Nigeria Lifts Twitter Ban After Seven Months

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 Bliss Okperan The early morning fire that gutted a part of the Supreme Court complex in Abuja has been blamed on an electrical malfunction. The Director of Information of the apex court, Mr Festus Akande, said this on Monday morning when he appeared on Arise Television’s breakfast programme, The Morning Show. According to him, preliminary investigation showed that the fire was triggered by an electrical fault, playing down rumours that the Supreme Court was attacked by arsonists. Attention is on the apex court over the outcome of the presidential election held on Saturday, February 15, 2023. The Appeal Court

By Adedapo Adesanya President Bola Tinubu has promised fresh growth and job reforms in the coming months after he removed fuel subsidies and directed the float of the Naira to unify the exchange rate. The Nigerian president made this known during his first address at the 78th United Nations General Assembly in New York, the US, after he took over the helm of office from Mr Muhammadu Buhari in May. He said, “To foster economic growth and investor confidence in Nigeria, I removed the costly and corrupt fuel subsidy while also discarding a noxious exchange rate system in my first

By Adedapo Adesanya The House of Representatives has urged the Federal Ministry of Power and the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to urgently provide funds for the completion of the Okpai–Kwale Transmission Line Project in Delta State. At the plenary on Tuesday, the lower chamber of the parliament mandated its Committee on Power to ensure that bottlenecks mitigating against the completion of the project are effectively addressed and the project is completed in due time. This followed a motion moved by Mr Nnamdi Ezechi, the lawmaker representing Ndokwa/UKwuani Federal Constituency in the National Assembly on the floor of the green

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Popular Nigerian actor, Jim Iyke, has added colour and glamour to the ‘Resume or Resign’ protest led by famous entertainer, Charles Oputa, otherwise known as Charly Boy. Also joining the daily sit-out initiative is Aisha Yesufu of the famous Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) campaign calling for the return of the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls in 2014. Yesterday, Charly Boy fainted after police fired teargas at the protesters calling for the resignation of President Muhammadu Buhari if he fails to resume to work. Mr Buhari left the shores of the country on May 7, 2017 to London to

The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a modestly lower opening on Friday after stocks closed lower for six consecutive sessions. Profit taking may contribute to early weakness on Wall Street after the recent winning streak lifted the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 to new record closing highs. Renewed concerns about the investigation of Russian meddling in the presidential election may also weigh on the markets amid reports President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner has come under FBI scrutiny. Trading activity may be somewhat subdued on the day, however, as some traders look to get a

By Dipo Olowookere Trading in the shares of Conoil Plc and 10 other companies on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has been suspended. The firms were sanctioned today by the NSE, which prohibited the exchange of their equities on the platform for failing to adhere to rules of the stock market. A statement issued on Tuesday by the Head of Listings Regulation Department at the NSE, Mr Godstime Iwenekhai, gave the names of the other companies as FTN Cocoa Processors Plc, Goldlink Insurance Plc, Guinea Insurance Plc and Lasaco Assurance Plc. Others are Niger Insurance Plc, R.T. Briscoe (Nigeria) Plc,

By Adedapo Adesanya The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.59 per cent on Friday, September 8, with investors smiling home with N6.52 billion to close that market capitalisation at N1.116 trillion compared with Thursday’s value of N1.109 trillion. Also, the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI) appreciated on the last trading session of the week by 4.65 points to finish at 796.04 points compared with the preceding trading session’s 791.39 points. Yesterday, Aradel Holdings Plc closed as the best-performing stock after it improved its value by N46.01 to trade at N507.01 per share compared to Thursday’s closing value of

By Dipo Olowookere Luno on Tuesday announced expanding into 35 new markets across Europe, and a $9 million Series B funding round led by London-based Balderton Capital, one of Europe’s leading venture capital firms. New investors AlphaCode and existing investors Digital Currency Group also participated in the round. This follows Luno’s $4 million Series A round, which was led by emerging market tech giant Naspers. Luno is one of the world’s most popular Bitcoin platforms, making it easy for people to buy, sell and learn about digital currencies. With a team of over 70 and offices in London, Singapore and

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) has said it collaborates with government agencies to address illicit financial flows in the country. The president of the group, Mr Aminu Gwadabe, while speaking in Lagos last week, said his members regularly report suspicious foreign exchange transactions to the appropriate authorities. Recall that in 2021, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) stopped the sale of FX to BDCs over allegations that they aid financial terrorism as criminals use their channel to carry out trades that sabotage the nation. But Mr Gwadabe said members of ABCON are

By Adedapo Adesanya The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) recorded a 10 per cent growth in its net income in the first six months of the year. the unaudited financial statements of the bank said the net income grew to $150.8 million from $137.6 million in the same period of last year. According to a statement from the Cairo-based lender, the rise in the net income was mainly driven by a strong growth in net fee and commission income, which rose by 134 per cent in the period. The net interest income for the period grew by 17 per cent to

By Dipo Olowookere Heritage Bank has resumed the sale of foreign exchange (forex) to small medium enterprises (SMEs) and parents wishing to pay school fees for their wards. This followed the resumption of the provision of over $100 million per week to all commercial banks by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The sale of FX to SMEs is to enable busines owners to make essential imports needed to revamp economic activities across the country, which was locked down for over a month. Also, as part of proactive measures to cushion the effect of the COVID-19 and revamp the nation’s