President Bola Tinubu has directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other security agencies to crack down on cyber criminals in Nigeria.

Tinubu gave the order on Sunday in a statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President (Information & Strategy), Bayo Onanuga.

Onanuga said President Tinubu has also commended the EFCC for returning the sum of$180,000 and 53 vehicles to Canada.

He quoted Tinubu as saying that Nigeria will continue to work with its international partners to ensure that cyber criminals and organised crime groups involved in transnational car thefts are deprived of the benefits of their illegal activities.

“To this end, President Bola Tinubu has directed security and law enforcement agencies including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to intensify their efforts in cracking down on individuals in possession of and trafficking in stolen vehicles,” Onanuga said.

“The President notes that one of the most effective tools available to law enforcement agencies is depriving criminals of the proceeds from their illicit activities.

“He acknowledges the recent handover of 53 vehicles and $180,300 by the EFCC to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) on behalf of two Canadian citizens who were victims of cybercrimes perpetrated by Nigerian nationals.

“While expressing concern over the involvement of transnational organised criminal groups in exporting stolen vehicles to Nigeria, President Tinubu commends the commission for collaborating with partners to ensure a coordinated and professional repose to this menace.”

Onanuga said the President has further directed all relevant agencies particularly the anti-corruption agencies to protect Nigeria’s economic and financial integrity from organised crime infiltration.

He said Tinubu has also demanded that the value of seized and confiscated moveable assets be preserved for the state, society and victims in line with existing legislation and international conventions.

“The president has strongly affirmed that Nigeria is not a destination for stolen vehicles and a haven for illicit wealth from foreign countries,” Onanuga said.

“President Tinubu has also affirmed that his administration remains committed to tackling money laundering, cybercrime and other financial crimes.”

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), says the average price of 5kg of cooking gas increased from N5,974.55 recorded in July 2024 to N6,430.02 in August 2024.

This is contained in the Bureau’s “Cooking Gas Price Watch’’ for August 2024 released on Sunday in Abuja.

The report said the August price represented a 7.62 per cent increase, compared to what was obtained in July.

The NBS said the average price of 5kg of cooking gas increased on a year-on-year basis by 56.25 per cent from N4,115.32 in August 2023 to N6,430.02 in August 2024.

On state profile analysis, the report showed that Benue recorded the highest average price at N7,000 for 5kg cooking gas, followed by Rivers at N6,954.55, and Borno at N6,914.29.

It said on the other hand, Taraba recorded the lowest price at N5,600.67, followed by Abuja and Kogi at N5,825.00 and N5,857.56, respectively.

Analysis by zone showed that the South-East recorded the highest average retail price at N6,585.18 for 5kg cooking gas, followed by the South-South at N6,451.34.

“The North-Central recorded the lowest average retail price at N6,344.29,” the NBS said.

Also, the NBS said the average retail price for refilling a 12.5kg cooking gas increased by 9.05 per cent on a month-on-month basis from N14,261.57 in July 2024 to N15,552.56 in August 2024.

The report said the average retail price for 12.5kg cooking gas rose by 69.15 per cent on a year-on-year basis from N9,194.41 recorded in August 2023 to N15,552.56 in August 2024.

State profile analysis showed that Rivers recorded the highest average retail price of N17,086.36 for 12.5kg cooking gas, followed by Cross River with N17,050.00 and Abia with N17,012.52.

On the other hand, the report showed that the lowest average price for 12.5kg of cooking gas was recorded in Bauchi at N13,425.00, followed by Nassarawa and Adamawa at N13,640.94 and N13,725.00 respectively.

Analysis by zone showed that the South-South recorded the highest average retail price of N16,524.00 for 12.5kg cooking gas, followed by the South-East at N16,495.78

The report said the North-Central recorded the lowest price at N14,767.41.

Similarly, the NBS said the average retail price per litre of kerosene increased to N1,847.59 in August 2024 on a month-on-month basis, showing an increase of 4.39 per cent, compared to the N1,769.86 recorded in July 2024.

According to its National Kerosene Price Watch for August 2024 on a year-on-year basis, the average retail price per litre of kerosene rose by 45.21 per cent from N1,272.40 in August 2023.

On state profile analysis, the report showed that Zamfara recorded the highest average price at N2,566.67 per litre of kerosene in August, followed by Kano with N2,444.44 and Ogun with N2,388.89.

“On the other hand, the lowest price was recorded in Taraba at N1,181.18, followed by Adamawa at N1,185.74 and Borno at N1,296.95.”

The NBS said the analysis further showed that the North-West recorded the highest average retail price per litre of Kerosene at N2,118.29, followed by the South-South at N2,075.45,

It said the North-East recorded the lowest average retail price per litre of kerosene at N1,454.38.

The report said the average retail price per gallon of Kerosene paid by consumers in August 2024 was N6,441.94, indicating an 11.80 per cent increase from N5,762.10 recorded in July 2024.

“On a year-on-year basis, the average price per gallon of kerosene increased by 48.04 per cent from N4,351.53 recorded in August 2023.

On state profile analysis, it showed that Katsina recorded the highest average retail price at N8,200 per gallon of kerosene, followed by Kebbi at N8,075.00 and Kaduna at N8,038.46.

The report said Nasarawa recorded the lowest price at N5,092.46, followed by Niger and Plateau at N5,104.17 and N5,445.83, respectively.

Analysis by zone showed that the North-West recorded the highest average price per gallon of Kerosene at N7,787.64, followed by the South-West at N6,593.22,

“North-Central recorded the lowest average price per gallon of Kerosene at N5,463.69,” the NBS said. 

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says the average retail price of a litre of petrol increased from N626.70 in August 2023 to N830.46 in August 2024.

