Rivers Appoints 18-year-old Sophia Awajibene as Commissioner

By Bliss Okperan The Nasarawa State House of Assembly has announced its election of Danladi Jatau, representing Kokona West Constituency, as the new Speaker. The state parliament also disclosed on Friday that it now has a new Deputy Speaker, who is Mohammed Oyanki, the lawmaker representing Doma North Constituency. The election of the two principal officers of the legislative arm of the state followed the sacking of its former Speaker, Mr Ibrahim Abdullahi, by the Appeal Court sitting in Abuja on Tuesday. While the new Speaker is a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), his deputy is a member

By Adedapo Adesanya Tata International is set to expand operations in Nigeria through a strategic partnership with the Lagos Free Zone (LFZ) following the signing of a fresh arrangement. The agreement was signed in the presence of the Managing Director of Tata International Limited, Mr Anand Sen, by the Managing Director of Tata Africa Holdings Pty Ltd, Mr Len Brand. This move will help Tata International build on its existing relationship in the country since 2006 when it established operations in Nigeria. “As a brand synonymous with quality products and ethical business operations in Africa, Tata International is excited to

By Dipo Olowookere President Bola Tinubu has arrived at the National Assembly to present the 2024 Appropriation Bill to the federal lawmakers. The President got to the parliament at about a few minutes past 11 am on Wednesday, November 29, 2023, and was accompanied by the Vice President, Mr Kashim Shettima; his Chief of Staff, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila; the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Abdullahi Gandoje; and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr George Akume; among others. He is expected to present the 2024 budget of N27.5 trillion to a joint

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Fresh information emerging from Kogi State has it that candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the Kogi East Senatorial District for the 2019 elections, Mr Attai Aidoko, has made a desperate move to retain his seat at the National Assembly. This followed the discouraging body languages of majority of the divisional party chairmen whom he appreciated for enhancing the impunity that offered him the contentious senatorial ticket of the party. It was gathered that the lawmaker has resorted to constituting a group of nine wise men purportedly to checkmate what he refers to as “distrust

By Adedapo Adesanya Nigeria spent 96.3 per cent of the revenue made in the 2022 fiscal year on servicing its debts, the World Bank has reported. This means for every N1, the country made last year, it uses about 96 Kobo to service its worrying debt stock, which amounted to N46.25 trillion at the end of last year. This raises fresh worries, said the global lender in its Macro Poverty Outlook for Nigeria: April 2023 brief. According to the report, Nigeria’s fiscal position deteriorated in 2022, leaving the cost of the petrol subsidy to increase from 0.7 per cent to

By Adedapo Adesanya The management of Arik Air has announced plans for the resumption of domestic flights following the green light by the federal government to local airline operators. The government had last week announced a phased-reopening of its air space for domestic flights, with a date for international operations to be announced later when the coast is clear. During the announcement, it was stated that airline operators can resume operations in Lagos and Abuja from Wednesday, July 8, 2020, after almost four months of inactivity. Arik Air, alongside other airlines, had suspended operations on March 27 after the federal

By Dipo Olowookere The role of Dangote Group in the President Muhammadu Buhari administration’s plan for economic recovery and growth has been applauded. Speaking while declaring the Kaduna International Trade Fair open at the weekend, the President urged the private sector operators to join hand in bolstering nation’s economy. He described them as key to modern economic growth and development, pointing out that government was desirous of providing the enabling environment for investments to thrive. Mr Buhari, who was represented by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr Ekechukwu Enelama, commended the role of the Dangote Group and private

By Dipo Olowookere ETranzact International Plc has been reclassified from a medium-priced stock to a low-priced stock by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). This followed the trading of the company’s equities by investors below the N5 per share mark in the last six months. According to a statement issued on Tuesday by spokesman of the stock market regulator, Mr Joseph Kadiri, the downgrading of eTranzact was in compliance with ‘Rule 15.29: Pricing Methodology, Rulebook of The Exchange, 2015,’ on dealing members. “ETranzact dropped below the N5 mark on 15 February 2018 and traded below N5 up till close of business

By Adedapo Adesanya The Federal Government of Nigeria disclosed that it has implemented plans to recover the N614 billion budget support loan it gave to 35 states of the federation. This was according to the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, yesterday while briefing State House correspondents following the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja. “The Minister of Finance briefed NEC on the progress of the facility, detailing how the Federal Government has made a total of over N614 billion available to 35 states being N17.5 billion each,” she said. She added that the council

By Dipo Olowookere Yesterday, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) conducted the second Open Market Operations (OMO) for the week. During the exercise, the apex bank mopped up excess liquidity worth N364.98 billion from the system to curb inflation. From the exercise, the central bank sold N23 million worth of the 91-day bill from the N100 billion offered to investors at 11.50 percent. Also, the bank raked N78.67 from the 182-day note after auctioning N150 billion worth of the instrument and receiving subscriptions valued at N79.67 billion. This cleared at 13 percent, the same rate during Tuesday’s exercise. In addition,

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Nigerian Naira was traded at the parallel market on Wednesday the same rate it was sold on Tuesday at the same segment of the foreign exchange market. The local currency had lost N5 to the Dollar on Tuesday after exchanging at N405 against the American currency on Monday. The decline came when the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) sold $100 million to the foreign exchange market in a bid to give the Naira strength. However, the Naira depreciated against both the Pound Sterling and the Euro at the black market yesterday, trading at N499 and N435