1. The Federal Government has eventually complied with the demands of domestic crude oil refiners and other operators in the sector, as it declared on Monday that indigenous refineries can now buy crude oil in naira or dollars. It also declared that the total crude oil and condensate reserves in Nigeria increased to 37.5 billion barrels as of January 1, 2024, with a life index of 68.01 years.

2. The State Working Committee of the Kano chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has sanctioned some ward party leaders who earlier suspended the national chairman of the party, Umar Abdullahi Ganduje. Leaders in Ganduje ward in Dawakin Tofa Local Government had on Monday suspended the APC national chairman.

3. Nigeria witnessed its sixth power grid collapse of 2024 on Monday, as electricity generation on the system collapsed from 2,583.77 megawatts at 2 am to 64.7MW around 3 am before the grid was restored later in the day.

4. The naira has continued its resurgence against the United States dollar, appreciating N1,136/$ at the official market and N1,050/$ at the parallel market at the close of trading activities on Monday. This was as traders predicted the dollar’s fall to below N1,000 before the end of the week.

5. A Lagos Coroner inquest set up to unravel the circumstances that led to the death of Sylvester Oromoni Jnr., a 12-year-old student of Dowen College, Lekki, Lagos, has said that he died of natural causes. The coroner, Magistrate Mikhail Kadiri stated that the deceased’s death was avoidable but for parental negligence, while absolving staff of the college of any complicity.

6. The National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, on Monday, said the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government has so far rescued over 1,000 kidnap victims without paying a ransom. Ribadu said this when he received 22 students and staff of the Federal University of Gusau, Zamfara State, rescued on Sunday.

7. Tears flowed freely from family members on Monday as the remains of the late Nollywood make-up artist, Abigail Edith Frederick, were entered into her family home in Eket Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. The late artist, 24, was laid to rest in her hometown in Ikot Udoma, Eket Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.

8. Former governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, says fuel subsidy is back, but many Nigerians do not know this. Fielding questions from newsmen in Maiduguri, Borno State capital, on Monday, El-Rufai said the federal government is now paying more than before.

9. The Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, has stated that a fire incident at the Afam Power Generating Station was responsible for the grid collapse that occurred on Monday. A statement by TCN’s General Manager, Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, said the incident caused a partial disturbance of the nation’s grid.

10. Two persons have been reportedly killed in Minna, Niger State capital during a free-for-all in Maitumbi area of the state. The deaths were as a result of a clash between two rival gang groups in the area, on Monday.

Nigeria’s inflation rate rose to 33.20 percent in Mach 2024 — up from 31.70 percent in February.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) disclosed this in its consumer price index (CPI) report, which measures the rate of change in prices of goods and services, on Monday.

According to the bureau, food inflation also surged to 40.01 percent in the month under review.

NBS said the March headline inflation rate showed an increase of “1.50% points when compared to the February 2024 headline inflation rate”.

“On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 11.16% points higher compared to the rate recorded in March 2023, which was 22.04%,” he said.

“This shows that the headline inflation rate (year-on-year basis) increased in the month of March 2024 when compared to the same month in the preceding year (i.e., March 2023).

“Furthermore, on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in March 2024 was 3.02%, which was 0.10% lower than the rate recorded in February 2024 (3.12%).

“This means that in the month of March 2024, the rate of increase in the average price level is less than
the rate of increase in the average price level in February 2024.”

FOOD PRICES IS MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR TO INFLATION RATE

The NBS report further showed that the food inflation rate in March 2024 was 40.01 percent on a year-on-year basis – an increase of 15.56 percent points higher compared to the 24.45 percent rate recorded in March 2023.

NBS said the rise in food inflation on a year-on-year basis was caused by an increase in prices of garri, millet, bread and cereal, yam, dried fish, meat, and fruits.

“On a month-on-month basis, the Food inflation rate in March 2024 was 3.62% which shows a 0.17% decrease compared to the rate recorded in February 2024 (3.79%),” the bureau said.

“The fall in food inflation on a month-on-month basis was caused by a fall in the rate of increase
in the average prices of Guinea corn flour, Plantain Flour, etc (under Bread and Cereals
class), Yam, Irish Potatoe, Coco Yam (under Potatoes, Yam & Other Tubers class), Titus
fish, Mudfish Dried (under Fish class), Lipton, Bournvita, Ovaltine (under Coffee, Tea, and Cocoa class).

“The average annual rate of Food inflation for the twelve months ending March 2024 over
the previous twelve-month average was 31.40%, which was 8.69% points increase from
the average annual rate of change recorded in March 2023 (22.72%).”

The report also said Kogi, Kwara, and Akwa Ibom states spent more on food in March.

“In March 2024, food inflation on a year-on-year basis was highest in Kogi (48.46%), Kwara (46.18%), and Akwa Ibom (45.18%), while on a month-on-month basis, however, March 2024 food inflation was highest in Abia (5.17%), Cross River (5.14%), and Bayelsa (4.75%),” NBS added.

On the other hand, states with the slowest rise in food inflation on a year-on-year basis are Nasarawa (33.76 percent), Borno (34.28 percent), and Bauchi (34.38 percent).

Also, Borno (1.59 percent), Yobe (2.08 percent) and Adamawa (2.12 percent) recorded the slowest rise in food inflation on a month-on-month basis.

A federal capital territory high court has dismissed an application from Olu Agunloye, a former minister of power and steel, seeking to invite “amici curiae” to intervene in the criminal charge filed against him.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting Agunloye over a $6 billion Mambilla hydropower contract.

The anti-graft agency said it traced some suspicious payments by Sunrise Power and Transmission Ltd to Agunloye’s bank accounts.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo had also challenged Agunloye to tell Nigerians where he derived the authority to award a $6 billion contract to Sunrise for the Mambilla hydropower project in 2003.

Agunloye was arraigned on a seven-count charge bordering on fraudulent award of a contract and official corruption.

In a preliminary objection dated February 6, Agunloye said the EFCC lacks the powers to prosecute him because the offences levelled against him do not border on financial crimes.

Among other things, the former minister said it is the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) that has the power to prosecute him over the allegations contained in the charge.

Agunloye through his lawyer, Adeola Adedipe, added that contrary to constitutional provisions, the AGF did not give EFCC the fiat to investigate and institute proceedings in the case against his client.

In the motion for an amicus, the senior advocate of Nigeria said he would want the friends of the court to be present during the hearing of the preliminary objection.

An amicus curiae (friend of the court) is an individual who is not a party to a litigation, but volunteers or is invited to advise on a pending matter.

Agunloye sought the intervention of Lateef Fagbemi, the attorney-general of the federation (AGF); Yakubu Maikyau, president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA); Joseph Daudu, former NBA president; and Kanu Agabi, former minister of justice.

Ruling on the application on Monday, Jude Onwuegbuzie, the presiding judge, dismissed the request.

Onwuegbuzie said he believed the defendant had a competent team of lawyers to handle the case.

He added that “the court is not confused or in doubt to warrant the intervention of amici curiae”.

He said an amicus “is not supposed to be invited by parties in the suit” but that it is the responsibility of the court to do so if it so desires.

Consequently, the application was dismissed.

The court has fixed April 22 to hear the defendant’s preliminary objection.