition Denies Endorsing Any Candidate For Speakership
The minority caucus for the 10th House of Representatives has denied endorsing any aspirant for the office of speaker.
The caucus also known as the ‘greater majority’ going by its collective number of 182 member-elect across minority parties, made this known at its fourth general meeting in Abuja, on Monday.
5. Dangote Has Paid 70% Loan Taken to Finance Refinery – Emefiele
Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, has said that the Dangote Group has remitted 70 percent of the loans it obtained from the apex bank to build its oil refinery.
Emefiele, who made the disclosure while speaking at the commissioning of the refinery on Monday in Lagos, said the commercial loan component of the project was financed majorly by domestic banks while the rest was made available by foreign banks.
According to the CBN governor, Dangote only has N2.7 billion debt remaining out of a total loan of over $9 billion when the project started. Read more
6. FG Sacks NAMA MD, Pwajok, 2 days after Removing FAAN Boss
The federal government on Monday sacked the head of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Mr Mathew Pwajok.
This is barely 48 hours after removing from office, the Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Capt. Erabiu Yadudu.
Pwajok was replaced by the Director of Aerodrome and Airspace Standards, Engr. Tayib Odunowo, whose appointment is yet to be confirmed officially.
The MD of FAAN was removed from office alongside five other directors of the agency.
The government has subsequently, appointed the current Manager of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, Kabir Yusuf Mohammed, as the new MD of FAAN.
7. UN’s Telecomms Agency, ITU, Wants $100bn Fund to Deepen Digitalization in Developing Countries
The United Nations’ International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has called on countries and private sector players to double their commitment towards raising funding to $100 billion by 2026 to boost telecom services, especially in developing countries.
Data released by the ITU revealed that about 2.7 billion people around the world were offline in 2022.
With this, the agency warned that the gap in digital connectivity is widening hence the need to bridge it.
ITU chief Doreen Bogdan-Martin, said in a statement that tech is at the top of the global agenda but the benefits of digital technology are still out of reach for too many people.
ITU said that the world’s 46 least-developed countries are home to nearly one-third of the global offline population.
It stressed the need for a serious commitment to accelerate digital transformation for everyone.
ITU said it was launching a worldwide appeal, calling for an increase in the value of pledges for digitalising the world from the current $30 billion to $100 billion by 2026.
8. PenCom Recovers N384.28m Pension Contributions Owed Workers by Employers in Q1 2023
Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Aisha Dahir-Umar, has revealed that the Commission had recovered N384.28 million as pension contributions owed workers by defaulting employers in the first quarter (January to March) of 2023.
Dahir-Umar stated that industries with large labour turnover should pay contributory pension schemes to protect workers’ interests and address the need for their compensation, retirement benefits and severance packages.
Speaking at the 2023 Labour Writers Association of Nigeria (LAWAN) workshop, in Lagos the PenCom boss explained that the contributory pension would ensure that workers have accrued rights to particular funds as entitlement.
9. Global Investors Misunderstand African Market – Zubairu, AFC Boss
President of Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), Samaila Zubairu, has said one of the challenges that the African market faces presently is that global investors do not have a clear knowledge of it and so misunderstand the depth of its opportunities.
Zubairu said the only people that looking at the African market are the Asians, the Chinese, who understand that the continent has a huge market and are making products for the market.
He said the continent needs urgent investment in infrastructure, which he estimated to be between $130 billion and $170 billion.
10. Govt To Start Disbursements, Salaries via e-Naira Platform – CBN
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has revealed that a team is working on making government disbursements and
salaries receivable via the e-Naira platform.
This was known during the eNaira sensitization campaign drive in the University of Jos (UNIJOS) organised by the CBN and Zenith Bank Plc.
The initiative is to promote the adoption of e-Naira, the country’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) to the management, staff, and students of the university.
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.
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