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Petrol pump price rose to N1,030 per litre at various outlets of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) in Abuja on Wednesday, Premium Times is reporting.

The recent development comes after the NNPC decided to terminate its exclusive purchase agreement with Dangote Refinery. Earlier on Monday, this newspaper exclusively reported that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) is ending its exclusive purchase agreement with Dangote Refinery, opening up the market for other marketers to buy petrol directly from the refinery.

This means the NNPC will no longer be the sole off-taker, and marketers can now negotiate prices directly with Dangote Refinery. This development aligns with the current practices for fully deregulated products, where refineries can sell directly to marketers on a willing buyer, willing seller basis.

PREMIUM TIMES observed Wednesday morning that NNPC Ltd outlets in the Central area of Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, adjusted the pump price of petroleum to N1,030.

At the station, Glory Okoye, a customer who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES, said: “This is funny; I just noticed that the pump price has changed from N897 to N1,030.” At several other outlets in the Wuse, Lugbe area of the capital city, this newspaper confirmed that the pump price equally jumped to N1,030 as motorists and commuters grumbled amid the uncertainty.

In Akute, Ogun State, this newspaper observed that the NNPC outlets were shut against motorists who formed a long queue along the Akute-Alagbole Road. A motorist told PREMIUM TIMES that the outlets sold petrol in the early hours of Wednesday but dropped midway, claiming that one of its generating sets was faulty.But attendants said they are waiting for a directive on prices from the top,” a frustrated customer said.

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Shares of data analytics software firm Palantir Technologies (PLTR) were Tuesday's biggest gainers in the S&P 500 after after asset management firm Ark Invest spotlighted software as an area with more room to benefit from artificial intelligence (AI) trends.

In an interview with CNBC, Rahul Bhushan, managing director of Ark Invest Europe, said data analytics and software firms like Palantir could be poised to take market share from mega-capitalization tech companies like Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), and Alphabet (GOOGL), whose cloud-computing platforms have been a focal point in the emerging AI boom.

According to Bhushan, hardware and infrastructure have accounted for 80% of the value that has accrued over the past two and a half years as investors pour money into shares of AI-related companies. Ark Invest is "finding far more asymmetrical opportunities today" in companies operating further down the "AI stack"—including those providing software-as-a-service and platform-as-a-service products—Bhushan said.

Data analytics providers like Palantir can provide customized data and AI services that are tailored to the needs of specific clients, Bhushan said.

Palantir shares rose more than 6% on Tuesday, leaving them up some 140% in 2024.

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The Federal Government has urged Nigerians to seek permission before using the national anthem.

A statement by the Director General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu on Wednesday, said seeking permission was necessary to avoid misinterpretation. He further announced that press conferences will be held across all states to initiate the sensitisation campaign on the agency’s new policies.

He, however, did not state in what context permission should be sought before the anthem could be sung, or its lyrics could be used. “As custodians of Nigeria’s national symbols, the NOA is tasked with preventing all forms of misuse. The DG emphasised that permission must be sought from the Agency before using the National Anthem to avoid misrepresentation,” the statement partly read. He also clarified that the Nigerian flag is simply green, white, and green, with the correct shade of green being Emerald 2.0.

He noted the transformation from the neglected state in which he met the agency, citing key achievements such as the establishment of audio-visual studios, the launch of an optimised NOA website featuring the CLHEEAN-NOA Artificial Intelligence voice and chat assistant, and the recent approval of institutionalisation policies by the Federal Executive Council (FEC), all with the full support of President Bola Tinubu.

The DG explained that previous administrations focused solely on infrastructure development while neglecting the critical role of value orientation, leading to the decline of social intervention structures like the Boys’ Scouts, Girls’ Brigade, WAI Brigade, and even the National Orientation Agency itself.

