InTouch, GTP to Unlock Financial Inclusion for African Consumers

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The Vice President, Mr Kashim Shettima, has charged the National Assembly to continue to cooperate with the executive arm of government, noting that governance is a collective responsibility and not a personal endeavour. He said this at the retreat for the leadership of the 10th National Assembly last Friday at the Four Points by Sheraton, Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State. Mr Shettima said the administration of President Ahmed Tinubu was committed to safeguarding Nigeria’s democracy and maintaining the fraternal bond between the two arms of government. He described the composition of the federal government as well as

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

By Adedapo Adesanya  The Senate and the House of Representatives will on Tuesday resume plenary after weeks of vacation with expectations that they will attend to correspondences from President Bola Tinubu. The upper chamber adjourned for a six-week annual recess on August 17 after confirmating 45 out of the 48 ministerial nominees of President Tinubu. The Senate President, Mr Godswill Akpabio, also announced the composition of 74 standing committees on that day. Upon resumption, the Senate will commence its legislative duties by attending to correspondences from the President requesting the confirmation of some appointments he made. The appointments include those

By Adedapo Adesanya Nigeria’s former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke, who faces bribery charges filed against her by the United Kingdom (UK) government, was on Monday granted bail in a London court. Reading his judgement, District Judge Michael Snow granted her bail in terms and conditions, including a curfew that ordered her to stay indoors between 11 pm and 6 am. He also ordered her to always wear an electronic tag and imposed a £70,000 surety to be paid before she could leave the court building on Monday. According to Reuters, the former minister, during her Monday appearance

By Adedapo Adesanya President Bola Tinubu on Monday asked South African companies to consider investing in the Nigerian solid minerals development sector, promising them a conducive environment. Mr Tinubu made this call when he held talks with his South African counterpart, Mr Cyril Ramaphosa, in New York City ahead of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). According to a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Ajuri Ngelale, the Nigerian leader advanced his economic development diplomatic drive for investment attraction during the engagement. He told Mr Ramaphosa that, “South African mining industries have a

By Adedapo Adesanya President Bola Tinubu has inaugurated the National Economic Council (NEC) with a promise to sustain the rejuvenation of the nation’s economy. Membership of the NEC comprises the 36 State Governors, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and other co-opted government officials. Those in attendance at the time the meeting commenced were Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara State, Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State, Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, Governor Biodun Oyebanji of Ekiti State, Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa, Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State, Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State, Governor

By Dipo Olowookere Head of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), Mr David Shearer, has described the lack of information about the situation of some 20,000 internally displaced people on the west bank of the Nile in the north of South Sudan, as a “real problem.” Mr Shearer was making his first field trip to the town of Malakal after taking up his position as UNMISS head four weeks ago. UNMISS believes that the 20,000 people have fled towards Kodok from Wau Shilluk, a town eight miles north of the UN base in Malakal on the west bank of

By Dipo Olowookere The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Sunday declared the September 22, 2018 governorship election in Osun State “inconclusive.” INEC Returning Officer for the poll, Joseph Adeola, while announcing the results on Sunday afternoon, disclosed that the margin between the two major candidates at the election was too small to declare a clear winner. According to him, the number of cancelled votes was higher than the margin between Mr Gboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Mr Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). However, he said the date for the run-off election would

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The mock examination for the 2017 Unified Tertiary Matriculations Examinations (UTME) organised by the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) will hold as planned on Saturday, April 29, 2017 (today). The exam was earlier slated to hold on April 8, 2017, but was postponed till today due to some technical issues, which JAMB said have been resolved. On Friday night, the agency released a statement to refute reports being circulated that the exercise had been shifted again. Spokesperson of JAMB, Dr Fabian Benjamin, in the statement, described peddlers of the reports as “mischievous characters,” confusing Nigerians with

By Investors Hub European stocks are falling for a sixth consecutive session on Monday as investors fret about higher interest rates and coalition negotiations between German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative party and the Social Democrats broke down over the weekend. French President Emmanuel Macron’s party lost two by-elections for parliamentary seats on Sunday and the dollar paused after recovering somewhat on Friday on the back of robust U.S. employment data, further weighing on markets. While the German DAX Index is down by 0.9 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index are down by 1.3 percent

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The management of Lagos Business School (LBS) has commenced the process of building an International Management Research Centre to be named after the late Nigerian technocrat and administrator, Mr Gamaliel Onosode. To mark the occasion, a sod-turning ceremony was held at the centre’s construction premises at the Lagos Business School on Wednesday, November 29, 2017. LBS received a generous donation from the Onosode family, on behalf of the Gamaliel and Susan Onosode Foundation (GAMSU), for the research centre project. The foundation is a non-profit and non-political organization, set out to provide the enabling environment for the success

By Modupe Gbadeyanka President Muhammadu Buhari has reiterated the importance of the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation (OAuGF), declaring that with the help of the OAuGF, the country can do much more in audit reforms. Mr Buhari, represented by the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, made this declaration at the launch and public presentation of a 5-year Strategic Development Plan for the OAuGF on Thursday, September 21, 2017 Mrs Adeosun, who commended the efforts of the OAuGF at producing quality audit work in spite of limited funding, congratulated the office on its good work of producing a