A governorship aspirant of the Labour Party, Kenneth Imasuangbon, popularly called ‘The Rice Man,’ has dragged Olumide Akpata to court, seeking his disqualification as the governorship candidate of the party in the Edo State election scheduled for September 21.

Naija News reports that Imasuangbon filed two separate suits against Akpata at the Federal High Court Benin and Federal High Court Abuja.

In a suit No. FHC B/CS/26/2024 and filed at the Benin division by his counsel A.A. Malik & Co, Imasuangbon said that LP, which is the second defendant in the suit, was wrong by declaring Olumide Akpata the winner of the party’s primary election conducted on February 23, 2024.

In the Abuja division, Imasuangbon alleged that Akpata lied under oath and supplied false information to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

In the Abuja suit, he joined Akpata, the first defendant, with his running mate, Alufohai Faith, LP, and INEC as the second, third, and fourth defendants, respectively.

In the Benin suit, Imasuangbon said Akpata, a former president of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), was not qualified to contest the primary, having violated the provisions of section 222(c) of the Nigeria constitution as well as Article 28 of the party’s guidelines for the conduct of the primary.

Imasuangbon further averred that votes garnered by the first defendant in the primary be declared invalid.

The plaintiff, who listed nine issues for determination and 18 others for declaration by the court, asked the court to set aside the LP February 23 governorship primary in the Edo state.

He further asked the court “to determine if Akpata is qualified to have contested the primary having failed to sign or endorse the indemnity form issued him by the second defendant.

“To determine if the votes garnered in the purported primary should not be voided and wasted in the face of outright disregard to the constitutional provisions of the country and that of the party.

“To determine if he that scored the second highest votes in the said primary should not be declared the winner and validly nominated to be the governorship candidate of the LP.

“To determine if the party conducted the February 23 governorship primary in a manner outlined, prescribed, or otherwise circumscribed by section 84 of the Electoral Act, 2022.

“The court also determine if the primary did not run foul of the provisions of section 84(2), (3), (4) and (5) of the Electoral Act, 2022.”

Imasuangbon asked the court to stop INEC or any other agent from recognizing Akpata as the governorship candidate of the LP for the upcoming Edo gubernatorial election.

He also called for the withdrawal of the certificate of return issued by the second defendant to the first defendant as the purported winner of the said primary.

While asking for the sum of N20 million as the cost of the suit, Imasuangbon asked that a fresh primary should be conducted not later than 30 days after the judgment of the court.

However, for the Abuja division of the suit, Imasuangbon alleged that Akpata supplied false information to the INEC according to information provided in their form EC9.

He said that Akpata claimed to have been Akpata Olumide Anthony but filled his name to be Akpata Olumide Osaigbovo.

According to Imasuangbon, the actions contravene the provisions of section 29(5) of the 2022 electoral Act and also section 182(i), (a), and (j) of the 1999 constitution of the federal government of Nigeria as amended.

He thus sought his disqualification and for Akpata to be restrained from participating in the September 21 governorship election in Edo State.

[NaijaNews]

A study conducted by invoicing software company, Bookipi, has revealed that Nigerians are among the least expensive freelancers on one of the leading freelancing platforms, Upwork.

Nigeria ranked 18th out of 40 countries studied, charging an average of $163 per job, while freelancers from Colombia, which ranked as the number one least expensive country, charge an average of $73.13 per job.

On the other hand, freelancers from Australia are ranked as the most expensive. According to the report, Australian freelancers charge an average of $594.56 per job.

Other countries

The second least expensive country is Brazil, where the average price of hiring a freelancer was found to be $79.81. In third is Argentina with an average freelancer rate of $80.84 per job. They are also the second cheapest country for a virtual assistant freelancer, according to the report.

Ranking as the fourth least expensive country is Jamaica, with an average rate of $88.63 per job. Venezuela came 5th with a cost of $93.41 per freelancing job.

At the other end of the scale, India follows Australia as the second most expensive, with an average rate of $501.00 per freelancing job, while Morocco ranked third most expensive with an average cost of $402.03.

