Lagos Donates N365m Mobile Cancer Clinic to NGO

By Aduragbemi Omiyale From February 2024, a leading pharmaceutical company, Sanofi-Aventi Nigeria Limited, will put a stop to its direct operations in the country, opting to hand over this business to a yet-to-be-named third party. In a statement signed by the Country Lead for Sanofi, Ms Folake Odediran, it was noted that this new business model was adopted for the “commercialisation of Sanofi portfolio of medicines” through a major distributor. This business model is also to be adopted by another player in the sector, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Nigeria Plc, which announced its planned exit from the Nigerian market a few months

By Bliss Okperan The Bill Gates Foundation has selected nine Nigerian health startups, along with 20 others from other parts of Africa, for a $50,000 equity-free grant to boost the healthcare supply chain on the continent. The nine Nigerian small firms were chosen as part of Investing in Innovation Africa (i3), a pan-African initiative for startups in the healthcare supply chain. The Nigerian companies which make up the second cohort include Famasi, Aimcare, Afia, Drugstore Nigeria, Healthtracka, Octosoft Technologies Limited, Pharmarun, Pharmaserv Health Project Nigeria Ltd, and Wella Health. The cohort includes startups that are building online pharmacies and telemedicine

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The medical practitioner who performed surgery on the late 12-year-old Adebola Akin-Bright at the Obitoks Hospital in the Alimosho area of Lagos State, Dr Abayomi Baiyewu, has been described as a quack surgeon. The Chairman of the Lagos State House of Assembly ad-hoc committee with the mandate to investigate the circumstances that led to the disappearance of Adebola’s small intestine, Mr Noheem Adams, said the doctor was not qualified to carry out the exercise. Adebola died on Tuesday at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, where he was receiving treatment after he underwent surgery two

By Dipo Olowookere Skye Bank is again set to make more millionaires out of Nigerians in its repackaged ‘Reach For The Skye Millionaire’ reward, Season II. This was disclosed in a press statement issued by the bank. The Season II, which officially kicked off in January 2017, promises to deliver more benefits to the public compared to Season 1 of the scheme, which changed many lives and made over 36 millionaires of many erstwhile ordinary Nigerians across various segments of the economy. Speaking about the scheme, the bank’s Executive Director, Retail and Lagos Commercial Banking, Mrs Markie Idowu, said that

By Dipo Olowookere Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) Plc is sponsoring four junior secondary school students in Nigeria who developed a mobile app that could revolutionise agriculture globally. The kids, between ages of 12 and 14, are from Whitesands School in Lagos and known together as Team Neon. The inventors, Mordi Menashi, Gbemi Famobiwo, Afolabi Williams and Osagumwenro Ugbo, created a VirtualFarm Application which helps farmers manage their farm and connect with their target markets. With this innovation, the team entered for the globally renowned Conrad Challenge Annual Innovation Summit in Florida, USA, which encourages high school students to develop cutting-edge

By Investors Hub The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a higher opening on Friday, with stocks likely to extend the strong upward move seen over the two previous sessions. The futures remained positive even though a closely watched Labor Department report showing employment in the U.S. increased by less than expected in the month of August. The report said non-farm payroll employment rose by 130,000 jobs in August after climbing by a downwardly revised 159,000 jobs in July. Economists had expected employment to increase by about 158,000 jobs. Despite the weaker than expected jobs data, the markets

By Dipo Olowookere Chairman of the Joint Tax Board (JTB), Mr Tunde Fowler, has challenged state governors in Nigeria to emulate measures put in place by Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State in enhancing the efficiency and productivity of his state’s Board of Internal Service, for improved revenue profile in their various states. Mr Fowler gave this charge at the 141st meeting of the JTB in Enugu, which was attended by chairmen of the Board of Internal Revenue from the 36 states of the federation. He commended Mr Ugwuanyi for putting in place a proficient and unparalleled tax regime, which

By Dipo Olowookere General Secretary of a Civil Society Organisation, Campaign for Democracy (CD), Mr Goodluck Obi, has been expelled over issues relating to alleged lack of integrity, selfishness, and participation in partisan politics. In a statement released by the group at the end of an emergency meeting held by its National Executive Council (NEC), the group vowed that it will not sit back and watch its age-long collective reputation, integrity and democratic struggles be rubbished on the altar of personal interest, selfishness and be subjected to the whims and caprice of Mr Goodluck Obi. While NEC insists that CD

By Dipo Olowookere The management of one of the leading insurers in Nigeria, African Alliance Insurance Plc, has reiterated its commitment to continue to uphold its integrity and maintain the highest level of corporate governance as well as satisfying both its shareholders and customers. In a statement issued on Wednesday in Lagos, Managing Director of African Alliance Insurance, Mrs Funmi Omo, disclosed that in 2017 alone, the insurance firm paid N8.69 billion in claims settlement, a 32.5 percent increase from the N6.56 billion paid in 2016. According to her, the company also recorded a gross premium income of N6.29 billion

By Adedapo Adesanya Nigeria’s digital economy is a goldmine that can contribute over N2 trillion to the economy in the next four years if tapped into, an expert in the industry. Ms Funke Opeke, has posited. Ms Opeke is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MainOne Cable, a top communications service company. Speaking recently at the eNigeria Conference organised by the Nigerian Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) in Abuja, she said federal government needed to develop a comprehensive Information and Communications Technology (ICT) strategy that will bring this to fruition. She said that it was essential that government also create

By Dipo Olowookere Africa’s leading telecommunication company, MTN Nigeria Plc, had a good year in 2020 despite the disruption caused to businesses across the globe. In the year, according to the financial statements of the firm released to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and analysed by Business Post, the sum of N1.4 trillion was generated in the year, higher than the N1.2 trillion achieved in 2019. A significant part of the revenue was contributed by voice revenue, N766.4 billion versus N725.5 billion, while data revenue contributed N332.4 billion in contrast to N219.4 billion in 2019. However, the direct network operating