The National Economic Council (NEC), on Thursday, urged the FG to halt the planned removal of the petrol subsidy in June 2023. Finance, Budget and National Planning Minister Zainab Ahmed disclosed this to journalists during a briefing after the meeting presided over by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa. She said the NEC deliberated on the issue extensively and came to the conclusion that it would not be wise to remove subsidy as soon as the new administration is trying to settle down to governance. She also noted that the existing committee discussing the fuel subsidy issue needed to be expanded to enable more input from concerned Nigerians, the Nigeria Labour Congress and the petroleum marketers’ association among others.
ExxonMobil has resumed operations at its facilities in Nigeria after resolving a labour dispute over pay and conditions with its in-house union, a company spokesperson said on Thursday. The industrial action forced Exxon to declare force majeure on oil liftings at its terminals in the country. A spokesperson told Reuters that its three ventures, Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited and Esso Exploration and Production (Offshore East) Limited were now operating at normal levels. Earlier, Nigeria’s state-owned oil firm, NNPC Ltd, said in a statement it had helped end the labour dispute at Exxon after a pay adjustment acceptable to the union and Exxon was agreed. NNPC, which runs joint ventures with oil majors, including Exxon, said the dispute was “effectively constraining 300,000 barrels of oil production daily.”
The President of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), Dr Joseph Obeng said Ghanaians to brace themselves for a hike in prices of selected goods following the government’s implementation of the Excise Duty and Income Tax Amendment acts. Dr Obeng pointed out that since businesses operate hand-in-hand with the consumer, the latter stands to be affected if a business encounters an issue. He, therefore, indicated that his outfit intends to pass on the cost incurred from the taxes to consumers. He told Joy Business that due to the adverse effects the new taxes would have on businesses, it was the expectation of the association that they would be called upon by the government to discuss the bills before they were implemented. The bills were passed by Parliament with the Growth and Sustainability Act despite fierce resistance by the Minority Caucus and business community.
An attack on a military detachment in east Burkina Faso on Thursday left 33 soldiers dead and 12 injured, the military-led government said. The attack on Thursday morning targeted the military detachment of Ougarou, in Burkina Faso’s East Region. The army said in a statement that the besieged soldiers killed at least 40 “terrorists” before reinforcements arrived. Men dressed in army uniforms killed at least 150 people during a raid on a village in northern Burkina Faso last week, according to the United Nations. The military government condemned the attack earlier on Thursday and said it would investigate the events.