Oil prices dropped slightly on Monday as investors expect U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to relax the sanctions imposed on Russia’s oil industry by his predecessor in exchange for a deal to end the war against Ukraine.

Trump will be sworn in as President later today and his inauguration is expected to disrupt various sectors of the world economy, including the Energy sector.

Reuters reported that Brent crude futures dropped 28 cents, or 0.35%, to $80.51 per barrel by 07:39 GMT after closing 0.62% in the previous session.

The price of U.S. West Texas Intermediate slid 21 cents to $77.18 per barrel.

Expected executive orders

Trump is expected to make a number of executive orders on his inauguration day, as promised at a rally at Capital One Arena in Washington, on Sunday.

Investors expect Trump to undo Biden’s suspension of new licenses for LNG export facilities aimed at appeasing green energy groups.

“There is a fair amount of uncertainty across markets coming into this week given the inauguration of President Trump and the raft of executive orders he reportedly is planning to sign.” 

“This combined with it being a U.S. holiday today, means that some market participants may have decided to take some risk off the table,” ING analysts quoted by Reuters noted.

The global supply chain

The sanction of over 100 tankers for being in business with Russia and two Russian oil producers, made both Brent and WTI soar as top buyers in China and India scrambled for new suppliers while dealers of Russian and Iranian oil sought unsanctioned tankers to ferry their loads.

The sanctions disrupted the global supply chain with some of the top buyers turning to new dealers.

However, Trump has promised to help end the Russia-Ukraine war quickly.

Analysts believe ending the war would involve relaxing some of the sanctions to enable an accord, they said.

Analyst Tim Evans told Reuters that the new sanctions are seen curtailing supply, at least in the near term.

“Higher tanker rates on unencumbered vessels and a widening backwardation in crude oil calendar spreads have been among the notable ripple effects, reinforcing the concern over supplies,” he said.

Easing tension in the Middle East following the ceasefire and exchange of hostages between Hamas and Israel also kept a lid on oil prices.

Separately, investors are watching out for the impact of a cold snap in Texas and New Mexico which may affect U.S. oil production, analysts at ANZ and ING quoted by Reuters observed.

What you should know 

• Brent oil rose above $81 last week following the new sanctions on Russia by U.S. President Joe Biden.
• The fluctuation of global oil prices has led to a hike in the price of fuel in Nigeria, with pump prices around N1,000.
• Nairametrics reported that the Dangote Refinery increased its depot price from N899 to N955 last weekend. The company blamed soaring global oil prices for the hike.

[Nairametrics]

The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has announced fare for the 2025 Hajj.

In a statement, NAHCON’s, Assistant Director Information and Publication, Fatima Sanda Usara, said the commission had fixed Hajj fare for intending pilgrims from Borno and Adamawa zone at N8,327,125.59, while those from other parts of the Northern zone would pay N8, 457,685.59.

For intending pilgrims from the Southern states, each would pay N8, 784, 085.59 (eight million, seven hundred and eighty-four thousand, eighty-five Naira Naira fifty-nine kobo).

Daily Trust reports that the disparity in the payment is due to each zones proximity, meaning their airfares determine their cost.

Sanda noted that the announced fares were sequel to approval from the Office of the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“The Chairman and his team in collaboration with representative of the Presidency, Malam Ameen Amshi, who is Special Assistant to the President, Special Duties did their best to maintain the Hajj fare within the same range as previously charged. Others who actively participated in stemming the cost are leadership of State Executive Secretaries, namely Malam Idris Ahmad Almakura, the Forum Chairman who doubles as the Executive Secretary (E.S) of Nasarawa State Pilgrims Welfare Board, his colleague from Kebbi State and Deputy Chairman of the Forum, Alhaji Faruku Aliyu Yaro, with their Secretary and E.S of Adamawa State, Alhaji Abubakar Salihu among others who worked tirelessly to ensure that the fares do not skyrocket.”

She added that the modest effort on the fare was reached after extensive consultations to ensure inclusivity in this important decision-making process.

