Lagos To Observe September Sanitation Exercise

By Adedapo Adesanya Nigeria has started the introduction of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine into its routine immunization system, aiming to reach 7.7 million girls in a drive against the virus that causes nearly all cases of cervical cancer. Girls aged 9–14 years will receive a single dose of the vaccine, which is highly efficacious in preventing infection with HPV types 16 and 18 that are known to cause at least 70 per cent of cervical cancers. In Nigeria, cervical cancer is the third most common cancer and the second most frequent cause of cancer deaths among women aged between

By Aduragbemi Omiyale This news from Fidson Healthcare Plc will excite the more than 1.9 million HIV-infected people in Nigeria as the company has signed a strategic deal with a Chinese firm, Aidea Pharmaceutical Company Limited for the production of innovative drugs for the treatment of the disease. The Nigerian company, in a statement, said it sealed the agreement in Yangzhou, China, on Monday, November 13, 2023, to address the medical challenges faced by infected persons in the country. Fidson said it would collaborate with Aidea to manufacture, promote and sell products that would help with the treatment of HIV.

By Adedapo Adesanya The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Dr Muhammad Pate, has said Nigeria could become a hub for vaccine production and distribution in Africa, banking on his experience at GAVI. According to him, this can be achieved with the country’s large population, skilled workforce, and existing pharmaceutical industry. “On local vaccine manufacturing, as you are all aware, until I came back as a Minister, I was going to work with GAVI, an international organisation created in 2000 to improve access to new and underused vaccines for children living in the world’s poorest countries. And GAVI also

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The management of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) has been praised for maintaining the N200 million WARD-A Block renovated by Airtel Nigeria two years ago. The telco, led by its chief executive, Mr Carl Cruz, inspected the facility last week and was impressed with the high maintenance culture of the health institution. “We are pleased to observe that the collaboration with LUTH has continued to touch the lives of so many Nigerians. “The outstanding leadership of LUTH also deserves our commendation for how well they have kept the equipment and building for the past two years.

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Oyo State Government has disclosed that palliatives worth N8.6 billion would be distributed to residents of the state through the Sustainable Action for Economic Recovery (SAfER) initiative. The Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr Dotun Oyelade, disclosed after the executive council meeting that the local councils in the state contributed N2.6 billion, while the state government put down N6 billion. He said items to be shared to members of the public are mainly food (10kg of rice, 5 kg of Garri, 5kg of beans, 5kg of yam powder and 1 litre of vegetable oil.) He noted

By Ike.S Anison Historically, the formal banking sector’s penetration in Africa has been relatively low. And, while there has been significant improvement in this area in recent years, there is still a significant portion of the population on the continent who are unbanked or lack access to financial services. According to the World Bank, approximately 350 million adults in sub-Saharan Africa are still unbanked, accounting for 17% of the 2 billion global unbanked population. This has largely been due to a struggle to tap into the continent’s low-income segment, the widest proportion of the population. Consumers within this market feel

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The N572 million series 5 commercial paper issued to capital market investors in Nigeria by DLM Capital Group has been redeemed after its maturity. The notes were sold a few months ago by the company under its N20 billion commercial paper issuance programme. DLM Capital is an investment-grade company operating businesses like retail banking via its digital banking channel Sofri, consumer & mid-corporate lending, asset management, corporate finance advisory, trustees, securities trading, and foreign exchange. To run its operations smoothly and effectively, the organisation went to the capital market to get some funds through the sale of

By Adedapo Adesanya The federal government hopes to achieve 90 per cent broadband penetration in the country by 2023. The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Mr Isa Pantami, said this on Thursday at a briefing organised by the All Progressive Congress Professional Forum in Abuja, according to a statement by the spokesperson for the ministry, Mr Uwa Suleiman. The statement was titled Federal Government targets ninety per cent broadband penetration, records unprecedented success rate in nineteen years and it mapped out plans to achieve the target in the next two years. The statement said the digital economy sector had

By Dipo Olowookere The minimum operating capital of insurance companies operating in Nigeria has again come to the fore following an announcement made yesterday by the industry’s regulator, the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM). The regulatory agency said it was raising the minimum paid-up share capital of insurance and reinsurance firms so as to make the sector stronger and better. In a circular to all insurance and reinsurance companies signed by NAICOM’s Director, Policy and Regulation Directorate, Mr Pius Agboola, on behalf of the Commissioner for Insurance, Mr Mohammed Kari, it was said that the new capital regime would take effect

By Adedapo Adesanya An approval has given to FBNQuest Merchant Bank by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) for the collection of customs duties, otherwise known as import duties, in the country. With this, FBNQuest becomes the first designated merchant bank to achieve this feat. The investment bank and asset management company owned by FBN Holdings said that this new development will help confirm its reputation for excellent service delivery and efficient processing of international transactions through its trade services platform. According to a statement released by the firm, “The joint agreement with the Nigeria Customs, and the full integration process

By Dipo Olowookere On Tuesday, United Capital Plc released its financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2019, declaring a post-tax profit of N5.0 billion compared with the N4.3 billion announced in the same period of 2018. In the results checked by Business Post, the firm also posted a pre-tax profit of N5.0 billion in contrast to the N6.2 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2018. In the fiscal year under review, United Capital enjoyed a tax credit of N23.7 million compared with the N1.9 billion tax it paid to the government in the 2018 full year. A

By Modupe Gbadeyanka President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed “heart-felt” sadness over the death of Madam Omowunmi Akande, wife of the founding chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Governor of Osun State, Mr Bisi Akande. In a letter penned by him on the heels of an earlier telephone call to the bereaved party chieftain on Wednesday, President Buhari described as “irreparable” the loss by Mr Akande of his wife of 50 years. “I received the very sad news of the death of your dearly beloved wife, Madam Omowunmi Akande this morning. I am following our phone call