China will on January 1 launch an “action plan” for boosting management and operations of its digital currency, a deputy governor of the country’s central bank said Monday.“The future digital yuan will be a modern digital payment and circulation means issued and circulated within the financial system,” People’s Bank of China (PBoC) Deputy Governor Lu…
By Ayomide Otitoju The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has refuted claims that the surge in domestic airfares in December was due to government taxes, attributing the rise instead to market forces driven by festive travel demand. Michael Achimugu, Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at the NCAA, clarified the position in a post…
By Ayomide Otitoju The $2.8 billion Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) pipeline is set to begin export operations in early 2026, the Group CEO of NNPC Ltd, Bashir Ojulari, has announced. The update followed a site tour of the project by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, accompanied by Ojulari and NNPC’s Executive Vice…
Chinese automaker BYD is set to overtake Tesla as the world’s largest electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer in annual sales, according to industry analysts, as both companies prepare to release their final 2025 figures. As of the end of November, Shenzhen-based BYD, which also produces hybrid vehicles, had sold 2.07 million EVs this year. In comparison,…
By Ayomide Otitoju The Lagos Rail Mass Transit (LRMT) Blue Line will operate an expanded service schedule on Sunday, 28 December 2025, to accommodate increased passenger traffic expected from the “G.O.A.T: The Greatest Of All Time Experience” concert headlined by Wizkid at Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS), Lagos. The concert is scheduled to run from 8:00…
By Ayomide Otitoju The cost of running the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) rose sharply in 2024, with directors’ fees and expenses climbing to N4.096 billion, while total spending on employee benefits surged to N749.7 billion, according to the company’s audited 2024 annual report. An analysis of the report by The PUNCH on Thursday…
By Ayomide Otitoju The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and 12 other federal ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) recorded zero in the Ethics and Integrity Compliance Scorecard (EICS) released by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC). According to the ICPC’s publication on Wednesday, the NNPC ranked last among 357 MDAs…
By Ayomide Otitoju The Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has reaffirmed that the January 1, 2026, commencement date for the Nigerian Tax Act and the Nigerian Tax Administration Act remains sacrosanct. Oyedele made the assertion on Friday in Lagos while briefing journalists after a meeting with President…
By Ayomide Otitoju British oil giant BP announced on Wednesday that it has agreed to sell a 65 per cent stake in its Castrol lubricants business to US investment firm Stonepeak, in a move aimed at reducing debt. The transaction, which values Castrol at $10.1 billion, is expected to close by the end of 2026….
