Nigerian Equity Market Sheds N36b to Open Week Bearish

By Adedapo Adesanya The prices of Brent futures and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures went down by about 1 per cent on Friday, due to macroeconomic concerns and sustained profit-taking. Data showed that Brent fell by 7 cents to $95.31 per barrel and WTI depreciated by 92 cents to $90.97. Prices rose about 30 per cent in the third quarter of the year helped by the production cuts by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (OPEC+). This action squeezed global crude supply. Brent was about 2.2 per cent in the week and 27 per cent

By Bliss Okperan A lady who reviewed a product of Erisco Foods Limited, Nagiko Tomato Mix, Mrs Chioma Egodi, has threatened to demand the sum of N500 million from the chief executive of the company, Mr Eric Umeofia, for violating her fundamental human rights. Mrs Egodi said she purchased the product at the market with the intention of using it to cook stew for her family. However, when she tasted it, according to her, it tasted too much sugar, prompting her to post about it on Facebook. It was reported that Erisco was not happy with the negative review. She

By Adedapo Adesanya The value of the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange sharply declined by 3.86 per cent on Thursday, September 28, after the shares of VFD Group Plc were taken out of the platform. VFD Group, according to reports, is planning to trade its stocks on a larger platform, the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX). The delisting of the company’s equities brought down the market capitalisation of the NASD OTC exchange by N44 billion to settle at N1.102 trillion compared with the N1.146 trillion it finished on Tuesday, the last trading session. The market was closed on Wednesday as a

By Adedapo Adesanya The cryptocurrency market witnessed an uptick on Wednesday, with Bitcoin (BTC) managing to stay above the $26,000 level even as the US Dollar index rose to a new year-to-date high. Data obtained by Business Post showed that the most valued crypto, BTC, posted a 0.7 per cent appreciation during the midweek session to trade at $26,408.37 in the last 24 hours. On the part of the second-most valued digital coin, Ethereum (ETH), it remained in the $1,600 mark and it improved its value yesterday by 1.6 per cent to sell at $1,610.94. At the trading session, the US

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Oyo State government has said that it is to flag off its free ambulance and mobile healthcare services as part of its holistic approach to ensuring a robust health care service in the state. Commissioner for Health, Dr Azeez Adeduntan, stated this when he led the Oyo State Task Force on Private Health Facilities to monitor private hospitals and medical laboratories in Ibadan. The task force had paid unscheduled visit to eight private hospitals in Ibadan South East and Ona Ara Local Government Areas of Ibadan. Many of the hospitals were not registered, filthy and improperly staffed.

By Dipo Olowookere The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in China with Nigerian-Chinese consortia towards developing sustainable biofuels in the country. In a ceremony held at the Nigerian Embassy in Beijing on the sidelines of the ongoing Forum for China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit Tuesday, two separate MoUs on the biofuels project development were signed between: NNPC and the OBAX-COMPLANT Consortium on one hand and NNPC and the CAPEGATE-NANNING Consortium on the other hand. Speaking shortly after signing the dotted lines on behalf of the corporation, NNPC Group Managing Director, Mr Maikanti Baru, said

By Modupe Gbadeyanka President Muhammadu Buhari has been urged to sack the Minister of Information and Culture, Mr Lai Mohammed, and one of the presidential spokesmen, Mr Garba Shehu. The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP), which called for the sacking of Mr Mohammed and Mr Shehu, accused the two officials of ‘misinforming Nigerians and “turning Nigeria into a laughing stock in the international sphere.” In a statement signed by the Secretary-General of CNPP, Mr Willy Ezugwu, on Sunday, the group stressed that the two persons “have contributed to the poor image of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) administration.”

By Dipo Olowookere Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, has been urged to “without further delay show responsibility and clear the air over the damaging certificate forgery allegations against her and settle the facts of the case once and for all.” This appeal was made by a popular group known as the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP). In a statement issued on Sunday by SERAP’s deputy director, Mr Timothy Adewale, the group warned that, “Suspicions of certificate forgery involving a senior member of the government if not urgently and satisfactorily addressed would weaken public trust in the government’s

By Adedapo Adesanya Telegram was the most downloaded mobile app for January 2021, according to Sensor Tower, a research group that compiles a list of downloads per month of iOS and Android apps. In its latest report which covers the download period of January 1 through 31, Telegram jumped eight places from number #9 on SensorTower’s list of most downloaded (non-game) mobile app in December 2020 to the zenith position. The app recorded a boost that saw it grow by at least 63 million users, about 3.8 times higher than the downloads in January 2020. It could be deduced that

By Dipo Olowookere Customers of ALAT, Nigeria’s first fully digital bank launched by Wema Bank Plc, are set to enjoy the best of times with the lender committed to understanding their needs and offering them great deals. The bank, which recently celebrated 100,000 accounts after just five months of operation, is offering its customers discounts of up to 30 percent on purchases made with its cards. “When we launched ALAT in May, we made some promises to everyone who banks with us and we have not failed to deliver on these promises,” says Dele Adeyinka, chief digital officer at ALAT

An online initiative known as Colours of Africa has been launched by Design Indaba in partnership with Google Arts & Culture. The project brings online and showcases 60 specially-curated artworks produced by over 60 unique African creatives chosen by Design Indaba – each invited to contribute a work that captures the ‘colour’ and character of their home country. Selected by Design Indaba’s founder Ravi Naidoo, the creatives will showcase the best of African craft, product, industrial design, fashion, film, animation, graphic, food, music, jewellery and architecture. “Africa is known for its bold, unapologetic use of colour. Each country, city and

By Dipo Olowookere A teacher with Mastercare International School, Asaba, Delta State, Mr Felix Udochukwu Ariguzo, has emerged the Maltina Teacher of the Year for 2017 in the highpoint of the competition’s grand finale held in Lagos on Thursday. For the feat, Mr Ariguzo was rewarded with N1 million in addition to N500,000 he received as Delta State champion. He will also receive N1 million every year for five years, a training programme abroad and a block of six classrooms built at his school. Mr Ariguzo, a Biology and Chemistry teacher, revealed that he draws inspiration for teaching from his