Delta Women Praise Judiciary Over Akpoti-Uduaghan’s Victory

By Bliss Okperan A news report filtering in indicates that a part of the Supreme Court complex in Abuja has been gutted by fire. The incident, according to what Business Post gathered, happened on Monday morning. It was said that offices of three justices were affected by the inferno, whose cause is yet unknown at the time of filing this report. Details later…

By Adedapo Adesanya The federal government has declared Monday, October 2, 2023, a public holiday to celebrate Nigeria’s 63rd Independence Day, which falls on Sunday, October 1. The Minister of Interior, Mr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, made this known in a statement signed by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mrs Oluwatoyin Akinlade, in Abuja on Thursday. Mr Olubunmi acknowledged the global socio-economic hardship, noting that Nigeria is not excluded. He, however, reasserted the government’s commitment to tackling the issues facing the country to reassure Nigerians. “It is today a known fact that difficult Socio-Economic and Security challenges are global, and Nigeria is not

By Adedapo Adesanya The chief executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Mr Gbenga Komolafe, has cancelled all activities lined up for his 60th birthday amid increased calls for his sack. Mr Komolafe, a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), turned the milestone age on Tuesday, September 26 and there was a planned thanksgiving service to mark the day slated for this Saturday, September 30. However, he said that amid the current economic state in the country, he has decided to cancel all the planned celebrations, according to a report by Premium Times. This development comes

By Adedapo Adesanya The Norwegian Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) leasing firm, BW Offshore, has closed the transaction for the sale of the Nigerian vessel, Abo FPSO, after several short-term charter extensions for $20 million. FPSO refers to a floating vessel located near an offshore oil field, where oil is processed and stored until it can be transferred to a tanker for transporting and additional refining. BW Offshore closed the transaction for the sale of Abo FPSO to STAC Marine Offshore Limited, a member of the Nigerian Transport Group (STAC). As part of the transaction, BW Offshore has entered

By Adedapo Adesanya The proposed rights issue of a proprietary investment company, VFD Group Plc, has received clearance from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm plans to raise about N4.1 billion from the exercise with the sale of 7,452,054 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N556 per share on the basis of one share for every 16 shares held. The VFD Group rights issue was approved by the board of directors of the company at its Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held last November. Proceeds from the exercise would be used to finance the long-term strategic plan of

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Director General of Nigeria Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), Mr Babatunde Salako, has been appointed as Chairman of the National Health Research Committee inaugurated on Friday by Minister of State for Health, Mr Olorunnimbe Mamora. The renowned Nephrologist is expected to bring his experience and other members on the panel to bear for the benefit of the nation at this time of COVID-19 pandemic. At the induction, the Minister explained that the committee was constituted because of the lack of synergy among the various research institutions, the academia and policy makers despite the development of the

By Modupe Gbadeyanka As China rolls out ‘Healthy China 2030’ initiative and gets committed to deepening the supply-side structural reforms in 2017, Healthcare China 2017, a healthcare investment conference in China, will gather business insiders to help industry players succeed in the fast-growing healthcare market. Last October, the Chinese government approved a blueprint called “Healthy China 2030”, pledging to build a healthy China in the next 15 years. By 2030, the size of the healthcare market is expected to reach $2.3 trillion. This initiative is in line with China’s determination to deepen the supply-side structural reforms in 2017 by substantially

By Aduragbemi Omiyale Commodity exchanges have been tasked to have investor protection at the centre of their operations to improve investor confidence and attract more investors. This charge was given by the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr Lamido Yuguda, at the presentation of Eko Gold Coins to the agency by the Lagos Futures and Commodities Exchange in Abuja on Thursday. Mr Yuguda specifically urged the LCFE and the entire value chain to always have investor protection at the core of their work because, eventually, this is what will make the product succeed. “Now, the gold itself

By Adedapo Adesanya The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit against President Muhammadu Buhari over his refusal to publish names of suspected looters of N6 trillion Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) funds between 2000 and 2019, as documented in the recent Forensic Audit Report on the agency. In the suit filed at the Federal High Court, Abuja, SERAP is seeking “an order of mandamus to direct and compel President Buhari to publish the names of those indicted in the alleged misappropriation of over N6trn in the running of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) between 2000

By Dipo Olowookere The trio of FBN Holdings, GTCO and Sterling Bank contributed 45.85 per cent and 30.63 per cent to the total trading volume and value of shares transacted on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited last week. In the week, the three companies traded 638.3 million shares worth N8.5 billion in 4,116 deals. According to data from the exchange, investors exchanged 1.4 billion shares worth N27.9 billion in 19,990 deals in the five-day trading week in contrast to the 1.5 billion shares worth N20.9 billion transacted in 20,410 deals a week earlier. A breakdown showed that

By Dipo Olowookere Global Credit Ratings has affirmed the national scale ratings assigned to Wema Bank Plc of BBB-(NG) and A3(NG) in the long-term and short-term respectively; with the outlook accorded as Stable. A statement issued by the local rating agency explained that it affirmed the rating because the mid-sized bank has recorded some improvements lately. It said Wema Bank was presently focusing on deepening its market share particularly within the retail banking segment through increased presence and digitisation. The lender’s risk-weighted capital adequacy ratio (CAR) improved to 14.3 percent at FY17 (FY16:11.1 percent), supported by a reduction in risk

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Most stock exchanges work according to the forces of supply and demand, which determine the prices at which stocks are bought and sold. What this means is that no trade can occur until one participant is willing to sell the stock at a price at which another is willing to buy it, or until an equilibrium is reached. If there are more buyers than sellers, the stock’s price will rise due to increased demand. On the other hand, if more people are selling a stock, its price will decrease. During a regular trading day, the balance between