The Director-General of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Chinyere Almona, has criticized President Bola Tinubu for calling on citizens to exercise patience with his administration while the politicians are living big.

Dr. Chinyere Almona said the President is not being sincere with the citizens. She decried that politicians are living more comfortably than manufacturers who are producing and creating jobs for the citizens.

In an interview with Arise TV on Tuesday, Mrs. Almona explained that the country’s environment is not business-friendly.

While admitting that Nigeria is full of opportunities, she noted that the youths who need jobs cannot harness the opportunities because of corruption, inflation, high interest rates and unfavourable policies of the government.

The LCCI DG said, “I think in most sectors in Nigeria there is opportunity to drive development. What has been lacking is the ease of doing that. So you have a lot of businesses, you have a lot of entrepreneurs who want to go into business. Even the young ones, like we talked about just now, they want to go into business, start their own business, employ people and do so much more in the different sectors. But they are hampered by several things.

“They are hampered by regulation and the fact that regulation stifles rather than promotes. They are hard hit by the inflation, they are hard hit by inability to access finance and the fact that interest rate is so high. They are hard hit by just the basic difficulty in living. And so it just then makes it challenging to operate.

“There are opportunities. I think Nigeria is filled with opportunities. We are rich with opportunities in the different sectors. In mining, there are opportunities in agriculture, there are opportunities. But the private sector isn’t allowed to move. And so you have situations where companies are leaving Nigeria and they are increasing the rate of unemployment because every factory that shuts down, you shove 50,000 people into the employment market. So that’s what the challenge is.

“There are opportunities, but how do we harness those opportunities? How does the government create an enabling environment for businesses to thrive? I was listening to the President’s speech today and he talked about how he wants to harness the youth and the energy of the youth, how he wants to bring them together, how he wants to create jobs. Bringing youth together to talk is great, but then after the talk, then what next?”

Speaking on the 30 days National Youth Conference announced by the President in his Independence Day broadcast, Mrs Almona noted that unless policies are made to create ease of doing business, the result of the conference may not have much effect.

She added that the country’s problem remains leadership, stating that everything falls and rises on the back of leadership.

“So if you have a conference, after the conference, what next? Have you created an enabling environment for them to thrive? The environment is still rife with corruption. And when you have corruption, that means people don’t get the right opportunities or the right access to the right avenues that they need to succeed.

“Leadership is a problem. Leadership, everything falls and rises on the back of leadership, and we need to get leadership right. Today, with the hard economic conditions, we want to see, and what the President did say, oh, we should be patient and watch and wait for the reforms to kick in and begin to give us some positive vibes, as it were.

“I think about it, and the private sector is bleeding. The youth are struggling. But the political circles are living big. We see them all the time. We see them on social media. We see them in the media. They don’t seem bothered. They don’t seem affected by the hardship that Nigerians are facing. And that is a real problem, where you have the political sect being richer than the private sector, who are in the production area. That’s a problem. We need to support production. We need to power production as much as possible,” Dr Almona added.

The House of Representatives has rejected the National Honour conferred on Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas.

The lawmakers accused President Bola Tinubu of discriminating against the lower chamber of the National Assembly after conferring a higher honour to Senate PresidentGodswill Akpabio.

Naija News reported earlier that President Tinubu, while addressing the nation to mark Nigeria’s 64th Independence Anniversary celebration, stated that the Senate President,Akpabio and Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun had been conferred with honour of the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON).

Others mentioned for awards include the Deputy Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Abbas and Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau were conferred with the Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR), respectively.

However, following a motion of urgent public importance moved by Philip Agbese on Wednesday, the House resolved the Reps are not inferior to Senators, and therefore, both leaders should be treated equally.

The motion, signed by 360 members of the House, called for the abolition of the “upper chamber and lower chamber nomenclature”, stating that both chambers are equal.

President Bola Tinubu has left Abuja, the nation’s capital, for a two-week vacation in the United Kingdom, which is part of his annual leave.

Naija News reports the President left the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport at about 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, along with Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila, and other top government officials, were at the airport to bid farewell to the president.

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Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have arrested 24 suspected internet fraudsters in Edo state.

According to a statement by the anti-graft agency, the suspects were arrested on Monday, September 30, 2024, at different locations within Benin City, the Edo state capital.

The agency said 11 exotic cars, laptops, phones, and N160,000 were recovered from the suspects.

“The suspects were arrested following actionable intelligence of their suspected involvement in computer-related fraud,” the statement reads.

“Items recovered from them include 11 exotic cars, laptops and phones. The sum of N160,000.00 (One Hundred and Sixty Thousand Naira) was also recovered from one of the suspects.

