ALL THE RELEVANT NEWS: THURSDAY

08 Jun ALL THE RELEVANT NEWS: THURSDAY

🌎Stories from the Villa
President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday called on the European Union to assist Nigeria and Africa in strengthening security and economic development to alleviate poverty in the continent. He spoke during a telephone conversation with the President of the European Council, Mr. Charles Michel.
He has directed the National Economic Council (NEC) led by Vice President Kashim Shettima, to begin the process of working on interventions to cushion the impact of subsidy removal on Nigerians.
Ahead of its inauguration, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will, on Thursday, meet with members-elect of the 10th National Assembly.

🌎Oil fell on Thursday as worries about weakening demand in a global economic slowdown overshadowed a pending drop in supply resulting from Saudi Arabia’s pledged production cuts. Brent crude fell 28 cents, or 0.4%, to $76.67 a barrel by 0930 GMT.

🌎The Depots and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) on Wednesday in Abuja pledged its support for the Federal Government’s removal of fuel subsidies by providing between 50 and 100 mass transit buses.

🌎Oil and gas companies operating in Nigeria flared 92.3 million standard cubic feet, mscf, of gas, worth an estimated N150 billion between January and April 2023, according to a report by the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, NOSDRA.

🌎The Federal Government is set to partially privatise three of its national parks as part of efforts to optimize the conservation of the biodiversity in the protected areas and turn them into top tourists destinations. The three national parks are in Taraba/Adamawa, Cross River and Niger states.

🌎The National Commissioner, Nigeria Data Protection Bureau, Dr. Vincent Olatunji, has said that the sector has combined earnings of N5.5bn.

🌎A private Nigerian airline, Air Peace Ltd, has sued the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) before the Federal High Court in Lagos over the alleged disruption of its operations by the unions and its officers.

🌎The extent of Nigerian banks’ exposure to the Ghanaian economic and fiscal crisis through subsidiaries operating in the country and investments in Ghana bonds has been at about N800 billion ($1.7 billion), which accounted for an estimated 4 per cent of the Industry’s total investment securities in a report released by Agusto &Co.

🌎The Board of Directors of Lafarge Africa Plc has announced the appointment of Mr Lolu Alade-Akinyemi as the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (GMD/CEO) of the Company with effect from 1st July 2023.

🌎The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, on Wednesday, held separate valedictory meetings with his legislative aides and members of the Senate Press Corps.
* Emotions were high on Wednesday during the valedictory session of the House of Representatives, as Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila officially dissolved the 9th assembly.

🌎Security Stories: Police in Abia State, South-east Nigeria, said a Chinese national Li Peiyin, abducted on 31 May, in the state had been rescued by a team of security agents.
* Armed men have abducted a seven-year-old girl in Yangoji village, Kwali Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
* Gunmen have kidnapped three family members at Greenland community behind 500 Housing Estate, Ganaja in Ajaokuta Local Government Area of Kogi State.

🌎Russia-Ukraine War: Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has visited the southern Kherson region hit by floods after Tuesday’s breach of the Kakhovka dam. He accused aid agencies of failing to help, and appealed for an international effort to help people trapped in floodwaters in Russian-occupied territory. Rescue efforts continue after the breach – which flooded 30 communities along the Dnipro river, according to a Ukrainian minister
* Dislodged landmines have sparked major concerns for residents in the Kherson region, the Red Cross has warned
* Kyiv and Moscow have blamed each other for the breach, which occurred in territory occupied by Russia. The cause remains unclear, and CNN analysis of satellite images shows the dam was damaged just days before it collapsed.
* Meanwhile, there has been speculation over the status of Kyiv’s long-anticipated counter-offensive – and a minister said on Wednesday that a full-scale assault was yet to begin
* Russia’s Belgorod region saw heavy shelling overnight, according to its governor, while Ukraine’s deputy defense minister says fighting around the eastern city of Bakhmut “remains the epicenter of hostilities.”
* Bilateral trade between Russia and China totaled more than $93.8 billion from January to May in 2023, a 40.7% increase compared to the same period last year, data from China’s General Administration of Customs showed.