Author: Drum Africa Correspondent
Senator Shehu Sani has expressed disappointment over the rising price of petrol despite expectations that the Dangote refinery would lower costs. In a post shared on X on Saturday, the former lawmaker stated, “The expectation was that Dangote Refinery will crash the price of petrol; the news that it’s increasing is baffling.” This follows an announcement by Dangote Petroleum Refinery confirming a price increase for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS). The refinery now sells PMS at N955 per litre for customers purchasing 2 to 4.99 million litres and N950 per litre for purchases of 5 million litres or more. This price…
Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, has approved the recruitment of 1,800 teachers, 100 non-teaching staff, and 200 security personnel as part of efforts to bolster the state’s education sector and create a safer school environment. The Chairman of the Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM), Malam Bello Abubakar, announced the development in a statement on Friday in Ilorin, highlighting the initiative’s focus on addressing staffing gaps in rural schools. According to Abubakar, the application process will soon be launched online. Eligible candidates must possess a Bachelor’s degree in Education or equivalent qualifications, including B.Ed., B.Sc. (Ed.), B.A. (Ed.), or a university degree…
Brazil has formally announced Nigeria’s admission as a partner country in the BRICS alliance. The Brazilian Foreign Ministry made this known in a statement on Friday. Brazil’s announcement makes Nigeria BRICS’ ninth partner country, joining Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Thailand, Uganda, and Uzbekistan. The statement reads, “The Brazilian government welcomes the Nigerian government’s decision. “With the world’s sixth-largest population and Africa’s largest as well as being one of the continent’s major economies, Nigeria shares convergent interests with other members of BRICS. “It plays an active role in strengthening South-South cooperation and in reforming global governance issues that are top…
Twelve political parties will contest for the chairmanship and councillor offices in the elections set to be held across all 18 local government areas of Ondo State today. Before the scheduled poll, the last council election in the state was conducted on August 23, 2020, with the tenure of the elected council officials elapsing on August 22, 2023. Since then, the administration of the 18 council areas of the state has been managed by civil servants, specifically the Heads of Local Government Administrations. However, after several postponements, the Ondo State Independent Electoral Commission finally fixed January 18, 2025, for the…
Petrol prices in Nigeria have increased to between N1,050 and N1,150 per litre, varying by location. This rise follows price increases by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and various depot owners. Dealers say petrol prices will keep rising because crude oil, the main component in fuel production, continues to increase in cost. Earlier this week, Festus Osifo, the National President of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, predicted this price rise. “The crude price rose to $80 per barrel today (Thursday). Without exchange rate improvements, PMS prices will increase in the coming weeks,” Osifo said. The Dangote…
The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi has said that the N800 billion allocated to the ministry in the 2025 budget proposal is not enough to fix the country’s road infrastructural needs. Umahi, a former Governor of Ebonyi State disclosed this on Friday at a 2025 budget defence session hosted by the House Committee on Works. He called on the Committee chaired by Akin Alabi to look at the possibility of reviewing upward the Ministry’s budgetary allocation in the 2025 fiscal year. “We plead with you to help us. N800bn eight hundred billion naira cannot do anything for us. It cannot…
The Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun has clarified the incident that occurred during the presentation of the Nigeria Police Force 2025 budget to the Joint Committees on Police Affairs and Police Institutions at the National Assembly Complex, Abuja, on January 16, 2025. Egbetokun noted that the disruption which erupted during the session was an “unnecessary drama that could have been avoided,” according to a statement issued on Friday by the Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, at the Force Headquarters in Abuja. Before the presentation, the police boss had presented two versions of the budget to the committee members–both containing…
As South East Development Commission sets to take off, Udora Orizu writes on what to know about some of the Board nominees after their confirmation by the Senate. The Senate on Monday, January 13, 2025 screened and confirmed the nominees for South East Development Commission and other regional development commissions. Recall that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu last month constituted the board of the Commission, appointing the chairman, executive directors, and the entire membership. The announcement made in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, stated that it reflects the President’s commitment to ensuring effective…
There was a heated argument during a 2025 budget defence session on Thursday at the National Assembly as lawmakers sought to make sense of the details in last year’s budget of the Nigeria Police Force. Trouble began when the Inspector General of Police, IGP, Kayode Egbetokun, was providing a breakdown of funds allocated for the construction of five zonal police headquarters across the country. Egbetokun had barely started his presentation when a member of the House of Representatives, Mark Esset, from Akwa Ibom, interjected, questioning why the details being read by the IGP were not contained in the documents provided…
The Rivers State Government has said that nine people have died in a fresh cholera outbreak in the state. The government said the cases were recorded in two local government areas of the state, Andoni and Akuku-Toru LGAs. The State Commissioner for Health, Dr Adaeze Oreh confirmed the development in Port Harcourt, on Thursday, during a media briefing. Oreh noted that while three people died in Andoni LGA, Akuku-Toru recorded six deaths. The health commissioner stated the deaths followed a total of 41 suspected cases in the two LGAs. She said that the state government through the Ministry of Health…