By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Meta has agreed to pay President Donald Trump $25 million to settle a 2021 lawsuit he filed claiming he was wrongfully censored by Facebook and Instagram after the US Capitol riot, the company said Wednesday.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the settlement of the suit brought against Meta and its chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, in what was seen as a victory for Trump.

According to people familiar with the agreement, the Journal said, $22 million of the payment will go towards funding Trump’s future presidential library, with the remainder covering legal fees and payments to other plaintiffs in the case.

Meta in the settlement will not admit wrongdoing over the suspensions of Trump’s accounts.

A spokesperson for Meta confirmed the settlement to AFP.

Trump had widely criticized social media platforms for suspending his accounts after the January 6, 2021 insurrection by his supporters, and comments he made that were seen as praising people engaged in the violence.

But he has recently courted tech titans including Zuckerberg and X owner Elon Musk, both of whom attended Trump’s presidential inauguration last week in Washington.

Zuckerberg has expressed support for Trump, and he has tweaked Meta’s policies to lift restrictions on some content within the company’s apps, which include Facebook, Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp.

Meta would be “restoring free expression on our platforms,” Zuckerberg, who reportedly dined with Trump at his Florida estate in November, said this month in announcing a rollback of fact-checking operations.

The settlement is the latest bow by media corporations as they gird for a second Trump presidency.

In December, ABC News agreed to pay a $15 million settlement payment to resolve a defamation lawsuit brought by Trump stemming from on-air comments about him made by a top anchor.

Earlier Wednesday Meta reported its net income soared by 59 percent to $62.36 billion for the full year.

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has flayed the Federal Government for implementing the policies of Bretton Woods institutions, saying the removal of subsidies and increased tariffs are emasculating Nigerians.

“They keep on emasculating us through stupid taxes. It will come to a point when people can pay but they won’t pay,” NLC spokesman Benson Upah said on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Thursday.

The labour union official rejected the recent announcement of a 50% telecom tariff hike by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and proposed a 5% increase in the cost of data and calls.

He said there was no going back on its nationwide protest scheduled for Tuesday, February 4, 2025, to drive home the displeasure of the group against the recently announced telecom tariff increase.

Upah said, “This rally is to halt this mindless tariff increase. And if by any chance there has to be an increase at all, 5%, given the fact of our situation that there have been increases across board.

“But now to say 50%, it is not going to work. Where will the ordinary Nigerians be at the end of the day when we have energy tariff increases?

“The manufacturers are groaning, the middle-class people are groaning. The ordinary Nigerians on the streets can’t even afford to turn on the lights in their sitting rooms. When taxes are low, more people than when you have high taxes.”

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have consistently advocated the removal of energy subsidies and the floating of the naira, saying failure to effect the two economic policies has plunged Nigeria into severe inflationary pressures.

After his inauguration in May 2023, President Bola Tinubu, former Lagos governor, removed petrol subsidy and floated the naira. Petrol prices more than quadrupled, soaring from less than N200 per litre to over N1,100 in many parts of the country. The naira also took a nosedive, wobbling from around N700/$ to N1,600.

Food and commodity inflation have skyrocketed as Nigerians battle what can pass for the worst cost of living crisis since the country’s independence over six decades ago

By Gloria Ikibah

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Abbas Tajudeen, has expressed deep sorrow over the death of Alhaji Rilwanu Yahaya, the Sarkin Yakin Zazzau, who died on Thursday morning at the age of 63.

In a condolence message conveyed through his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Musa Abdullahi Krishi, Speaker Abbas described the late traditional leader as a dedicated community figure and a pillar of unity in the Zazzau Emirate.

He praised Alhaji Rilwanu Yahaya for his exemplary life and patriotic service, offering condolences to the Zazzau Emirate, the people, and the government of Kaduna State.

The Speaker prayed for Allah (SWT) to grant the deceased Jannatul Firdaus and to provide strength to his family in this difficult time.

Born in Unguwar Kaura, Zaria City, the late Sarkin Yakin Zazzau was a retired health officer with the Kaduna State Ministry of Health. He was a respected council member and kingmaker in the Zazzau Emirate Council, overseeing health-related matters and managing the Palace Health Clinic (Yero Health Clinic).