NNPC Reduces Fuel Price

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has reduced the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, also known as petrol, at its retail stations in Lagos and Abuja.

The adjustment took effect on Wednesday as the national oil company reduced the price to N1,130 per litre in Lagos and N1,165 per litre in Abuja.

The new price means motorists in Lagos are now paying N100 less than the previous pump price of N1,230 per litre.

In Abuja, the new rate represents a reduction of N95 from the former price of N1,260 per litre.

Checks showed that the new price was already in place at several NNPC filling stations in Lagos, including outlets located along Isheri Oshun Road, Apple Junction and Ago Palace Way.

The same adjustment was also recorded in the Federal Capital Territory, where NNPC stations in areas such as Jabi and Wuse began selling petrol at N1,165 per litre.

The reduction comes at a time when many private oil marketers have not yet adjusted their pump prices to match the recent drop in the gantry price announced by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.

Dangote Refinery had earlier lowered its gantry price for petrol by N100 per litre, bringing it down to N1,075 per litre.

The change followed a fall in international crude oil prices.

Global oil prices had earlier risen sharply due to tensions in the Middle East involving the United States, Iran and Israel.

The crisis raised fears of possible disruption to oil supply, especially around the Strait of Hormuz, an important route for global crude shipments.

Prices later began to fall after the President of the United States, Donald Trump, indicated that the conflict might end soon.

Ghana has launched a licensing regime for the cultivation and management of industrial and medicinal cann@bis. The program, announced on February 26 by Interior Minister Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, allows individuals and companies to apply for permits covering cultivation, processing, research, laboratory testing, storage, transportation, and import/export.

Licensed cann@bis is restricted to varieties containing no more than 0.3% THC. Officials say the initiative aims to support production of industrial fibers, seeds, and pharmaceutical products while maintaining regulatory oversight.

The program faces legal scrutiny. Mariam Alhassan, a farmer from Techiman, filed a suit at the Supreme Court of Ghana, challenging the system as unconstitutional. She claims the framework’s “irrational design, exclusionary economic effect, and disproportionate exercise of administrative discretion” effectively blocks smallholder farmers from participating.

Alhassan also argues authorities “acted unfairly… by imposing materially higher fees” without a tiered licensing structure. Proposed fees reportedly range between $5,000 and $42,000, depending on the type of operation.

The Supreme Court case introduces uncertainty around Ghana’s emerging hemp industry, a potential driver of agricultural exports and investment.

Many people have always claimed that Muo Miri is a powerful spiritual being, a “water spirit” or even a ghost. But if that is truly the case, people are now asking: how can human beings arrest a ghost?

If Muo Miri Afuruanya truly had the powers people claimed, shouldn’t he have sensed that Governor Soludo and the Agunechemba security team were coming for him? Wouldn’t he have disappeared before they arrived?

Some people are even jokingly asking whether his supposed mother, Mammy Water, was asleep when the arrest happened, or maybe she had gone to the River Niger.

To many observers, the situation simply shows that these claims of supernatural powers may not be real. If someone who is said to be a powerful water spirit cannot even disappear when security agents arrive, then it raises serious doubts about the stories surrounding such figures.

Many people are now saying that some of these well-known native doctors — including names like Akwa Okuko, Eke Hit, and Onye Eze — may simply be deceiving their followers. According to critics, many followers strongly believe in them, but the recent events are making people question whether it is all just a setup.

At the same time, some people are calling on Governor Soludo to extend the same level of scrutiny to religious leaders as well. They argue that if the government is investigating native doctors, then it should also look into some pastors who may be misleading people or engaging in questionable activities.

For many citizens, the message is simple: what is good for the goose should also be good for the gander. If the government is determined to clean up fraudulent spiritual practices in society, then it should apply the same standard to everyone.