Author: Alade Adisa

The United Kingdom government on Monday approved a takeover of Royal Mail’s owner by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky’s EP group in a deal worth £3.6 billion ($4.5 billion).The “deal protects workers and key services whilst seeing Royal Mail continue to be headquartered in Britain, securing jobs and tax receipts in the UK”, the government said in a statement.The 48-year-old made his fortune in the energy industry, where he controls one of Central Europe’s largest groups, EPH. WHO’S KRETINSKYKretinsky was born in the eastern Czech city of BrnoLondon, United Kingdom:A billionaire with interests in football clubs, media outlets, supermarkets and now…

December 2024 is shaping up to be a thrilling month for Nollywood fans, as cinemas prepare to showcase some of the most anticipated films to round off the year. Last year’s record-breaking ‘A Tribe Called Judah’, which earned over 1billion views, highlights how December Nollywood movies have become a tradition for clients. This festive season, producers have flooded social media with teasers and promotional campaigns, leaving no doubt that this December will be packed with excitement. The hilarious and heartwarming Jenifa franchise is back, with one of the greatest installments from the Funke Akindele movie. The all star movie follows…

The failure of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to publish its annual accounts is generating concerns among stakeholders in the country. Economists and finance analysts have said the apex bank’s action is a breach of the transparency requirements outlined in the CBN Act, which stipulated that; “The Bank shall, within two months after the close of each financial year, transmit to the National Assembly and the President a copy of its annual accounts certified by the Auditor.” Additionally, the Act, in Section 50(3), stipulates that these accounts must be published in the government gazette “as soon as possible.” The…

Verified reports indicate that the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) disbursed a total of N2.08 trillion in allocations to local government councils between July and December 2024. NEW DAILY PRIME observed that despite the July 2024 Supreme Court ruling granting full financial autonomy to the 774 local government areas (LGAs) in the country, the allocations were still paid to state government accounts. This development, it was learnt, has angered officials and members of the Association of the Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) and National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE). The landmark Supreme Court ruling directed that funds meant for…

The Dangote refinery has added Cameroon, Angola, Ghana, and South Africa to the growing list of African countries buying premium motor spirit (petrol) from it in the past few weeks. The development was disclosed by Vice President of Oil and Gas, Dangote Industries Limited, Devakumar Edwin, while playing host to a delegation from the Japanese Business Community in Nigeria, led by Japan’s Ambassador-designate to Nigeria, Suzuki Hideo. The company’s spokesman, Anthony Chiejina, in a statement on Sunday, quoted Edwin as confirming that products from the refinery meet international standards and are already being exported globally. The statement read, “In recent…

Contrary to news circulating in the media, the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has said that the French military has no plans to set up a base in Nigeria. This comes as a human rights activist, Mahdi Shehu, lampooned the government for denying the development in a social media post on Saturday. Shehu, in the post, which had a video, claimed that some French military officers had arrived in Borno State as part of the process to set up the base. The rights activist wrote, “Last week, the Chief of Defence Staff denied any plan to establish French military bases in Nigeria.…

Former Kogi governor, Yahaya Bello has threatened to sue a news website over a report quoting him to have said he would reveal to the world how President Bola Tinubu became Nigerian president in court during his ongoing trial for money laundering and fraud by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Yahaya Bello said this in a statement signed by Michael Ohiare, the Director of Media Office, in Abuja on Sunday evening. The statement described the report as not only misleading, “but a confirmation of how unintelligent some unrelenting detractors of the former governor are.” According to the former…

A 16-year-old boy has been arrested in Belen city, New Mexico, United States (US) for killing his father, mother and two brothers. The teenager was arrested on Sunday after he called the Valencia County Sheriff’s Office himself to announce the quadruple murder of his family members, police and State officials said. The Valencia County Sheriff’s Office Received a 911 emergency call before dawn on Saturday from a male minor “who told the dispatcher he had killed his family,” New Mexico State Police said in a statement. According to the office, when deputies arrived at the home, the 16-year-old boy walked…

The federal government of Nigeria has made its first full payment of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) levy in 19 years, contributing N85.54 billion and $54 million for 2023 and part of 2024. This was announced by the president of the ECOWAS Commission, Omar Touray, during the 66th ordinary summit of ECOWAS in Abuja on Sunday. Touray called the payment “a vote of confidence” in the organisation and a demonstration of Nigeria’s leadership in West Africa. He also highlighted the importance of the payment, noting that it would support ECOWAS efforts in regional integration and development. The…

At least several hundred people are feared to have been killed after the worst cyclone in almost a century ripped through the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte on Saturday, uprooting trees, tearing houses apart, and pounding the impoverished archipelago’s already weak infrastructure. Rescuers have been dispatched to the islands, which lie between the coast of Mozambique and Madagascar, but their efforts are likely to be hindered by damage to airports and electricity distribution in an area where clean drinking water is subject to chronic shortages. Speaking to Mayotte’s la 1ere TV station on Sunday, the archipelago’s prefect, François-Xavier Bieuville,…