The latest price revision comes hours after The PUNCH projected that petrol prices could rise for the third time within a week following the temporary suspension of petrol sales at the refinery on Sunday. It also revised the gantry price of Automotive Gas Oil, commonly known as diesel, to N1,620 per litre. The new price is the third surge in petrol prices within a week, following adjustments that pushed gantry prices from N774 to N995 per litre. Officials, however, warned that the intervention may not immediately translate into lower petrol prices for consumers. Nigerians currently grapple with high fuel prices, following the recent hikes in the cost of the commodities by the $20bn Lekki-based refinery.

“The delay was caused by salary shortfalls recorded in the personnel cost allocations of the affected MDAs,” the statement read. “The Office of the Accountant-General has communicated with the affected MDAs to liaise with the Cash Management Office of the Federal Ministry of Finance to resolve the issue of the salary shortfalls,” the statement added. “The delay in salary payment for the affected organisations was strictly due to these shortfalls, confirming that salaries for other federal workers had already been paid,” the statement noted. However, the salaries of the affected workers had been paid to the bank,” the statement said. The OAGF assured workers affected by the delays that efforts were ongoing to resolve the issues and ensure that the outstanding salaries are paid promptly.

View image in fullscreen Illustration: Shimeng Jiang/The GuardianWhen Wendy Pfrenger’s children started high school in the town of Oxford, Mississippi, she had the choice to enroll them in abstinence-only or abstinence-plus sex ed. Sex education advocates in the US have long hoped that states would one day follow more comprehensive and inclusive guidelines for teaching sex ed to students in grades K-12. “When these hostile state legislatures try to limit or erase sex education in schools, the information doesn’t just disappear. “We’re not just a denomination that happens to offer sex ed,” said Amy Johnson, minister for sexuality education and justice for the UCC. “This is something that our faith believes in.”Both Johnson and Davis realize that churches are not typically spaces that offer comprehensive sex ed.

She had been prepared to spend six months in the custody of the Shasta county sheriff’s office. View image in fullscreen The Shasta county courthouse in Redding, California. Residents in the community of 180,000 people directed their ire locally at their county board of supervisors. Photograph: Shasta county boardShe made a point to speak warmly, even while frustrated, to show that even people who disagreed could be kind to one another. Instead of investigating the jail, O’Connell-Nowain’s time has been spent at home, writing about what she’s experienced and, of course, sending emails to the county board of supervisors.

Fans of Thai singer Lalisa “Lisa” Manobal were thrilled after she posted an Instagram Story of her visiting Punch, the beloved macaque at Ichikawa City Zoo in Japan’s Chiba Prefecture. The member of K-pop girl group Blackpink was seen carrying an orang utan plush toy identical to the one the seven-month-old macaque is often seen clutching. Blackpink fans and animal lovers alike flooded social media with comments praising Lisa for her affection towards Punch. He was later seen constantly lugging around an orang utan plush toy, and holding it close as a substitute for a mother’s embrace. Punch has started to leave the plush toy behind more often and is beginning to approach other monkeys in the troop with greater confidence.

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has upheld the judgment of the Federal High Court restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission from recognising the outcome of the Peoples Democratic Party’s national convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State. The appellate court stressed that compliance with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution, the Electoral Act 2022, and the party’s constitution and guidelines is fundamental to democratic governance. The appellate court consequently dismissed the appeal and awarded N2m in costs against the appellants. Justice Omotosho also ruled that notices and correspondence issued by the party’s National Chairman without the endorsement of the National Secretary were invalid. Those listed as defendants in the suit included INEC, the PDP, the party’s National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu; National Organising Secretary, Umar Baturrle; the PDP National Working Committee; National Executive Committee; Acting National Chairman, Umar Iliya Damagum; Ali Odefa; and Emmanuel Ogidi.

“It remains a dream for women and girls in Nigeria, and also for men who support gender equality,” she said. The country representative also raised concerns over persistent cases of violence against women and the difficulty many survivors face in accessing justice. “We are advancing the UN Secretary-General’s call for zero tolerance and zero excuses for violence against women,” she said. “It remains a dream for women and girls in Nigeria, and also for men who support gender equality,” she said. “We are advancing the UN Secretary-General’s call for zero tolerance and zero excuses for violence against women,” she said.

Iraq’s head coach Graham Arnold has called for the country’s decisive World Cup play-off match later this month to be postponed because of travel disruptions caused by the escalating US-Israeli conflict with Iran. The winner of the inter-continental play-off will secure a place at the 2026 World Cup, which will be hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada starting on 11 June. He added that qualifying for the World Cup carries deep emotional significance for supporters in Iraq. The winner of that match is set to meet Iraq for a spot alongside 47 other nations at the 2026 World Cup. “Let Bolivia play Suriname this month and then a week before the World Cup, we play the winner in the US.

