Buhari Suspends Inauguration of NNPC Board

By Adedapo Adesanya Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have uncovered illicit substances bound for Europe, the United Arab Emirates and Asia. Disclosing this in a statement on Sunday, NDLEA spokesman, Mr Femi Babafemi, said the illicit substances intercepted included various quantities of methamphetamine and opioids concealed in hems of new jeans trousers, dolls, buttons, local soap and tins of milo beverage. He noted that the operation was carried out by operatives of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) at courier houses in Lagos, he said some of the items seized included tramadol 225mg concealed

By Bliss Okperan The Minister of FCT, Mr Nyesom Wike, has been advised to extend an olive branch to the Governor of Rivers State, Mr Siminialayi Fubara. The Minister, who handed over the reins of Rivers State to Mr Fubara, has been at loggerheads with his successor. A few weeks ago, some lawmakers of the Rivers State House of Assembly loyal to Mr Wike attempted to impeach the Governor, but President Bola Tinubu quickly intervened and doused the tension. However, all is still not well with both parties, with the Minister granting an interview last week to accuse his ‘political

By Adedapo Adesanya  The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has announced a collaboration with Allied Climate Partners (ACP) that will help create a pipeline of viable climate investments in emerging markets including Southeast Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and Central America, and India. ACP’s new platform is backed by philanthropic capital and designed to mobilize investment in climate-related projects in emerging economies to create significant environmental, economic, and social impact. In a statement seen by Business Post, the parties said the collaboration with IFC will provide advisory and structuring support, technical assistance, and sustainability and impact-management support as needed to help bring

By Adedapo Adesanya As part of efforts towards actualizing the federal government’s economic diversification agenda, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has unveiled new standards for renewable energy. According to the Director-General of SON, Mr Farouk Salim, apart from increasing access to power supply across the country, the new standards would open up improved investments in the sector. Mr Salim explained that the solar power industry relies heavily on standardisation, adding that renewable energy has become increasingly important across the country. The new standards are energy meters, solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, inverters, batteries, and charge controllers. According to the standards

By Adedapo Adesanya Oil prices closed higher by about 4 per cent on Friday, supported by real and threatened cuts to supply, with Brent growing by $3.69 or 4.1 per cent to settle at $92.84 a barrel and the United States West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude increasing by $3.25 or 3.9 per cent to settle at $86.79 a barrel. Despite Friday’s bounce, both crude benchmarks headed for a weekly drop, with Brent down by about 0.6 per cent after hitting its lowest since January at one point and the WTI declining by 0.3 per cent on a week-on-week basis. Russian

By Dipo Olowookere One of the five biggest banks operating in Nigeria, FBN Holdings Plc, recently released its financial scorecard for the first six months of this year. In the financial statements, the company disclosed that its interest income depreciated by 3 percent to N225.404 billion from the N232.378 billion recorded in the first half of last year. Also, its net interest income depreciated to N149.640 billion from N164.085 billion. However, the firm said its operating profit increased to N38.854 billion from N35.434 billion, while the profit before tax went up to N38.876 billion from N35.628 billion, with the profit

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Five first-class female graduates of universities in Nigeria have been celebrated by Ecobank Ellevate as part of activities to commemorate this year’s International Women’s Month. The Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications at Ecobank Nigeria, Mr Babajide Sipe, explained that the recognition and celebration of the graduates were in line with the bank’s deliberate policy to promote distinction and excellence. According to him, one of the ways to create a society that is free of bias and gender-based discrimination is to identify, recognize and reward excellence among the female folks in all spheres of life, noting that

By Adedapo Adesanya Amid an increase in trading value and volume, the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange ended in the positive territory on Thursday, January 26, as it shot up by 0.34 per cent. This was buoyed by the increase in the share price of Central Securities Clearing Systems (CSCS) Plc by 50 Kobo to N13.00 per unit from N12.50 per unit, and the surge in the price of FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc by 30 Kobo to N62.48 per unit from the preceding session’s N62.18 per unit. This jerked the total value of the unlisted securities market by N3.09 billion

By Dipo Olowookere After years of serving his jail term in the United Kingdom, former Governor of Delta State, Mr James Ibori, has regained his freedom. Mr Ibori was convicted by a court in the UK for offences bordering on fraud. During his trial, the politician confessed purchasing six foreign properties and a fleet of cars with the stolen funds of about £200 million. He was sentenced to prison for 13 years after pleading guilty to 10 charges of fraud and money laundering in February 2012. However, on Wednesday, a UK Court ordered his unconditional release, nevertheless held that the

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The appointment of Mr Said Modibbo Ahmed as the director of Rak Unity Petroleum has been announced by the company. Mr Ahmed, a 1974 Business Administration first class graduate from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, was announced by the Board of Directors of RAK Unity Petroleum Company Plc at its 12th meeting held on Thursday, October 27, 2016 at Block 5, Water Corporation Road, Ijora G.R.A, Lagos. He is expected to fill the casual vacancy on the Board created by the resignation of Mallam Muhammad Lawan Buba. Mr Ahmed boasts of a Masters in Public and International

By Modupe Gbadeyanka An agreement has been signed between Wema Bank Plc and a private institution in Ekiti State, Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, (ABUAD), to finance projects in the school in partnership with the African Development Bank (AfDB) and three other local lenders. The projects to be financed by Wema Bank Plc are under the university’s Infrastructure Development Programme Phase II. The projects under consideration include a 400-bed teaching hospital, an industrial research park, a post-graduate school, student hostels, a central library, and a small-scale hydropower plant. “Wema Bank has always supported projects that can improve access to affordable