10 things you need to know today 16/12/2023

1. Three more Commissioners, on Friday resigned from the Rivers State Executive Council following the crisis rocking the state. They are the commissioners for Transport, Dr Jacobson Nbina; Housing, Dr Gift Worlu; and Environment, Austen Ben-Chioma.

2. The Supreme Court has denied the request for the release of the embattled leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, from detention. The panel of justices of the court on Friday nullified the earlier order of the Court of Appeal in Abuja which ordered Kanu’s release on bail.

3. Nigeria’s headline inflation has risen to a 20-year high of 28.2 percent in November, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has disclosed. The NBS in a report released on Friday said the headline inflation rate increased to 28.20 percent relative to the October 2023 headline inflation rate which was 27.33 percent.

4. The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio has clarified that he was exhausted and diagnosed with malaria following reports that he collapsed at his 61st birthday colloquium held Thursday in Abuja. Akpabio was reported to have slumped after the event while seeing President Bola Tinubu off at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja and was rushed to the hospital.

5. The 19 Northern governors on Friday agreed to pursue justice for the victims and survivors of the Kaduna drone bombing from the concerned authorities. The governors also called for an investigation into the incident and hoped that such an unfortunate event would not reoccur in the country.

6. The leadership of the Kaduna State branch of the National Union of Road Transport Workers says travellers in the state have reduced by over 50 percent as the Yuletide approaches. The state NUTRW Secretary, Malam Bature Suleiman, who disclosed this said the development was due to the high cost of transportation occasioned by the fuel pump price increase.

7. Men of the Anti-Crude Oil Theft patrol team of the Forward Operating Base of the Nigerian Navy, Igbokoda, Ondo State, have arrested 28 suspected oil thieves for allegedly stealing 527,810 litres of crude oil offshore. The military said the suspects were arrested in the last five days at different locations in the Awoye riverine community of Ilaje Local Government Area of the state.

8. President Bola Tinubu has charged foreign ambassadors in Nigeria to prioritize the exploration of new frontiers of trade relations that will be mutually beneficial as they carry out their duties in the country. According to a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, the President also assured foreign investors of diligent and predictable fund repatriation and the streamlining of the tax system.

9. The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has declared the World Bank as the number one enemy of Nigeria following its request that the federal government increase the price of fuel to N750 per litre. This was contained in a statement issued by the NLC president, Ajaero on Thursday, December 15.

10. The Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Friday, ordered the immediate release of Mohamed Bazoum, Niger’s president who has been held captive since the coup that overthrew him on July 26, and that of his family. The Court also asked that Mohamed Bazoum be reinstated in his position.