Nigeria taking Binance executive hostage – US lawmakers US lawmakers have accused Nigeria of taking a Binance Holdings Ltd. executive, Tigran Gambaryan, “hostage”. They are urging President Joe Biden to help secure his release. Sixteen Republican congressmen including Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Michael McCaul wrote to Biden to have the case of Gambaryan referred to the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs. A US citizen, Gambaryan, is head of financial crime compliance at Binance and has been held in Abuja since April 2024. Bloomberg reports that the lawmakers wrote in a June 4 letter,…
Author: Daily News Hub
Fuel subsidy is projected to gulp about N5.4 trillion in 2024, according to the federal government. This is against the N3.6 trillion budgeted for the same intervention in 2023. A draft copy report of the Accelerated Stabilization and Advancement Plan (ASAP) presented to President Tinubu by the finance minister, Wale Edun, on Tuesday, showed that the estimated expenditure on fuel subsidy for 2024 is N5.4 trillion, a sum of N1.8 trillion more than the amount spent in 2023. The ASAP was designed to address key challenges affecting the reform initiatives and stimulate development in various sectors of the economy. “At…
Police in Niger State say no fewer than 14 miners are still trapped under the ruble of a collapsed mining pit in Galkogo community, Shiroro Local Government Area of the state. The mining site operated by ‘African Minerals and Logistics Limited’ caved in after a heavy downpour during which 50 workers got trapped inside the rubble. The mine collapsed on Sunday evening during which one of the miners lost his life in the accident while six others were seriously injured. Six of the miners were said to have escaped unhurt. A team of Police operatives led by the Commissioner of…
Agency Report Customers of the liquidated Heritage Bank gathered at the bank’s headquarters in Lagos on Wednesday, to seek clarification on the beginning of their deposit payments. A visit by a News Agency of Nigeria correspondent revealed that security personnel stationed at the bank’s entrance prevented customers from entering the premises. Addressing the customers through the gate, an official informed them that payments had begun for savings account holders and wouldcontinue until Friday. “You don’t need to take any action. NDIC staff are already processing payments. Your money will be transferred to your other account linked with your BVN,” the…
…says ‘probe is jaundiced, should be disregarded as politically motivated hatchet job’ Immediate past governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has dismissed the report by the Kaduna State House of Assembly recommending his prosecution, saying it’s scandalous. The Assembly had recommended that El-Rufai be prosecuted for abuse of office and money laundering in his administration. Reacting to his former principal’s indictment by the ad hoc committee of the Kaduna State House of Assembly, El-Rufai’s Special Adviser on Media and Communication, Muyiwa Adekeye, affirmed the former governor’s integrity while dismissing what he described as “scandalous claims being aired as the report…
Senate, on Wednesday, approved a bill that grants a 300 per cent salary increase for the Chief Justice of Nigeria and other judicial officers at the Federal and state levels. The plenary approved the report of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights, and Legal Matters, chaired by Senator Mohammed Tahir Monguno (APC- Borno North). The Committee had earlier presented the report to the lawmakers. This follows the consideration and adoption of an executive bill transmitted by President Bola Tinubu, which sought to prescribe improved salaries and allowances as well as other fringe benefits for judicial officers and workers. The…
Main opposition Peoples Democratic Party says it is not in merger talks with any political party ahead of the 2027 election. Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, had a few weeks ago had a private meeting in Abuja with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and several key PDP members. Obi also met separately with former Jigawa State governor, Sule Lamido ,and former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, creating rumours of a potential merger before the 2027 general elections. The LP presidential candidate in the 2023 election was a member of the PDP until 2022 when he left to join the…
House of Representatives again, on Wednesday, urged the President Bola Tinubu-led administration to announce a living wage for Nigerian workers. Doing this, they argued, would address incessant incidence of strikes by organised labour. The House resolution followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance moved by the member representing Balanga/Biliri Federal Constituency, Gombe State, Hon Isa Ali. Ali, while leading the debate on the floor of the green chamber during Wednesday’s plenary, noted that the Federal Government and labour unions have been locked in negotiations over an upward review of the minimum wage. He, however, expressed regret that…
House of Representatives has attacked organised labour, comprising the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress, for feeding the public about what it described as “fake earnings” of its members. It said that the attempt was made to stoke public resentment against the lawmakers and undermine the credibility of the legislature. It warned that such acts could stoke public resentment against lawmakers and undermine the legislature’s credibility, calling for the actors sabotaging the nation’s economy to be brought to justice. The House made this known in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Akin Rotimi, on Tuesday. The statement read, “The…
There was palpable high tension in the Senate on Wednesday as the bill to ban open grazing successfully passed its second reading. The plenary witnessed heated debates and strong emotions, reflecting the contentious nature of the proposed law. If enacted, the bill will finally prohibit open grazing nationwide, aiming to resolve longstanding conflicts between herders and farmers. The bill, sponsored by Senator Titus Zam, representing Benue North West, outlines specific regulations for the establishment and management of ranches, promoting best practices and mitigating disputes between herders and farmers. Zam while explaining the general principles of the bill, stressed the need…