ALL THE RELEVANT NEWS: WEDNESDAY

20 Sep ALL THE RELEVANT NEWS: WEDNESDAY

🌎President Bola Tinubu, on Tuesday in New York City, addressed world leaders at the 78th United Nations General Assembly, during which he made a firm and compelling declaration that the time is now for UN member states to show, with their actions, that they mean what they say concerning the crackdown on terror financing, economic sabotage, and illicit mineral & arms smuggling in the developing world.

🌎Oil prices fell nearly $1 on Wednesday ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision, with investors uncertain when peak rates will be hit and how much of an impact it will have on energy demand. Global benchmark Brent crude futures were last down 88 cents, or 0.9%, at $93.46 a barrel by 0650 GMT.
*President Bola Tinubu has said the leadership of global oil and gas giant ExxonMobil has pledged new production of nearly 40,000 barrels per day in its Nigerian operations. Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday after Tinubu played host to a delegation from ExxonMobil in New York.

🌎Nigeria’s national grid collapsed once more on Tuesday when power generation crashed from a peak of 3,594.60 megawatts at midnight to an alarming low of 42.7MW by midday. Power was restored around 7pm.

🌎The Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC, said Nigeria needs an additional 20,000 schools and 907,769 classrooms to accommodate the nation’s rising out-of-school population. The Director of Press, Federal Ministry of Education, Ben Goong revealed this in a statement on Tuesday.

🌎The Acting Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zacch Adedeji, has said the target of the agency under his watch is to beat Africa’s average tax-to-GDP ratio of 16.5%, by achieving 18% within three years.

🌎The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board(JAMB) have resolved to set up a joint technical committee to fashion out modalities for speedy disbursement of the students loan to beneficiaries. The decision to set up the technical committee was taken when both agencies of government held a meeting in Abuja as part of the efforts to actualise the provisions of the Higher Education Act 2023, otherwise known as Students Loan Act

🌎The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited (GenU), and IKEA Foundation have announced a partnership to launch a pioneering Green Entrepreneurship Programme, aimed at empowering African youth to tackle climate change.

🌎The Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, has announced a new numbering format for fixed lines. The Commission said Nigeria’s Fixed-Lines Numbering Format has changed from eight digits to 10 digits by just adding the “02” prefix before the existing fixed number.

🌎After missing its initial deadline, the Dangote Refinery has announced October and November 2023 as the new dates for commencement of petrol refining and diesel and jet fuel operations respectively. Dangote Group Executive Director, Devakumar Edwin, disclosed this in an interview with S&P Global Commodity Insights on Monday.

🌎The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mister Peter Obi as well as the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Abubakar Atiku, on Tuesday filed an appeal at the Supreme Court, seeking nullification of the judgment of the Presidential Election Petitions Court, which upheld the declaration of President Bola Tinubu as the winner of the 2023 polls.

🌎Security Stories: There was tension in Imo State on Tuesday as gunmen allegedly killed no fewer than eight security operatives in the state, including soldiers, policemen, and the Nigeria Security Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
*Suspected gunmen on Monday evening reportedly kidnapped a 60-year-old farmer, Mr Kayode Ajayi, along his farm located at Laduba village in the Asa local government area of Kwara State.
*Gunmen suspected to be terrorists on Sunday night abducted the Zamfara State correspondent of Violence Voice of Nigeria, VON, Hamisu Damgipga, demanding a ransom of N1 million for his release.
*The police in Rivers State, South-south Nigeria, say they have arrested some officers who allegedly kidnapped and extorted a resident in Port Harcourt

🌎Russia-Ukraine War: President Volodymyr Zelensky urged a global front against Russian aggression in a dramatic speech to the UN General Assembly. “The goal of the present war against Ukraine is to turn our lands, our people, our resources into a weapon against you, against the international rules-based order,” he said.
*US President Joe Biden said Russia was betting the world will grow weary of supporting Ukraine and it was incumbent upon UN members to stand firm.
*Ukrainian special services were likely behind a series of drone strikes and a ground operation directed against a Wagner-backed militia near Sudan’s capital.