• Dangote offers to sell 650,000 bpd oil refinery to NNPCL
• 119 passengers narrowly escaped death as Abuja-bound aeroplane’s tyres burst
• US President Biden backs out of Presidency election and endorses Kamala, Trump reacts
• FG set to collect ₦425bn from seven banks in a one-time windfall tax
• Nollywood actor killed among nine kidnappers caught in Lagos State

Across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, these are the five top Nigerian news stories you shouldn’t miss.

Dangote offers to sell 650,000 bpd oil refinery to NNPCL 

Nigerian billionaire and business tycoon Aliko Dangote has revealed his decision to sell his 650,000 bpd oil refinery to the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) due to the inability to source crude oil from international companies as they demand absurd premiums or deny that they have the product available for sale.

The 650,000 barrel-per-day oil refinery, announced to Nigerians late last year after years of delayed construction, has thrown in the towel as the owner, Dangote, is willing to give up his ownership to the state-owned oil refinery company, NNPCL.

“Let them (NNPCL) buy me out and run the refinery the best way they can. They have labelled me a monopolist. That’s an incorrect and unfair allegation, but it’s okay. If they buy me out, at least, their so-called monopolist would be out of the way,” Dangote said.

119 passengers narrowly escaped death as Abuja-bound aeroplane’s tyres burst

119 passengers of the Max Air plane are glad to see another day as the domestic plane bound for Abuja from Yola Airport experienced burst tyres upon takeoff.

The plane, Boeing 737, mysteriously had four of its tyres burst during takeoff roll and subsequent taxiing off the runway.

The Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), Bimbo Olawumi Oladeji, stated that the accident occurred when the plane was cleared for takeoff, but fortunately, there were no casualties.

US President Biden backs out of the presidential election and endorses Kamala; Trump reacts

The President of the United States of America (POTUS), Joe Biden, in shocking news, announced that he would no longer be competing for his reelection campaign against former president Donald Trump.

Rather, Joe Biden endorsed his Vice President, Kamala Harris, as the new and eligible presidential candidate for the US, making her the choice of the Democrats while Trump campaigns with the support of the Republicans.

Upon hearing the news, the presidential candidate, Donald Trump, spoke out about Biden’s resignation from the election campaign, saying, “Crooked Joe Biden was not fit to run for President, and is certainly not fit to serve — And never was! We will suffer greatly because of his presidency, but we will remedy the damage he has done very quickly. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

FG set to collect ₦425bn from seven banks in a one-time windfall tax

The Federal Government has planned to receive over ₦425 billion from seven banks as a one-time windfall tax on their foreign exchange revaluation gains for 2023.

The Senate recently approved the President’s request to amend the Finance Act to impose a one-time windfall tax on banks’ foreign exchange profits in 2023.

The seven banks set to pay the federal government are Guarantee Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO), United Bank for Africa (UBA), Access Holdings, FCMB Group, Fidelity Bank Plc, FBN Holdings, and Zenith Bank.

Nollywood actor killed among nine kidnappers caught in Lagos State

The Lagos State Police has killed a Nollywood actor by the name of Prince Henry Ode from Port Harcourt in a failed kidnapping operation at Ladipo.

According to the information shared with the public, the actor was allegedly one of the criminals who had sought to abduct a wealthy businessman in Ladipo auto spare parts market, Lagos.

In further investigation of the dead kidnappers, the police force discovered that the two vehicles used for the kidnapping operation were both registered in Prince Henry Ode’s name.