The data also revealed that the actual spending on debt servicing exceeded budget projections in both years. In 2024, debt servicing overshot the budget by about N4.07tn, as actual payments rose to N12.63tn compared with the N8.56tn initially approved. According to the brief, the increase in debt servicing was largely driven by macroeconomic factors rather than new borrowing. Despite the pressure from debt servicing, the government maintained relatively high capital spending during the period. In 2025, the gap widened further, as debt servicing of N14.57tn exceeded capital spending of N11.7tn by about N2.87tn.

Officials, however, warned that the intervention may not immediately translate into lower petrol prices for consumers. This would mean the third surge in petrol prices within a week, following adjustments that pushed gantry prices from N774 to N995 per litre. “There are crises everywhere in the global energy market, and thankfully, we now have the Dangote refinery. If the refinery was not operating, petrol prices in Nigeria could easily have reached N1,500 per litre,” Olatide added. Meanwhile, the Dangote refinery has continued to manage operational realities in a deregulated environment.

The Federation Account Allocation Committee has approved the transfer of N11.5bn from the 0.5 per cent Stabilisation Fund to finance the operations of its sub-committees working on preparations for the 2026 national budget framework, according to official documents obtained by The PUNCH. The document indicated that N11,500,000,000.01 was withdrawn from the account on January 28, 2026, specifically for the sub-committees handling the preparation of the 2026 proposed budget. The document showed that by February 20, 2026, the Stabilisation Fund account had recorded a closing balance of N54.27bn. Economic and fiscal experts say the use of the fund to support FAAC budget sub-committees underscores the growing fiscal coordination required among federal and sub-national governments in planning national budgets. The FAAC sub-committees typically work on critical components of the fiscal framework, including revenue projections, expenditure planning, oil price benchmarks, and macroeconomic assumptions, which ultimately shape the national budget and revenue distribution to the three tiers of government.

Credit: Facebook| Okeke Oluchukwu JonathanThe Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company has announced a power disruption affecting some communities in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. The outage follows a vehicular accident that damaged a high-tension pole along the Akala Expressway. The company assured customers that its technical team was working to ensure power supply is restored as quickly as possible. On Sunday, PUNCH Online reported that Kaduna Electric informed customers of a reduction in power supply across its franchise area, citing gas supply constraints affecting generation on the national grid. Similarly, Eko Electricity Distribution Company had earlier informed customers in Lagos State of a planned power outage scheduled for Saturday, March 14.

Nigerian Army troops under the Operation Whirl Stroke have rescued two bank employees kidnapped in Benue State. Marwan Abubakar, 40, and Leng’en Cakop, 37, both staff members of Unity Bank, were reportedly kidnapped in Zaki Biam Ukum Local Government Area of Benue State. According to the military, they were rescued during a search-and-rescue operation carried out in Gborgbor village in Wukari Local Government Area of Taraba State. “Acting swiftly on the intelligence, OPWS troops conducted an aggressive search-and-rescue mission aimed at locating the terrorists and safely recovering the victims,” Mr Zubairu said. The Force Commander of Operation Whirl Stroke, Moses Gara, commended the troops for their swift response and professionalism.

Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war on March 2, when Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah attacked Israel in response to the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during US-Israeli strikes. Israel, which has kept up strikes targeting Hezbollah despite a 2024 ceasefire, launched multiple waves of strikes this week across Lebanon and sent ground troops into border areas. After waves of Iranian strikes targeted the country’s energy installations, Bahrain’s state-owned Bapco energy company declared force majeure. Israel, Iran trade fireIran fired its first missiles towards Israel after the appointment of the new supreme leader, state broadcaster IRIB said, with Israeli medics reporting one woman wounded. The Israeli military said it launched a new wave of strikes targeting “regime infrastructure”, including internal security command centres and missile launch sites, in central Iran.

Trending on BillboardBLACKPINK’s Lisa took a break from her busy schedule to visit Punch the monkey. To show her support, Lisa brought her own stuffed orangutan and held it up for Punch to see. In the photos shared on her Instagram Story, the BLACKPINK member flashed a huge grin while wearing a gray hoodie, blue jeans, and a light-colored knitted beanie. LISA, ROSÉ and JENNIE each released their debut solo albums — Alter Ego, Rosie and Ruby, respectively — while JISOO debuted her EP, Amortage. Check out photos of Lisa’s visit with Punch the monkey at Ichikawa City Zoo on TMZ.