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2024 Democracy Day: FG Inaugurates 17-Man Inter-Ministerial Committee

The Federal Government has inaugurated a 17-man Inter-Ministerial Committee on 2024 Democracy Day Celebration charged with the responsibility of organising a memorable and befitting Democracy Day Anniversary Celebration.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, at the event emphasised the significance of remembering the national heroes and heroines who battled to establish democratic rule in the nation and their contributions and sacrifices.
“I am delighted to welcome you to the inauguration Ceremony of the 2024 Democracy Day Anniversary Inter-Ministerial Committee.
“The celebration of the 2024 Democracy Day Anniversary provides an opportunity to reflect on the contributions and sacrifices of our national heroes and heroines who fought for the entrenchment of democratic rule in the country”, he said.
He stated that the annual Democracy Day Celebration also affords the nation the avenue to showcase its achievements in dealing with myriads of challenges in social and economic sectors confronting the nation.
The Committee also include the Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination; Hadiza Bala-Usman; Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga; Inspector-General of Police,
Kayode Egbetokun; Director-General, Department of State Services, Yusuf Magaji Bichi; Commander, Guards Brigade, Colonel Adebisi Onasanya; Permanent Secretary, General Services Office, Dr. Nnamdi Maurice Mbaeri; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Kachollom Daju and Permanent Secretary, Cabinet Affairs Office, Richard Pheelangwa as the Secretary.
According to a statement issued by, Director, Information and Public Relations, Segun Imohiosen, the Terms of References for the Committee are include to plan, organise and execute all approved activities befitting the Democracy Day Celebration; co-opt any organistion(s)/person(s) relevant towards the successful execution of the programme; document for posterity, all activities for the Democracy Day Celebration; and carry out any other assignment as may be required towards the successful implementation of the programme.
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Dangote Stops Petrol Sale In Naira, Gives Condition For Resumption

Nigerians may experience an increase in the prices of premium energy products diesel and petrol as the Dangote Petroleum Refinery temporarily halts the sale of petroleum products in Naira.
“This decision is necessary to avoid a mismatch between our sales proceeds and our crude oil purchase obligations, which are currently denominated in US dollars,” the company said in a statement yesterday.
The $20billion refinery based in Lagos said the sales of its products in Naira have exceeded the value of Naira-denominated crude it has received from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
“As a result, we must temporarily adjust our sales currency to align with our crude procurement currency,” the company explained.
The refinery said it remained committed to serving the Nigerian market and would resume the sale of its product to the local market in Naira as soon as it received crude cargoes from the NNPCL in Naira.
“As soon as we receive an allocation of Naira-denominated crude cargoes from NNPC, we will promptly resume petroleum product sales in Naira,” it said.
The announcement by the refinery comes amid its price war with the NNPCL.
As part of moves to reduce the strain on the US dollars, and guarantee price stability of petroleum products, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in July 2024, directed the NNPCL to sell crude oil to Dangote Refinery and other local refineries in naira and not in United States’ greenback.
In the beginning of March 2025, the NNPCL said its Naira-denominated crude sales agreement with the Dangote Refinery was structured for six months with March 2025 as the expiration date.
The state company, however, said that talks were on to replace the contract, and that over 48 million barrels of crude oil have been made available to Dangote Refinery since October 2024 under the Naira-denominated arrangement.
The NNPCL also said it had made over 84 million barrels of crude oil available to the private refinery since it commenced operations in 2023.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, faces energy challenges, with all its state-owned refineries non-operational for decades until 2024. The country was heavily reliant on imported refined petroleum products, with the state-run NNPCL being the major importer of the essential commodities.
Fuel queues are commonplace in the country. Prices of petrol more than quadrupled since the removal of subsidy in May 2023 by President Bola Tinubu, from around ¦ 200/litre to about ¦ 1,000/litre, compounding the woes of the citizens who power their vehicles, and generating sets with petrol, no thanks to decades-long epileptic electricity supply.
Last December, the billionaire industrialist commenced operations at the facility situated in Lagos with 350,000 barrels a day. The refinery, which was initially bogged by regulatory battles, hopes to achieve its full capacity of 650,000 barrels per day by the end of the year. The refinery has begun the supply of diesel and aviation fuel to marketers in the country and now petrol.
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Aruna Displaces Assar As Africa’s Top-Ranked Star
Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna has overtaken Egypt’s Omar Assar to become Africa’s highest-ranked player in the world, now sitting at 18th in the week 12 ranking released on Tuesday.
Aruna moved up from 19th place in week 11 to 18th in the latest ranking, while Assar dropped from 17th to 19th.
Denmark’s Jonathan Groth took over Assar’s 17th place, moving up from 18th.
Despite finishing as runner-up at the 2025 ITTF Africa Cup, Aruna’s impressive performances at the WTT tournaments this year have boosted his ranking.
Aruna remains the only African male player to have reached the semi-finals of the WTT Contender Doha, repeating his 2023 feat earlier this year in January.
This achievement has propelled him ahead of Assar, who beat him to become the champion of the 2025 ITTF Africa Cup.
Aruna’s next tournament is the WTT Contender Chennai which serves off in India from March 23 to 20.
In the women’s singles, Egypt’s Hana Goda maintained her top spot in Africa, moving up one place to 26th in the week 12 ITTF ranking. Her compatriot, Dina Meshref, remained static at 33rd, holding her position as the second-best-ranked female player in Africa.
China’s Wang Chuqin retained his position as the second-best player globally, behind his compatriot Lin Shidong, who continues to hold the top spot. Japanese superstar Tomokazu Harimoto dethroned China’s Liang Jingkun as the third-best player in the world after his semifinal finish in Chongqing.
In the women’s ranking, the top five remained unchanged, with China’s Sun Yingsha holding onto her top spot after retaining her WTT Champions Chongqing title.