December 12, (THEWILL) – The Federal Government has disclosed plans to cancel oil exploration licences granted to companies but remain unused without any exploration activities. A check by THEWILL on recent data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) reveals that over 60 percent of the 53 prospecting licenses granted to both local and foreign oil companies have lapsed. While 33 have already expired and remain unrenewed, four are said to be entangled in contract disputes. Although the licenses have not been automatically revoked, the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) in 2021 empowered the NUPRC to assess…
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Last week, Congress put squarely on the table the question of whether the health of our democracy requires renovation of our colleges and universities. I believe the answer to that question is yes. Liz Magill, formerly of Penn; Claudine Gay of Harvard; and Sally Kornbluth of MIT. (Washington Post illustration; photos by The Washington Post, Reuters and AP) On Tuesday, the House Education and Workforce Committee held a hearing to investigate how Harvard University, MIT and the University of Pennsylvania are responding to antisemitism on their campuses. The hearing’s viral moment came when Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) asked a chain of questions…
Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State has cautioned some traditional rulers in the state against the sale of lands belonging to the State Government. The caution was contained in a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Lekan Adeniran. The statement, made available to newsmen on Monday, further indicated that the warning was issued at a meeting the governor had with the state Council of Traditional Rulers. Abiodun warned that his administration would take disciplinary action against any person found selling land in its forest reserves and plantations across the state. He described as unpatriotic the actions of…
In a harrowing incident on Saturday night, unidentified gunmen seized twenty-three residents from Dei-Dei community, situated in the Bwari area council of the Federal Capital Territory. The victims, reportedly taken from their apartments within a single compound inhabited by tenants, fell prey to the assailants between 8 and 9 pm that fateful day, as per information gathered by Daily Trust. Mai Unguwar Dei-Dei, Ibrahim Galadima, confirmed the incident, revealing that seven of the abducted individuals were later rescued by local security vigilantes who tracked the kidnappers into the nearby bush approximately an hour after the initial abduction. Galadima explained, “It’s…
A divided Europe benefits Biden – Mandel Ngan /AFP These days, divisions within the West appear to be more and more salient. The prime ministers of Belgium and Spain have expressed support for Palestine, proposing to recognise it as an independent state. The Prime Minister of Slovakia no longer wants to support the Ukrainian war effort, and it seems the same goes for the winner of the Dutch elections, Geert Wilders. Hungary, too, shares this view, advocating for peace in a Europe increasingly tired of the conflict. However, Europe may be on the verge of much greater shifts. More than…
The Paris region has stripped a French journalist and anti-Islamism activist of an award after she shared a controversial post comparing Israel’s bombardment of Gaza to the Holocaust. El Rhazoui was stripped of the award after a social media post on Gaza (JOEL SAGET) Zineb El Rhazoui was in 2019 awarded the Simone Veil prize, named after the French Holocaust survivor and trailblazing feminist politician, for her work “defending secularism, fighting against all forms of obscurantism and for equality between women and men”. The Moroccan-born writer and television commentator on Saturday reposted a statement on X, formerly Twitter, appearing to…
Surayyah Ahmad Sani (left) and Sanusi Ismaila Interview with Sanusi Ismaila and Surayyah Ahmad SaniCO-FOUNDERS, ADUNA CAPITAL Northern Nigeria, a predominantly Muslim region, is home to about half of Nigeria’s total population. However, it garners just a fraction of the country’s startup funding. Estimates suggest 85% of venture capital funding is allocated to startups in Lagos, located in the southwest. Sanusi Ismaila and Surayyah Ahmad Sani have co-founded Aduna Capital, which has recently announced the launch of its first fund. This $20 million fund aims to co-invest with other venture capital entities, primarily focusing on northern Nigeria. Sanusi Ismaila is the…
The All Progressives Congress in Osun state has called on the State Government to come clean on the whereabouts and health status of Governor Ademola Adeleke. According to the opposition party, the governor has been conspicuously absent from the state for 31 days. The party alleged that the Peoples Democratic Party-led administration has been holding back information on the governor’s mission outside the country. The APC Chairman in the state, Tajudeen Lawal in a statement issued by the party’s Media Director, Kola Olabisi on Monday said the manner the governor’s media minders handle his whereabouts is enough to show that…
The Adamawa State Government has inaugurated the administrators for 50 development areas created by the government. The administrators to head the 50 development areas carved out of the existing 21 local government areas of the state were sworn in on Monday at a ceremony in Yola, the state capital. Deputy Governor, Prof. Kaletapwa Farauta, supervised the swearing-in ceremony on behalf of Governor Ahmadu Fintiri, who was away in Maiduguri, Borno State, to be part of the party to receive President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who was on an official visit to the state. Prof. Farauta, who presented Fintiri’s speech, said the…
A National Assembly joint committee on Monday revealed the names of road contractors who allegedly failed to complete or start work after collecting money from government. The revelation was made during the budget defence for 2024 by the Federal Ministry of Works when the Minister of Works and former governor of Ebonyi State, David Umahi, led top officials of the ministry to appear before the Joint House of Representatives and Senate Committee on Works for the budget defence. In his opening address, the minister explained that the defunct Federal Ministry of Works and Housing was allocated the sum of N534.4…