The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva says the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation will become a commercial company within six months.
Mr Sylva says a transitional committee is already in place to incorporate NNPC Limited.
Mr Sylva noted that although the new petroleum act has deregulated the oil sector, subsidy policies will remain in place till further notice.
He says an implementation framework for actual deregulation will be established to mitigate the impact on ordinary Nigerians.

United States President Joe Biden’s administration announced that it has approved the largest permanent increase to food stamp benefits.
a boost that the White House and proponents of the move hope will help low-income families afford healthier food choices when stocking their fridges and pantries.
Average benefits for food stamps starting in October officially known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will increase more than 25 per cent above pre-pandemic levels.
US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told reporters that the hike in benefits will do a better job of providing healthy food for low-income families.
Nutrition advocates say that the hike will help Amer American families choose better quality food and improve nutrition and overall health.

The United Nations Security Council is calling for talks to create a new government in Afghanistan and an end to fighting and abuse after UN chief Antonio Guterres warned of chilling Taliban curbs on human rights and mounting violations against women and girls.
The 15-member council issued a statement agreed by consensus after Guterres appealed to the body to use all tools at its disposal to suppress the global terrorist threat in Afghanistan and guarantee respect for human rights.
The Security Council stressed the importance of combating terrorism in Afghanistan to ensure other countries were not threatened or attacked.

The United States has called for an inclusive new government in Afghanistan that respects human rights, including women’s rights, saying that the Taliban’s behaviour will determine whether Washington will recognise any new administration in Kabul.
US State Department spokesperson Ned Price says that the US and its international allies would be watching closely after the Taliban took over the country in a blistering offensive, seizing control of the capital on Sunday.
Price says there is decisive consensus in the international community on the kind of new government that should be formed in Afghanistan, citing a United Nations Security Council statement that called for an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned process of national reconciliation.

The president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Felix Tshisekedi, says US special forces will soon deploy to the east of the country to help fight Islamist militants.
He says they would stay for several weeks, supporting the Congolese army in its campaign against the Allied Defence Forces.
They will advise gamekeepers in the Virunga and Garamba national parks, which are havens for militia groups.
The US has designated the ADF as a terrorist group affiliated with Islamic State.
United Nations experts have expressed doubts over the alleged links.

The World Health Organization says the tracing of people who came into contact with Ivory Coast's first Ebola case in 25 years has been completed.
The WHO's representative in Ivory Coast Dr Jean-Marie Yameogo says if the contact persons do not show any symptoms they will be vaccinated and if any show signs of the disease then they would proceed to case management at the Ebola treatment centres.
Vaccines were developed and were later used to fight outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Guinea.

Plateau state government has extended a curfew in the state capital Jos and surrounding areas after signs of increasing tension in the city.
It follows the killing of at least 23 Muslim travellers returning from a religious ceremony.
The Plateau state government says the imposition of the curfew was necessary to avoid a further deterioration of the security situation.
The victims were returning to southern Nigeria from the northern city of Bauchi where they had attended a ceremony marking the Islamic New Year.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha has urged striking resident doctors to accept every invitation for negotiation with the Federal Government.
Boss Mustapha called on the medical practitioners to give the ongoing industrial action a rethink.
Mustapha says vaccines have proven to be the game-changer in Nigeria’s response to the virus and vaccines are the only hope out of COVID-19.
He says human resources is a big challenge in Nigeria, noting that the money the doctors are requesting has already been provided and is being processed.

The Federal Government has released a request for qualification for the concession of four international airport terminals and related services.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Aviation, James Odaudu, explained that the release was in compliance with the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission and National Policy on Public-Private Partnership.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Hassan Musa, says the four major commercial airports and surrounding communities are intended to develop into efficient, profitable, self-sustaining, commercial hubs that will create more jobs and develop local industries through a Public-Private Partnership arrangement.

The Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu says the next step in Nigeria’s COVID-19 response will be dependent on health workers.
Dr Ihekweazu says healthcare workers are the ones who will play the next pertinent role in the nation’s response to the disease.
He says the next step of this will depend on healthcare workers, the distribution; and making the vaccines available to the last mile will depend on an incredible group of Nigerians that have been working hard for the last 18 months to deliver vaccines, test people, do contact tracing and treat individuals”.
He says health officials are working tirelessly to beat the pandemic.
The NCDC boss commended the frontline officials for their efforts and urged them not to rest on their oars.