• Nigeria fines Meta $220m for breaching consumer and data laws
• CBN introduces stringent rules on dormant accounts
• Global IT outage leaves Nigerians stranded as foreign airlines cancel and delay flights
• FG set to spend ₦3tr on new minimum wage, gratuities and pensions
• American University of Nigeria offers scholarship for Nigerians

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

Nigeria fines Meta $220m for breaching consumer and data laws

The Nigerian government, through the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), announced that it was suing the multi-billion company “Meta” $220m over its violation of Nigeria’s data platform laws.

According to the FCCPC’s statement, Meta’s data sharing on its platforms, Facebook and WhatsApp, have breached consumer and data protection regulations.

The FCCPC claimed that Meta, the parent company of social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp, had denied Nigerians their right to users control over their data, shared their data without permission, and abused its global market dominance.

CBN introduces stringent rules on dormant accounts

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has introduced strict rules concerning managing dormant accounts, unclaimed balances and other financial assets in Nigerian financial institutions.

The CBN, through its Governor, Yemi Cardoso, stated that the new rules enforced will be aimed towards identifying and reuniting dormant accounts with their owners, creating standardised procedures for account management, and establishing a framework for reclaiming stored funds.

Accounts laid dormant for over a decade will qualify for inclusion under the new guidelines. These include several deposit types, prepaid cards, government-owned accounts, unclaimed salaries, proceeds from stale drafts, judgment debts, and other financial assets as designated by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Global IT outage leaves Nigerians stranded as foreign airlines cancel and delay flights

The Global IT outage, which affected most of the world’s IT-related services, caused much damage, such as the delays and cancellations of foreign airlines for Nigerians looking to travel.

One of those affected by the IT outage was Nigeria’s Murtala Muhammed International Airport, where flights from Lagos to USA, Europe and other international destinations were delayed or cancelled.

The glitch was reportedly from a faulty software update executed by a cybersecurity firm, CrowdStrike, which affected Windows computers globally and left schools, financial institutions, airports, broadcasters, and the healthcare sector inactive.

FG set to spend ₦3tr on new minimum wage, gratuities and pensions

The Federal Government has revealed that it is set to spend nothing less than ₦3 trillion on pensions, gratuities and the new minimum wage.

The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu, presented this information and new principles to be included in the amended 2024 budget at a meeting with the Senate Committee on Appropriations.

The American University of Nigeria offers scholarships for Nigerians

The American University of Nigeria scholarship is open to all students interested in studying accredited courses and attaining undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.

The scholarship is available to all Africans and offers a 10% to 50% tuition waiver for all interested with no requirement of IELTS. 

To be eligible for the scholarship, prospective students must have a JAMB score of 160 and above five credits on their SSCE exams (no more than two sittings).