General
Stanbic IBTC Celebrates the Yuletide Season with “21 Days of Christmas”

In the spirit of this year’s Yuletide, Stanbic IBTC launched a 21 Days of Christmas Campaign, aimed at supporting its customers with products and services that meet their lifestyle needs.
This campaign serves to encourage customers to spread cheer this holiday season, while also reminding them of the wide range of Stanbic IBTC products designed to ease everyday living.
The products range from the ability to receive payments seamlessly without getting charged when using C’Gate, to being able to gift someone a mutual fund, to getting extra cash needed for the year-end celebrations using a personal credit card loan, customers can enjoy seamless financial solutions from Stanbic IBTC this holiday season.
Understanding the importance of having cash on hand to cater to self, family and loved ones this season, the financial organisation is reminding customers to take advantage of its EZ Cash product which provides instant loans that can be paid up over 12 months at a meagre 2.5 per cent interest.
Also, customers can access up to 50 per cent of their next salary in the form of salary advance, to meet urgent financial demands ahead of the festivities. Besides loans, the institution is also making cash more accessible by enabling ATM withdrawals without the use of a debit card using a simple paycode feature.
Not leaving out business owners, Stanbic IBTC has also provided an overdraft offer for entrepreneurial clients to stock up their stores or buy goods needed to meet their customers’ demands this season.
In the spirit of giving, Stanbic IBTC is encouraging customers to gift mutual funds that can help loved ones achieve their financial goals over the short, medium and long term. With as little as N5000, customers can buy mutual fund gifts for others, and those who spread the most cheer, stand a chance of getting rewarded with mutual funds.
Still on giving, customers can get between 5 to 10 per cent discounts when they shop with their Stanbic IBTC Mastercard or Stanbic IBTC Verve debit cards at various malls and outlets such as Hubmart, Pricepally, Chicken Republic, Konga, Kwik Delivery and Kwik Bites. Not to forget the @Ease Slash, which offers a reduction in bank charges on @Ease wallet to a flat rate of N10 from the regular bank charge for transactions.
To ensure that customers enjoy ease on all transactions, Stanbic IBTC’s mobile App and online channels will remain accessible for scheduled payments and instant transactions even on public holidays.
General
Adelabu Calls for Calm After 100 Days of UCH Power Outage

By Adedapo Adesanya
The Minister of Power, Mr Bayo Adelabu, on Monday addressed students of the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan who are staging a peaceful protest on the lingering power cut at the school.
Business Post reports that the outage has lasted over 100 days, with Monday making it 101 days since the hospital was disconnected from the grid in October 2024 by Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) over an outstanding debt of about N500 million.
The Student Union of the University of Ibadan in conjunction with the College of Medicine staged a peaceful protest to draw the attention of the Federal Government to the development but nothing has been done to the effect.
The protesters demanded an immediate reconnection of UCH and the implementation of a 50 per cent tariff reduction they claim the Minister promised the hospital.
Meanwhile, Mr Adelabu appealed to the students to allow for dialogue while proposing a truce between the IBEDC and UCH.
The students carried placards with different inscriptions such as +100 Days of Darkness: Save UCH; Save ABH Hall; Save Falade Hall; Give Us Light; This Is Not How We Want To Live; Medical School Is Hard Enough—Give Us Light; All We Are Saying, Give Us Light, among others.
The students had protested on January 26, 2025, to the State and Federal Secretariats, Agodi, Ibadan, with the hope that the management would fix the issue, but with the 100-day milestone, the new protest hopes there will be resolution
General
Regional Imbalance: CNPP Proposes Creation of Five States

By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The National Assembly has been advised to consider the creation of five additional states to address regional imbalance in the number of states in the country’s six geopolitical zones to ensure equity, fairness, and justice in the distribution of resources and opportunities among various regions.
Over the weekend, the nation was busy with proposal from some Nigerians on the creation of additional 31 states to bring the total to 67 states.
Reacting to this, the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) submitted that instead of creating almost double of what the country currently has, five fresh states should be created from four regions.
In a statement signed by its Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Mr James Ezema, the CNPP argued that, “Democracy does not support injustice. The basic principles of democracy derive from free, fair, justice, and equitable distribution of resources, and the rule of law.”
The group emphasized that addressing the imbalance in the number of states in each geopolitical zone was crucial for promoting unity, stability, and progress in Nigeria.
“The CNPP proposes that each of the six geopolitical zones should have seven states each, based on economic viability and other relevant factors for the new states to be created.
“Specifically, the North Central and North West zones already have seven states, while the rest of the zones have six states each, except the South East region with only five states.
“There is the need to create one additional state each for the South West, North East, and South-South zones and two additional states should be created in the South East zone.
“Once this is achieved, the National Assembly can consider creating additional states in each of the six geopolitical zones.
“The CNPP believes that this is a necessary step towards ensuring that every region in Nigeria has an equal opportunity to develop and contribute to the growth and prosperity of the nation.
“We urge the National Assembly to take this matter seriously and work towards creating a more just and equitable society for all Nigerians.
“The CNPP has consistently advocated for good governance, transparency, and accountability in Nigeria. The CNPP as the umbrella body of all registered political parties and political associations in Nigeria remains committed to promoting the principles of democracy and ensuring that the rights and interests of all Nigerians are protected and advanced,” it noted.
General
Nigeria, Bahrain to Strengthen Trade, Investment Ties

By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria and Bahrain are working to strengthen diplomatic ties, focusing on trade, investment, and oil and gas cooperation.
The two countries recently engaged in bilateral discussions aimed at facilitating foreign direct investment, enhancing trade and investment opportunities and equally fostering cooperation in the oil and gas sectors.
A statement on Sunday by the spokesman of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Alkasim AbdulKadir, said his boss, Mr Yusuf Tuggar, recently visited Manama in the Kingdom of Bahrain and engaged in bilateral discussions with his Bahraini counterpart, Mr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani.
It was revealed that the meeting focused on strengthening diplomatic relations, facilitating foreign direct investment from Bahrain, enhancing trade and investment opportunities, and fostering cooperation in the oil and gas sectors, with particular emphasis on onshore projects and the development of the 8th train LNG.
Train 8 is part of efforts for Nigeria to boost its Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) capacity but it hasn’t been able to do so because of low investments and insecurity with its energy infrastructure.
The Ministry also said the both parties also deliberated on the training of Nigerian diplomats and collaboration within multilateral forums.
He disclosed that both ministers signed a Joint Communiqué, officially establishing diplomatic relations between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Kingdom of Bahrain, noting that this agreement marks a significant milestone in fostering closer ties and mutual cooperation between the two nations.
He said this development aligns with Bahrain’s ongoing efforts to strengthen international partnerships, stating that recently, Mr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, chaired the third meeting of the national committee for monitoring the implementation of the outcomes of the Bahrain Summit Initiatives, underscoring the kingdom’s commitment to global collaboration.
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