NRTC WEEKLY: Top 5 trending stories across the country this week

It’s another NRTC WEEKLY Roundup— on this week’s episode, the focus is on top 5 trending stories across the country that made Nigerians discuss.

The stories will cut across the top five beats in our media organization, NRTC[ your one-stop hub for rich and reliable content covering entertainment, sports, politics, business, and more].

As always, the country has been filled up with several gist’s and we have tracked many of them for you this week. Why not scroll down and treat yourself? 

Also read, NRTC WEEKLY: Top 5 trending stories from across the country this week

The major stories to discuss this week are: Extortion by POS operators, transfer window, Chelsea, Premier league breaks records, Portable and TG Omori, Wike and his preferred presidential candidate and incessant falling of containers in Lagos State. 

Business: Extortion by POS operator

 

Photo credit: Punch

Nigerians have groaned over the drastic increase in charges of naira at Point of Sales stands by the operators due to the poor circulation of the newly redesigned N200, N500, and N1,000 notes.

Also read, NRTC WEEKLY: 5 stories that made Nigerians discuss this week

Upon the extension of the deadline for the validity of the old naira notes to February 10th, Nigerians are yet to get the new currency from banks and POS stands with several calls being made to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Economic Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) to prosecute banks and POS owners found withholding the new currency.

NRTC findings show that earlier this week, POS operators moves their charges from twenty and thirty naira respectively to one hundred [100] per one thousand [#1000] naira but increased it to #300 naira N1000 with possibility of another increment before next week. 

The findings further revealed that banks were unable to dispense the new currency but could only dispense five(#5), ten(#10), and twenty(#20) naira notes. This bank attitude has led to the death of many of their customers who collapsed in queues during the struggle for the new currency.

A check at some banks across the country revealed that users of a particular bank[people who uses UBA] could only withdraw four thousand[#4,000] naira daily while those[Zenith customer who want to withdraw from UBA] who hold other banks’ automated teller machines(ATM) could only withdraw two thousand[#2,000] naira from the ATM which had resulted in pandemonium over time. 

More so, we found out that the nonavailability of the new currency had caused havoc to Nigerians as many couldn’t purchase foodstuffs from the market except made transfers.

“Only civilized market women collect transfers from us and those women who sell pepper and other foodstuffs claim they don’t have bank accounts,” a consumer said. 

Some market women in an interview with NRTC WEEKLY said they reject the old currency because of the deadline, asking the people to blame CBN and the Federal Government. 

Other Nigerians on the street said the reason for the problem people were facing was either the currency is minimal in circulation or the politicians are keeping it for the forthcoming general election to buy the citizen’s consent to vote for them.

However, some POS operators told NRTC WEEKLY that the reason for the charge increase was because the new currency was being sold to them at higher prices at petrol stations and banks.

As the extortion by POS operators is going on, we shouldn’t forget that scarcity and hike in fuel is still hitting the country hard barely 21 days to the general election.

Sport: Transfer window, Chelsea, Premier league breaks records

Photo credit: Facebook

Chelsea Football Club fans set the internet agog with the signing of Enzo Fernández on the 31st of January as the most expensive signing ever made by a club in the English Premier League costing £107.8m/$132m.

Netizens and football lovers couldn’t believe the club could go ahead of Manchester United with a long history of being the leading spenders in England by landing Brazilian winger Antony from Ajax for £82 million.

To Liverpool FC coach, Jurgen Klopp and Manchester City, Pep Guardiola the dust has settled, and the numbers are in for Chelsea to challenge them come next season even though the club is currently fighting to make the top four.

The fans believed that Chelsea’s volume of signings since American Todd Boehly’s takeover of the club since May 31, 2022, would turn things around. 

Chelsea FC had made the Premier League the most spender in January after a relative drought during the first month of Boehly’s ownership made nine signings in under two months before the summer transfer window closed, and added eight more in the winter window, to take their season total to 17 players by the end of January.

Alongside their summer Premier League record, the Blues also set a new winter transfer window spending record, of £291.65m/$356.95m.

