I Have Nothing Against Jonathan—Tambuwal

By Precious Olisa Three Nigerian women entrepreneurs have been selected among 24 finalists for the 2023 African Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF) awards. The Nigerians are the CEO of Bridge Merchant Enterprise (Agri Entrepreneur Award), Ms Chinwendu Nweke; the CEO of Clean Technology Hub (Energy Entrepreneur Award), Ms Ifeoma Malo; and the co-founder/CEO of D-Olivette Global Enterprise, (Social Entrepreneur Award), Ms Damilola Aminat Adeyemi. Launched in 2017, the annual AWIEF Awards is an initiative to recognise, honour, and celebrate women entrepreneurs and business owners in Africa across various industry sectors for their achievements and contribution to the continent’s inclusive

By Adedapo Adesanya Twenty-two oil and gas companies have been selected as successful bidders for the gas flare commercialisation programme of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission ((NUPRC). The 2022 Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialization Programme (NGFCP) auction process was for 49 Flare Sites put forward by the agency under the erstwhile administration of Mr Muhammadu Buhari. The immediate past government in December 2016 launched NGFCP to involve third-party investors or off-takers in harnessing gas released as a by-product of oil production, a crucial part of the seven big wins of the administration for the oil and gas sector. Launched by

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 Dipo Olowookere On Monday, there were rumours that Mr Godwin Emefiele had been removed as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) by President Muhammadu Buhari. These rumours, which went viral on social media, forced the CBN to quickly clarify that Mr Emefiele was still in charge of the apex bank in Nigeria. Mr Emefiele, who was appointed by former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2014, will complete his first five-year term in office on June 3, 2019. However, he can be reappointed by the President for another final second term of five years. One problem is that most

By Dipo Olowookere Shareholders of WAPIC Insurance have been advised to partake in the rights issue of the company because the price the shares are being offered has the likelihood of yielding a 18.42 percent gain. The company is planning to rake N5.9 billion from the exercise by offering 15.6 billion ordinary shares on the basis of 7 new shares for every 6 existing ordinary shares held as at the close of business on Thursday, September 19, 2019 at 38 kobo per unit. According to analysts at Meristem Research, smart investors can buy the rights issue based on their projection

By Adedapo Adesanya Ugandan President, Mr Yoweri Museveni, has won the controversial presidential election with 58.6 per cent of the votes cast, according to the country’s electoral commission. The incumbent will now serve a sixth term as president of the East African nation following some of the worst pre-election violence since the 76-year-old took office in 1986. His main opposition, Bobi Wine, has alleged vote-rigging throughout the process and had strong support in urban centres where frustration with unemployment and corruption remain high. The result, which was announced by the Ugandan election commission chairman, Mr Simon Mugenyi Byabakama, showed that

By Dipo Olowookere All is now set for the Nigeria edition of Africa’s flagship innovation conference, The Emergent Continent, organized by TheNerve Africa, a global growth information company focused on continental Africa. The host city for the heroic occasion in Lagos and it will hold on Wednesday, November 16, 2016. Organizers of the conference said the theme, ‘Make Innovation Happen’, was carefully chosen to draw the attention of the global media to undocumented innovative projects currently happening on the African continent. Already, The Nerve Africa has partnered with the Lagos Business School as its knowledge partners to embark on an

By Dipo Olowookere World’s leading international express services provider, DHL, today announced its partnership with e-commerce giant, MallforAfrica’s new platform, Marketplace Africa, to help online retailers bring African-made products to the US and global market. The site offers items from the continent’s most talented designers and artisans from a variety of categories including fashion, body care, handbags, jewelry and home décor. Until today, African craftspeople have been isolated from global customers due to distance, fear of not receiving overseas payments, and complex shipping requirements. Customers who wished to purchase products directly from African artisans faced obstacles regarding accessibility of items,

By Dipo Olowookere On Wednesday, President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) Bill into law, spliting the unit from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Mr Ita Enang, informed newsmen that the NFIU was the Nigerian arm of the global Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs), which he said, was hitherto domiciled in the EFCC as an autonomous unit operating in the African region. Mr Enang, who added that the unit, which also had the responsibility to receive, request, analyse, and disseminate financial intelligence to relevant agencies,

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Debt Management Office (DMO) said the total debt profile of Nigeria rose to N24.4 trillion in December 2018 from N21.7 trillion in 2017, indicating a 12.25 percent rise in 12 months. Director General of DMO, Ms Patience Oniha, while addressing the media on Thursday in Abuja disclosed that the funds were borrowed to fund projects, to finance budget deficit and to refinance maturing obligations, adding that some foreign debts were used to refinance treasury bills because of the short tenor of the bills. The debt office chief noted that borrowing from abroad had also helped to

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Diamond Bank Plc has re-affirmed its commitments to continue to provide quality service delivery to its customers all times. Diamond Bank was among the nine commercial banks barred from foreign exchange transactions in the country by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The banks were accused by the apex bank of infringement on the Treasury Single Account (TSA) directive last year. Diamond Bank, in a statement issued on Wednesday in Lagos, reassured its customers of enhanced quality service delivery and commitment to meet its banking obligations despite the CBN announcement. The bank stated that as a financial