Economic factor

Speaking on the findings, Tim Lee, CEO and founder of Bookipi, said:

• “Our team members come from various corners of the world – Asia, Africa, Europe, and America and their life stories and experiences contribute to our team’s richness. Working closely together has taught me an immense amount about appreciating different cultures.
• “As a result, we were interested in how these different experiences are reflected through the costs of freelance workers worldwide.
• “Typically, countries with robust economies and high living standards tend to host the most expensive freelancers, which the data reflects by finding Australia as the most expensive freelance country.
• “Although this is true for India, the second country to appear in the ranking, freelancers can command a higher rate thanks to their specialized skills and expertise in industries such as software development, IT services, and digital marketing.
• “We hope this ranking will help empower freelance workers around the world to know their worth and be more confident in fairly pricing their services.”

How the data was collected

Bookipi said it carried out a data scrape of the freelance site Upwork to find which countries are charging the most money for freelancing services. According to the company, 119 countries were initially included in the analysis, but data limitations left 40 countries that could be compared and ranked fairly.

• “This scrape gathered pricing data on freelancer projects that fell into one of the following ten categories: Logo Design, Video Editing, Data Entry, Virtual Assistant, SEO, Social Media Management, Resume Writing, Creative Writing, Web Programming, and Mobile Apps.
• “The starting price and ending price for each project were gathered, and a median price for each project was calculated based on these two figures. The country location of the freelancer who hosting the project was also gathered,” the company explained.

For the overall country ranking, the median price of freelance services was based on a minimum of 10 projects for each country. This was meant to avoid any anomalies. For the category-specific rankings, a minimum of three project listings were used.

[Nairametrics]

Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain will meet in the Champions League semi-finals, almost eight months after facing off in the opening match of their European campaigns.

The two sides emerged from this season’s ‘group of death’, which also featured Italian giants AC Milan, who made last season’s final four and ambitious Newcastle.

While PSG were tipped to go far in what has become Kylian Mbappe’s farewell tour, Dortmund surprisingly topped the group.

The 1997 winners are now on the cusp of returning to Wembley – the venue of their 2013 Champions League final loss to arch-rivals Bayern Munich.

Although another London meeting with Bayern is possible with the Bavarians on the other side of the draw, Dortmund will need to first get past PSG, who needed to come from behind in their quarter-final tie with Barcelona.

Dortmund delivered their worst performance in Europe this season at the Parc des Princes earlier this season but Edin Terzic’s underdog side will back themselves to spring an upset in the competition which matters the most to PSG and their Qatari backers.

‘Nonsense to say otherwise’
“If you’re already there, it makes sense to fight to play in the final,” a beaming Terzic said after the victory.

“We will try everything.”

Compared to their stuttering domestic form, Dortmund’s impressive Champions League record this season has not only perplexed observers, it has kept Terzic in a job.

Sitting 23 points in the table behind Xabi Alonso’s unbeaten champions Bayer Leverkusen Dortmund sit fifth and face an uphill battle to qualify for next year’s Champions League.

Tuesday’s win not only means Terzic is likely to stay in the dugout beyond this season, but it will also silence some of the dissenting voices criticising his squad selection.

One such talking point is his preference for journeyman forward Niclas Fuellkrug over teenager Youssoufa Moukoko to lead the line.

Against Atletico, Fuellkrug scored Dortmund’s third with a brilliant header to level the tie on 71 minutes, breaking a nine-game scoring drought, having been benched for Saturday’s win over Borussia Moenchengladbach.

The 31-year-old striker, who had spent most of his career in the second division until helping Werder Bremen get promoted two seasons ago, is now headed for the Champions League semis in his first year in European football.

Describing the night as “magical”, Fuellkrug said, “Our only goal now is Wembley – it would be nonsense to say otherwise.”

‘We had some problems’
Dortmund were thoroughly outclassed in a 2-0 loss in Paris in September, but secured the top spot and arguably deserved victory in a 1-1 draw at home in December.

“There are of course some advantages and some disadvantages when you play against a team you have already faced in the competition,” Fuellkrug said afterwards.

“We were very good at home against the Parisians. I believe the knockout games are not comparable to the group games – they’re something else.

“You’ve seen what we’re capable of – that will give us lots of self-confidence through the next few weeks.”

Terzic admitted his side struggled in the French capital but said PSG would be facing a different Dortmund in the semis.

“We had some problems away from home but played a good game at home,” he said.

“You can see how we’ve developed, how solid we are now – we want to take advantage of that.”

