Good morning! Here is today’s summary from Nigerian Newspapers:
1. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tuesday nominated Mr Taiwo Oyedele as Minister of State for Finance, replacing Dr Doris Anite-Uzoka. The President also redeployed Anite-Uzoka to the Ministry of Budget and National Planning as Minister of State, marking her third ministerial portfolio under the current administration.
2. Global oil prices soared on Tuesday, with Brent crude climbing above $84 per barrel, as escalating tensions in the Middle East heightened fears of prolonged conflict and potential disruptions to global supply. As of 7:00 a.m. ET, the international benchmark, Brent Crude, rose 8.36 per cent to $84.24 per barrel.
3. The Department of State Services, DSS arrested some security operatives in connection with the return of Malam Nasir El-Rufai to Nigeria from Egypt, on February 12. The secret police had reportedly attempted to arrest the former Kaduna State governor at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, but failed in its bid to do so.
4. Nigeria is battling a worsening Lassa fever outbreak, with fresh fatalities reported in Taraba, Benue, Plateau and Edo states, among others, while national data from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, NCDC show a steady rise in confirmed infections. The impact on frontline workers is particularly concerning, as multiple doctors and nurses have contracted the virus in the course of duty.
5. The Naira on Tuesday depreciated to N1,376 per dollar in the parallel market from N1,370 per dollar on Monday. Similarly, the naira depreciated for the second time this week to N1,390 per dollar in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market, NFEM.
6. Rivers State House of Assembly has confirmed receipt of the list of commissioner-nominees from Governor Siminalayi Fubara and invited nine of the nominees for screening and confirmation. The submission of the list by the governor comes about three weeks after he sacked eight commissioners who were not affected by the Supreme Court judgment recognising Martin Amaewhule as the authentic Speaker of the Assembly.
7. The Independent National Electoral Commission has approved the promotion of 2,339 personnel in its 2025 Senior Staff Promotion Exercise, underscoring its commitment to career progression, institutional continuity and organisational stability. The decision was taken at the commission’s meeting held on Thursday, February 26, 2026, according to a statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja by Mrs Victoria Eta-Messi.
8. The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons has secured a 14-year jail term for a couple, Abiodun Ogundeji and Happiness Ogundeji, for operating a baby factory in Ilutitun, Okitipupa Local Government Area of Ondo State. The Lagos Zonal Commander of NAPTIP, Mrs Comfort Agboko, disclosed this during a press briefing at the agency’s headquarters in Ikeja on Tuesday.
9. US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that it was too late for talks with Iran even though Tehran wants them. “Their air defense, Air Force, Navy, and Leadership is gone. They want to talk. I said ‘Too Late!’” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post, two days after saying he had agreed to talks, amid the joint Israeli-US bombardment of Iran.
10. The Federal Government of Nigeria has prohibited cash collection of taxes and banned the mounting of roadblocks for revenue enforcement, as part of fresh regulations to implement Nigeria’s new tax laws nationwide. The Executive Secretary (ES) of the Joint Revenue Board, Mr Olusegun Adesokan, made this known during the signing of the Presumptive Tax Regulations and Guidelines on the Implementation of the Tax Laws in Abuja on Tuesday.