400-year-old British Institution Opens $150m School in Lagos

By Adedapo Adesanya Irish author Paul Lynch won the 2023 Booker Prize for fiction for his novel Prophet Song, a dystopian work about an Ireland that descends into tyranny. The 46-year-old beat five other shortlisted novelists to the prestigious award at a ceremony in London. He becomes the fifth Irish writer to win the high-profile literary prize, which has propelled to fame countless household names, including past winners Salman Rushdie, Margaret Atwood and Hilary Mantel. “This was not an easy book to write,” Mr Lynch said after collecting his award, which comes with £50,000 (around $63,000) and a huge boost

By Modupe Gbadeyanka On Sunday, October 29, 2023, the race for the sharing of N12.5 million by the top 3 contestants of the fifth edition of the InterswitchSPAK National Science Competition commenced. A total of 81 secondary school students are competing for the crown of the best Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) students in Nigeria. The first prize winner will receive a whooping sum of N7.5 million worth of scholarships for five years, a laptop, and monthly stipends. The second-place winner will receive N4 million in scholarships for three years, a laptop, and monthly stipends, while the third-place winner

By Bliss Okperan The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has announced that it has discarded the use of the paper and pencil test model and has adopted the Computer-Based Test (CBT) for the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE). In a statement obtained on Monday by Business Post, it was disclosed that this system will become effective from February 2024. In the statement signed by the acting Head of the Public Affairs Unit at WAEC, Ms Moyosola Adesina, the examination body said it adopted this mode to meet up with the latest global system. “In line with global best practices, the

By Bliss Okperan The University of Osun State (UNIOSUN) has set a goal to achieve a spot in the 10 top universities in Nigeria by 2026. The Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Clement Adebooye, while speaking on Friday at the main campus of the university in Osogbo, said the management also intends to make the school one of the 25 best in Africa in three years’ time. According to him, the management has begun to implement the strategies designed to meet this target, including providing a peaceful academic environment for students and others. He expressed the commitment of the

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A group known as the Media Initiative against Injustice, Violence and Corruption (MIIVOC) is taking steps to improve the knowledge of government officials in the implementation of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act of 2011. Already, it has concluded arrangements with the management of the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) to train key personnel on the provisions and application of the law. “Knowledge and capacity on the FOI Act are still very low in the country. There is a need for training and retraining of representatives of public institutions on the provisions and applications of the Act.

By Dipo Olowookere The average yields of treasury bills marginally rose by 0.01 percent amid prevalence of negative sentiment in the secondary market on Thursday. During the trading session, there were sustained demands on the short end of the curve as the average yields closed at 14.52 percent. The one-month tenor was investors’ favourite as its yield dipped by 0.12 percent just as the yield on the 3-month tenor fell by 0.05 percent. However, the 6-month, 9-month and 12-month tenors all advanced by 0.16 percent, 0.03 percent and 0.02 percent respectively. At the market yesterday, the Central Bank of Nigeria

By Dipo Olowookere The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced that it would embark on another recapitalisation of the banking system in the country. This information was made known on Monday morning by Governor of the CBN, Mr Godwin Emefiele, in Abuja. The CBN chief, while unveiling his policy direction for 2019 to 2024, disclosed that the regulator will raise the minimum capital base from its present level. Business Post reports that the last time the banking industry experienced recapitalisation was in 2004, during the tenure of Professor Chukwuma Soludo as the CBN Governor. During the recapitalisation exercise, the

By Adedapo Adesanya The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has debunked claims that the exact volume of crude oil produced in Nigeria is not known. There have been widespread media reports that the exact volume of the black gold cannot be quantified. But on Friday, Mr Paul Osu, the Head of Public Affairs at the DPR, in a statement issued in Lagos, said every litre of crude produced in the country was adequately captured during the process of extraction. Mr Osu said it was the responsibility of the DPR to monitor and account for crude oil production as the basis

By Adedapo Adesanya Global Afropop star, Yemi Alade, has encouraged Africans to unite and get vaccinated against COVID-19 following her appointment as the Global Ambassador for It’s Up to Us, a pan African campaign driven by the Africa CDC and Mastercard Foundation. It’s Up to Us comes at a critical time in Africa’s fight against COVID-19, continent continues to bear the brunt of global vaccine inequity, with cases and deaths rising quickly across the continent. According to available statistics, less than 12 per cent of the continent has been fully vaccinated against the virus and the AVAT, African Union, and

By Adedapo Adesanya The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has hailed President Muhammadu Buhari over the planned rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery. IPMAN Chairman in Rivers State, Mr Joseph Obele, said the refinery, when revamped, will enable Nigerians access quality fuel, against the substandard petroleum products, currently being imported into the country. Mr Obele, who equally commended the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr Timipre Sylva and the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mr Mele Kyari, said the project will create employment by engaging over 25,000 persons. According to him, “IPMAN Rivers State is saying thank

By Dipo Olowookere It was another positive week for unlisted securities investors in Nigeria as they smiled home with N18.29 billion last week on the floor of the NASD over-the-counter (OTC) Securities Exchange. This was buoyed by the 1.98 per cent week-on-week growth recorded by the alternative bourse in the country during the five-day trading week, which had five stocks closing on the gainers’ chart, with none on the opposite table. Data harvested by Business Post indicated that FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria appreciated by 10.44 per cent to settle at N69.00 per unit. UBN Property Gain 7.14 per cent to trade

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira recorded a further gain of 1.01 per cent or N8.00 against the Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) as it closed at N782.68/$1 on Thursday, October 19 compared with Wednesday’s N790.68/$1. The local currency improved its value in the official market yesterday amid an increase in the supply of FX into the system, though the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) still has a huge backlog to clear. At the market on Thursday, the value of forex trades surged by 39.5 per cent or $27.59 million to $97.47 million from the $69.88 million