“Professor Saleh commended the whole team describing the Hajj fare as a product of extensive collaboration with all stakeholders. He appreciated the support of the Presidency and Forum of State E.S. The Chairman urged prospective pilgrims to take note of the timelines and Saudi guidelines while emphasizing the importance of early payment and timely registration to avoid last-minute inconveniences.”

[TheNation]

Nigerian disc jockey, Oluwaforijimi Amu, aka DJ Jimmy Jatt, has opened up about his medical battles and eventual kidney transplant.

Recall that the ‘Stylee’ crooner revealed in 2022 that he underwent a successful kidney transplant.

Speaking in a recent episode of Channels TV programme, ‘Rubbin Minds’ with Ebuka, Jatt said he lost his sight in 2020 and was later diagnosed with chronic kidney disease after undergoing surgery to regain his sight.

He said his health challenges began when he decided to explore the world after living most of his life in Nigeria.

He said, “Maybe I caused it for myself because in 2019 I said that I wanted to spend more time out of the country. I’ve lived all my life in Nigeria, especially Lagos. So I wanted to explore the world; Europe, America, everywhere.

“But in 2020, I started having some health issues. There were travel restrictions at that time so I was just within Nigeria. I lost my sight. I had a surgery and I regained my sight. After that I felt that I needed to take a break and comply with my plan of living elsewhere for a while. Then I relocated to the U.S. When I was in the U.S, I was also diagnosed with chronic kidney disease. I was there for a while. I was on dialysis. Eventually, I came back to Nigeria and had a kidney transplant. After the transplant, I decided to be quiet for a while to recover properly. So immediately I was discharged, I left Nigeria again.

“While I was away, I was still Djying in America and Europe but I decided that it was time to return to Nigeria so I came back in December.”

DJ Jimmy Jatt said lifestyle is not always the cause of kidney ailment, stressing that he has never smoked and has long stopped drinking alcohol.

He revealed that his kidney ailment was caused by diabetes.

[DailyPost]

Controversial actor Yul Edochie has announced plans to name his next son after Donald Trump, the US President-elect.

In a recent Instagram post, Yul Edochie shared a photo of Donald Trump, praising him as the “leader of the Stubborn Boys Association.”

The actor, who is known for his admiration for Donald Trump, expressed love for the President-elect and announced his plan to name his future son Trump. 

“Official portrait of my man for life, the incoming president of America. Leader of the Stubborn Boys association. President Donald Trump. You already know I’m naming my next son TRUMP,” he wrote.

[TheNation]

The United Arab Emirates has just held its Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. Our president was there. A part of that event was the World Future Energy Summit which ended on Thursday last week. Saudi Arabia is holding a Smart City and Infrastructure Expo in September this year. It held one last year. When Muslim countries do things as these, they advertise Islam in the very best form. They make Islam attractive and beautiful.

Like Saudi Arabia, we have Islam here in abundance but we lack the sanity and prosperity of Saudi Arabia. Like the Western World, we have Christianity but the technological fruit of that faith eludes us. Saudi Arabia is busy building smart cities. It is working on NEOM, a $1.5 trillion digital city that is designed to make Dubai an ancient experience. The name NEOM is a blend of the Greek ‘neo’ (new) and the ‘M’ in the Arabic ‘Mustaqbal’ (future). The anglicized NEOM means ‘New Future’. The name tells the fecundity of the minds that conceived the idea. Saudi is building another wonder called Riyadh Smart City; and a third one christened Jedda Economic City. All these are being programmed to run on the most modern of science and tech ideas. To them, book is not haram; it is tonic that gives life. While they talk of Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence; we loot and burn libraries here; we break bones over who becomes an oba or an emir and who should not – in a democratic republic.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE are monarchies, yet they are modern in ways that challenge and shame our democracy. The Arabs use religion to make for themselves everything that makes the future a better experience than what today offers. Here in Nigeria, we pray for miracles. Life expectancy “refers to the number of years a person can expect to live.” The Vatican City has been the Centre of Christianity since the 4th century. Life expectancy in that city in 2024 was 84.16 years; in Saudi Arabia, it was 75.83 years; in UAE, it was 78.60. There is another Arab country called Qatar; life expectancy there in 2024 was 80.88 years. Like the Vatican City, Nigeria has Christianity in great abundance, just as it has a surplus of Islam like the Arab countries; yet, the number of years a person could expect to live in Nigeria in 2024 did not exceed 62.2 years.

