Author: Alade Adisa

Pascal Dozie, a former chairman of MTN Nigeria and founder of the defunct Diamond Bank Plc, has passed away. He was aged 85 and would have turned 86 on Wednesday. The former banking legend died in the early hours of Tuesday, a statement issued by the family said. His son, Uzoma Dozie, also a banker said in a statement, “With deep sorrow, but with gratitude to God for a life well spent, we announce the passing of our beloved father, Pascal Gabriel Dozie, on 8th April 2025. “He was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, and a man of unwavering Catholic…

Providing what could be regarded as the first official response three days after the announcement, the Federal Government has admitted that US President Donald Trump’s newly imposed tariffs will adversely affect several of Nigeria’s oil and non-oil exports. While several governments of the world had been reacting and bracing for the much-vaunted tariffs even before they were finally imposed last week, the Nigerian government has offered its first take on the global development, admitting that the adverse effects of the tariffs, will disrupt trade relations, and weaken the competitiveness of Nigerian products in the U.S. market. According to a PUNCH…

Fearing a possible breakdown of law and order, the Northern Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) has dissociated itself from the nationwide protest, tagged ‘Take-It-Back’ planned for today. In a statement issued on Sunday in Kaduna, NYCN President, Isah Abubakar, warning that such demonstrations could inflame tensions and destabilise the country. Abubakar said while the council acknowledges the frustrations of many young Nigerians, it believes that the current atmosphere calls for restraint, dialogue, and national unity, not street protests. His statement read, “We are deeply concerned about the rising tension across various regions and the increasingly fragile socio-political climate. “As an…

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Sunday that President Trump’s reciprocal tariffs will take effect later this week, suggesting they aren’t open to negotiation after the announcement sent shockwaves through the investment world and sparked recession fears. “The tariffs are coming. He announced that, and he wasn’t kidding,” Lutnick said of Trump on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.” Last week, the president announced 10% tariffs on imports from all countries, along with increasing levies on dozens of countries that charge higher taxes on American exports, which are set to go into effect this week. Meanwhile, financial markets saw their worst…

Senator Magnus Abe has urged Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, to reconsider his efforts in stopping the April 12th rally organized by supporters of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief Nyesom Wike. In a post on his verified Facebook page, Abe expressed disbelief over the Bayelsa government’s deployment of resources aimed at preventing Wike from visiting the state, despite the minister’s public statement that he had no plans to attend the event. Abe stated that the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria guarantees every citizen, including Wike, the right to freedom of movement within the country.…

Senior officials within Donald Trump’s administration officials gave conflicting messages on Sunday about the US president’s global tariffs that have caused a meltdown in stock markets, prompted warnings of a world recession and provoked rare expressions of dissent from within his Republican party. Cabinet members fanned out across Sunday’s political talk shows armed with talking points on Trump’s 10% across-the-board tariff on almost all US imports, with higher rates targeted at about 60 countries. If the intention was to calm nerves with a clear statement of intent, then it backfired as top officials gave starkly contrasting signals. Howard Lutnick, the…

The Bayelsa State Command of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) has denied reports that its facility at the Okaka Custodial Centre is illegally holding former First Lady, Patience Jonathan’s 15 former domestic staff. Making the denial in a statement on Sunday, the Okaka Custodial Centre spokesman, Isari Gbosi Tombara, dismissed the reports as false and aimed at tarnishing the image of the service. The statement read, “The rumour has been in circulation, purporting that the former first lady detained the said domestic staff since 2019 for theft, and that there was a closed-door meeting between the former first lady and…

Just days after Trump launched his trade war, Musk envisions a transatlantic free-trade zone ‘at the end of the day.’ Tesla CEO and U.S. government official Elon Musk on Saturday backed eventually ending all tariffs and creating a free-trade zone between the U.S. and the European Union, just days after U.S. President Donald Trump slapped hefty tariffs on the EU and most of the rest of the world. Musk’s comments, made in a video-streamed interview at a congress organized by Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini and his far-right League party, followed Trump’s imposition of a 20 percent tariff on…

Less than two weeks before the start of a landmark antitrust trial against tech giant Meta, the growing relationship between President Donald Trump and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is stoking fears in Washington that the White House could pull the plug on the whole case. The trial, scheduled for April 14, is the culmination of a nearly six-year investigation and legal battle. Launched by the Federal Trade Commission during Trump’s first term and advanced by former President Joe Biden’s antitrust enforcers, it could ultimately force Meta to sell off Instagram and WhatsApp — a colossally expensive and complex maneuver that…

U.K. prime minister promises to “turbocharge” plans to improve the U.K.’s competitiveness this week. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his government is ready to use industrial policy to mitigate the impact of the tariffs that the Trump administration just imposed, adding that all options are being considered in Britain’s response. “We stand ready to use industrial policy to help shelter British business from the storm,” Starmer wrote in an op-ed published late Saturday in the Telegraph. “Some people may feel uncomfortable about … the idea the state should intervene directly,” the prime minister admitted. “But we simply cannot cling…