Five things to know to start your Monday

Dangote Refinery has begun polypropylene production in Lagos

The Dangote oil refinery has started operations at its polypropylene facility in Lagos, according to reports from The PUNCH.

The facility, which will be officially unveiled soon, represents one of the final milestones in the commissioning sequence for the oil refining and petrochemical complex that began in January 2024.

S&P Global reports that the 830,000 metric tonnes per year polypropylene site has already begun impacting the domestic market. According to two market sources who spoke to Platts, a division of S&P Global Commodity Insights, “Polypropylene production has now started, with supplies being distributed in 25kg bags, and has already threatened to upend the domestic market.”

One trade source indicated that the Dangote Group had been preemptively offering polypropylene supplies as early as February.

When fully operational, the Dangote facility will become Africa’s largest polypropylene production site, operating two units with capacities of 500,000 mt/year and 330,000 mt/year respectively.

State governors want Tinubu to stop plans to pay local governments directly

State governors have launched a new effort to delay implementing the Supreme Court verdict on local government autonomy by opposing the planned disbursement of federal allocation directly to local government councils.

During a meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the State House in Abuja last Tuesday, governors expressed opposition to the payment of local government allocations through the Central Bank of Nigeria. They cited concerns about multi-billion dollar debts allegedly incurred by the councils.

Presidency sources revealed that governors used the Iftar dinner as an opportunity to lobby the President and reopen negotiations on direct allocations to the councils.

Trump and Putin are expected to peak this week

U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to speak this week about ending the three-year war in Ukraine, according to U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff.

Witkoff, who met with Putin in Moscow on Thursday, told CNN on Sunday that he anticipates “a call with both presidents this week” that would be “really good and positive.”

“We’re also continuing to engage and have a conversation with the Ukrainians,” Witkoff added after what he described as a “positive” meeting with the Russian leader.

Trump is seeking Putin’s support for a 30-day ceasefire proposal that Ukraine has already accepted. The diplomatic push comes as both sides continue exchanging heavy aerial strikes and as Russia moves closer to pushing Ukrainian forces out of their months-old position in Russia’s Kursk region.

The US vowed to continue strikes on Houthis until the Red Sea attacks end

The United States will continue military operations against Yemen’s Houthis until they stop attacking shipping, U.S. Defense Secretary said on Sunday, as the Iran-aligned group threatened to escalate their response following deadly American strikes.

Saturday’s U.S. airstrikes, which the Houthi-run health ministry reported killed at least 53 people, mark the largest U.S. military operation in the Middle East since President Donald Trump took office in January. One U.S. official told Reuters the campaign could continue for weeks.

Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi declared in a televised speech Sunday that his militants would target U.S. ships in the Red Sea as long as American attacks on Yemen continue. “If they continue their aggression, we will continue the escalation,” he said.

The Houthi movement’s political bureau condemned the U.S. strikes as a “war crime,” while Russia called on Washington to cease the military operations.

Trump’s administration deported Venezuelans despite court order

The Trump administration has deported alleged members of a Venezuelan gang from the United States despite a federal court order prohibiting the action, claiming the judge lacked authority to block the deportations.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt issued a statement defending the decision to ignore Judge James Boasberg’s order, which had blocked President Donald Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act’s wartime powers to rapidly deport more than 200 alleged members of Tren de Aragua.

“A single judge in a single city cannot direct the movements of an aircraft… full of foreign alien terrorists who were physically expelled from U.S. soil,” Leavitt said.

The administration claimed the court had “no lawful basis” for its ruling and argued that federal courts generally lack jurisdiction over how a president conducts foreign affairs.

Tren de Aragua has been linked to serious crimes including kidnapping, extortion, and contract killings.