“The suspects have made useful statements and will be charged to court as soon as investigations are completed.”

In June, EFCC operatives arrested 50 suspected internet fraudsters in Akure, Ondo state.

The alleged fraudsters were arrested during a raid of two hotels and nightclubs.

The operatives subsequently seized vehicles, laptops, high-end smartphones, and other items from the suspects.

Ten persons lost their lives on Tuesday night when a Toyota Sienna bus ran into a stationary truck at Abule Osun, inward Iyana Iba, along the Lagos-Badagry expressway.

In a statement on the accident, Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, permanent secretary of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), said “in response to distress calls received via the 767/112 Toll-Free Lines at 2307hrs, LASEMA activated its Dolphin Response Team from Igando Base”.

“On arrival at the scene of the road traffic accident at Abule Osun, inward Iyana Iba, along Lagos-Badagry Expressway, it was discovered that a Toyota Sienna bus, registration number BDG 342 FS, laden to capacity with passengers from the Eastern part of the country was involved in a road accident with a parked SHACMAN truck, registration number unknown,” the statement reads.

“Further investigations revealed that the truck, which was laden with granite, was parked on the road, shutting down about half of the carriage way, while the Toyota Sienna on top speed, unknowingly crashed into the parked truck from behind.

“Ten people lost their lives to the unfortunate incident, while three were criticalIy injured.”

Among the dead are three male adults, four female adults, two female children and one male child.

One female adult and two children were taken to a nearby hospital by officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).

“The accidental Toyota Sienna was recovered with the aid of the agency’s lite tow truck and towed to the FRSC station,” the statement added.

“The remaining female adult, and the 2 rescued children (a male and female) fortunately, survived the incident after receiving immediate medical attention from LASAMBUS at the incident scene when they were returned there, before being taken to LASUTH for further treatment.”

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says 20.30 billion litres of premium motor spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, was imported into Nigeria in 2023.

In its ‘Petroleum Products Distribution Statistics for 2023,’ released on Tuesday, the report said the PMS imported last year decreased by 13.77 percent compared to the 23.54 billion litres recorded in 2022.

“In terms of imported products, 20.30 billion litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) were imported in 2023 relative to 23.54 billion litres in 2022, showing a decrease of 13.77%,” the bureau said.

“In 2023, PMS truck out stood at 20.22 billion litres, indicating a 16.96% decrease relative to 24.35 billion litres recorded in 2022.”

For automotive gas oil (AGO), also known as diesel, the report said 109.39 billion litres were locally produced in 2023.

NBS said the figure represents a 6.76 percent growth, compared to 102.47 million litres reported in 2022.

“Also, 4.94 billion litres of Automotive Gas Oil were imported in 2023, indicating an increase of 23.66% compared to 4.00 billion litres in the previous year,” NBS said.

“About 69.71 million litres of Household Kerosene (HHK) were locally produced in 2023 compared to 44.68 million litres in 2022, indicating a growth rate of 56.02% over the period,” NBS said.

On September 21, President Bola Tinubu said Nigeria’s daily consumption of petrol reduced to about 30 million litres after subsidy removal.

Tinubu announced the end of petrol subsidy on May 29, 2023.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday said the 64th Independent Day Speech of President Bola Tinubu further confirmed the “insensitivity of his administration towards the plight and demands by Nigerians”.

In a statement, PDP spokesman Debo Ologunagba said the President’s speech showed no hope in sight under the “clueless, insensitive and unresponsive APC-led government”.

“Nigerians are appalled that the President’s speech was a complete waste of time as it did not address issues or proffer any solution to the myriads of economic and security problems created by the APC government, for which Nigerians are hurting,” he said.

The opposition party said the presidential speech failed to respond to the cries of millions of Nigerians, adding that Tinubu did not review the “life-suffocating policies of his government”.

“It is indeed shocking that Mr. President’s speech practically trivialized the very grave issues of pervasive economic hardship, unemployment, acute poverty, widespread hunger and starvation in our country- for which Nigerians took to the streets in August this year- by claiming that about 10% of Nigerians have been plunged into hunger when confirmed reports show that over 100 million Nigerians can no longer afford their daily meals and other basic necessities of life under the APC watch.

“Equally appalling is Mr. President’s irreconcilable assurances of micro-economic improvement, lower cost of living and food sufficiency, when in reality his administration has failed to lower the price of fuel; the key driver of our nation’s economy, failed to inject resources into the productive sector to boost employment, stem the slide of the Naira and made no tangible investment in food production in any part of the country.

