Business
Senate invites Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu over lingering fuel scarcity
Due to the aggravating petroleum scarcity in the country, the Senate, yesterday, summoned the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, to appear before it today.
The development came just as senators of the Peoples Democratic Democratic Party, PDP, charged President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately take charge of the country and live up to his campaign promises, which they noted, centred on positive change for the country. Kachikwu was summoned by the Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), after the committee carried out on-the-spot assessment of the crisis in major filling stations within Abuja metropolis.
Members of the committee were angry that many filling stations were not selling the product due to alleged lack of supply from the NNPC depot at Suleja, leading to long queues of motorists waiting under the scorching sun for the non-available product. The committee’s Acting Chairman, Jibrin Barau, alongside two other members, said the Petroleum Minister must definitely appear before them today to explain what led to the situation and possibly proffer a lasting solution. Barau, who addressed journalists after the assessment of some filling stations, described the situation as not only pathetic but also bad, stressing that it must be urgently arrested. He said the development made the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, to call on the committee to swing into action as a way of bailing Nigerians out of the crisis. He said: “This situation is very bad and unacceptable, hence the need for the minister to appear before us tomorrow (today), and unveil his plan of a way out to us. Even if he doesn’t have any plan yet out of the lingering problem, the Senate President and the entire members of the committee are more than ready to rub minds with him for that needed purpose.“ Live up to promise of change, PDP senators tell Buhari On his part, Senate Minority Whip and a member of the committee, Senator Philip Aduda, who said he was speaking for PDP senators, called on the Federal Government to arrest the situation fast by making fuel available to Nigerians, adding that what Nigerians needed was fuel and not blame game. He tasked President Muhammadu Buhari to live up to his campaign promises of delivering change to Nigerians.
According to him, what Nigerians are passing through at the moment is unacceptable. His words: “The government should look for petrol and ensure that it is given to the people. It is unacceptable, we are Nigerians and it will be bad for us to continue remaining on queues. If the APC leaders like, let them blame themselves, that’s their problem but the most important thing is for us to have fuel in the Federal Republic of Nigeria. “That is what we are looking for and that is what we want. We want to see all these queues disappear.’’ Meanwhile, petrol marketers at various stations visited lamented that lack of supply and in adequate supply of petroleum products from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, in recent time , resulted in product scarcity being witnessed across the country. Manager of Oando Filling station, Zone 4, who identified himself as Isa Friday, disclosed that it had been long the station got supply from NNPC depot at Suleja. Also, the manager of Forte Oil , opposite Transcorp Hilton in Maitama District, said only three fuel tankers were being supplied daily now, against the previous five or six. NNPC calls for calm Meanwhile, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, said yesterday it empathized with the difficulties Nigerians were going through due to the current fuel situation and assured that it and the government were not taking their patience for granted. According to the Group General Manager, Public Affairs, Garba Deen Mohammed, Nigerians should continue to be patient because difficulties being experienced as a result of the situation will soon be alleviated. He said: “We would like to assure all Nigerians that the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources/Group Managing Director of NNPC, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, and everybody else associated with this situation are working round the clock to ensure relief is brought to Nigerians. “Our immediate concern is to make petrol available through the interventions and processes put in place so that the queues will disappear within the next one to two weeks. We have enough products lined up to ensure that the supply gap which created the problem is bridged. “In order to ensure effective distribution, we are working with Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), oil majors and over 1,000 NNPC staff nationwide to ensure we overcome the obstacles in the distribution of the products. “While not resorting to excuses, we would like to re-emphasize that the present management of NNPC and, indeed, the government inherited huge and complicated problems with respect to importation, distribution and pricing of petroleum products. “Nigerians would recall that N522,258,934,505 meant for payment of fuel subsidy, covering the last quarter of 2014 (October to December) and the entire 2015 was approved by the Senate in December 2015 in order to pay for subsidy arrears inherited by this government. “For long term solutions, the NNPC and the government are working to put in place machineries to ensure that our refineries are fixed and working optimally, while the pipelines which have been under attack for some time now are repaired. “The Direct Sale Direct Purchase (DSDP) arrangement for crude would commence in the first week of April and all these, coupled with the fact that the President has given his support to increase the crude supply to NNPC to ensure local sufficiency of products, will go a long way to solve the problems in the short and long term.”
