• FG discloses distribution of ₦150 billion grants and loans to business owners
• US Embassy in Nigeria records 150,000 visa applications in 2023
• UBA is crowned The Banker’s African Bank of the Year
• 200 lawyers assemble beside Yusuf’s aid at the Supreme Court over his appeal
• Peter Obi calls out the number of Nigerian delegates at the COP28

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

FG discloses distribution of ₦150 billion grants and loans to business owners

The federal government announced that it would soon begin the disbursement of ₦150 billion in grants and loans to business owners within the country.

As part of the Presidential Conditional Grant and Presidential Palliative Loan, the FG is committed to disbursing ₦50,000 to nano businesses across all 774 local government areas.

The FG stated that it would readily disburse ₦75 billion to Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) across diverse sectors and another ₦75 billion explicitly for manufacturers.

MSMEs can request loans of up to ₦1 million with a repayment time frame of three years, while manufacturers can request ₦1 billion with a repayment period of one year.

US Embassy in Nigeria records 150,000 visa applications in 2023

The Chargé d’Affaires of the United States Embassy in Nigeria, David Greene, revealed that over 150,000 Nigerians applied for US visas and 30,000 students applied.

He stated that it was impossible to approve all visa requests as demand would always be more than supply. However, he reassured Nigerians that the embassy was doing its best to clear its backlog since the COVID incident.

“Folks that are seeking visas should apply early; make sure that the plan is for an event as they can,”

“This is because we acknowledge that there is a backlog, and we will do what we can to make sure people who need a warrant visa to the U.S. can get them,” he said.

UBA is crowned The Banker’s African Bank of the Year

United Bank for Africa (UBA) was named the African Bank of the Year at the 2023 The Bankers Award.

UBA also took home the award for Best Bank of the Year in eight of 20 African countries in which it operates, making it the second time within the last three years that UBA has received the Best Bank award.

200 lawyers assemble beside Yusuf’s aid at the Supreme Court over his appeal

The sacked governor of Kano State, Abba Yusuf, has assembled 200 skilled lawyers to plead his appeal at the Supreme Court of his sacking by the appeal court over the 2023 gubernatorial elections.

After removing Abba Yusuf from the seat of power and replacing APC’s Nasiru Gawuna in the chair, he took his complaint to the Supreme Court, where 200 legal practitioners from 19 Northern states now join him.

The lawyers have demanded an amendment to the Electoral Act to address the matters in the Judiciary system.

Peter Obi calls out the number of Nigerian delegates at the COP28

The Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, called out the Nigerian government for having a robust number of delegates at the COP28 in Dubai, UAE.

The politician took to popular social media platform X to make his assumptions known as he claimed that over 1000 persons being invited to the Dubai climate summit was a waste of scarce resources by the Nigerian government.

“Nigeria’s contingent to COP28 totalled 1,411, the same number as the Chinese contingents. While China’s budget for 2024 is about $4 trillion, about $2,860 per head; Nigeria’s budget is about $33 billion, about $165 per head,” he said.

“This huge contingent is out at public expense when most Nigerians can hardly afford food and basic needs due to economic hardship.”