Lafarge Board Holds Emergency Board Meeting Today

By Adedapo Adesanya The House of Representatives has pledged to stop international oil companies (IOCs) operating in the Niger Delta from divestment of their offshore assets without being accountable to the environment. The Chairman of the House of Reps Committee on Host Communities, Mr Dumnamene Dekor, said this during a technical session on the implementation of the Host Communities Development Trusts (HCDT), organised by Spaces for Change (S4C) with support from Ford Foundation. Mr Dekor raised the alarm that since the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act in 2021, host communities have not experienced any positive change, rather have remained

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Business owners in Lagos have been assured of more incentives by the state governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who added that this is part of his administration’s commitment to reforms aimed at improving the ease of doing business and enhancing investment opportunities. Speaking at the commissioning of the newly-built wet hair production factory of Godrej Nigeria Limited, the Governor said his government would continue to pursue actions that would eliminate red tapes and regulatory impediments hindering the growth of businesses in the state, thereby demonstrating his willingness for continued collaboration with the private sector to improve the livelihood

By Aduragbemi Omiyale President Bola Tinubu has said the 2024 budget presented to the joint session of the National Assembly on Wednesday was designed to achieve macroeconomic stability, a better investment environment, greater access to social security, poverty reduction and enhanced human capital development. According to him, if these goals are achieved, the standard of living of Nigerians will improve and the citizens will enjoy the dividends of democracy. While presenting the 2024 Appropriation Bills to the parliament yesterday, the President said this was why he christened the budget proposal as the Budget of Renewed Hope. Mr Tinubu told the

By Adedapo Adesanya Nigeria will accept and work with a production quota of 1.5 million barrels of crude oil per day in 2024 as the country aims to grow on the back of its oil resources, following a revision done by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, OPEC+. According to a statement issued by the Press and Public Relations unit of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Thursday’s meeting of the 23-man group addressed crucial aspects, including the completion of assessments by independent sources (IHS, Wood Mackenzie, and Rystad Energy) on the projected production levels for Angola,

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The operations of Visa in the West African region will now be overseen by Mr Andrew Uaboi, a statement from the payments company has announced. The organisation explained that the appointment of Mr Uaboi is in line with its vision to continue to build a solid regional team by matching unique strengths and talents with critical business opportunities. In his new role, the appointee will be responsible for the development and implementation of Visa’s growth strategy in the region and will be part of the Sub-Saharan Africa leadership team at Visa. “Andrew’s appointment reflects the importance we

By Adedapo Adesanya The federal government hopes to achieve 90 per cent broadband penetration in the country by 2023. The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Mr Isa Pantami, said this on Thursday at a briefing organised by the All Progressive Congress Professional Forum in Abuja, according to a statement by the spokesperson for the ministry, Mr Uwa Suleiman. The statement was titled Federal Government targets ninety per cent broadband penetration, records unprecedented success rate in nineteen years and it mapped out plans to achieve the target in the next two years. The statement said the digital economy sector had

By Dipo Olowookere On Monday, an exploration and production sharing agreement deal to develop South Sudan’s Block B3 was signed between the country’s government and Oranto Petroleum Company in Juba. The deal will see Oranto Petroleum invest $500 million to immediately launch a comprehensive exploration campaign in the newest country in Africa. The B3 area covers 25,150 square kilometres. Some aeromagnetic and seismic data have been acquired for the area but no wells have been drilled. The block is highly prospective, with productive parts of the Muglad Basin to the northwest and estimated reserves in place of more than 3

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Lucky customers of Fidelity Bank Plc across the country Monday received cash and consolation prizes at the 2nd bi-monthly/4th monthly prize presentation of the Get Alert in Millions (GAIM) promo Season 4. Managing Director/CEO, Fidelity Bank PLC, Mr Nnamdi Okonkwo, said the bank has consistently kept its words by rewarding customers for their loyalty and patronage. According to the bank chief, a total of N68 million in cash prizes as well as other consolations prizes have been won in the ongoing promo. The customers who smiled home with their winnings include Salisu Mohammed, Adepeju Esther – who

By Jerome-Mario Chijioke Utomi Going by historical events and developments starting from 1914, it is evident that Nigeria is not a natural country, state or nation but an artificial creation via a marriage of two unwilling brides who had no say in their forced and ill-fated union- an amalgamation of the northern and the southern protectorates on the 14th February 1914, a day set aside to celebrate love all over the world, by Sir Lord Lugard. The British colonial overlords probably intended the protectorates to operate symmetrically with no part of the amalgam claiming superiority over the other. This arrangement

By Dipo Olowookere There was a huge demand for some large-cap equities at the market on Friday and this triggered the 0.48 per cent growth recorded by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). The buying interest in the stocks lifted the value of 13 companies and at the close of transactions, Airtel Africa was the highest price gainer after chalking up N51.50 to sell at N640 per unit. Mobil Oil appreciated by N19.20 to finish at N228 per share, Ardova gained 45 kobo to close at N14.45 per unit, Zenith Bank grew by 40 kobo to N23.95 per share, while C

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Commercial banks in the country have begun to accept the old Naira notes brought to them as cash deposits by their customers after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) authorised this. The CBN issued a statement on Monday night directing deposit money banks (DMBs) to accept and dispense the old N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes until December 31, 2023. The supreme court on March 3, 2023, ordered the federal government to extend the validity of the old currency notes till the end of the year, upturning the February 10, 2023, deadline of the apex bank. However, after

Fulani herdsmen in southern part of Nigeria have been asked to disregard the recent call by the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) asking them to return to the northern part of the country. President Muhammadu Buhari, who made this call in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu, questioned the intentions of the NEF and the other so-called leaders in delving into issues with “unsolicited, ill-intentioned advice.” The President said, “All citizens of Nigeria are free to move and live within any part of the country they please, whether or not they are