NRC Suspends Abuja-Kaduna Train Operations After Attack

By Adedapo Adesanya The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a suspect wanted for attempts to ship illicit drug consignments to the United Kingdom. This was made known in a statement signed by the NDLEA spokesman, Mr Femi Babafemi, on Sunday. He further disclosed arrests made by NDLEA operatives through interdiction operations that led to the seizure of four tons of illicit substances in the past week. According to the agency, the suspect, Mr Obiorah Chigozie, had been on its wanted list since September 15. This, he said, was when a consignment of 1.500kg skunk concealed in flour

By Adedapo Adesanya The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) is set to embark on its planned strike as it said it does not have any agreement with the federal government to shelve the action. This came from its Head of Information and Public Affairs, Mr Benson Upah, who countered a statement by the Ministry of Labour and Employment. Mr Upah also said the NLC did not have any date for a meeting with the government that may lead to the suspension of the proposed strike. “We do not have any agreement with the government to suspend the planned strike action. Neither

By Adedapo Adesanya The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has been chosen as the best federal government agency in Digital Transformation. This recognition came from the Presidency through the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR). In a statement, it was disclosed that the Director-General of the maritime regulator, Mr Bashir Jamoh, has been nominated to receive the distinguished GovTech Trailblazers Award for his exemplary leadership. The BPSR explained that the nominees were picked from a nationwide nomination and online voting process initiated by the bureau, as well as a detailed analysis of the performance of all government MDAs

By Bliss Okperan President Bola Tinubu has joined other persons and organisations to rejoice with Muslims all over the globe, particularly in Nigeria, over the birthday celebration of Prophet Mohammed. The federal government declared Wednesday, September 27, 2023, a public holiday for Eid-El-Maulud, and the President, as well as his opponent in the 2023 presidential election, Mr Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP), has joined to celebrate the day. In a statement from the State House in Abuja, Mr Tinubu urged Muslims to use the day “for deep introspection and fervent prayers,” stressing they should “make deliberate efforts to

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira moved in different directions against the US Dollar at the various segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Wednesday, August 17 as the nation struggles to find a solution to the lingering forex crisis putting the indigenous currency under pressure. At the Peer-to-Peer (P2P) market segment, the Nigerian currency depreciated by N2 or 0.29 per cent against the greenback at the midweek session to N692/$1 from the previous day’s N690/$1. However, at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window, the local currency appreciated by N1.29 or 0.3 per cent to settle at N429.38/$1 compared with

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Managing Director of Ecobank Nigeria, Mr Patrick Akinwuntan, has revealed that the company plans to establish not less than 50,000 agent banking locations, also known as Ecobank Xpress Points, across the country before the end of 2019. Mr Akinwuntan explained that this is part of the bank’s commitment to bringing banking operations closer to Nigerian neighbourhoods. Speaking in a media chat with newsmen in Lagos recently, the banker said the move was also in line with the vision of the Pan African lender to ensure the financial inclusion of all Nigerians. According to him, the bank has

By Investors Hub The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a higher opening on Thursday, with stocks poised to regain ground following the weakness seen in the previous session. Early trading may be impacted by reaction to a slew of U.S. economic data, including a report from the Labor Department showing initial jobless claims edged lower in the week ended March 10th. Following the mixed performance seen on Tuesday, stocks moved mostly lower during trading on Wednesday. With the downward move, the tech-heavy Nasdaq pulled back further off the record closing high set on Monday. The Dow tumbled 248.91

By Dipo Olowookere Application for the N15.4 billion rights issue of Nigeria’s largest and oldest business conglomerate, UAC of Nigeria (UACN) Plc, has closed. The exercise was wrapped up on Friday, December 22, 2017 after it had opened on Wednesday, November 15, 2017. UACN floated the rights issue to raise N15.36 billion by offering 960.43 million ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N16 per share to pre-qualified shareholders. The new shares were pre-allotted to shareholders on the basis of one new share for every two shares held as at the close of business on October 19. After deduction of

By Dipo Olowookere Federal Government has assured the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) that its recently launched N100 billion Sukuk bond was not a ploy to Islamise Nigeria through the back door. Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, made this known on the sidelines of an investor conference organised by Stanbic IBTC Bank in Lagos in reaction to cries by the Christian body on the matter. According to the Minister, several non-Arab nations issue the Islamic bond, including South Africa, the United Kingdom and others. Mrs Adeosun explained that the bond would deepen the financial system in Nigeria, noting that

By Adedapo Adesanya The average fare paid by commuters for bus journey within the city increased by 8.2 percent month-on-month from N206.73 in March to N223.71 in April, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has published. This was contained in its Transport Fare Watch report for April 2020 released on Wednesday, May 27, showing that there was a 23.4 percent increase year-on-year. According to the report posted on its website, states of the federation with highest bus journey fare within city were Zamfara N410.00; Kebbi N348.00 and Abuja N332.29. Meanwhile, states with lowest bus fare within city were Bauchi N140.00;

The National Peace Committee has urged Nigerians to give maximum support to government at all levels. Chairman of the committee and former Nigerian Head of State, General Abdulsalam Abubakar (Rtd) stated this in an interview with Journalists, after paying a visit to President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. He said that he is hopedul that the President Muhammadu Buhari led administration will find solution to the threat to peace in some parts of the country. “I hope the current administration; through the assistance of all Nigerians will give a helping hand to make sure that we overcome these

By Dipo Olowookere The demutualisation of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has been described as a step in the right direction because it will in the long run benefit the capital market in general. This was the view of the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr Muhammad Mamman Nami. The nation’s tax chief, thereafter, commended the leadership of the exchange for doing everything possible within its powers to push for the unbundling of the bourse. Last Friday, the FIRS boss had an engagement with the capital market community through the NSE and he was honoured with