Sahara Group Backs Mercy Ships’ Saving Lives Initiative

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 Bliss Okperan The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has accused a former presidential candidate of the party, Mr Rabiu Kwankwaso, of being responsible for the sacking of the Governor of Kano State, Mr Yusuf Abba, at the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal on Wednesday. A three-man panel led by Justice Oluyemi Akintan-Osadebay removed Mr Abba as Governor, ordering the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to hand the Certificate of Return to the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the poll, Mr Nasir Gawuna. Reacting to the development, a chieftain of NNPP in Southwest, Mr Abass Akande Onilewura, alleged

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 Modupe Gbadeyanka The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) commenced the new trading week on a bearish note, losing 0.91 percent at the end of transactions on Monday, and trimming the year-to-date return to 36.13 percent. It was the first official day at work for President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa after being away for over 100 days for a medical attention in London. The stock market had closed on Friday on a positive with investors optimistic that the rally would be extended today. However, heavy losses recorded by large-cap stocks like Nestle and Dangote Cement dragged the market to

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Lagos State Government has clarified that the newly introduced N800 daily Consolidated Informal Transport Sector Levy in the state was a structure put in place to reduce multiple taxes, dues and levies to all agents of state and local governments. On Tuesday, the Commissioner for Finance, Mr Rabiu Olowo, at a ceremony in Alausa, officially unveiled the scheme along with other stakeholders. It was to harmonise dues collected by the government from commercial motorists at parks and garages across the state. The commercial drivers were asked to pay a flat fee of N800 daily with effect

Nneka Okumazie There’s a chance that when African political leaders gather, some say to others that you’re not impoverishing your people enough. Those in that chatter can be said to be in the group of poverty. Then there is a committee of corruption, seeking or giving advice on ways to get gains off some investment, program, or policy. There is also a group of dictators, reemphasizing how to handle any kind of threat against their power. Yes, maybe it happens often, maybe not, but the very slow progress, especially against poverty across sub-Saharan Africa shows how much all the multiple

By Adedapo Adesanya Crude oil prices climbed more than 1 per cent on Friday after better-than-expected US employment data ended the days of drops. Brent rose $1.19 or 1.5 per cent to $82.78 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) was up 96 cents or 1.3 per cent at $76.68 per barrel. Expectations of further rate hikes in the world’s largest economy, the US and in Europe have troubled the global growth outlook and driven both crude benchmarks down this week. However, US employment data for February beat expectations, with nonfarm payrolls rising by 311,000, compared with expectations

By Dipo Olowookere The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Tuesday continued its efforts to strengthen the local currency with the injection of $210 million into the foreign exchange market (Forex). This was to ensure forex dealers meet demands of their customers. A breakdown of the injection showed that $100 million was allotted to authorised dealers in the wholesale segment of the market, while the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) segment got $55 million and another $55 million allotted to invisibles to cater for those in need of forex for tuition fees, medical payments and Basic Travel Allowance (BTA), among

By Dipo Olowookere Automatic promotion in public schools across Oyo State has been banned by the state government. This information was revealed at a ministerial press briefing by the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Professor Adeniyi Olowofela. The Commissioner noted that there was a surgical operation going on in the education sector in the state starting with automatic promotion which he said adversely affected the standard of education not only in Oyo state but Nigeria as a whole. He explained that the state government has introduced the ‘No Automatic Promotion” policy and started a unified examination system as well

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The quest of a leading one-stop retail supermarket in Nigeria, Justrite Superstore, to significantly cut down its energy costs is becoming a reality as the company has signed a solar energy deal with a Norwegian company, Empower New Energy, for the installation of solar power at 10 of its stores in the country. Recall that last month, the Chairman of Justrite, Mr Ayodele Patrick Aderinwale, disclosed that the company’s energy costs in 2022 significantly increased by more than 500 per cent. He stated that the management was making efforts to cut these energy expenses, especially with the

By Ahmed Rahma If the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is to succeed as expected, then the financial services industry must be allowed to play a pivotal role. This was the submission of the Managing Director of Ecobank Nigeria, Mr Patrick Akinwuntan, who said banks and other players in the sector have the ability to facilitate the liberalisation process. According to him, the industry will be responsible for facilitating transactions, mobilising savings, allocating capital funds and monitoring managers so that the funds allocated will be utilised as envisaged, as well as managing risks. “Nigeria banks have strong capital and