UN Gives $9m to Boko Haram Victims in Nigeria

By Adedapo Adesanya The two leading opposition presidential candidates in the 2023 general elections, Mr Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Mr Peter Obi of the Labour Party, on Tuesday, approached the Supreme Court to upturn the judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC), which on September 6, affirmed Mr Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as winner of the exercise held on Saturday, February 25. Mr Atiku, in his Notice of Appeal predicated on 35 grounds, insisted that the tribunal, in the judgment delivered by Justice Haruna Tsammani, committed grave error and miscarriage

By Adedapo Adesanya The Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mr Mele Kyari, is not heading to the exit door despite speculations amid continued organisational changes to the management of the state oil company. In a statement on Monday night, it was stated that in “addition to the recent exit of three Executive Vice Presidents, other Management Staff with less than 15 months to statutory retirement will be exiting the company effective 19th September 2023.” What this means is that the exit is happening downward since three Executive Vice Presidents were changed over the

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 The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a suit against President Bola Tinubu over his failure to stop the former governors now serving as ministers in his administration from collecting life pensions and other retirement benefits from their states. The ministers mentioned in the suit are Mr Badaru Abubakar, Mr Nyesom Wike, Mr Bello Matawalle, Mr Adegboyega Oyetola, Mr David Umahi, Mr Simon Lalong, Mr Atiku Bagudu and Mr Ibrahim Geidam. In the suit number FHC/L/CS/1855/2023 filed last Friday at the Federal High Court in Lagos, the ministers are to be joined in the suit

By Adedapo Adesanya  Prices of crude oil recovered from the losses recorded earlier on Tuesday. The recovery was influenced by news that the United States and China held conversation over a potential trade agreement, which has affected oil demand globally for a while. Earlier in the day, the International benchmark, the Brent Crude, was trading at $62 per barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI ) crude was trading at $57 per barrel. However, as at 9pm Nigerian Time (GMT +1), the Brent crude futures increased by 61 Cents or 0.97 percent to $63.23 per barrel, while the WTI

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The oil rig operated by Seplat Energy Plc, which capsized on Tuesday, has been operating illegally on the country’s waters since 2016, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has alleged. About two days ago, an oil rig, Majestic Rig belonging to Depthwize Nigeria Limited, but used by Seplat, caved in at Ovhor in Warri, Delta State, killing at least one person, with about three persons still missing. Seplat, in a statement after the incident, had said, “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the crew member who sadly lost his life,

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A.M. Best is to sponsor the first Dubai World Insurance Congress event, to be held 28 February – 1 March 2017 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Hosted by Global Reinsurance, the Dubai International Financial Centre and the DIFC Insurance Association, the Dubai World Insurance Congress is a new international (re)insurance event. A.M. Best’s delegation will be available for meetings and will hold bilateral discussions at their meeting location in the conference Premium Lounge. To arrange a meeting, please email [email protected]. A.M. Best rates more than 50 (re)insurance companies in the GCC and broader MENA region and has

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Business mogul, Mr Benedict Peters, has refuted claims that he is the main financial of a new political movement in Nigeria called the Third Force. The oil magnate, in a statement issued last weekend, distanced himself from the speculations, emphasising that he is not a “financier of the said organisation or any socio-political partisan association or political party in Nigeria or anywhere else in the world.” According to him, he has received calls and messages advising him to “ignore” the tweet and regard the reports as the “handiwork of detractors,” but having taken into consideration his travails

**Drops to $3.3b in 2020 By Dipo Olowookere A new report by Baker McKenzie in Johannesburg, South Africa, has revealed that the value of Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) in the energy sector in Africa and the Middle East will rise to $4.5 billion in 2018. According to the Baker McKenzie’s Global Transaction Forecast for the Energy Sector, M&A transactions in 2017 was $4.4 billion. In 2019, the value will increase again $5.2 billion before dropping to $3.3 billion in 2020. Head of the Energy, Mining and Infrastructure Sector Group at Baker McKenzie, Mr Kieran Whyte, disclosed that in Africa, greenfield

By Dipo Olowookere The management of Fidelity Bank Plc may approach the local debt market this year to source for fresh capital. This would likely be done with the issuance of commercial paper, a short-term debt financing security not longer than 270 days in tenor consisting of unsecured and discounted promissory notes issued with good credit ratings that can be readily traded. In October 2017, the bank issued a $400 million Eurobond of which $256 million was used to repurchase medium-term notes due in May 2018 and the remaining proceeds used to trade finance for Small and Medium scale Enterprises.

By Dipo Olowookere A total of N2.5 trillion has been generated as tax from January to June 2018 by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). A statement from the federal tax agency disclosed that this figure showed a 42 percent or N746 billion increase from what was generated in the same period of last year, N1.8 trillion. FIRS further said the N2.5 trillion already generated in the first half of this year means it has so far met 75 percent of its target for this year. A breakdown of the composition of the revenue generated so far showed that N1.2