[DailyTrust]

Singer Davido has reacted to the N10 million bail granted socialite Pascal Okechukwu, aka Cubana Chief Priest after he pleaded not guilty to alleged naira abuse.

DAILY POST reports that Cubana Chief Priest, who was arraigned before Justice Kehinde Ogundare of the Federal High Court, Lagos, on Wednesday, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on a three-count charge bordering on abuse of the Naira, was granted bail for N10m with two sureties in like sum after pleading not guilty.

The socialite had taken to his Instagram handle to thank his friends and fans for their concerns shortly after he was granted bail.

He noted that he was humbled by the trial while adding that it has confirmed that he isn’t “small.”

Reacting to his post via the comment section, Davido said it was not possible for Cubana Chief Priest to be jailed, stressing that he could not bear not seeing him for six months.

He wrote, “I no go see u for 6 months ke… Never.”

Recall that Justice Abimbola Awogboro of the Federal High Court in Lagos, last Friday, sentenced popular crossdresser, Bobrisky to six months in jail without the option of a fine after he was convicted of Naira mutilation.

[DailyPost]

Former Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has sent his well wishes to Nigerian Chess Master, Tunde Onakoya, as he attempts to break the 58-hour chess marathon record.

The event is scheduled to take place from 10 am on April 17 to 8 pm on April 19, in Times Square, New York City.

Osinbajo wrote on his official X page: “Dear Tunde, Best of luck in Times Square as you attempt to set the Guinness World Record for the Longest Chess Marathon! Your resilience and spirit inspire us all. Remember your own powerful words: “It is possible to do great things from a small place.”

“Let the dynamic energy of Times Square amplify the greatness that you, a proud Nigerian, bring to the chessboard. We’re all behind you—show the world the strength and determination you are made of! God Bless You @Tunde_OD”

The Nation reported that Onakoya announced his attempt to break the record on his social media handle on Friday, April 12.

[TheNation]

Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission have stormed the Abuja home of a former Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, located in Wuse Zone 4, Federal Capital Territory.

Photographs seen by our correspondent on Wednesday show some armed EFCC personnel laying siege to the ex-governor’s home on Benghazi Street, Wuse Zone 4, Abuja.

As of press time, our correspondent could not independently confirm the reason behind the siege on Bello’s home as the spokesperson for the EFCC, Dele Oyewale, did not respond to inquiries concerning the development.

However, the EFCC had earlier dragged Yahaya Bello, his nephew Ali, one Dauda Sulaiman, and Abdulsalam Hudu before Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja, in an amended charge in March 2024 over an alleged N84bn money laundering. 

According to the statement, the presence of the operatives in Bello’s residence negated the order of injunction granted on February 9, 2024, by the High Court of Justice, Lokoja Division, in Suit No. HCL/68M/2024 between Yahaya Bello v. EFCC, restraining the commission either by itself or its agents from harassing, arresting, detaining, or prosecuting him, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive fundamental rights enforcement action.

The statement read, “The EFCC was duly served with that order on February 12, 2024, and on February 26, 2024, the EFCC filed an appeal (Appeal No.: CA/ABJ/CV/175/2024: Economic and Financial Crimes Commission v. Alhaji Yahaya Bello) against the said order to the Court of Appeal Abuja Division. The appeal was accompanied by a Motion for a Stay of Execution of the order of the High Court, which the Court of Appeal adjourned for hearing till April 22, 2024.

“Furthermore, judgment in the substantive case between Alhaji Yahaya Bello and the EFCC will be delivered at 12 noon today in Lokoja.

“Contrary to all of the above, the EFCC has now laid siege to the home of H.E Yahaya Bello, seeking to arrest him in contravention of the extant orders!

“It is a surprise that an agency led by a lawyer could flagrantly disobey a subsisting court order by taking actions contrary to the reliefs granted.

“We are aware of the total commitment of President Bola Tinubu’s current administration to the rule of law and can say categorically that the EFCC leadership might have offered the agency on a platter of gold to desperate politicians to convert it to their score-settling tool without minding the effect on its integrity and the image of Nigeria as regards the rule of law.”

The ex-governor’s media office further alleged that the anti-graft agency was plotting to embarrass and harass him through spurious allegations, especially the latest one dating back to September 2015, long before he assumed office.

