“…every Nigerian is now sober. The governors have realized now that this can happen and that oil prices can plummet from $100 to $28 within a short period of time, and that we can be so exposed that we can’t even pay salaries…”So there is a sobriety that has come in. So, we are working with the states and we are not bailing them out. We have said to them that we have a fiscal restructuring plan…”Whatever we are doing will be conditional. Mrs Adeosun, Federal Minister of Finance, May 5, 2016.

In the wake of deregulation of petrol prices under Obasanjo in 2004, and the unfolding anxiety of Labour and the Nigerian public on the adverse impact of rising fuel prices, this column published two articles titled “The Mother and Father of Fuel Prices”(22.11.2004) and “Only a Stronger Naira Will Stop Rising Fuel Prices”(22.08.2005) The solution proposed in both articles remain solidly valid today as it was over 12 years ago; for this reason, a summary of both articles is again presented in the hope that the authorities will one day heed our counsel and resolve our dilemma.

No fewer than 27 pharmacies and 111 patent medicine shops were, weekend, sealed off in Delta State by the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria, PCN, for allegedly dispensing what it described as poison in the form of drugs to unsuspecting members of the public.

There were indications, yesterday, that the hike in price of petrol to N145 per litre may not bring an end to scarcity which had longed halted economic activities in Nigeria.

To cushion the harsh effect of the new pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, on the people, the Presidency is set to implement the N500 billion earmarked in the 2016 budget for social welfare.

Edo state football association says it has concluded plans for a smooth kick off of the South South Champion of Champions soccer tournament which is billed to run from May 18-21 in Benin.

NIGER Delta Avengers, the new militant group which has claimed responsibility for attacks on oil installations in the Niger Delta, has slammed those condemning its operations and calling its members criminals, describing them as cowards.

Abuja—The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP’s National Executive Committee, NEC, is set for a stormy session as the 71st meeting of the party’s highest decision-making body holds in Abuja tomorrow. The meeting, which had earlier been scheduled to hold in Gombe, was later moved to Abuja, following outcry from many members of the committee that holding the meeting in Gombe was going to present a logistical challenge to most members.

A property development company, Bohemian Estate Limited, has revealed plans to deploy a technology that uses rice straw for housing development in Nigeria, with a $250 million subvention from Czech Export Bank. The company is to embark on the project in collaboration with the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) for the construction and delivery of the first phase of 10,000 housing units in Gwagwalada using Assembly Building Block (ABS) technology.

THE current debate following the Public Hearing on the proposed Amendment to the NLNG Act, to enable it begin to pay three percent of its total annual revenue to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), makes interesting reading.