Buhari Declares June 12 Democracy Day, Honours Abiola, Others

By Bliss Okperan The early morning fire that gutted a part of the Supreme Court complex in Abuja has been blamed on an electrical malfunction. The Director of Information of the apex court, Mr Festus Akande, said this on Monday morning when he appeared on Arise Television’s breakfast programme, The Morning Show. According to him, preliminary investigation showed that the fire was triggered by an electrical fault, playing down rumours that the Supreme Court was attacked by arsonists. Attention is on the apex court over the outcome of the presidential election held on Saturday, February 15, 2023. The Appeal Court

By Adedapo Adesanya Nigeria faces a crippling fertiliser shortage as 34,000 metric tonnes of Russian Fertiliser meant for Nigeria is stuck at ports in the European Union (EU) as a result of continued war in Ukraine. Russia’s Foreign Minister, Mr Sergey Lavrov, confirmed this development on Saturday at the 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, noting that 260,000 metric tonnes of Russian fertilisers have been stranded in EU ports since 2022. According to Russian News Agency, TASS, Mr Lavrov informed reporters that, “We are ready to give these fertilisers to African countries for free. It took six

By Adedapo Adesanya An initiative to boost youth employment and shore up Nigeria’s foreign exchange (FX) earnings has been introduced by the Nigerian government. The scheme, the National Talent Export Programme (NATEP), was unveiled over the weekend at the Microsoft Office in New York, United States of America by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mrs Doris Uzoka-Anite. She said the programme would position Nigeria as an export hub for talent outsourcing in Africa following the example of India, Bangladesh, Mexico and The Philippines. Mrs Uzoka-Anite noted that NATEP is a key national initiative that will serve as a

**Credit Expansion, Others Buoy Non-Interest Income By Modupe Gbadeyanka The United Bank for Africa Plc this week released its financial statements for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). During the period under review, the company improved its gross earnings by 14.2 percent to N428.2 billion from N374.8 billion achieved in September 2018 and according to the Group Chief Financial Officer of UBA, Mr Ugo Nwaghodoh, this showed that “bank remains on track to deliver its earnings target for the [present financial] year.” The lender, which boasts of a network that spans 20 African

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The latest edition of the NEITI Quarterly Review released by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has revealed that a total of N2.28 trillion was shared among the three tiers of government comprising federal, state and local governments in the third quarter of 2018. The disbursements were made by the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), with the federal government receiving the highest sum of N904.8 billion, followed by states, which received N718.5 billion and local governments receiving the lowest disbursements of N432.1 billion. “Total FAAC disbursements in the third quarter of 2018 amounted to N2.28 trillion

By Modupe Gbadeyanka African banking giant, Ecobank, has scored another first with its Ecobank Academy becoming the first corporate member of the Global Business School Network (GBSN). GBSN has been building management education capacity in and for the developing world for over 17 years. The core of the network spans 6 continents with more than 100 leading business schools from 50 countries, whose leaders, faculty, and students engage in programs to improve access to quality, locally relevant management and entrepreneurship education. Since its beginning in 1985, the Ecobank Group has been committed to economic and social development across sub-Saharan Africa.

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The current structures of the environmental, sustainability and governance (ESG) should be reviewed for better efficiency, the chief executive officer of the Nigerian Exchange Regulation (NGX RegCo) Limited, Ms Tinuade Awe, has submitted. According to her, the ESG frameworks must be tinkered with to accommodate the changes triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, urging stakeholders to intensify ESG efforts. “Our world is yet to heal from the economic scars caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and now we are facing a climate crisis. These challenges threaten to erase the significant progress made toward sustainable development,” Ms Awe

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) will lead a business delegation on a Trade and Investment Mission to Accra, Ghana and Lagos, Nigeria from March 20-25, 2017. The mission forms part of the dti’s objective to identify and create export markets for South African value-added products and services. It will also serve to promote South African products, and service offerings, whilst creating business partnerships between business communities of the respective countries. The Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies says that the mission is aimed at advancing Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa’s trade and

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Some relief materials have been given to artisans under the aegis of the Lagos State Council for Tradesman and Artisans (LASCOTA). The items were distributed by the Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment on Tuesday to support members of the group who were negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. At the distribution of relief packages at the Lagos State Technical College, Agidingbi, Ikeja, the Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, Mrs Yetunde Arobieke, explained that the items were shared as a reflection of the goodwill of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu towards the informal sector. She said the state

By Adedapo Adesanya The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) daily basket price stood at $43.14 per barrel on Monday. The price dropped 24 cents or 0.55 per cent at the markets on Monday from $43.38 the previous day’s session, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations released on Tuesday. Also known as the OPEC reference basket of crude oil, the OPEC basket, a weighted average of oil prices from different OPEC members around the world, is used as an important benchmark for crude oil prices. The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria),

By Adedapo Adesanya President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the immediate evacuation of all Nigerians who are willing to leave South Africa in the light of recent xenophobic attacks on nationals of other African countries. This was disclosed in a statement issued by President Buhari’s media aide, Mr Femi Adesina, on Monday, September 9. “The Special Envoy conveyed the assurance of President Buhari that the Nigerian Government is ready and willing to collaborate with the South African Government to find a lasting solution to the involvement of few Nigerians in criminal activities, and to protect the lives and property of the