Five things to know to start your Saturday

Trump will face a sentence next week.

A judge has decided that Donald Trump will be sentenced for his conviction related to paying hush money to a porn star. The sentencing will happen on January 10, and the judge hinted that Trump probably won’t go to jail.

Judge Juan Merchan rejected Trump’s attempt to throw out the case, even though Trump won the presidential election. Trump can choose to attend the sentencing either in person or by video call, which will happen just 10 days before he becomes president again.

The judge suggested that the most likely punishment would be what’s called an “unconditional discharge” – meaning Trump wouldn’t face jail time, wouldn’t have to pay a fine, and wouldn’t be on probation.

Cardoso said no CBN staff was forced out of their jobs

CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso clarified that the 1,000 employees who left their jobs in December 2024 did so by their own choice through the “voluntary Early Exit Program.” They weren’t forced out.

Cardoso explained this to government officials in Abuja on Friday. He was speaking to a House of Reps committee looking into why these staff members left and how the bank decided to give them N50 billion in farewell payments.

Speaking for Cardoso, Deputy Director of Corporate Service Bala Bello explained: “The Early Exit Program, Restructuring and Re-organisation are basically ways and means through which the performance of an organisation is optimized by ensuring that round pegs are put in the right holes. The manpower requirement of the bank is actually met.”

Read Also: Departure of 1000 employees was not forced – CBN

Global food prices dropped 2% in 2024

Food prices around the world dropped a little bit (2.1%) in 2024 compared to 2023, according to the United Nations’ food agency. But we’re still paying much more for food than we did before COVID-19 started.

The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) keeps track of global food prices using something called the Food Price Index. In 2024, this index averaged 122.0 points, which was 2.6 points lower than in 2023.

Even though the overall yearly average was lower, food actually got more expensive as 2024 went on. The index started at 117.6 points in January and went up to 127.0 points by December. This 6.7% increase happened mainly because meat, dairy products, and cooking oils became more expensive.

The FAO watches how the prices of commonly traded foods change each month across the world. While prices did go down a bit between 2023 and 2024, they’re still about 26% higher than they were five years ago.

Obasanjo rejected NNPCL’s invite, calling it ‘disrespectful’

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo is displeased about how the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) tried to invite him to visit some oil refineries, calling their approach disrespectful.

This started when Obasanjo appeared on Channels Television and talked about failed attempts to sell Nigeria’s oil refineries to private companies. He expressed frustration that despite spending lots of money since 2007, the refineries still aren’t working properly.

After this interview, the NNPCL’s spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye, publicly invited Obasanjo to tour refineries in Port Harcourt and Warri.

Obasanjo’s response came through his media aide, Kehinde Akinyemi, who pointed out that as of January 2, 2024, they hadn’t received any official invitation from NNPCL.

His aide stated: “Is that the right way to invite a former president of the country? Who says Baba has even seen the statement or read the news? It is a total disrespect for the office of the former president. Ask the NNPCL that as of January 2, have they written to him? Is there any official letter addressed to him, inviting him to the refinery? It is an absolute insult, and the former president cannot dignify such with a response.”

Trump’s Republicans reelected Mike Johnson as House Speaker despite dissent

Mike Johnson barely managed to keep his job as Speaker of the House of Representatives on Friday. The close vote showed there might be some disagreements among Republicans in Congress, even as Donald Trump prepares to become president again.

The voting process was dramatic and took almost two hours. At first, it looked like Johnson wouldn’t get enough votes to stay Speaker. But after long discussions, two Republicans who were against him changed their minds and voted for him. At least one of these lawmakers said Trump personally called them about the vote.

Johnson just barely won, getting exactly 218 votes – the minimum he needed to keep his job. This tight victory reflects how close things are in the House, where Republicans hold a very slim majority of 219 seats compared to Democrats’ 215.

After winning the vote, Johnson announced he would work to keep Trump’s 2017 tax cuts from expiring this year and would try to remove some government regulations.