The anti-graft agency, in the 17-count amended charge, accused Yahaya Bello of money laundering, breach of trust, and misappropriation of funds to the tune of N84,062,406,089.88.

The EFCC had claimed in the amended charge that the former governor was at large.

Prior to the charge, the EFCC had arraigned Bello’s nephew, Ali Bello, before the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja for alleged money laundering involving N10bnn belonging to the Kogi State Government.

However, the state government faulted the charge, describing it as “ridiculous” and “laughable,” adding that it was impossible, as the former governor was not yet able to access or misappropriate state funds at the said time.

The state government, in a statement signed by the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Fanwo, had on February 7, 2024, accused the EFCC of being “infested with persons whose intents disagree with the noble intention of ‘Mr. President’ to defeat corruption in Nigeria.”

Count one of the charges reads: “That you, Ali Bello, Dauda Suleiman, Yahaya Adoza Bello (still at large) and Abdulsalam Hudu (still at large), sometime in September, 2015 in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, conspired amongst yourselves to convert the total sum of N80,246,470,089.88 which sum you reasonably ought to have known forms part of the proceeds of your unlawful activity to wit: criminal breach of trust and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(b) and punishable under Section 15(3) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 as amended,” the EFCC said in a release sent to SaharaReporters.

“While ex-Governor Yahaya Bello and Hudu are still at large, Ali Bello and Suleiman, first and second defendants respectively, who were present in court “pleaded not guilty” to all the charges when they were read to them.

[Punch]

Bernardo Silva says an unprecedented double treble is an “inspiration and motivation” as Man City prepare to host Real Madrid on Wednesday with a place in the Champions League semi-finals at stake.

Last season, Pep Guardiola’s men became just the second club in English history to win the treble of Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup — 24 years after neighbours Manchester United achieved the feat.

Man City drew the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final with 14-time European champions Real Madrid 3-3 at the Bernabeu last week.

As the finishing line of the 2023/24 season approaches, they are two points clear at the top of the Premier League with six games to go and face Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-finals this weekend.

Silva told reporters on Tuesday he was not surprised by City’s relentless success but said there was still a long way to go.

“Obviously it is an inspiration and motivation because we know how well this team has done since I’ve been here — this is my seventh season,” he said. “We want to create that legacy.”

The Portugal attacking midfielder added: “We want to win another Premier League to do six in seven years and to do four Premier Leagues in a row.

“We want the Champions League twice in a row… and if we can do that and two trebles in a row that no one did, that would be a legacy so that’s definitely motivation, knowing that it’s very, very difficult.

“Because in one week we could be out of all the competitions but we’re fighting for it and we’re going to do everything to be a step closer to that goal.”

Man City are playing Real Madrid in the knockout stages of the Champions League for the third successive season.

After defeat in 2021/22, Guardiola’s side demolished Real Madrid last season with a stunning 4-0 second-leg victory at the Etihad Stadium.

Guardiola cautioned Man City were “far away from hypothetical dreams” as he prepared to face Carlo Ancelotti’s team.

“There are six games (in the league),” he said. “We have a lot of difficult games home and away with opponents, we have, they have.

“It’s just one game at a time. That means Real Madrid tomorrow, what you have to do to beat them, and step by step,” explained the Man City manager, who made his name as a player and coach with Real’s arch Spanish rivals Barcelona.

“I started to think of the treble when we beat Manchester United in the FA Cup final last season… but the success for me this season is that we are still there.

“So after winning the treble, still being in that position with four, five, six weeks (to go) is hats off, incredible.”

Vanguard News

Nigeria’s foreign reserves fell to $32.29 billion on April 15 — the lowest level in over six years. 

According to the latest data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), TheCable Index observed that on March 18, the reserves moved from $34.44 billion — the highest level in 2024 — to $32.2 billion on April 15.

The foreign reserves dropped by $2,15 billion or 6.26 percent.

This brings to an end, a period of steady increase between February 5 and March 18, when the FX reserves rose by $1.28 billion.

CBN had attributed the growth to increased remittance payments from Nigerians abroad and heightened interest from foreign investors in local assets, including government debt securities. 

The last time the foreign reserves stood at this level ($32.29 billion) was on September 9, 2017, when the CBN reported N32.28 billion.

