The Big 5: NBS says Nigeria has no authentic data on petrol consumption; former first lady, Barbara Bush dies and other top stories

These are the stories you should be monitoring today.

Nigeria’s economy which grew by 0.8 percent in 2017 will end this year, with a 2.1 percent growth, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted.

It, however, projected a slow down to 1.9 percent growth next year, in its latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) Report launched in Washington DC, United States where the annual World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings are ongoing.

See the full report here.


The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Uche Secondus on Tuesday denied collecting N250 million out of the $2.1 billion arms cash allegedly squandered by the Office of National Security Adviser (ONSA).

He challenged the Federal Government to publish the voucher(s) which he allegedly signed to collect the purported arms cash.

He said it was unfortunate that Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which was founded and nurtured by PDP administration to tackle the issue of corruption in the system, had to turn itself into a pawn in the hand of APC.


The process to proscribe the issuance of estimated bills to consumers by electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) has begun in the House of Representatives.

It is a bill seeking to amend the Electricity Power Reform Act.

Sponsored by the House of Representatives Majority Leader Femi Gbajabiamila and others, the Bill scaled second reading on the floor of the Lower Chamber yesterday.


No Nigerian government agency has the authentic data on the daily petrol consumption in the country, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has declared.

According to Premium Times, the Statistician-General of the Federation, Yemi Kale, said all data currently in circulation in the media and some government agencies were either outdated or guesstimates.

Kale, who spoke on Friday in Abuja through his technical assistant, Esiri Ojo, during a telephone interview, said these estimated data cannot be relied upon for planning or policy decisions.


Nigerian medical doctors on Tuesday warned the Federal Government against acceding to some demands over which other workers in the health sector have called a strike.

The doctors who specifically opposed salary adjustment and harmonisation, one of the major demands of the Joint Health Staff Union (JOHESU), said acceding to the demand would precipitate a crisis that may lead to the collapse of the health sector of the country.


And… stories from around the world.

CIA director Mike Pompeo travelled to Pyongyang for a secret meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, reports say.

The meeting to prepare for direct talks between US President Donald Trump and Kim took place over Easter weekend, unnamed officials said.


The adult film star who alleges she had an affair with Donald Trump has unveiled a sketch of the man she claims threatened her in a car park in 2011.

Stormy Daniels told ABC‘s The View that she was speaking out because she was tired of being bullied and threatened.

Her lawyer offered a $100,000 (£70,000; €80,000) reward for information on a man who allegedly told her to “leave Donald Trump alone”.


Police in California fired what sounded like more than 30 bullets at a parked car in a shopping store parking lot, killing a black father of three and injuring a young woman in the latest US law enforcement shooting to spark a backlash.

Police in Barstow, two hours outside of Los Angeles, killed 26-year-old Diante Yarber, who was believed to be unarmed and was driving his cousin and friends to a local Walmart on the morning of April 5. Police have alleged that Yarber was “wanted for questioning” in a stolen vehicle case and that he “accelerated” the car towards officers when they tried to stop him, but his family and their attorney argued that the young father posed no threat and should not have been treated as a suspect in the first place.


Former US first lady Barbara Bush has died at the age of 92, a family spokesman has said.

Bush had been in failing health in recent days – she reportedly had a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and congestive heart failure.

A family spokesman, Jim McGrath, said in an April 15 statement: “Following a recent series of hospitalisations, and after consulting her family and doctors, Mrs. Bush has decided not to seek additional medical treatment and will instead focus on comfort care.”


International chemical weapons inspectors are due to start work on Wednesday examining the site of a poison gas attack the Syrian town of Douma pending a UN security check, Syria’s envoy to the UN said.

The ambassador, Bashar Jaafari, said that UN security officers entered Douma at 3 pm on Tuesday “in order to access the security situation on the ground” and if they deem it safe, the work of inspecting the scene for evidence of chemical weapons use could begin on Wednesday.

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