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President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday said he rejected advice given to him to refrain from participating in the just-concluded Ramadan fast.

While the President was not specific as to who offered the advice, he, however, said having participated in the one-month exercise, he is now healthier to handle national issues.

Buhari spoke when residents of the Federal Capital Territory, led by the Minister of the FCT, Mohammed Bello, paid him the traditional Sallah homage at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Buhari recalled that in 2017, he was unable to take part in the annual spiritual exercise because of the ill health that kept him away from the country for about 100 days.

The President said, “I am very grateful to the ministers and church leadership that came to say happy Eid-Fitr to those of us that have been fasting.

“A lot of people asked me if, on health grounds, I could default. I refused, because I know the value in fasting. I cannot miss it once I can do it.

“Last year, I didn’t because I was on health vacation. But this year, I have done it and I thank God because it has helped me to be much more healthier to give me the time that I need to attend to national issues.”

BIG STORY

Avoid Panic Buying, We’re Not Changing Petrol Prices — NNPCL To Nigerians

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The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited says there is no place to change the prices of petroleum products.

In a statement on Thursday by Femi Soneye, its spokesperson, the NNPC asked Nigerians to avoid panic buying.

The national oil firm said the limited availability of petrol in certain regions of the nation is a result of logistical problems.

However, the company said the challenge has been fixed.

“The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) wishes to clarify that the tightness in the supply of Premium Motor Spirit currently being experienced in some areas across the country is as a result of logistics issues and that they have been resolved,” the statement reads.

“It also wishes to reiterate that the prices of petroleum products are not changing.

“It urges Nigerians to avoid panic buying as there is a sufficiency of products in the country.”

On March 24, the NNPC denied adjusting the pump price of petrol across its retail outlets.

This came after the organisation had promised Nigerians that there would not be any increase in the cost of petrol on February 9.

The NNPC also reaffirmed its commitment to sustaining the current sufficiency in the supply of petroleum products across all its retail stations in the country.

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BIG STORY

Former Senate Spokesperson Ayogu Eze Dies At 66

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Ayogu Eze, a former spokesperson for the Senate, passed away at the age of 66.

Eze, the senator from Enugu North Senatorial District from 2007 to 2015, died on Thursday in a hospital in Abuja following an undisclosed illness.

In May 2023, the Senate confirmed Eze as a federal Commissioner for Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission. Eze is also among the founding members of the Peoples Democratic Party.

In his years at the Senate, he also served as the chairman of the Senate Committee of Works and a member of committees on Constitutional Amendment, Police Affairs, National Planning, Marine Transport and Federal Character & Inter-Government Affairs.

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BIG STORY

Lagos Workers Now Earn N70,000 As Minimum Wage Since January — Sanwo-Olu

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The executive Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has disclosed that workers have been enjoying an additional N35,000 wage allowance since January.

He also disclosed that a new minimum wage programme will shortly be implemented by the state administration.

According to the governor, since the start of the year, people who were previously making the minimum wage of N35,000 or more now receive salaries of N70,000 or more.

“The civil servant and all public officers in Lagos know that since January, we have continued to pay the wage allowance of a minimum of N35,000 over and above what they were earning before.

“What this means is that people that are earning a minimum of N35,000 or more before are now earning over N70,00. That is what they have been enjoying since January.

“So it is important for people to know that we make these things very clear that this government has doubled up to ensure that at this difficult time, it has not left the citizens on their own,” Sanwo-Olu said at a state function on Thursday.

The governor while giving an update on the intervention the state embarked on to ameliorate the current economic hardship,  said his administration will distribute food items to 500,000 households in the state through unions and local governments.

Speaking on the ‘Ounje Eko’ initiative, where food items are sold at discounted prices, the governor said, “We created 59 makeshift markets outside of the regular markets out of our 57 local government and local council development areas and made it Sunday-Sunday market.”

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