Connect with us

News

Ebonyi State Assembly passes Bill regulating house rent, agent fees

Published

on

ADVERTISEMENT
Zoom Ad
ADVERTISEMENT
Zoom Ad

 

​The Ebonyi State House of Assembly has passed a landmark executive bill aimed at regulating the trade of metal and electrical scraps, standardising residential rent, and capping property agency fees across the state.

Presided over by the Speaker, Moses Odunwa, during Tuesday’s plenary at the Assembly Complex on Nkaliki Road, the law, cited as the Ebonyi State Sale of Scraps, House Rent, and Agent Fees Regulation Law 2026, came into effect immediately upon passage on August 11, 2026.

The legislation establishes strict regulatory frameworks to curb public property vandalism, checkmate environmental degradation, and eliminate exploitative practices within Ebonyi’s real estate market.

Advertisement

Some provisions of the law state that unlicensed buying, selling, possession, transportation, or disposal of metal and electrical scraps is now strictly prohibited. Violators face up to two years’ imprisonment, a fine not exceeding ₦500,000, or both.

It states that standard rent tariffs prescribed by Governor Francis Nwifuru will govern applicable housing categories; landlords are legally barred from demanding rates exceeding the prescribed caps. Furthermore, landlords who obtain possession orders through fraud, misrepresentation, or concealment of facts face up to two years’ imprisonment.

The legislation indicated that agency fees for real estate transactions are now capped at a maximum of 2% of the gross transaction value for both professional and non-professional agents.

To enforce transparency and accountability, all estate agents operating within the capital city must register with the Ministry of the Capital City.

Advertisement

Presenting the merits of the executive bill, Leader of the House Kingsley Ikoro urged his colleagues to give the measure swift passage, emphasising its role in safeguarding public infrastructure and protecting vulnerable tenants.

Echoing these sentiments, several lawmakers voiced strong support during deliberations: Victor Nwoke (Abakaliki North), Nwodo Nwodo (Ebonyi North West), Oluchukwu Ukie Ezeali (Afikpo East), Friday Ogbuewu (Ezza South), Celestine Ogba (Onicha East)

The lawmakers described the legislation as a timely intervention against the surge in municipal scrap theft and arbitrary rent hikes by speculative landlords.

Speaking shortly after the bill passed its third reading following a clause-by-clause consideration in the Committee of the Whole, Speaker Moses Odunwa remarked, “Scrap dealers have shown a brazen lack of restraint, causing widespread havoc to critical public infrastructure and private property. This law restores sanity to our property market and prioritises overall public safety.”

Advertisement

In other legislative business, the House considered and formally adopted the Auditor-General’s Report on the Consolidated Financial Statements of the Ebonyi State Government for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, confirming its alignment with standard accounting principles.

Channels TV

Continue Reading
Advertisement

News

Breaking Dangote Refinery stops sales of petroleum products to Matrix, AA Rano, others

Published

on

ADVERTISEMENT
Zoom Ad
ADVERTISEMENT
Zoom Ad

Dangote Petroleum Refinery has indicated that it will no longer sell Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, to major oil marketers that hold valid licences to import the product.

Industry sources said the refinery’s decision is targeted at companies that continue to bring petrol into Nigeria despite the increasing availability of locally refined products.

According to figures cited by Dangote Refinery, imported petrol accounted for about 43 per cent of total PMS supply in July.

The refinery is concerned that the continued influx of imported petrol is reducing the market available to domestic refiners and could undermine investments in local refining capacity.

Advertisement

Under the new arrangement, Dangote Refinery is expected to prioritise marketers that do not have petrol import licences.

Companies that continue to import PMS under the Federal Government’s approved import regime may therefore no longer be able to purchase petrol directly from the refinery.

Six companies were issued licences by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) in May to import PMS. They are Matrix Energy, A.A. Rano, AYM Shafa, NIPCO, Pinnacle Oil and Gas, and Bono Energy.

Such a situation, the sources said, could make it difficult for consumers and regulators to distinguish between Dangote’s products and imported fuel. Any quality-related complaints could consequently affect the refinery’s reputation.

Advertisement

The refinery has also questioned whether NMDPRA currently has sufficient laboratory capacity to conduct comprehensive testing of imported petrol entering the Nigerian market.

Dangote Refinery’s latest position represents a further escalation of its longstanding concerns over continued petrol imports into Nigeria.

The refinery has previously warned that sustained imports could force it to export more of its refined products rather than incur the high cost of storing unsold petrol locally.

The development could lead to a more divided supply system in the Nigerian downstream oil market, with Dangote Refinery supplying mainly marketers that do not import petrol while licensed importers source a larger share of their products from overseas.

Advertisement

The development could lead to a more divided supply system in the Nigerian downstream oil market, with Dangote Refinery supplying mainly marketers that do not import petrol while licensed importers source a larger share of their products from overseas.

This could affect the availability of petrol at different depots, demand for imported cargoes and, potentially, pump prices across different parts of the country.