The decline in foreign reserves comes amid CBN intervention in the parallel market in a bid to crash the FX rate.

On February 27, the apex bank allocated $20,000 to each bureau de change (BDC) operator at the rate of N1,301/$, while the second tranche of $10,000 was sold to the BDCs at the rate of N1,251/$.

On April 8, the apex bank began the third tranche of sales to BDCs at N1,101/$.

Amid this intervention, the naira appreciated against the dollar in the parallel market, moving from N1,900 per dollar on February 21, to N1,100/$ on April 13.

During the same period, the local currency, at the official window, recovered to N1,136.04/$ per dollar, from N1,551.24/$.

[TheCable]

One question which has always agitated my mind was answered last Monday, 15th April, 2024 by retired Justice Andrew Alaba Omolaye-Ajileye in a keynote address he delivered at the 2024 Law Week of the Nigerian Bar Association, Warri Branch, whose theme was “Emerging trends in legal practice and administration of justice: Challenges and prospects''. Justice Omolaye-Ajileye’s paper was titled “Tomorrow’s legal profession today: Today’s legal profession tomorrow”

I have always wondered if two sets of referees pursuing the same goal(s) can act in the same manner and still achieve the same result. The first is an official refereeing a football match and the second is a judge adjudicating in a matter between litigants. What is expected of both is impartiality, fairness, thoroughness, and even-handedness so that one side is not given undue advantage and unmerited edge over the other. So that, in the course of maintaining an even keel, the cause of justice can be served.

Now, a football referee that (repeatedly or in strategic moments) makes decisions that favour one team against another is said to have stepped into the field or ring. He is deemed to be biased and the cause of justice cannot in that way be served. But can a judge afford to maintain similar aloofness and neutrality in all instances and still serve the cause of justice?

In my 39 years in the journalism profession, I have seen cases lost not because the litigant did not have a good case but because of poor handling by counsel; sometimes deliberately so contrived for varying reasons. Uncountable number of cases get dismissed or get lost (and won) for lack of diligent prosecution; again, sometimes deliberately and in some others because of incompetence or carelessness of the prosecution or counsel.

In that instance, the innocent may suffer and the cause of justice may not have been served. Should a judge step into the ring in certain situations to avert the miscarriage of justice? Oftentimes, we hear judges lambast counsel and bemoan the miscarriage of justice for lack of brilliance or diligent prosecution of cases. In that situation, can a judge step into the ring?

There was a time in this country when some of its brightest judges like Kayode Esho, Akinola Aguda, and Chukwudifu Oputa were not only described as philosopher-judges but also were well respected for what some have called their judicial activism. Yes, judges interpret the law but in interpreting laws, cerebral and conscious judges also make laws! Some even make statements.

Judges, when they are in their court, especially when reading their judgments, enjoy immunity, like the members of the Legislature when those ones, too, are in their hallowed chamber. Judges and the lawyers appearing before them are referred to as officers in the temple of justice, meaning that their primary obligation, even when lawyers represent opposing sides or views, is that justice is served, and not miscarried.

As such, even counsel not directly involved in a matter can chip in something as “amicus curiae”, that is, an impartial adviser to a court of law in a particular case or matter. This being so, are there instances that allow or, better still, is it incumbent on the judicial umpire to step into the ring to ensure that justice is not miscarried? Or should he or she simply maintain aloofness and rely only on the evidence brought before him or her to make a ruling?

Nowhere does this intrigue me more than in election matters and other cases that are as controversial or that have attracted a lot of public discourse and controversy. Judges, too, are members of the society. They read newspapers. They listen to the radio. They watch television. They may also be active on social media. They may or may not visit pubs and listen to gossip but they have friends and family members. Therefore, they must be aware, if I may so put it, of the merits and demerits of some of the cases coming before them before the arrival of such cases. Should they discountenance such information and only limit themselves to the evidence presented before them?

Omolaye-Ajileye provided what I consider to be an answer when he said: “I want to comment on a change of culture we can bring about in the way justice is administered. Administration of justice must shift from the orthodox adversarial approach to more collaboration between lawyers, parties and the court with the focus being an earnest effort to isolate the real issues in a dispute from a maze of ill-digested causes of action and defences.

