ALL THE RELEVANT NEWS: SUNDAY

17 Sep ALL THE RELEVANT NEWS: SUNDAY

🌎President Bola Tinubu departs Abuja on Sunday to attend the 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, United States of America (USA), to be accompanied by six governors, seven ministers and some senior aides. This would be President Tinubu’s first outing at the UNGA.

🌎Vice President Kashim Shettima has emphasized the need for cooperation among world leaders to maximize opportunities to resolve the world’s challenges. According to a statement by the Director Information, Office of the Vice President, Olusola Abiola, Shettima said this Friday in his address to world leaders at the ongoing G77+China Leaders’ Summit at the Palace Convention Havana, Cuba.

🌎President Bola Tinubu has approved the nomination of Jamila Bio Ibrahim to serve as the Minister of Youth, pending her confirmation by the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The president has further approved the nomination of Ayodele Olawande to serve as the Minister of State for Youth, pending his confirmation by the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

🌎Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, said on Friday that the NNPC Retails Limited made a profit of N18.4 billion in the first quarter of 2023. The company now has over 900 fuel stations spread across the country, while controlling about 30 percent of market in the downstream sector of the petroleum industry.
*The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has announced the appointments of three new executives. The new appointees are: Oritsemeyiwa A. Eyesan, Executive Vice President, Upstream. Olalekan Ogunleye, Executive Vice President, Gas, Power, and New Energy and Adedapo A. Segun, Executive Vice President, Downstream.
*The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited says it has signed a landmark memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals Limited (IEPL) on gas supply. NNPC said on Saturday that the deal, estimated at $ 7 billion, was sealed in to promote the use of natural gas by large-scale gas utilisation industries.

🌎Nigeria’s delegation to the G77+China Summit, led by Vice President Kashim Shettima, on Saturday, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Republic of Cuba to enhance collaboration in Innovation, Science and Technology between the two countries.

🌎Telecoms investment inflow grew from $38 billion to $77 billion by the second quarter of 2023, the Executive Vice-Chairman, Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta, has said.

🌎The Federal Government is considering the termination of some abandoned projects inherited from previous successive governments that have no clear source of funding. The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, made this known while briefing state house correspondents after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

🌎The United Kingdom has announced an increase in the cost of student and tourist visas. According to a statement by the UK’s Home Office on Friday, the cost of a visit visa for less than six months will increase by £15 to £115, while the fee for a student visa will rise by £127 to £490. The Home Office said the increases will enable the government to allow more funding to be prioritised for the public sector.

🌎Security Stories: No fewer than 33 people who were kidnapped a few days ago by gunmen in Alkaleri Local Government Area of Bauchi State have been rescued by the Joint Security Task Force operating in the LGA.
*Bandits have raided the Dogon Noma village, in the Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State, killing no fewer than two locals, and kidnapping three others on Friday. The bandits, it was gathered, took away six motorcycles after the attack to an unknown destination.
*The Nigerian Army has said its troops from Operation Hadarin Daji have successfully rescued 17 kidnap victims and some rustled cattle

🌎Russia-Ukraine War: Recapturing the village of Andriivka gave Ukraine a key position in the fight for the eastern city of Bakhmut, a Ukrainian commander said. Kyiv’s forces released stark video Saturday showing that little remains of the town.
*Russia’s air forces thwarted a coordinated Ukrainian attack on Crimea early on Sunday, destroying at least six drones that were targeting the peninsula from different directions, the Russian defence ministry said. Two drones were destroyed at 1:15 a.m. (2215 GMT Saturday) off the western coast of Crimea and four more half an hour later off the northwestern and eastern coasts, the ministry said on the Telegram messaging app.
*The EU has measures against Kyiv’s agricultural exports, promising Ukraine will address concerns about cheap grain undercutting farmers elsewhere in Europe. Unconvinced, several countries say they’ll defy the decision.
*North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected warplanes and toured an airfield on the latest stop of his trip to Russia. The visit has raised speculation that Kim could strike an arms deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin, boosting the war in Ukraine.
*Russia is likely able to stockpile a significant number of cruise missiles, which could be used to once again bombard the Ukrainian power grid this winter, the UK’s defense ministry warned.