“The failure by Mr. President to listen to Nigeria to reduce the price of fuel, create employment and lift the value of the Naira by ending the profligacy in his government and direct resources to jumpstart our ailing productive sector shows that the APC administration is completely disconnected with Nigerians especially the youths.

“Moreover, from the speech, it is clear that the APC-led administration is determined to stifle our nation’s democracy; the very fundamental of any independent nation as it is loudly silent on the erosion of credible election and constant attacks on constitutionally guaranteed rights of citizens in our country under its watch,” the statement read.

Nigerian media personality, Oladotun Ojuolape Kayode, also known as Do2tun, has weighed in on the continuous rift between Nigerian singers, Davido and Wizkid.

Drama started on Tuesday after Davido announced his first single of 2024, revealing that the track would be a hit.

However, Wizkid, on his X page, wrote: “P***y boys dropping mid again, una don tire! Make una go rest small!”

Although the ‘Ojuelegba’ hitmaker did not mention Davido’s name, fans interpreted the tweet as a direct shot at Davido.

A fan of Davido, however, fired back at Wizkid, accusing him of using the ‘Assurance’ crooner to chase clout.

The user wrote: “So if you no beef @davido your song won’t sell??”

Responding, Wizkid said: “I don’t beef wack niggas! We all know he’s wack! No talent!

In a post via X, Do2dtun stated that both Wizkid and Davido are churning out good music, and it is needless fighting on their behalf for no reason.

When a follower referenced the beef between fuji singers, Pasuma and Osupa, Do2dtun described Davido and Wizkid’s beef as the longest rivalry in the history of Nigerian entertainment.

The video jockey also expressed how tired he and others are over the continuous beef between Davido and Wizkid.

He wrote, “Give or take, we are all going to wake up to good music. Trust me, even if they both drop, everyone still wins. We are all just going to fight on their behalf for no reason, still going to dance to it and they bank it. No losses. I just wish this can end one day. This is the longest rivalry in the history of Nigerian entertainment.”

Super Eagles caretaker coach, Augustine Eguavoen believes the team can still make it to the 2026 FIFA World Cup despite their poor run in the qualifiers.

The three-time African champions are second from bottom in their group with three points from four games.

Rwanda, South Africa and Benin Republic are joint leaders in the group with seven points from the same number of matches.

Eguavoen believed the Super Eagles can still turn their faltering qualifying campaign around.

The 58-year-old however said the players must have a strong mentality to achieve the objective.

“It has to be with positive thinking (for Nigeria to qualify for the World Cup),” Eguavoen told Brila FM.

“We have to approach every game like a cup final and we have a big chance once we keep winning these remaining games even if it were by 1-0.”

The Crude Oil Refinery Owners Association of Nigeria says the Naira-for-crude deal is currently restricted to Dangote Refinery due to the quantity of crude oil available at the disposal of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and the Nigerian Government. The Spokesperson of CORAN, Eche Idoko disclosed this in an interview with DAILY POST.

His comment comes as the Federal Government announced the commencement of the Naira-for-crude sale deal to Dangote Refinery on Tuesday. Idoko explained that Dangote Refinery is the only petroleum products refiner in Nigeria producing Premium Motor Spirit which is why the plant is the beneficiary of the Naira-for-crude sell deal.

“The reason is simple, they said because of the quantity of crude oil the government has at its disposal, they will want to start with the only refinery producing PMS and in this case, the only CORAN member is Dangote Refinery.

“So the Naira for crude sale deal is between the government and Dangote Refinery,” he said. Recall that Zacch Adedeji, who doubles as the Chairman of Federal Inland Revenue Service and the Technical Sub-Committee on Naira-for-crude sale confirmed the commencement of the deal on October 1 through the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited. However, the spokesperson of Dangote Group and the NNPCL, Anthony Chiejina and Olufemi Soneye, respectively, have yet to confirm the kick-off of the Naira-for-crude deal as of the time of filing the report.

Dangote Refinery had blamed its current cost of petrol crude on importation. The company hinted that the price of its petrol is expected to drop upon the commencement of the Naira-for-crude deal. Dangote Refinery was responding to NNPCL’s statement that it bought Dangote Petrol at N898 per liter upon lifting on September 15, 2024.

Thereafter, NNPCL announced fresh petrol price hike across its retail outlets to between N950 and N1,100 per litre from about N617.

However, the Petroleum Marketers and refiners had expressed optimism that the Naira-for-crude deal between the Nigerian Federal Government and the Dangote Refinery would lead to a reduction in fuel pump prices.