NIGERIAN NOTCH

The House of Representatives, through a motion, resolved to investigate the national security implications of cryptocurrency, and other digital asset transactions. The House is also to investigate the current status of the e-naira on the global cryptocurrency platform, the cost incurred, processes undertaken, and statutory compliance in creating the digital currency. A lawmaker from Ogun State, Isiaka Ibrahim, who read the resolution of the House on Tuesday, said, “The House, hereby, resolved mandates the House Committee on National Security and Intelligence to investigate the current status of gateway platforms and how they truly or not connect with many security challenges in the country.” On Monday, the House of Representatives Committee on Financial Crimes had resolved to issue warrant of arrest against executives of cryptocurrency platform, Binance, for failing to appear before it for an investigation. Chairman of the Committee, Ginger Onwusibe, stated that the warrant

The Apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide has lauded the National Assembly over the passage of the South-East Development Commission bill. It will be recalled that the Senate finally passed the bill last Thursday almost two months after its passage by the House of Representatives. During plenary on Wednesday,  Michael Opeyemi, the Senate Leader, and Senator representing Ekiti Central had presented the Bill for an Act to act as catalyst to develop the commercial potentials of the South East and for other Connected Matters, 2024 (HB.626)for concurrence and second reading The House of Representatives had in December, 2023 passed the long-awaited bill after years of agitation and attempts at the National Assembly.  Recall that the Bill was passed by the 8th Senate but did not receive assent by former President Muhammadu Buhari.  In a statement made available to journalists on Tuesday, the National President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Counc

The film industry has had another eventful year - Super Mario ruled the box office, Barbenheimer became a viral phenomenon, and Saltburn's Barry Keoghan made some questionable choices in a bathtub. Meanwhile, the 2024 Oscar nominations reflect just how quickly fortunes can change in Hollywood. This time last year, Margot Robbie had just starred in Babylon - a box office bomb which won zero Oscars.  This year, however, she is heading to the Academy Awards as the face of Barbie, the biggest film of 2023 which grossed $1.4bn (£1.1bn) and is nominated in eight categories. When the nominations were announced, dozens of famous faces gathered at the Academy Awards luncheon for the traditional class photo. We've been through the nominations and found 17 interesting facts, quirks and possible milestones that could be reached at this year's Oscars. 1. Emma Stone could join an exclusive club. The Poor Things star could become the eighth actress to win two Oscars by the age

Troops of the Nigerian Army have neutralised a notorious terrorist leader, Maikusa, who was the second-in-command to the infamous terrorist Modi Modi in Katsina State. In a statement issued by the director of army public relations, Major General Onyema Nwachukwu, he said the troops killed Maikusa and three other terrorists in a shootout on Monday, during a counter- insurgency operation in Kurfi and Safana local government areas of Katsina State. He said the operation also resulted in the clearance of terrorists’ enclaves in the areas and the recovery of two AK-47 rifles, three magazines, 65 rounds of 7.62 mm special ammunition, a locally fabricated gun and camouflage uniform. General Nwachukwu said troops during the operation encountered vehement resistance from the violent extremists, but gallantly overpowered the terrorists with superior firepower neutralizing some while others fled in disarray. He said the gallant troops also destroyed terrorists’ camps in  Wurma, Shaisk

The federal government has attributed the food scarcity being experienced in the country to smuggling, flooding and last year’s currency redesign policy. The minister of agriculture and food security, Abubakar Kyari, said this yesterday when he appeared before the House of Representatives’ sectoral debate on agriculture and food security. Kyari also blamed the problem on the rising insecurity in the country and outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic which had an impact on food production across the globe. He said while the cash policy limited smallholder farmers’ access to funds for cultivation of their farms during the 2022/2023 period, flooding destroyed farmlands across the country, all combining to impede food security. “We have seen smuggling of foodstuff to other neighbouring countries. This has affected the availability of food items in the country,” the minister stated. Also addressing the lawmakers, the comptroller-general of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Bashir Adewa

Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou are set to become significantly richer once their fight in Saudi Arabia is done and dusted later this week. The two are all set for their contest this Friday and there are tens of millions set to pour into their accounts, no matter who wins. It’s an important fight for both men, with AJ looking to set up a huge cash out in 2024, as he hopes to become world champion again, while his opponent will want to build on his first professional match.  The UFC icon stunned the world when he knocked Fury down before controversially losing via split decision. It should be a great contest between two men who have stated they plan to be aggressive, and they will both be a whole lot wealthier once the contest is over. The official figures for the purse and prize money have yet to be confirmed. However, what is guaranteed is that Ngannou and AJ will make millions from this fight. The Cameroonian will take home $20million, which works out to around £16m. T

The Federal Government has said the United Arab Emirates, UAE, is  yet to lift the visa ban imposed on Nigeria. It said this after reports emerged that the Emirate authorities after a successful outcome of discussions between President Bola Tinubu and President of the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, lifted the visa restriction on Nigerian travellers. Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, who refuted the viral reports in an update on his X page, said: “UAE has not resumed visa issuance to Nigerians. The document in circulation is not authorised either by the Nigerian government or the UAE.” In October 2022, the UAE implemented a ban on citizens from approximately 20 African nations from entering its borders. Among the affected countries are Nigeria, Uganda, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Cameroon, Liberia, Burundi, Republic of Guinea, Gambia, Togo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal, Benin, Ivory Coast, Congo, Rwanda

Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange platform, was accused of exploiting Nigeria’s currency, the Naira, causing its value to plummet. The company is also accused of terrorism financing, money laundering, and tax evasion, among other things. The cryptocurrency exchange will automatically convert naira balances to USDT beginning March 8 at 8:00 a.m. UTC, although support for NGN deposits will end after 14:00 UTC today. Withdrawals will be unsupported after March 8, at 6:00 a.m. UTC. The company, in a statement on Tuesday, advised users to withdraw NGN, trade their NGN assets or convert NGN into crypto. The statement read, “Users are encouraged to withdraw NGN, trade their NGN assets or convert NGN into crypto prior to the discontinuation of these NGN services. “From 2024-03-08 08:00 (UTC), any remaining NGN balances in users’ Binance accounts will be automatically converted to USDT based on the conversion rate below. “Binance will not support deposits of NGN after 2024-03-05 14

BUA Cement has explained that the plan to sell a bag of cement for N3,500 has been crippled by market forces. The company gave the explanation in response to the seven-day ultimatum given to its management by two civil society groups to sell its cement at N3,500 per bag or picket the company. In response to the planned picketing of BUA cement office over the inability of the company to actualise its promise to crash the price of cement to sell at N3, 500, the company said it actually fulfilled that pledge. Reacting to the enquiry the head of Creatives & Visual Identity management at BUA Group, Mr Timothy Sogbeinde, explained that the company actually sold cement at N3, 500 ex-factory for months before it stopped. To further clarify his response, Sogbeinde sent a recorded message done by the executive director, Mr Kabir Rabiu. In that message, Kabir reiterated that, “we actually sold our cement for three to four months at N3,500. We thought other players in the cement in

The Governor of Abia State, Alex Otti, has called on the Nigerian Labour Congress to expose the identities of ghost workers in the state. He made the call during a meeting with leaders of the NLC, Abia State Council, at the Government House on Monday. While speaking, the Governor said ghost workers were stealing from the government, enjoining the NLC leaders to fish them out. “There is no doubt that there are people who do not live here but are being paid. You must let them know that they are stealing from you. My stand with NLC is also to help us identify such people because they are stealing from the state too. And a lot of us know some of these people but we are not talking. As you make your bed, so you lie on it. It is important that you expose those people,” he said. Earlier, Abia NLC Chairman, Ogbonnaya Okoro, commended the Governor for the good job being done in the state. “We are happy that you are doing marvellously well, and every Abian, both home and abroad, is t