Precision and Heritage: How Fifi Stitches Is Rewriting African Fashion Narratives
A Nigerian-born designer is gradually carving out a cross-continental footprint in contemporary fashion, blending African textile heritage with British technical discipline.
Esther Fiyinfoluwa Adeosun, Founder and Creative Director of Fifi Stitches, is gaining recognition for structured womenswear and bridal couture that reinterprets traditional fabrics through architectural tailoring and precision construction.
Born in Ibadan, Oyo State, Adeosun’s fashion journey began at home, seated beside her mother’s sewing machine. What started as childhood curiosity, sometimes jamming the machine just to understand its mechanics—evolved into a disciplined design practice now operating between Nigeria and the United Kingdom.
During an interview with journalists the fifi Stitches once mentioned “I was fascinated by how flat fabric could transform into something structured and meaningful”.
In her Story , early designs made for her family, though imperfectly finished, were worn with pride—an encouragement that laid the foundation for her professional confidence.
Today, Fifi Stitches is recognised for sculpted bodices, controlled tailoring, corsetry construction, and the contemporary reinterpretation of Ankara, Aso Oke, and Adire textiles.
The brand challenges the long-held perception that African fabrics belong solely in ceremonial contexts, instead positioning them within global luxury and modern design spaces.
Adeosun’s training reflects this dual perspective. She studied Fashion Design and Entrepreneurship at the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Development Studies, Obafemi Awolowo University, and earned a Diploma in Fashion Design through Alison Online.
In the UK, she undertook industry-focused technical training with Fashion-Enter Ltd and gained fashion business exposure through Fashion Capital UK.
Her technical expertise spans pattern drafting, draping, garment technology, structured tailoring, corsetry, and bespoke fittings—skills she describes as central to credibility in fashion. “Precision builds trust,” she says. “A designer must understand construction as deeply as creativity.”
Fifi Stitches has showcased collections at the Suffolk Fashion Show, Liverpool Fashion Show – FB Fashion Ball, Red Carpet Fashion Event in London, and through editorial features in London Runway Magazine.
The brand has also received coverage in The Guardian Nigeria and Vanguard Allure, expanding its visibility across markets.
Beyond couture, Adeosun integrates community impact into her practice.
She has facilitated garment construction workshops, draping sessions, and introductory training programmes for women and emerging creatives, promoting fashion as both artistic expression and vocational empowerment.
Fifi Stcithes Boss operates between Nigeria and the UK, in order to continue to shape her brand identity.
According to her “Nigeria provides cultural richness and expressive textile traditions, while the UK offers structured production systems, sustainability conversations, and institutional frameworks”.
Looking ahead, Adeosun said she plan to establish a fully structured fashion house spanning Africa and the UK, develop scalable production partnerships, launch capsule collections, and expand independent editorial visibility.
Her broader ambition is clear: to position African textile craftsmanship within global contemporary design conversations—through structure, discipline, and technical excellence.
GTCO Launches “Take on Squad” Hackathon 3.0, Opens Call for Applications
Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (“GTCO” or the “Group”) has announced the launch of “Take on Squad” Hackathon 3.0, reaffirming its commitment to fostering innovation, empowering talent, and supporting the development of technology-driven solutions that address real-world challenges across Africa.
Now in its third edition, the Hackathon brings together developers, designers and entrepreneurs across Nigeria in a collaborative environment to build practical solutions across key sectors including financial services, healthcare, commerce and digital inclusion. Under the theme “Smart Systems: The Intelligent Economy,” participants are challenged to design and build intelligent, data-driven solutions that transform how communities engage with money.
Applications are now open, and interested teams can find full guidelines and registration details on the official portal at https://squadco.com/hackathon.
Speaking on the initiative, Eduophon Japhet, Managing Director of HabariPay, stated: “Today’s dynamic, digitally driven world demands continuous innovation, which is shaping how economies grow, how businesses scale, and how societies evolve. Through “Take on Squad” Hackathon, we are deliberately investing in the ideas and talent that will define the future. Our objective is not simply to encourage innovation, but to enable its translation into scalable solutions that deliver real and measurable impact. This reflects GTCO’s role as a financial services platform that connects capital, capability, and creativity to drive sustainable progress.”
The social coding event remains a cornerstone of HabariPay’s mission to foster creativity and problem-solving among emerging tech talents. Competing teams will leverage Squad’s advanced APIs to create scalable digital tools that address everyday challenges faced by businesses and individuals.