The Federal Government had approved petrol import licences as part of efforts to ensure adequate supply and maintain competition in the downstream petroleum sector. Dangote Refinery, however, maintains that continued dependence on imported petrol could weaken the market for locally refined products and discourage further investment in domestic refining capacity.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

News

30 Years after: Former Gang Leader ‘Keffe D’ Davis Found Guilty Of Tupac’s Murder

Published

on

ADVERTISEMENT
Zoom Ad
ADVERTISEMENT
Zoom Ad

The conviction of former gang leader Duane “Keffe D” Davis by a Las Vegas jury has reopened an old wound in American popular culture — the 1996 murder of Tupac Amaru Shakur, better known to the world as 2Pac.

For those of us who encountered 2Pac during our secondary school days, his music was more than entertainment. His lyrics spoke of struggle, injustice, poverty, violence, ambition and the contradictions of life.

Decades after his death, his voice remains remarkably alive, particularly among a generation that grew up listening to his songs and debating the circumstances surrounding his death.

He died six days later, leaving behind a career that had barely reached its peak and a murder mystery that would remain unresolved for decades.

Advertisement

A Las Vegas jury found Davis guilty of first-degree murder with use of a deadly weapon in connection with the killing. He was the only person ever charged in the case.

But Davis was not accused of being the man who pulled the trigger.

Instead, prosecutors presented him as the person who orchestrated the attack and supplied the firearm used in the shooting.

That distinction is important.

Advertisement

The prosecution’s case reportedly leaned heavily on Davis’s own public statements over the years, including admissions he made in his 2019 memoir, Compton Street Legend. His words, once part of his attempt to tell his own story, ultimately became important pieces of evidence against him.

Under Nevada law, a person who aids and abets a killing can face the same legal consequences as the person who physically pulls the trigger. And unlike many lesser offences, murder does not have a statute of limitations in Nevada.

In other words, time does not automatically erase accountability for the most serious crimes.

How many murder cases remain unresolved because investigators ran out of leads, witnesses remained silent, evidence disappeared or perpetrators simply believed that enough years had passed for the law to forget?

Advertisement

2Pac’s murder became one of the most famous unsolved killings in modern American popular culture. His fame ensured that the case never completely disappeared from public consciousness.

Fans continued to ask questions. Investigators continued to revisit the evidence. And theories — some credible, others wildly speculative — proliferated for nearly three decades.

This conviction is therefore more than a legal development concerning one defendant.

It is a reminder that unresolved does not necessarily mean forgotten.

Advertisement

Justice can be painfully slow. Sometimes it takes years. Sometimes decades. And in some cases, it may arrive long after the victim’s family has stopped expecting it.

For 2Pac’s family, friends and millions of admirers around the world, nothing can bring back the young rapper whose life was cut short at 25.

But accountability, whenever it comes, still matters.

There is also a lesson here for societies everywhere: a cold case is not necessarily a closed case.

Advertisement

Evidence can resurface. Witnesses can eventually speak. Investigative techniques can evolve. And, sometimes, the people who once believed they had escaped justice can become the very witnesses against themselves.

2Pac once rapped extensively about life, death, injustice and survival. Nearly 30 years after his death, his story has once again reminded the world that some questions refuse to die.

Justice delayed may be frustrating. But when justice finally arrives, it still matters.

For Tupac Amaru Shakur, perhaps this conviction represents another step toward closing one of the most enduring chapters in the history of American music and crime.

Advertisement

Justice delayed, but not denied.

Continue Reading

News

Just in: Court fires 2027 APC candidate, orders fresh primaries

Published

on

ADVERTISEMENT
Zoom Ad
ADVERTISEMENT
Zoom Ad

 

The Federal High Court in Gusau, Zamfara State, has sacked Senator Sahabi Ya’u Kaura as the 2027 All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the Zamfara North Senatorial District and ordered the party to conduct a fresh primary election.

Justice Hassan Dikko issued the order on Monday after hearing arguments from the parties involved in the case.

The judge directed the APC to organize another primary for the senatorial district within 14 days of the judgment.

Advertisement

The court’s decision followed a suit filed by APC senatorial aspirant, Dr Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi, who challenged the validity of the primary election conducted by the party.

Kaura had emerged as the winner of the APC primary held on May 19, 2026.

He reportedly secured 65,642 votes to defeat other aspirants who participated in the contest.

Among those who contested against him were Shinkafi, Hannafi Musa-Moriki and Tijjani Yahaya.

Advertisement

The court’s latest ruling has therefore cancelled the result of the earlier primary, meaning Kaura can no longer rely on that election as the party’s candidate for the district.

The APC is now expected to conduct another primary within the 14-day period ordered by the court.

The fresh exercise will provide the aspirants with another opportunity to compete for the party’s ticket ahead of the 2027 general election.

Shinkafi, who took the matter to court, welcomed the ruling and said the decision was a positive development for his legal challenge.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2024 Naija Blitz News