Our president was at the UAE event. He must have seen the Muslim Arab country using 21st century brains to power its leap into the future. The rich who rode Rolls Royce there last year still ride their wonder on wheels. There are no fears of a government policy that will reduce them to jalopy drivers this year. The state won’t also fleece the poor to feed the rich. That country and others in its league leverage the best in technology to create hubs of innovative solutions to existential issues. Saudi streets are clean; its people are happy and resourceful. Yet, it is not a democracy and has no plan to be one. The UAE has the iconic Dubai as its poster of excellence. The country does not waste its time voting the worst to rule the best. Both countries are Islamic countries, but they do not breed Almajirai, Boko Haram and other variants of extremism that make lepers of their region and religion.

We cannot become those countries until we have blind laws that recognize no class, no ethnicity. We need schools, not temples of miracles. Saudi is a praying nation like us. Unlike us, Saudi Arabia does not insult God with laid-back demands. Saudi Arabia’s top universities are world class. Check their ranking; check ours. Everything that makes a nation fail itself is here. What we have here can only breed enlightened ignorance and unremitting want.

Saudi Arabia is attracting the best brains from all over the world to its universities. And the universities are not there as mere salary-paying loss centres. They are at the forefront of the country’s agenda for its emerging quantum revolution. What do we have in Nigeria?

At the last convocation of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, the institution’s pro-chancellor, Professor Siyan Oyeweso, delivered a withering verdict on the state of the Nigerian ivory tower. He said “the Nigerian university system has been replaced with ‘indigenized’ and ‘villagized’ universities. The hitherto national and international character of the system has been replaced with inbreeding. The staff profiles of federal and state universities – academic and non-teaching – reveal a shocking practice of father, mother, brothers, sisters and children working in the same system. Family dynasty has replaced the merit system.” Damn!

I connect very well with what Professor Oyeweso said. As an undergraduate, we had teachers from all over the world. There were foreign students just as children of the rich and the poor shared seats in lecture rooms. My university classroom experience was a lesson in classlessness. I shared the same class with an Akinrinade in an era when General Alani Akinrinade was one of the biggest names in the country. There was a Soyinka in my class. Governor Oladayo Popoola’s law-student daughter offered some courses that I also wrote in the same class. Yet, our Tigris and Euphrates flowed their courses in amity. The class that existed was the class of learning.

Today, when we tell our 1980s stories and the ones our fathers told us of the 1950s and 1960s, they mean very little – or naked nothing, to our children who have had zero positive contact with the Nigerian state. The mix of experience and status we enjoyed is missing today. Decay in public schools has driven the privileged abroad, or to private schools. The height of parents now determines how high the children can fly. Those stuck in public schools are daily plotting their escape. We cannot be well without casting down our castles of decay.

Despite their advancement in everything, the Arab world is still combing the world for more knowledge. Even our unusual country has been a destination for them. A delegation of the Association of Arab Universities was at the Arabic and Islamic Centre, Markaz, Agege, Lagos last week. Reports said they inspected the impressive digital technology and language laboratory, ICT Centre of the school. Why were they here? If you asked them, they would tell you that seeking knowledge anywhere is an obligation in their religion.

The black man wasted all the centuries of the past. We’ve wasted a quarter of the current century. The Renaissance of the 14th century influenced the Reformation of the 16th century. Both were the shock treatment that jolted the West out of its illiteracy and general backwardness. We need local versions of those two experiences to force a change here. We do not have the time.

A tiny country called UAE built adorable Dubai from a desert fishing village. Our president was there. We wait for the fruits of that visit. Saudi Arabia is using the fruits of Islam to build smart cities. We flock there for worship, business and leisure. Countries that emerged from the rubble of imperial Rome used Christianity to build the Western economies that continue to water our world. Here, we are using religion to cheat, to kill and plunder and cause confusion. The science that made Saudi and Dubai possible is sin to some mis-taught people. Our aspiration is not to gain the success of Saudi; we cannot build Dubai; we are far from where the West is, but we love the beauty of those places. Who really are we?