It made the declaration in its Petrol Price Watch for August 2024 released in Abuja on Sunday.

It stated that the August 2024 price of N830.46 represented a 32.51 per cent increase over the price of N626.70 recorded in August 2023.

“Comparing the average price value with the previous month of July, the average retail price increased by 7.78 per cent from N770.54.”

On state profiles analysis, the report said Benue paid the highest average retail price of N941.24 per litre, followed by Bauchi and Gombe States at N935.71 and N925.00, respectively.

“Conversely, Delta, Cross River, and Edo paid the lowest average retail price at N667.50, N672.00, and N676.25 respectively,’’ it stated.

Analysis by zones showed that the North-East Zone recorded the highest average retail price in August 2024 at N908.21 while the South-West recorded the lowest price at N677.11 per litre.

The NBS also stated in its Diesel Price Watch Report for August 2024 that the average retail price was N1,406.05 per litre.

It said that the August 2024 price of N1,406.05 per litre amounted to a 64.58 per cent increase over the N854.32 per litre paid in August 2023.

“On a month-on-month basis, the price increased by 1.93 per cent from the N1,379.48 per litre recorded in July 2024,’’ it added.

On state profile analysis, the report said the highest average price per litre of diesel in August was recorded in Kaduna state at N1,979.23, followed by Bauchi at N1,927.34 and Taraba at N1,638.14.

On the other hand, the lowest price was recorded in Lagos at N1,237.14 per litre, followed by Ogun at N1,255.00 and Osun at N1,268.18.

In addition, the analysis by zones showed that the North-East Zone had the highest price of N1,621.23 per litre, while the South-West recorded the lowest price at N1,283.47 per litre. 

The All Progressives Congress, APC, has won the entire Three Hundred and Thirty-two contested positions in the Saturday Local Council elections in Imo State.

Announcing the result at the headquarters of the Imo State Independent Electoral Commission, ISEC, yesterday, the Chairman, Chief Charles Ejiogu, disclosed that out of the 19 political parties that registered for the poll, 17 participated.

He said that the elections took place at the entire 4758 polling units, with APC winning the 27 Council Chairmanship seats and the 305 councillorship positions.

He described the elections as being peaceful, fair and credible and applauded the stakeholders, including the security agencies, the media and political actors in the state, for their conduct and corporation during the process.

He said that the figures of the elections and other information regarding the poll would be made available to the public in due time.

He urged all the aggrieved parties and candidates to channel their grievances through lawful means, adding that the commission avoided intervening in the internal affairs of all the participating parties prior to the elections.

“I wish to announce to the Imo people and the general public that after a peaceful, credible elections, the APC emerged winner across board.

Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki has clarified his visit to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) collation centre in Benin City early Sunday morning.

He arrived around 2 a.m. and remained on-site until police, led by Deputy Inspector General Frank Mba, escorted him out.

The visit came amid protests from members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), including Dennis Idahosa, the running mate of Monday Okpebholo, who demanded Obaseki’s departure from the INEC premises at approximately 3:30 a.m.

In a press briefing at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Situation Room, Obaseki explained that he sought clarification from the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) after receiving reports that the collation process had stalled and that PDP agents were being denied entry.

He said, “At about 1 am, I got a report that collation was supposed to have been moved to the INEC head office. I also got reports from our agents that PDP agents were not allowed into the collation centre. At that point in time, I called the REC to find an explanation of what was going on. There was no response.

“Then I went to the INEC office to meet with the REC and to understand what steps INEC was taking to continue the process of collation. When I got in there at about 2:00 am, I did not see any coalition taking place and the REC refused to come out to explain what the situation was.

“Subsequently, the DIG Police Frank Mba came in and had a meeting with me where I explained that if INEC was postponing or stopping the collation process, then as part of their rules, they should inform the public as to what next.

“As of 3:00 a.m., there was no information from INEC as to what was going to what was going on or what was going to happen next. It was subsequently after my insistence and meeting with Mr Frank Mba that INEC now released a statement at about 5:00a.m this morning informing the public that the collation process would start at 10 a.m. this morning.

“So, my go in there was essentially to obtain information from INEC because they had refused to put any information in the public domain as to what was going to happen with the collation process.”

The All Progressives Congress (APC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have maintained an early lead in strongholds following the collation of some results from the Edo State governorship election.

According to the results from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Viewing Portal (iRev), the candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Olumide Akpata, is no longer in the race to become the governor of Edo State.

The Labour Party governorship candidate also lost his polling unit to his PDP counterpart, Asue Iguodala.

The results released by INEC declared that Ighodalo polled 41 votes while Akpata trailed with 32 votes at his own Polling Unit 11, Ward 6, Oredo Local Government Area (LGA).

According to results released on the official website of INEC, over 89.93 per cent have been uploaded, covering 3,895 results out of 4,519 polling units.

From the results, the APC is currently leading in Edo, its stronghold in Edo North while the PDP is ahead in Edo South.

In Etsako West local government Area, Igbira Camp Booth, APC had 90 votes, LP 13 and PDP 85 while in Owan West, Ifidon by Bright in Sobe, APC, 90, LP 13 and PDP75. For Uhunmwonde Uvbenisi-Uvbenisi primary school, APC scored 83, LP 06 and PDP 47.

In Egor local government area, Paramount Nursery and Primary School Uselu II – IV, APC had 17, PDP 22.

In Oredo local government area, New Benin, Unit 27, New Benin III/Payne primary school, APC scored 36 votes, LP 5 and PDP 56.

In Ikpoba-Okha Ward 7 Unit 17, which is the voting place of the Deputy Governorship candidate of the PDP, Osarodion Ogie Esq. PDP scored 216 while the APC scored 29.