NGX Group Mourns Pa Akintola Williams

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A socio-political group known as Save Enugu Group has congratulated Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State on his recent Supreme Court victory. The organisation described the victory as well-deserved, urging politicians in the state to join forces with the governor to move the state forward. Last Friday, the country’s apex court dismissed an appeal filed by the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the governorship election in the state, Mr Uche Nnaji. The opposition party challenged the victory of Mr Mbah of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the March 18, 2023, gubernatorial poll, asking

By Aduragbemi Omiyale An artificial intelligence-powered feature, Dream Screen for Shorts, designed to redefine how creators use YouTube, has been unveiled by the video streaming platform. The feature was introduced by the tech giant on Thursday alongside others at the Made On YouTube event. It was created to allow YouTube creators to reach more viewers. According to the firm, Dream Screen allows creators to add AI-generated video or image backgrounds to their Shorts simply by typing an idea into a prompt. With Dream Screen, creators will be able to generate new, fantastic settings for their Shorts that are only limited

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 National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) has said there is no genetically modified beans or fruits on sale in the Nigerian market. The Director-General/CEO of the agency, Mr Rufus Ebegba, gave this assurance during a media address on the state of Biosafety in Nigeria on Tuesday in Abuja. Mr Ebegba said: “I want to restate here that the fruits and beans available in the Nigerian market presently are not genetically modified as insinuated rather, they are either hybrids or improved.” He added that the federal government through NBMA is always poised to protect the health of its

By Dipo Olowookere Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, has revealed that more than 60 percent of the 2017 capital projects would be rolled over to next year. The Minister made this disclosure on Tuesday when she appeared before the Senate Committee on Appropriation in Abuja to explain the implementation of the 2017 budget. Mrs Adeosun, who appeared before the lawmakers alongside the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Mr Udoma Udo Udoma, noted that the refusal of the legislative arm of government to approve the executive’s borrowing plans for this year’s budget has made it impossible to implement most

By Adedapo Adesanya The Special Adviser to the President on Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr John Uwajumogu, has said that the administration of Mr Bola Tinubu would be utilising the potential of Free Trade Zones (FTZs) to drive the country’s industrial aspirations. Mr Uwajumogu made this known at a stakeholders’ meeting organised by the Nigeria Economic Zones Association in collaboration with the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) and Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority (OGFZA) to proffer solutions to challenges confronting the smooth operations of the sub-sector. He said, ”The smooth operations of the scheme will accelerate the growth

By Adedapo Adesanya  Oil prices shed earlier gains on Tuesday as President Donald Trump in a speech offered few new details about the United States trade talks with China. As at 9pm Nigerian Time on Tuesday, the Brent crude futures were trading down 13 cents or 0.21 percent at $62.05 per barrel after rising to as high as $62.50 earlier in the day. On the other hand, US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was also down 6 cents or 0.11 percent at $56.80 per barrel, having hit up to $57.09 per barrel on Tuesday morning. President Trump, speaking to the

By Dipo Olowookere Eurobonds worth $500 million have been issued to offshore investors by Access Bank Plc, a notice from the financial institution has confirmed. Last week, the Nigerian lender announced its intention to raise the fresh capital and Absa, Barclays Bank, JP Morgan and Standard Chartered were chosen as joint bookrunners, while Chapel Hill Denham and Rand Merchant Bank were selected as the financial advisors and bookrunners. On Tuesday, the bank informed the investing community that the Eurobond sale was successful as the subscription rate was triple. The net proceeds of the Eurobond, according to the lender, will provide

By Dipo Olowookere Champion Breweries stocks appreciated by 49.52 per cent week-on-week on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited as it closed the week as the best performer at N3.14. The company’s equities recorded a significant increase in demand as well as FBN Holdings, which witnessed growth in value by 29.59 per cent to trade at N12.70. Royal Exchange grew by 12.28 per cent to 64 kobo, while Transcorp Hotels gained 9.94 per cent to sell for N5.97, with International Breweries rising by 9.89 per cent to N5.00. When trading on the exchange closed for the week last

By Oremade Oyedeji Let me start this piece with a transcript from Rev. Badejo’s memorial service held in his honour, a great man of God. For those who don’t know him, Rev. Badejo was the first General Overseer in Nigeria to leave office after completing his term. He left veterinary work in the 90s and worked on many farms as mentioned at the memorial. The last was the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) award-winning Hackon Farm Limited in Ewu Oliwo, Sagamu, Ogun State, where he “shepherded a flock of chicken” before he went into pastoring flocks of men. At the

By Adedapo Adesanya Though the value of shares transacted by investors at the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on the last trading day of the week on Friday, January 31 increased, the prices remained unchanged as there were no price advancer or decliner when trading activities were brought to an end for the week. In addition, the market traded flat during the session as the major performance indices retained their previous levels, with the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI) remaining at 698.56 points and the market capitalisation closing at N502.29 billion. However, the level of activity closed mixed, with the