"The judge’s role must be transformed from the traditional umpire role to that of active case manager. By this, I mean we must introduce in our Rule of Court situations where judges must take an active part - together with learned counsel - in identifying at an early stage of the proceedings what is the real dispute between the parties and, working together with the parties, charting a course that will result in the adjudication of the dispute as speedily as possible and at minimum costs. That is now the system of judicial case management that is taking hold in many jurisdictions across the world. We must move with the world in this regard.

"The days of over-pleading, raising as many issues that you can muster in the hope that one might just stick, should be something of the past. Courts should decide only the real disputes between the parties. In that way, the court’s time is saved and judges can dispose of more cases. Litigation should be limited to what is truly in dispute between the parties and not to obfuscate and terrorize the other side”

That is the answer I have been searching for! If the main objective is to serve the cause of justice at minimal costs and in record time, this is the way to go. I have watched such a system in operation in other climes and it is fun to watch, is not elaborate, is not long-drawn, adversarial and costly as the system we operate here.

Besides, the new system advocated by Omolaye-Ajileye will remove tension, enmity and bitterness amongst litigants. Our people have a saying, based on the adversarial system of administration of justice that we operate at the moment, that people who drag each other to court do not return from there to still be friends. We must change that narrative because it poisons the good health of our society.

Justice Omolaye-Ajileye may not have known or meant it; but he, like the Kayode Eshos, Akinola Agudas and Chukwudifu Oputas before him, is also seen by many as a fearless but even-handed judicial activist and icon. The judgments he delivered while on the Bench of the Kogi State judiciary testify to that. When he was retiring on 15 February, 2023, the outcry was much, as leading members of the Bar and others made a case that he be promoted to the higher Bench, which he eminently deserved, so that the Judiciary might still retain his services for an additional five years at the least. His pioneering work on the emerging field of electronic evidence stands him out as a leading authority in that field.

In the paper he delivered at Warri, the retired judge advocated what he described as “paradigm shift” in the practice of law and the administration of justice in the country “in order to secure tomorrow’s legal profession today". He said: "The advocacy here is that our conservatism should not make us resist change. We live in a changing world. It is a great momentous and exciting time. Change is happening around us in ways that we had not imagined just a few years ago. All aspects of human endeavour are changing. The legal sector - to be precise, the practice of law and the administration of justice - is not spared. We must be amenable to change. As lawyers and judges, we must constantly adapt and innovate or be prepared to be pushed aside and become irrelevant”

He advocated that lawyers and judges must imbibe technology because “we are in the middle of a technological revolution of a great magnitude, scale, scope, and complexity…To maintain relevance and remain competitive in any industry, profession or endeavour, one needs to understand the impact of emerging technologies on the future. Indeed, we need to go beyond the acquisition of knowledge. We must be prepared to integrate modern innovations strategically in our work to increase efficiency and productivity and improve our paradigms”

Chief Consultant, Forensic Electronic and Digital Law Consultancy, Omolaye-Ajileye is also a visiting professor at the National Open University of Nigeria. To corroborate what he said, I recall here a personal experience of how technology can make hitherto indispensable hands redundant and surplus to requirement: When I was editor of PUNCH newspapers, the advent of computers displaced compugraphic machines and cut-and-paste artists had to be sent for training to plan pages on computer. Ironically, one of our best cut-and-past artists, much sought-after by everyone, could not cope with the new technology and had to be sent away!

Those who have ears, let them hear what Omolaye-Ajileye is saying to the Bar and Bench!

President Bola Tinubu commends the enterprising feat of Dangote Oil and Gas Limited in reducing the gantry price of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), also known as diesel.

The Group recently reviewed downwards the gantry price of AGO from N1,650 to N1,000 per litre for a minimum of one million litres of the product, as well as providing a discount of N30 per litre for an offtake of five million litres and above.

The price review represents a 60 percent drop, which will, in no small measure, impact the prices of sundry goods and services.

The President affirms that Nigerians and domestic businesses are the nation's surest transport and security to that glorious destiny of economic prosperity, noting the federal government's 20 percent stake in Dangote Refinery and why such partnerships between public and private entities are essential to advancing the overall well-being of the country.

The President calls on Nigerians and businesses to, at this time, put the nation in priority gear while assuring them of a conducive, safe, and secure environment to thrive.

Chief Ajuri Ngelale

Special Adviser to the President

(Media & Publicity)