Through initiatives such as this, GTCO continues to position itself at the intersection of finance, technology and enterprise, actively shaping the future of digital transformation in Africa.
About HabariPay
HabariPay Ltd is the fintech subsidiary of Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO), one of the largest financial services institutions in Africa with direct and indirect investments in a network of operating entities located in 10 countries across Africa and the United Kingdom.
Licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), our goal is to support SMEs, micro merchants, large corporations and other fintechs (Tech Stars) with the tools they need to thrive in an evolving digital economy and expand beyond their current market reach. HabariPay’s solutions include Squad, a full-scale digital payments toolkit to make in-person and online payments simpler, HabariPay Storefront, an e-commerce website to facilitate online purchases, Value-Added Services to help merchants access cost-effective and flexible airtime and data bundles to run their businesses, as well as a switching infrastructure that enables tech-focused businesses to optimise cost and make transactions more efficient.
HabariPay’s contributions to Accelerating Digital Acceptance in Africa have not gone unnoticed–it received Mastercard’s Innovative Mobile Payment Solution Award at TIA 2022 for its innovative payment solution, SquadPOS.
About Squad
Squad is a complete digital payments solution that is reliable, secure, and affordable, making receiving in-person and online payments simpler and convenient.
Thousands of merchants currently leverage Squad’s payment solutions for their daily business operations. Squad’s current products and service offerings include SquadPOS, Squad Payment Links, Squad Virtual Accounts, USSD, and E-Commerce Storefront.
Find out more at www.squadco.com.
Electric 8-Seater Tula Moto Keke Enters Nigerian Market, Targets Higher Operator Earnings
LAGOS — A new electric-powered tricycle with an expanded passenger capacity has been introduced into Nigeria’s urban transport sector, offering operators a potentially more profitable and eco-friendly alternative to conventional petrol-driven “keke.”
The newly launched 8-seater electric tricycle, now available in Lagos with plans for nationwide distribution, features a dual-row seating arrangement capable of accommodating up to eight passengers per trip—significantly higher than the standard three-passenger configuration common across the country.
Promoters of the innovation say the increased capacity is designed to boost daily earnings for operators, particularly amid persistent fluctuations in fuel prices. By running entirely on electric power, the vehicle eliminates dependence on petrol, reducing operating costs and shielding drivers from fuel price volatility.
According to the distributors, the tricycle is equipped with a durable battery system capable of covering extended distances on a single charge, making it suitable for commercial operations across high-traffic routes, residential estates, campuses, and marketplaces.
“The concept is straightforward—enable drivers to earn more while spending less,” a company representative stated. “With higher passenger capacity and zero fuel requirements, operators can maximise each trip without the burden of daily fuel expenses.”
Beyond its cost-saving potential, the electric keke is also said to require less maintenance than traditional models, offering additional long-term savings. Its quieter and smoother operation is expected to enhance passenger comfort and overall commuting experience.
Industry analysts note that the introduction of electric mobility solutions reflects a growing shift toward cleaner and more sustainable transportation alternatives in Nigeria, particularly in densely populated urban centres such as Lagos.
The distributors added that the product is currently available under a limited promotional offer, with delivery options across the country.
For inquiries and purchase: 📞 08153432071
📞 08035889103
Office Address:
📍 Plot 9, Block 113, Beulah Plaza,
Lekki–Epe Expressway,
Lekki Phase 1, Lagos
As transportation costs continue to rise and environmental concerns gain prominence, innovations like the electric 8-seater keke may signal an emerging transition toward more efficient and sustainable mobility solutions nationwide.
-
society7 months agoReligion: Africa’s Oldest Weapon of Enslavement and the Forgotten Truth
-
news4 months agoWHO REALLY OWNS MONIEPOINT? The $290 Million Deal That Sold Nigeria’s Top Fintech to Foreign Interests
-
society6 months ago“You Are Never Without Help” – Pastor Gebhardt Berndt Inspires Hope Through Empower Church (Video)
-
celebrity radar - gossips2 months agoDr. Chris Okafor Returns with Power and Fire of the Spirit -Mounts Grace Nation Altar with Fresh Anointing and Restoration Grace on February 1, 2026
You must be logged in to post a comment Login
You must log in to post a comment.