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Increase in petrol price is inevitable – Presidency

NEITI says FG spent N13.7 trillion in petrol subsidy in 15 years

The presidency has reacted to the decision of the the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to increase the price of petrol as the company announced on Tuesday.

The NNPCL had on Tuesday increased the price of petrol to N855 per litre.

In a post on his X handle on Wednesday, Bayo Onanuga, the special adviser on media and strategy to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu said NNPC took the decision as the company can no longer shoulder the difference between the amount the product is being imported into Nigeria and how much it is being sold at the pumps.

According to Onanuga, NNPC may go bankrupt if continues to pay the difference between the landing cost of petrol in Nigeria and the price the product is being sold at the pumps.

He said the indebtedness of the company to petrol marketers as recently acknowledged by the management of the NNPCL resulted from shouldering the rising cost of petrol to protect Nigerian consumers.

He also dismissed claims that the Tinubu’s administration has been deceiving the Federal Government over the payment of subsidy for petroleum products.

“NNPC cried out recently because it can no longer sustain the price differential on its balance sheet without becoming insolvent,” he said.

“The situation has greater implications for the ability of the three tiers of government to function as the NNPC has failed to pay into the Federation Account, the money that should go to the government.

“There are no easy choices. Something must be done to make NNPC survive, and keep the engines of government running and petrol flowing at the pumps.

“That is the scenario that is unfolding, and the game changer and big relief giver may well be the Dangote refinery and other local refineries, which will become the fuel suppliers to the local market.

“When Dangote Refinery and other refineries, including government-owned Port Harcourt Refinery, come fully on stream, our country and economy will benefit on all fronts. There will be many good paying jobs that will be created along the value chain.”

He noted that with the coming of stream of the Dangote Refinery, there will also be a drop in the huge demand for foreign exchange to import petroleum products.

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EFCC seals Kaduna hotel for breaching money laundering act

The Special Control Unit against Money Laundering, SCUML, of the Kaduna Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has sealed up Hampton Hilton Hotel and Apartments, Kaduna, for non-compliance with the Money Laundering (Prevention & Prohibition) Act, 2022 and Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations of the Financial Action Task Force, FATF for Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions, DNFBPs.

The entity was found to have committed multiple infractions in the course of the first evaluation carried out on it, on June 4, 2024, leading to the issuance of administrative sanctions to it by SCUML.

It was also found to have committed further infractions following the compliance evaluation of June 13, 2025, for which it was slammed N2,300,000.00 (Two Million Three Hundred Thousand Naira) fine, payable within seven days and with instruction to ensure full compliance with the Money Laundering (Prevention & Prohibition) Act, 2022 and AML/CFT regulations or face further consequences.

While it refused to pay the fine, it, as well, dishonoured SCUML’s invite to show up for compliance evaluation, resulting in the sealing of the premises.

The Special Control Unit against Money Laundering, SCUML, ensures DNFBPs’ compliance with Money Laundering (Prevention & Prohibition) Act, 2022 and AML/CFT regulations.

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Buhari could have long been dead if he had chosen to be treated in Nigeria -Fmr aide Adesina

Former spokesperson to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, Femi Adesina, has defended the decision of late President Buhari to always seek medical attention abroad before and after he left office.

In a chat with Channels TV this morning, Adesina who served as the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to Buhari said;

‘’Buhari always had his medical in London, even when he was not in office. So, it’s not about the time he was president alone. He had always had it in London and then, you have to be alive first to get certain things corrected in your country. If he had said, ‘I will do my medical in Nigeria just as a show-off or something,’ he could have long been dead because there may not be the expertise needed in the country but he needed to be alive to lead the country to a point where we will have that expertise”

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Buhari’s body arrives in Daura from Katsina for final burial

The remains of Nigeria’s former President, Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, has arrived in his hometown of Daura from Katsina ahead of his burial later today.

The body, which was flown into the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua International Airport in Katsina from the United Kingdom earlier in the day, was received with full state protocol by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, Katsina State Governor Dikko Radda, and members of the late president’s family.

From the airport, the late leader’s remains were transported by a specially prepared ambulance under tight security to Daura, a journey marked by solemnity and respect, with hundreds of residents lining parts of the route to pay their final respects.

Buhari, who served as Nigeria’s Head of State from 1983 to 1985 and returned as a democratically elected president from 2015 to 2023, died in London on Sunday, July 13, 2025, at the age of 82 after a brief illness.

According to Islamic tradition, he will be buried later today at his private residence in Daura.

Dignitaries, traditional rulers, political leaders, and sympathizers from across Nigeria have already gathered in Daura for the Janazah prayers and final interment, with security operatives deployed across the ancient town to ensure a peaceful ceremony