ASUU Extends Ongoing Strike by Three Months

By Adedapo Adesanya The Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to Norwegian writer, Mr Jon Fosse, for “his innovative plays and prose, which give voice to the unsayable,” according to the Royal Swedish Academy. One of his country’s most-performed dramatists, Mr Fosse, 64, has written some 40 plays as well as novels, short stories, children’s books, poetry and essays. Learn more about the 2023 #NobelPrize in Literature: https://t.co/dVT9QJr7PM — The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 5, 2023 Mr Mats Malm, permanent secretary of the academy, announced the prize Thursday in Stockholm. Mr Malm said he reached Fosse by telephone to

By Jerome-Mario Utomi Recently, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State approved a 25 per cent reduction in acceptance fees payable in the four state-owned universities as part of palliatives for students. The governor’s approval was contained in a statement issued by Festus Ahon, his chief press secretary, on Wednesday, in Asaba. According to the statement, the reduction in the acceptance fee was in line with measures taken by the Delta State government to cushion the effect of the fuel subsidy removal on citizens. Ahon further said that the 25 per cent reduction was applicable to new students at the state-owned

By Adedapo Adesanya The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Tajudeen Abbas, has congratulated teachers in Nigeria and all over the world on the occasion of this year’s World Teachers’ Day, noting their immeasurable contributions to society and promising better welfare. According to a statement released by his media aide, Mr Musa Abdullahi Krishi, the Speaker described teachers as destiny moulders and life changers. He also hailed teachers for their critical roles in the mental and behavioural development of their pupils and students. Mr Abbas noted that teachers or lecturers not only educate but also serve as guardians and

By Blaise Udunze Every day is for the Teachers! The moment we start giving preferences to the profession and the people as the most important members of our society, the moment there will be the emergence of true instructors and educators who are ready to instil the requisite knowledge for nation-building. Alas! The society is in quagmire and stagnated in this part of the world. Over the years, the least attention has been given to the whole of the educational sector- the citadel of learning. The Citadel houses the army of teachers. Today, can it be said to be a

By Adedapo Adesanya The United Nations (UN) has called on the military juntas in the three West African nations of Burkina Faso, Guinea and Mali to hand power back to civilians as soon as possible. The UN Secretary-General, Mr Antonio Guterres, made the call after meeting Senegalese President, Mr Macky Sall, in Dakar on Sunday. He said they had agreed on the need to keep talking to the de facto authorities in all three countries to restore democracy in the country and swiftly return to “constitutional order”. All three countries, struggling with a jihadist insurgency in the Sahel region and

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The online marketplace in Kenya has now been taken over by Jiji two years after it opened its shop in the country, serving the consumers in the East African country with quality services. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Jiji entered the Kenya market and has since become the fastest growing e-commerce with over 6 million users and 2 million ads in Kenya. In March 2022, Alexa, a website traffic analytics platform, ranked the firm as the leading platform among all, having 2.5 million unique visitors monthly compared to 1.5 million in 2021, indicating that it nearly

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Stakeholders in the health sector have raised an alarm over inadequate budgetary provision of a total sum of N304 billion for the Federal Ministry of Health in the 2017 national budget. The stakeholders, under the platform of Partnership for Advocacy in Child and Family Health (PACFAH), pointed that this is due to continuous depreciation of Nigeria Naira to other foreign currencies. PACFAH said the proposed health budget is cumulatively lower than that of 2016 due to foreign exchange challenges in the value of Naira to Dollar. In a statement on the State of Nigeria Health Budget –

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Minister of State for Petroleum, Mr Ibe Kachikwu, has disclosed that some Chinese investors have promised to invest about $70 billion in Nigeria. Mr Kachikwu made this disclosure on Wednesday while addressing newsmen at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja. According to the Minister, the $70 billion would be invested in the oil and gas sector. However, Mr Kachikwu noted that this was different from the deal sealed in China by President Muhammadu Buhari when he visited the Asian country in January 2016. “This is completely separate,” Mr Kachikwu emphasised. He said

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc released its Q4 and full year 2016 results last week and its 94.5 percent y/y revenue and PAT growth apiece, in the final quarter, summed up an impressive year for the company, wherein top-line grew by 67.9 percent while post-tax profit increased by 29.2 percent. The Board is recommending N0.60 dividend per share (vs. N0.50 in 2015, and in line with our estimate). Q4-2016 – The Hand of Price and Fair Value Adjustments The revenue growth of 94.5 percent y/y reported during the fourth quarter was ahead of our estimate of 77 percent

By Modupe Gbadeyanka As the earnings season wraps up, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) is anticipated to close this week trading on a negative note. According to analysts at Cowry Asset, this is despite the attractive valuations and dividend yields following the conclusion of the 9 months corporate earnings season. Last week, the local bourse closed 2.18 percent lower week-on-week as investors’ sentiment was negative despite the positive corporates’ earnings. The overall market performance measure, NSE ASI, closed lower at 32,124.94 points while market capitalization shed N261.67 billion to close at N11.73 trillion. Hence, NSE Industrial Index, NSE Consumer Goods

By Dipo Olowookere The SME Finance Forum now has a new member and it is the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN), a company established by the federal government in collaboration with global development partners to address the major financing challenges facing Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria. The SME Finance Forum is a global membership network that brings together financial institutions, technology companies, and development finance institutions to share knowledge, spur innovation, and promote the growth of SMEs. It was established by the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) in 2012 as a knowledge centre for

By Dipo Olowookere In order to deepen its presence in the retail segment and boost its market share, African Alliance Insurance Plc has opened a new branch in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of African Alliance, Mrs Joyce Ojemudia, disclosed that the foremost life insurer opened the new branch, located at Suite 006, Providence Mall, near OOPL, Abiola Way, Abeokuta, Ogun State, in order to get closer to its target market and drive insurance penetration, which has always been a major problem in the sector in Nigeria. She said no underwriting company can joke with