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The Department of Petroleum Resources, Enugu Field Office, on Monday sealed off eight petrol stations in Enugu for dispensing Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) above the government approved pump price. The Head, Operations, Mr. Afam Azuike, disclosed this on Monday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Enugu. Azuike, however, said that three out of the affected petrol stations were later unsealed as they reverted to the government approved price of the product. He said that the sealing off of the defaulting petrol stations followed public outcry over the weekend that petroleum marketers had arbitrarily increased the pump price of petrol. He said that the field office on Monday embarked on ‘an aggressive surveillance’ in Enugu metropolis during which they inspected 29 petrol stations. “We discovered that the major marketers sold between N162 and N175. They complained about the cost of the product at the depot as well as the freight charges from Lagos to Enugu. “We are aware tha...

Flutterwave, Africa’s leading payments technology company, today announces a new collaboration with global payment leader PayPal to enable PayPal customers globally to pay African merchants in the continent through Flutterwave’s platform. The collaboration will be instrumental in supporting SMEs and freelancers to overcome the many challenges presented by the highly fragmented and complex payment and banking infrastructure, as well as connecting them with more than 377 million PayPal account holders globally. Traditionally, Africa’s eCommerce ecosystem has lacked suitable payment solutions to meet demand for seamless transactions worldwide, further constraining its contributions to the global digital economy. However, this collaboration eliminates significant barriers that have previously hindered African consumers and businesses from the untapped potential of cross-border eCommerce. Flutterwave has transformed the payments space in Africa by offering flexible, quick and affordable pay...

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) have announced the introduction of new charges for customers using the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) services. The 2 regulatory agencies said that customers will pay a flat fee of N6.98 per transaction every time they use USSD services with effect from Tuesday, March 16, 2021. This is the outcome of the meeting between the CBN, NCC, deposit money banks and mobile network operators (MNOs) over a protracted dispute concerning appropriate pricing for the USSD pricing model for financial services which resulted in accumulated debt and a possible withdrawal of USSD services by MNOs. This disclosure is contained in a statement jointly signed by the CBN’s Acting Director, Corporate Communications, Osita Nwanisobi; and Director, Public Affairs, Nigerian Communications Commission, Ikechukwu Adinde on Tuesday. The joint statement stated that the new charges was part of the resolution reached at th...

Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State, has expressed concern that despite the long years of oil exploration in the state, there was nothing tangible people of oil-producing communities in the state have to show for it. Ikpeazu, while receiving the Senate and House of Representatives Joint Committee on Petroleum Industry Bill led by Senator Albert Bassey at Government House, Umuahia, said that Abia oil-producing communities have remained peaceful more than other oil-producing communities in the country, stressing that the peaceful disposition of the communities should serve as a model for the compensation of oil-producing communities. The governor lamented that the oil exploration and production companies who do business in Abia do not pay taxes to the state, but rather reside in neighbouring states where they pay their taxes. He said, “Even though the oil companies receive unfettered cooperation from the oil-bearing communities in Abia State, you will not notice one signboard of any co...

The federal government says it is still working on the recovery of additional looted assets within the region of £100 million, linked to James Ibori, former governor of Delta state. Abubakar Malami, attorney-general of the federation, stated this when he featured on a Channels Television programme on Tuesday.   When asked about the recovery of other looted funds abroad, Malami said the federal government is still pursuing additional components linked to Ibori and Sani Abacha, former head of state. Malami noted that the federal government has only succeeded in recovering £4.2 million from around £100 million traced to the former governor.   “The quantum of the amount involved was within the region of £100 million. It is out of it that we succeeded in the recovery of £4.2 million. We are still pursuing additional sums within the estimated region of £100 million. That would be a function of conviction, as I stated earlier, and subsequent recovery process,” he said. “There is stil...

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has observed the increasing number of messages published in the print media by groups and individuals, congratulating Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa on his well-deserved appointment as the Executive Chairman of the Commission. While the open exhibition of affection and solidarity may be salutary in our cultural milieu, and indeed appreciated, it is however inauspicious at this point in time and gradually turning into a distraction. Mr. Bawa is assuming the leadership of the EFCC at a time of great challenge and he desires to hit the ground running. What he needs from well-wishers and indeed all Nigerians, is support and prayers, and more importantly, credible information that will further the work of the Commission. He therefore appeals to all his admirers and well-wishers who might have the intention of demonstrating their love and support for him through paid newspaper advertisement to desist, and instead channel such resources to more worth...