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The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has announced plans to hand over the operations and maintenance of the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company and the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company to private operators.

This decision is geared towards engaging reputable and credible Operations and Maintenance (O&M) companies to manage these facilities more effectively.

This was revealed in a statement released on Friday, August 30, 2024, through NNPCL’s official handle on X.

The Warri Refinery, located in Delta State, was commissioned in 1978 and is a complex conversion refinery with a nameplate distillation capacity of 6.25 million metric tons per annum (MTA), equivalent to 125,000 barrels per day (bpd). The refinery complex also includes a petrochemical plant commissioned in 1988, with production capacities of 13,000 MTA of polypropylene and 18,000 MTA of carbon black.

The facility primarily supplies petroleum products to markets in the southern and southwestern regions of Nigeria.

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Consumers again said they expect price increases to ease in the near future, helping push August’s sentiment survey higher after four months of decline.

Consumer sentiment improved to a final reading of 67.9 in August, more than a point higher than the prior month, data from the University of Michigan showed. Economists surveyed by the and expected the reading to be slightly higher.

Survey director Joanne Hsu said the survey showed a broad improvement in consumers' attitudes about the economy. After hitting an all-time low in the June 2022 survey, consumer sentiment has rebounded by about 36%. 

“Consumers’ short- and long-run economic outlook improved, with both figures reaching their most favorable levels since April 2024 and a particularly sizable 10% improvement for long-run expectations that was seen across age and income groups,” Hsu said. 

Consumers expect inflation in the next year will be 2.8%, their outlook moving lower for a third consecutive month. That optimism comes as the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) report on Friday showed price pressures continued to ease in July.

Economists often say the University of Michigan survey is more sensitive to inflation. In contrast, a similar consumer confidence survey from the Conference Board touches more on changes in the labor market. 

Federal Reserve officials follow consumer inflation expectations to monitor pricing trends, as price setters' and wage payers' reactions to these expectations can often be self-fulfilling. Declining inflation expectations could support forecasts that the Fed is prepared to begin cutting interest rates, which may start at the upcoming September meeting.

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An audacious man has told his girlfriend in his breakup text that she wait for him and he’ll come back to her.

He said he love and care for her but for now he has found another that he loves too and want to be with her. He does not want to be ch£ating on her while he still with her. But he is still coming back for her.

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Influencer Tasha has lamented that his boyfriend isn’t romantic, He rarely buys her flowers but orders many things she needed.

She said she has mostly accepted this, while she loves romance, it’s not a non- negotiable for her, especially since he is very thoughtful. For example, he rarely buys flowers but buys her supplements even before she realizes that she needed them and get a surprise package of vitamin D3 is not romantic.

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At least 37 bandits were reportedly k+lled in Matusgi village, Talata Mafara Local Government Area of Zamfara State, after residents engaged a gang that had invaded the village with the intent to abduct locals, Daily Trust reports.

According to an anonymous resident, the bandits arrived on motorbikes around 2 p.m. on Wednesday, aiming to carry out abductions, saying it was not the first time the villagers had confronted bandits, but it was the first instance where they managed to inflict significant casualties.

The resident said the bandits began their atta3k by firing sporadically to intimidate the community. However, the residents had been alerted in advance and were prepared when the bandits arrived. Armed with locally-made firearms, some villagers fought back, while others used traditional weapons to encircle the area and prevent the bandits from escaping.

After an hour of intense f+ghting, the bandits retreated, with 10 of their members reported dead. The residents then regrouped, strategised, and set up an ambush. When the bandits returned, the villagers launched another atta3k, ultimately k+lling 37 bandits in total.

The District Head of Matusgi, Alhaji Ciroma Muhammad, confirmed the incident, stating that three villagers were k+lled during the clash. He noted that neighbouring villages reported seeing the bandits transporting the bodies of their fallen comrades on motorbikes.

“This is the 13th time bandits have atta3ked this village,” Alhaji Muhammad said. “Three weeks ago, the bandits kidnapped 23 people, mostly women. They carried out the operation quietly, without firing any sh%ts until after they had left. We only became aware of their departure when they fired a few shots in the distance.”

He added that the bandits had demanded a ransom of N150,000 per person. After payment, only seven of the abducted women were released, with the remaining hostages still in c+ptivity. Meanwhile, the Kaduna State government has reported that troops on patrol have neutralised eight bandits in Birnin Gwari Local Government Area.

The troops were on a f+ghting patrol in the Kampanin Doka area when they encountered the bandits. According to Samuel Aruwan, the Overseeing Commissioner for the Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs, the troops engaged the bandits, k+lling seven on the spot.

He said a subsequent search of the area, the troops recovered several items, including three AK-47 rifles, eight AK-47 magazines (four empty and four loaded with a total of 120 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition), one magazine carrier, six motorcycles, three mobile phones, two Baoteng radio sets and three pairs of civilian clothes. He added that in the final stage of the patrol, the troops encountered additional bandits in the Gayam area, neutralising one more while the remaining bandits fled with gur shot wonds.

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