Chelsea alone spent more than all clubs in Serie A, La Liga, Ligue 1, and the Bundesliga combined, with even low-ranking Premier League sides able to poach top-quality players from leading European clubs.

However, reacting to the signing, some football fans said the club can’t lift cups with the new signees as the club only struggled to play a goalless draw with Fulham on Friday night.

Top club fans in the EPL described the signing as a waste of money as some rated newly signed players could only record zero, assist and goal in their yesterday match against Fulham. 

The full story can be access here, Chelsea breaks British transfer record to land Enzo Fernández

Entertainment: Portable slams TG Omori

 

Photo credit: NRTC

The internet went buzzing this week as the controversial singer, Habeeb Okikiola, popularly known as Portable called out Nigerian music video director TG Omori over plans to collect N37 million to shoot a video for him. 

Portable said TG Omori who claimed to have shot Zazu zeh video free, said he lied but begged him alogside Nigerian popular dancer, Poco Lee before agreeing to shoot the video with them.

He said they duped him of the video money as well as called TG Omori a traitor who couldn’t keep the secret of artists he had shot a video for.

Reacting to the claim, TG Omori asked the singer to send the song for shooting saying he would never hate or fight with Portable.

He further asked for video equipment rental to supply machinery that will allow Portable tattoos and his face show.

He said Portable is always his friend and and will never get mind at him.

However, NRTC WEEKLY found out that Portable in an Instagram live warned the cinematographer not to ever show up Lekki. 

Reacting to the issue, netizens and fans of the cinematographer blamed him for shooting a video for Portable whom they described as an unwell human being. 

Read the full stories here, TG Omori is a traitor, says Portable; “Send the song let’s shoot,” TG Omori replies Portable

Politics: Wike and his preferred presidential candidate

 

Photo credit: NRTC

As the presidential election is 21 days away, Nigerians have taken to their social media accounts to call on the oil-rich River state governor, Nyesom Wike to disclose his anointed candidate among the contesting presidential candidates.

They asked the governor to make known his choice out of the candidates for them to vote for him in the next month’s presidential election.

The governor who doubled as the leader of G-5 governors [a breakaway faction of People Democratic Party, PDP] had vowed to declare in January whom his supporters will vote for among the Presidential candidates in February 25th, 2023. 

The netizens and supporters of the Governor who said they could not wait to know the governor’s preferred candidate took to their social media pages to tell him to allow the cat out of the bag. 

NRTC WEEKLY found out that Governor Nyesom Wike has earlier promised to announce his preferred candidate in the forthcoming 2023 general election, in January last year December.

He disclosed this during the commissioning of the tenth flyover at the Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers.

Wike and the other four governors of the party formed G-5 governors after losing the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, primary election lost to Atiku Abubakar and had since then opposed the chairmanship of Iyorchia Ayu.

Wike, with four other PDP governors (G5), has insisted that Ayu must step down for a southerner to emerge the chairman of the party, as a condition to support the 2023 ambition of Atiku.

Metro: Incessant falling of containers in Lagos

 

Photo credit: NRTC

Lagosian and netizens have called on Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to find lasting solution to the incessant falling of containers in Lagos which had claimed several lives.

Lagosian and netizens took to their social media pages to express their grievances after another container fell on some commercial buses in the populated Oshodi area of Lagos, barely three days after a similar tragedy in the Ojuelegba area of the state claimed nine lives.

Although no casualty was recorded in the incident, but they want the governor to address the issues as no one knows the next victims. 

However, the governor said he has ordered a probe into the death of nine persons in the Ojuelegba area of the State where several persons were also injured.

Governor Sanwo-Olu in his condolence message assured of a thorough investigation into the matter to prevent a recurrence of such tragic incidents. 

“We are working with the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing to install Vehicle/Truck barriers on the inward and outward sections of the Bridge.” He said. 

This is where we will be dropping the cotton for this week edition of NRTC WEEKLY and do not hesitate to join us for another edition next week.