However, he said the current administration recognised this oversight, with President Tinubu extending his support to the agency. The backing he said, is reflected in the recent Federal Executive Council’s approvals, all of which revolve around value orientation and the National Identity Project. Speaking on the newly introduced Citizen Value Brigade (CVB), Mallam Issa-Onilu advised Nigerians not to allow their children to search for heroes elsewhere, especially during their formative years.

He said the NOA had received approval to establish this social institution, which will instil Nigerian values in children, starting with 1,000 children per state and the FCT. The initiative he said aims to cultivate homegrown heroes for future generations to emulate. He also stressed the importance of creating local cartoon content to counter the influx of foreign values being conveyed to young Nigerians. The Director General reiterated that both leaders and citizens share equal responsibility for national progress.

He explained that within the Nigerian Promise—a key aspect of the National Values Charter-there are principles of Equality and Meritocracy that the nation guarantees to its citizens, whether they are in positions of leadership or the general populace. He warned that Nigeria cannot move without active participation and adherence to these values.

President Tinubu on the first anniversary of his office signed into law the bill to revert to Nigeria’s old national anthem which was dropped by a military government in 1978. The re-adopted anthem, which begins “Nigeria, We Hail Thee,” was written by Lillian Jean Williams in 1959 and composed by Frances Berda.

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A lady has revealed why she feels she needed a man.

She said she has got a lot of bill to pay and she feels she needed a man to do the payments.

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The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has stated that the federal government will not subsidise hajj payment for pilgrims in 2025.

Daily Trust reports that government subsidy is mostly in the form of concessionary rate which allows pilgrims to access dollars at a reduced rate from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

A statement by the spokesperson of the commission, Fatima Sanda Usara, said for the 2025 Hajj, “There will be no concessionary exchange rate from the government for Hajj fare payment for pilgrims whether under state or private Hajj operators.” This means that if the naira maintains its current rate of N1,650 to a dollar, each intending pilgrim will pay almost N10million for hajj fare as pilgrims pay at least $6,000.

While NAHCON is yet to announce the hajj fare for the 2025 hajj, States Pilgrims Welfare Board have begun asking intending pilgrims to pay N8.5m as initial deposit pending the announcement of the hajj fare. The statement also announced the refund of 64,682 (150 Saudi Riyal) to every Nigerian pilgrim that participated in the 2023 hajj.

The statement added that the revelations were made during an interactive meeting between NAHCON and members of Private Tour Operators in Nigeria (PTOs). “The meeting held today, 7th October 2024 was to update members on resolutions reached after resumption of office on Wednesday, 2nd October 2024 by Acting Chairman of the Commission, Prof Abdullahi Saleh Usman who had been absent briefly on a trip.

NAHCON’s Commissioner of Operations, Prince Anofi Olanrewaju Elegushi, chaired the virtual meeting with the PTO’s where he relayed new developments from both Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah (MoHU) and NAHCON’s decisions resulting from the second EXCO meeting with the new head of the Commission.”

Elegushi also stated that Saudi Arabia had further reduced the number of PTO to 10 from 20 that was initially announced and each company must register a minimum of 2,000 pilgrims to be considered for Hajj visa approval. He said for the 2022 refund, the commission is still awaiting further details but refund details have emerged only for PTOs that camped on Field Office 18 in 2022 and they are to collectively receive SR62, 602 (N26,993,224) as refund for poor feeding in the Masha’ir.

“Similarly, the Commissioner Operations informed the PTO members that the NAHCON’s EXCO has approved the option of honouring bank guarantee as payment of N40 million caution deposit for the 2025 Hajj. In view of the above, any operator who wishes to make the payment through bank guarantee but has already made a cash deposit is invited to request for collection of the earlier deposit in order to present the bank guarantee.”

He also clarified that contrary to claims that NAHCON owes PTOs N17 billion from the 2024 Hajj caution deposit of N25million, it only received N2billion, N750million from 110 companies that registered for the 2024 Hajj. “The amount included a roll-over of Nibillion, 250million from the previous year. From the amount, 30 compris The belted stil in the custody of to mom siich has accruing to undecided PTOs is N750m.”

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