The Federal Government has appealed to the United States of America to repatriate more illicit funds transferred from Nigerian officials through its banking system. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, appealed in his remarks at the 6th Session of the Nigeria-US Bi-National Commission in Abuja on Monday. Speaking at the event, Ambassador Tuggar, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Adamu Lamuwa emphasised the need for increased support from the U.S., citing $308 million as insufficient compared to Nigeria’s losses from illegal fund transfers over the y ..read more

The National Association of Nigerian Students has threatened to embark on mass action if the Federal Government fails to take immediate steps to address the current fuel scarcity in the country. The students’ body also asked the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mr Mele Kyari, to resign if he could not take decisive actions to resolve the fuel crisis. The association’s Senate President, Babatunde Akinteye, in a statement on Monday, lamented that the fuel scarcity has left many citizens, including students, frustrated and helpless. Pointblanknews.com re ..read more

An unprecedented alert on sextortion scams targeting teenagers has been sent out to British teachers after the number of reported cases doubled in a year. Officials at the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA) issued the warning on Monday, highlighting the “devastating’’ impact the scams can have on young people duped into handing over intimate photos. Sextortion is blackmail where criminals threaten to release nude or semi-nude photos of someone, either real or fake, unless the victim pays them. The number of global cases reported to the US National Centre for Missing and Exploited Chi ..read more

Personnel of the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Pathfinder, on Monday, rescued over 250 persons including children following a boat mishap, involving a cargo boat, MV Precious Emmanuel, along Buguma waterways in Asari-Toru local government area of Rivers State. The commercial boat, MV Precious Emmanuel, was conveying goods worth millions of Naira from Sangana in Brass local government area of Bayelsa State, to Nembe jetty in Port Harcourt when the accident occured. Pointblanknews.com gathered that the boat conveying goods such as smoked fish, crayfish, bunches of plantains, and numerous crates of al ..read more

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) on Monday, April 29, revealed that it has begun the 2024 marginal fields bid round for 17 oil blocks. The NUPRC’s chief executive, Gbenga Komolafe, who broke the news at the First Edition of the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) in Abuja, added that the process will end by January 2025. He said: “It is my pleasure and honour to announce to you that the 2024 licensing round as prescribed in the Petroleum Industry Act will commence from the end of this month and will be in the market. “The process has comm ..read more

A Federal High Court, Abuja has granted an interim order sought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to freeze at least 1,146 bank accounts belonging to individuals and companies over allegations bordering on unauthorised dealing in foreign exchange, among others. Pointblanknews.com reports that other offences being investigated by the EFCC bordered on money laundering and terrorism financing. Justice Emeka Nwite, in a ruling on the ex-parte motion moved by counsel for the anti-graft agency, Ekele Iheanacho, also granted the commission’s application to conclude the investigat ..read more

Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has announced a new minimum wage of N70,000 for civil servants. The governor made this known on Monday, while inaugurating the Labour House. Obaseki named the Labour House after Adams Oshiomhole, Senator representing Edo North, and former governor of the state. “The new minimum wage regime in Edo will take effect from May 1, 2024,” the governor said. Recall the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and Trade Union Congress, TUC, have been pushing for a new minimum wage for workers across states. This is coming on the heels of the hardship occasioned by the economic ..read more

The Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System has said that financial institutions lost about N17.67bn to fraud in 2023. This was disclosed in its Annual Fraud Landscape (January to December 2023) which was published on its website on Monday. NIBSS incorporated in 1993 provides a mechanism for same-day clearing and settlement of inter-bank transfers and payments According to the report, the fraud count decreased by six per cent to 95,620. However, actual loss from fraud increased by 23 per cent in 2023 when  compared to 2022 with the first quar ..read more

A pro-democracy group, The Democratic Front (TDF) on Sunday, April 28, silenced the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for arrogating to itself the magic wand to deliver the nation’s economy after plunging it into ruins for sixteen years. Reacting to the communique issued by PDP at the end of its National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, the group in a statement jointly signed by its chairman, Danjuma Mohammed and Secretary Wale Adedayo said PDP is not in a position to advise President Bola Tinubu on governance. The statement reads: “Imagine a political party that failed woefully and ..read more

The foremost Movement for the Survival of Izon Ethnic Nationality in Niger Delta (MOSIEND) has declared the Niger Delta will massively support Tinubu in 2027 because of the impressive performance of the current board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) led by the commission’s Managing Director, Samuel Ogbuku. Describing the current NDDC’s board performance as a launch pad for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election, the vice-president of MOSIEND Worldwide, High Chief Thompson Fuoye, said the board’s all-inclusive administration had drawn the Niger Delta people to Tinubu. Fuoye, in a s ..read more