American rapper Cardi B has said that she wouldn’t be affected by the ban on TikTok in the United States.

PUNCH Online earlier reported that TikTok shut down in the U.S. on January 19 after its Chinese owners failed to sell the platform, as mandated by a law enacted by President Joe Biden in April 2024.

Following the ban, a social media user with the X handle @1lex said rappers, such as Cardi B, who depend on TikTok to promote their music should find alternative jobs.

The user wrote: “Now, all the female TikTok rappers gotta find real jobs. You first, @imcardib.”

Responding, Cardi B said, “Babe, I’m getting a $7 million offer to do my own vitamins. I can retire you from your flipping burger job by tomorrow. Thank me though; I’ve been helping you get your $8.99 Twitter check.

“The ‘you’re successful/blew up bc of TikTok’ narrative doesn’t work on Cardi B, try again.

“Today gotta be the funniest day on twitter is literally killin me… when did y’all get this hilarious???”

[Punch]

Chairman of Obio-Akpor Local Government Area (LGA) in Rivers State, Chijioke Ihunwo, has appointed an additional 100 special assistants, just weeks after naming 130 new appointees to his team.

I have appointed an additional one hundred persons as Special Assistants to help me achieve my plans for my people,” Ihunwo announced on X (formerly Twitter) on January 18.

The latest appointees include individuals such as Augustina Elodi, Obi Chima, Abi Chinazor Clara, Ginikachukwu Onyeagusi, Chigozie Emmanuel Esinulo, Sunday Confidence Onyinyechi and Nworgu Namdi Emmanuel.

Earlier in the month, Ihunwo named 130 individuals as special advisers, calling on them to “serve diligently, in the interest of Obio/Akpor local government.”

This pattern of appointments is not new for the LGA chairman. In July 2024, during his tenure as caretaker committee chairman, he appointed 100 special assistants.

Ihunwo is a known ally of Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara. His actions have occasionally stirred controversy, including the removal of Nyesom Wike’s name from the administrative block of the council secretariat in October.

Wike, the former governor of Rivers State and current minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), is from Rumuepirikom in Obio-Akpor LGA. He has been embroiled in a political rivalry with Fubara, resulting in a tense supremacy battle within the state.

[Vanguard]

Nigerians are, as usual, being entertained to the soap opera called budget defence. The 2025 episode is living up to its billing.

Already, a  Senator has staged a walk out on his own committee.  The Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, sat in  the National Assembly, NASS on Thursday, January 16,  2025 to present the police budget. The problem that arose was that his presentation did not align with the budget proposals sent to the NASS. Two Senators protested, but were overruled.  So, one walked out.

The message is that the details  don’t matter, what does is the allocation of funds for spending. The two dissenting Senators must have forgotten the Senate vote in 2024 which rejected a motion that the Senate Committees of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Police  and allied forces should carry out oversight functions on their budget to ensure that they are spent in accordance with approvals, rather than be diverted by individual Generals.

Then, there was the drama that the biggest on-going contract  in the country, the N15.6 trillion ($12.5 billion) Lagos –Calabar Coastal Highway is  not even in the budget. The initial phase  of the contract stretching 47.47 kilometres is awarded at the cost of N4 billion per kilometre.  It had elicited some controversy in 2024 when  N1 trillion was said to have  been paid for the project without  budgetary approval.  So is this trend continuing? The explanation for its non-inclusion in the 2025 budget came from several sources.

For example, the Managing Partner, KPT Associates Ltd, Dr Chukwuma Katchy; the Treasurer of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, Victoria Island Branch, Babatunji Adegoke; and  the Managing Director of Fame Oyster and Co. Nigeria, Femi Oyedele, explained to Nigerians that the said road project is  an Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Financing, EPC+F project that does not need to be included in the annual budget. They claimed  that the contractor is paid at the end of the project or the end of a phase.

