Thursday News Recap: Reps Want Waivers For Airlines, Senate Rowdy Over Omokri’s Screening +More

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Here are the top stories curated for you today:

Reps Seek Tax Waivers For Airlines

Turn Down Calls For Subsidy

Members of the House of Representatives want the Federal Government give tax waivers to airline operators as part of efforts to cut the cost of flight fares, especially as the festive season approaches.

The lawmakers are asking for a 50 percent slash in auxiliary charges within the aviation sector.

They made the resolution following a debate about the rising cost of airfares, but turned down calls for the government to subsidise airline tickets.

Senate Screens Ambassadorial Nominees

FFK, Ugwuanyi, Omokri Among Screened

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In the upper chamber, the Senate has screened another set of ambassadorial nominees, weeks after President Bola Tinubu sent the list to the National Assembly.

Some of the notable persons who were screened by the Senate included a former aviation minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, ex-presidential aide, Reno Omokri, the immediate past chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu; Grace Bent, a former Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, among others.

However, the session turned rowdy when some lawmakers exchanged harsh words.

The tension broke out when a motion recommending that Omokri and others be told to take a bow and leave. But Senator Ali Ndume argued that the motion must be seconded before any comment could be entertained.

However, Senator Adams Oshiomhole objected. He asked that Omokri be allowed to speak before the motion is seconded. According to him, the former presidential aide’s nomination should not be glossed over. He referenced what he tagged “raging issues in the public domain about the Delta-born nominee.

Nigeria, Benin Foreign Ministers Meet

Re-Echo Need for Regional Cooperation

Meanwhile, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, and his Beninese counterpart, Olushegun Bakar, have met over security issues. At Thursday’s meeting held at the office of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), both sides spoke on the failed coup in the Republic of Benin as well as security concerns in Nigeria.

Tuggar and Bakar re-echoed the need for a regionally coordinated response to address the concerns.

FCCPC Seals IKEDC Premises In Lagos

Disco accused of violating rights of customers

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Officials of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) sealed the headquarters of Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC) on Thursday morning, shutting out staff and customers from the premises in the Alausa area of Lagos State.

FCCPC accused the electricity distribution company of violating customers’ rights and frustrating efforts to resolve a lingering matter.

The regulator said the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) had issued a binding decision directing the distribution company (DisCo) “to unbundle a maximum demand account into twenty non-maximum demand accounts”.

However, it said, “Ikeja Electric did not carry out that decision.  Because of this failure, the complainant has been without electricity supply for more than two and a half years”.

PZ Cussons Reverses Africa Exit Plan

Pins Decision on Nigeria’s Economic Recovery, Growth

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In business, PZ Cussons said it is retaining its Africa business and has set out ambitious growth plans for the business.  It cited growth in its core business in Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana.

In April 2024, PZ Cussons said it would review its African operations, announcing the sale of its 50% equity interest in PZ Wilmar Limited, its non-core edible oils business in Nigeria, to Wilmar International Limited, its Joint Venture partner, for a total consideration of $70 million.

But on Wednesday, PZ Cusson announced that its board “concluded that the offers received did not reflect the inherent value of the business and that the greatest value for shareholders will be created by retaining the business and building a Group portfolio balanced between its Developed markets of the UK and ANZ and its Emerging markets of Indonesia and Nigeria”.

Bitcoin Slumps Below $90,000

AI Worries Impact Tech Stocks

There were renewed signs of market worries on Thursday as Bitcoin slumped below $90,000. This was as fresh fears about artificial intelligence profits affected technology stocks.

Other cryptocurrencies also plummeted in value.

Bitcoin was last down 2.5% at $90,056.24, while ether tumbled 4.3% to $3,196.62, erasing the past two days of gains, and stretching its weakness that started in the U.S. trading session on the previous day after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates.

OpenAI, Disney Seal Historic Deal

To Allow Fans Create AI Videos

Walt Disney and OpenAI on Thursday sealed a three-year licensing agreement that allows users to create short videos featuring beloved Disney characters through artificial intelligence.

This agreement is the first time a major entertainment firm has embraced generative AI at this scale, licensing its highly protected characters — from Mickey Mouse to Marvel superheroes and Star Wars’s Darth Vader — for AI content creation.

The new collaboration is a shift in a sector that has been battling AI companies in court.

Here are some videos from our YouTube channel on issues making headlines today.

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