Diamond Bank Staff in Trouble for N82m Fraud

By Dipo Olowookere The acquisition of the United Kingdom subsidiary of Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, Union Bank UK, by Fidelity Bank Plc, has been completed. Fidelity Bank is a tier-2 financial institution in Nigeria, intending to move to the tier-1 category. Over a year ago, the lender announced that it was planning to take total control of Union Bank UK as part of its growth strategy. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), a body which regulates the country’s banking industry, authorised Fidelity Bank to go ahead with the deal. In a disclosure on Wednesday, the bank said it has

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Last week, the United States Mission in Nigeria organised the annual US College and Career Fairs at the Ecobank Pan African Centre (EPAC) on Victoria Island, Lagos. The US Consul General, Mr Will Stevens, while speaking at the event, said that America remains a leading destination for international students, noting the United States offers students an unrivalled educational experience, flexibility, and diversity. “We are happy to provide Nigerian students who wish to study in the United States a unique opportunity to learn about the diversity of the programs offered at various U.S. educational institutions,” Mr Stevens said.

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The board of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has raised the bar in the interim dividend payout for the first half of 2023, increasing it to 50 Kobo from 20 Kobo in the same period of 2023. This was after the bank recorded triple-digit growth in the bottom line, as the profit before tax (PBT) jumped by 371 per cent to N404 billion from the N85.75 billion recorded in the first half of 2022, translating to an annualised Return on Average Equity of 57.7 per cent as against 17.1 per cent a year earlier, as the

Sports betting in Nigeria is becoming increasingly popular, with bookmakers offering more and more options to bettors. This growth is being driven by a number of factors, including the increasing popularity of sports in Nigeria and the availability of reliable online bookmakers, such as Melbet. The most popular sport in Nigeria is football, and this is reflected in the fact that most bets are placed on football matches. However, there are also a significant number of bets placed on other sports such as basketball, cricket, and rugby. Why sports betting is growing in popularity in Nigeria? There are a number

By Dipo Olowookere Some stars in the Nigerian film industry have been nominated for the 2020 edition of the prestigious Best of Nollywood (BON) Awards. The likes of Toyin Abraham, Odunlade Adekola, Alex Ekubo, Adesua Etomi, Kehinde Bankole, Nkechi Blessing, Funsho Adeolu were among the notable faces on the screens nominated for the event, which has 33 different categories. The nominees were unveiled to the world at a virtual ceremony held recently with Joke Silva, Gbenga Adeyinka, Segun Arinze, Dele Momodu, Shina Peller, Wale Ojo-Lanre, Femi Akintunde Johnson and others in attendance. Convener of BON Awards, Mr Seun Oloketuyi, while

By Dipo Olowookere The Naira made its first fall eight days after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) introduced a new foreign exchange policy that gave the local currency a bit of strength at the parallel market against world’s major currencies. The Naira had closed on Monday at N450 per Dollar at the parallel market, but lost N5 on Tuesday to finish at N455 to the Dollar. It was observed that the local currency was traded at its opening rate of N450 per Dollar for most part of the day until in the evening, when it crashed by N5. However,

By Dipo Olowookere There are strong indications that headline inflation will slow down by 0.03 percent year-on-year to 11.19 percent for July 2019, Meristem Research has said. This is because the harvests of essential agricultural commodities are expected to reduce domestic inflationary pressures from crops; owing to increased volume. Same as June 2019, data from countrywide agro-commodity surveys reflect a decline in food prices just as energy prices stayed flat in July as supplies continue to remain stable, dispelling any form of price increases due to scarcity. In addition, data from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s PMI survey also reflected

By Adedapo Adesanya In line with the federal government’s plan to tap into the potential of a digitally driven economy, four major ministries have come together to establish an inter-ministerial task team charged with maximising opportunities in today’s advanced world. The ministries are Communication and Digital Economy; Labour and Employment; Youth and Sports; and Women Affairs. They were also joined by other relevant agencies under their respective departments. In a meeting in Abuja, a three-man team led by Minister of Labour and Employment, Mr Chris Ngige; Mr Isa Pantami, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy; and Mr Sunday Dare,

By Modupe Gbadeyanka In a bid to encourage swimming amongst Secondary School students in Nigeria, Loya Milk, a premium milk brand from the stable of Promasidor Nigeria Limited on Saturday, December 3, 2016, organised a swimming competition dubbed “Loya Swim Meet” for Secondary Schools in Lagos State where cash prizes of over N1 million and other consolation prizes were given to participants. The competition, which held at the Grange School, Harold Shodipo, Ikeja, GRA, Lagos, had 10 secondary schools in attendance with five boys and five girls each participating in the three categories of 25 metres freestyle, 50 metres freestyle

By Adedapo Adesanya The first trading day of the week at the NASD Over the Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed flat on Monday, September 23, 2019 as both the NASD Security Index (NSI) and market capitalization remained unchanged from their quoted data last Friday. The market capitalization saw no increase nor decrease as it ended on Monday at N505.91 billion while the NASD Security Index (NSI) retained 704.19 points as it was quoted at the end of trading on Friday at the market. However, the total volume of trades went down by 51,081 units or 50.89 percent to 49,300 units

By Dipo Olowookere Minister of Information and Culture, Mr Lai Mohammed, has canvassed the support of state Governors for the success of the Federal Government’s National Re-orientation Campaign, ‘Change Begins With Me’, which was launched by President Muhammadu Buhari on September 8, 2016. Speaking while formally unveiling the campaign to the Governors’ Forum at a meeting in Abuja on Wednesday night, the Minister specifically requested the Governors to donate generous airtime on their states’ radio and television stations for airing the campaign’s jingles. “We are of the strong belief that your cooperation is absolutely important if the campaign is to