The Minority Caucus of the House of Representatives has condemned the recent increase in the price of petrol by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

The leader of the minority caucus in the House, Hon. Kingsley Chinda, conveyed the condemnation through a statement on Thursday in Abuja.

He argued that the development is not only ill-timed but also grossly insensitive to the harsh economic conditions currently being experienced by Nigerians across the country.

Chinda said that the hike is coming at a time when the nation is grappling with unprecedented economic challenges.

He added that a further increase in the price of gasoline would not only exacerbate the suffering of the average Nigerian.

The lawmaker said that the ripple effects of such an increase were far-reaching, impacting the cost of transportation, food, and other essential goods and services.

He said that this would ultimately erode the already fragile purchasing power of millions of citizens, pushing more families into poverty.

According to him, the Minority caucus is deeply concerned that this decision by the NNPC appears to have been made without adequate consultation with relevant stakeholders.

This, he said, includes the National Assembly, which represents the interests of the people.

He argued that the unilateral action disregarded the principles of transparency, accountability, and fairness, which should guide decisions affecting the lives of the citizenry.

“We, therefore, call on the Federal government to urgently intervene and reverse this unwarranted increase in petrol prices.

“We also urge the government to explore and implement more sustainable measures to stabilise the economy without placing an additional burden on the people.

This, according to him, includes prioritising the rehabilitation and upgrading of our local refineries and curbing corruption within the petroleum sector.

He urged the Federal government to ensure that subsidies genuinely benefitted the masses rather than a few privileged individuals.

The Lagos State Government has reappointed MoneyMasterPSB, a leading payment service bank, for the second phase of the “Ounje Eko” food discount market, which will open throughout the state on Sunday, September 1, 2024.

The Lagos State Government launched Ounje Eko, a programme that offers the people a 25 percent discount on a range of food items. Its purpose is to provide relief to the state’s citizens amidst the rising cost of food items.

On Sunday, September 1, the discount market, which was successfully piloted in March of this year, will resume in all Local Government Areas (LGAs), Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs), and on the campuses of five post-secondary institutions in the state.

MoneMaster has been given the nod to deploy its state-of-the-art collecting solution for smooth transactions at the Ounje Eko discount markets, due to its creative and strong payment and collection technological infrastructure. The bank will be doing this to guarantee great experiences for the patrons of the markets and ensure payment destinations also get real-time value.

A statement from MoneyMaster disclosed that the bank is “excited to partner with the Lagos State Government in the second phase of the Ounje Eko discount markets as this programme aligns with our corporate philosophy of adding value to people’s lives”.

MoneyMaster PSB was chosen for the payment program because of its strong payment channels, safe, quick transaction processing, and first-rate performance during the scheme’s initial phase earlier this year.

MoneyMasterPSB is a CBN-licensed provider of innovative digital financial products and services that transform lives and contribute to sustainable living. MoneyMaster has been instrumental in providing financial technology services to bridge the gap between the banked, underbanked and unbanked populace.

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Fidelity Bank, Dr. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, has said that the bank was able to meet and surpass its target from the just concluded combined offer.

This was disclosed in an email, which was signed by Onyeali-Ikpe on Tuesday, a day after the closing of the N127bn combined rights issue and public offer, which commenced on June 20.

Fidelity Bank was the first bank to commence its capital raise, following the directive of the Central Bank of Nigeria to banks in the country to raise fresh capital.

Onyeali-Ikpe told shareholders, “With the conclusion of the combined offer, I am delighted to announce that we have met and surpassed the capital-raise target we set for ourselves in this first phase of our capital-raise exercise. It is both gratifying and humbling to note this level of investor confidence in the bank.

“The proceeds from our combined offer will be deployed to achieving our growth strategy. The funds will be deployed to drive our local and international expansion plans, IT infrastructure development and capital provision for key sectors of the economy.”

She added that the regulators, namely the CBN, Securities and Exchange Commission and Nigerian Exchange, played a significant role in ensuring the seamless execution of the first phase of its recapitalisation plans.

Fidelity Bank had a combined offer for intending investors to purchase 10 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each via public offer and 3.2 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each via rights issue.