Kwara Denies Collecting N9b Paris Club Refund

By Adedapo Adesanya The duo of NASD Plc and Aradel Holdings Plc weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.04 per cent on Thursday, September 21. The two price losers overpowered the sole price gainer, Central Securities Clearing Systems (CSCS) Plc, to drag down the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI) by 0.34 points to 805.95 points from the 806.29 points it ended in the previous day, while the total value of the unlisted stock market was relatively flat at N1.139 trillion. At the trading day, NASD Plc shed N1.15 to end the session at N11.50 per unit versus the

By Adedapo Adesanya Oil prices settled lower on Thursday even after Russia announced a ban on fuel exports, with Brent crude down by 23 cents to $93.30 a barrel while the US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) lost 3 cents to sell at $89.63 per barrel. Russia temporarily banned gasoline and diesel exports to all countries outside a circle of four ex-Soviet states with immediate effect to stabilize the domestic fuel market, the government said on Thursday. It said the ban did not apply to fuel supplied under inter-governmental agreements to Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union members, including Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia

By Adedapo Adesanya  The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has confirmed the resignation of Mr Godwin Emefiele as its governor and the resumption of Mr Olayemi Cardoso as the next head of the apex bank, albeit in an acting capacity. The apex bank’s Director of Corporate Communications, Mr Isa AbdulMumin, said Mr Cardoso will act as governor pending his confirmation by the Nigerian Senate, which is away on recess until Tuesday, September 26. This also confirms the exit of Mr Folashodun Shonubi, who was acting in that position following the ousting of Mr Emefile three months ago. “Dr Olayemi Michael

By Tunji Andrews The circular from the Executive Chairman of Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Muhammad Nami, to taxpayers over payment of taxes, is one that has left me heavily puzzled. The circular, which gave an update on the good work by the federal government on palliative measures to cushion the effect of COVID-19 on taxpayers, went ahead to plead with corporate organizations in what it referred to as booming sectors of the economy to consider making payment of their annual returns earlier than the due date apart from their normal monthly obligations. Muhammad Nami, made this plea in the

By Adedapo Adesanya Vantage Health Technologies, an international health technology provider, part of the BroadReach Group, will collaborate with Nigeria’s Network for Health Equity and Development (NHED), a public health and development non-profit organisation, to boost the Nigerian health system through Artificial Intelligence (AI). The team will harness the power of AI and long-term in-country contextual expertise in health advocacy to build strong governance and health systems across the country’s public health system. The Nigerian health system is overburdened and resource-constrained, resulting in poor health outcomes. Nigeria experiences a high prevalence of HIV, TB, and Malaria, ranking fourth worldwide in

By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh In its sixth year, the Russia-Africa Business Dialogue was held on June 16 at the 25th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) with the participation of both top-level Russian and African officials. The Russia-Africa Business Dialogue was initiated in 2016 as a special platform to examine, review and discuss important topical issues especially those relating to trade and economic cooperation between Russia and Africa. Professor Irina Abramova, Director of the Institute for African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences moderated the discussion. It brought together representatives of government and business communities from both Russian and

By Investors Hub The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a higher opening on Thursday, with stocks likely to rebound following the modest pullback seen over the two previous sessions. A report from the Labor Department showing bigger than expected decreases in U.S. import and export prices may add to recent optimism that tame inflation will lead the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates in the near future. After helping to lead the markets lower in the previous sessions, energy stocks may rebound along with the price of crude oil. Crude for July delivery is jumping by more than

By Modupe Gbadeyanka On Monday, President Bola Tinubu had his first nationwide broadcast. It was a speech delivered to commemorate 2023 Democracy Day, a day set aside to mark the June 12, 1993, presidential election, which was believed to have been won by the late MKO Abiola. Still, the then Military President, Mr Ibrahim Babangida, annulled it. Below is the full text of President Tinubu’s Democracy Day speech. TEXT OF DEMOCRACY DAY NATIONAL BROADCAST BY PRESIDENT BOLA AHMED TINUBU ON JUNE 12, 2023. Fellow Nigerians, It is exactly three decades today that Nigerians went to the polls to exercise their

By Adedapo Adesanya Unlisted securities listed on the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 0.15 contraction on Tuesday, December 22 caused by negative price movement in the stocks of Niger Delta Exploration and Production (NDEP) Plc. The share price of the oil investment company lost N4.50 or 1.48 per cent to close the session at N300.50 per unit in contrast to N305 per unit it traded at the previous session. This development led to the shrinking of the market capitalisation of the bourse by N820 million yesterday to close the day at N536.45 billion as against the previous day’s

By Modupe Gbadeyanka For flagrant disobedience to a lawful directive from a government agency, the outlet of Bazaar Supermarket on Aromire Street, Ikeja, Lagos has been sealed. The retail store was closed down on Tuesday by officials of the Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency (LASCOPA). A statement issued by the agency explained that the company displayed some items on its shelves with inadequate information like the date of production, expiration and manufacturer’s details. According to the General Manager of LASCOPA, Mr Afolabi Solebo, during a routine visit to the place on February 24, 2021, some Croaker Steak, Checkerboard Cookies, Peanut

Zenith Bank Plc has retained its ranking as the Number One Bank in Nigeria by Tier-1 Capital in the 2023 Top 1000 World Banks’ Rankings, published by The Banker Magazine. For the fourteenth year in a row, the Bank has held its position as the number one Tier-1 bank in Nigeria, emerging as the 467th Bank globally with a Tier-1 Capital of $2.54 billion. The rankings, published in the July 2023 edition of The Banker Magazine of the Financial Times Group, United Kingdom, were based on the 2022 year-end Tier-1 capital of banks globally. The rankings continue to be the