Top 5 Stories Of The Day | Tinubu Rejects Bill Seeking to Increase the Retirement Age of National Assembly Staff

• Tinubu rejects bill seeking to increase the retirement age of National Assembly staff
• Dangote Refinery reveals FG may spend ₦236 billion per month on imported fuel
• NBS reports Nigeria’s unemployment rate surged to 5.3 in Q1 of 2024
• Naira trades at ₦1,658/$ in official market
• EFCC investigates Bobrisky’s bribery allegations made by VeryDarkMan

Across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, these are the five top Nigerian news stories you shouldn’t miss.

Tinubu rejects bill seeking to increase the retirement age of National Assembly staff

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has refused to approve the bill to raise the retirement age of civil servants working in the National Assembly.

The President’s decision to not approve the bill was not given, as the increase in retirement age suggested from 65 years or 40 years of service, whereas the existing retirement age is set to 60 years and 35 years of service.

Dangote Refinery reveals FG may spend ₦236 billion per month on imported fuel

The President and CEO of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has called for the federal government to put an end to fuel subsidies entirely as it is likely to spend about ₦236 billion on imported fuel monthly through the National Nigerian Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and fuel purchased from Dangote’s Refinery solely by the NNPCL.

Dangote claimed that removing the subsidy would help determine the factual data on fuel consumption in Nigeria, as it was earlier reported that the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria lifted 50 million litres from the Dangote Refinery once before.

According to oil marketers, Dangote’s fuel sold to them by the NNPCL was being subsidised as the latter had claimed the fuel was solid at ₦898/litre while oil marketers claimed to have purchased it from NNPCL at the rate of ₦766.

NBS reports Nigeria’s unemployment rate surged to 5.3 in Q1 of 2024

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has reported that the unemployment rate in Nigeria has increased to a staggering 5.3% in the first quarter of 2024, compared to its 5.0%, which it maintained in Q3 of 2023.

The NBS explained the unemployment rate as the labour force distribution between the unemployed and those actively looking for jobs.

“The unemployment rate among males was 4.3% and 6.2% among females,”

“By place of residence, the unemployment rate was 6.0% in urban areas and 4.3% in rural areas for Q1 2024.”

Naira trades at ₦1,658/$ in official market

There has been no significant change in the foreign exchange market as naira currently trades at ₦1,670/$ in the black market and ₦1,658/$ in the official market.

The Nigerian currency had previously traded for ₦1,659/$ in the official market and ₦1,700/$ by the black market on Monday, 23 September before dropping to its present rate.

Despite the naira fluctuating, the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) claimed the foreign exchange value increased to ₦15.74 trillion ($9.90bn) in August 2024.

EFCC investigates Bobrisky’s bribery allegations made by VeryDarkMan

Barely a month after Bobrisky’s release from prison, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has invited Martins Otse (VeryDarkMan) and Idris Okuneye (Bobrisky) for an investigation into bribery allegations made against EFCC personnel.

The Chairman of EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, ordered an immediate probe into the accusation made by VeryDarkMan in a viral video where he claimed that Bobrisky had confessed to some EFCC personnel collecting ₦15 million from her to drop the money laundering charges against her.

“In a swift reaction, the EFCC’s boss has constituted a team of Investigators to critically look into the allegations. To this end, the Commission hereby invites both Okuneye and Otse to make themselves available at its Lagos Directorate to assist investigators unearth the alleged bribery,” EFCC penned on its X handle.