But unknown to these defenders, the Minister of Works, David Umahi,  and his team were using torch lights through the nights to search for  the budgetary provision. They had not reported the case of a missing or abducted budgetary line to the Police when after five days, they found it.  In announcing the lost but found budgetary provision, Umahi said:  “What you have in the budget was Lagos-Port Harcourt Highway, it is supposed to be Lagos-Calabar Highway…”  Case closed! Next episode.

Distinguished Senators savagely attacked the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, during its budget defence. They claimed it spent N1.1billion collected from poor students, many of them orphans, to feed its officials. The Distinguished accused JAMB of spending  N850 million on security, cleaning and fumigation in 2024. They also condemned JAMB  for allegedly spending N600 million on local travels, N6.5 billion on local trainings; N1 billion on staff housing scheme, maintenance of vehicle and refurbishment.  JAMB, they claimed, remitted  N4 billion  in 2024 while collecting N6 billion from  the Federal Government. They concluded that government should stop giving  financial allocations to JAMB.

JAMB which under its Registrar, Professor Isaq Oloyede, has become the most transparent  federal agency and one of the most productive public institutions, responded. It stated that the claim that JAMB spent humongous  amounts  in 2024 on meals or fumigation, security and cleaning, is a fiction.  Its Registrar, it said,  did not discuss or present anything relating to the Board’s 2024 expenditure  at  the budget defence.

JAMB said during the budget session, contrary to the Distinguished Senators claims,  there was no N850 million for fumigation or related matters and that in fact, less than N1 million was spent on fumigation in  2024 while the budget for 2025 is N2 million. It explained  that in recognition of the sensitive responsibilities of its staff to minimise exposure to the public during office hours and avoid the danger eating in the offices poses to ICT infrastructure, the management sought and obtained approval to start providing lunch  for staff. The cost of this in the last two years had been N1,200 per staff, while under the 2025 budget, it is N2,200,  including 13.5 per cent taxes. It clarified that this new increase, if approved, comes to N1.27 billion for all its 2,300 workers.

On cleaning, JAMB stated that  it has 194 outsourced cleaners across its over 40 offices  and Professional Testing Centres, PTC, in the country. This means it has less than five cleaners per office in every state. Its outsourced security personnel are less than ten per office across the country. JAMB further clarified that all its capital, overhead and operational costs are met by it  from its Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, while government  covers the salaries of only pensionable JAMB staff. It appeared the  stage was set for a titanic battle. But it turned out to be farcical. The National Assembly  immediately made a U-turn.  The Chairman of its Joint Committee on Finance, Senator Sani Musa, issued a    statement apologising that Professor Oloyede and JAMB were wrongly accused of reckless spending.

It said that JAMB had displayed prudent use of resources and that Oloyede “deserves commendation for demonstrating financial discipline and accountability in managing the Board’s resources effectively.” It added that: “This level of stewardship serves as a model for public institutions across the nation”. But the question remains: why the false accusations in the first place? Was it to intimidate JAMB, and if so, for what purpose? We never might know, but this is not uncommon in the NASS.

The budget defence is still on. It means that more drama should be expected. But a curious point for me is that, traditionally, the NASS, at least since the Obasanjo administration, annually pads the budget.  Some will call this a criminal act. I don’t know what you will call it.  I recall that President Muhammadu Buhari annually lamented this. But I did not read about padding  last year, and it does not appear to have surfaced in this budget. Is it that the NASS has become born again, repented its old ways  and turned a new leaf? Or can it be that it  has reached some accommodation with the Tinubu administration?

Another issue is the NASS award of contract to  its  Distinguished and Honourable Members without proper accountability or checks and balances. It is euphemistically called ‘Constituency Projects’.  

Yet another matter on budgeting arises. This, again, is an old matter. How much do our Senators and the Honourables budget for themselves as total emolument monthly? Senator Sumaila Kawu, Kano South, revealed in August 2024 that he was being paid N21 million monthly. What we have is a  rainbow coalition of the unaccountable. God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.