New COVID-19 Strain: Nigeria Under Pressure to Ban Flights from UK

By Ifeanyi Onuba The Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) has convened critical oncology stakeholders and strategic partners at the maiden edition of the NSIA Oncology Summit in Lagos. The move, according to a statement from NSIA on Wednesday, is to drive collaborations amongst partners and improve overall patient outcomes in cancer care. Participants at the Summit included over 200 medical professionals in oncology, over 11 Nigerian tertiary hospitals, as well as over 10 external collaborators from the University of Chicago; American Oncology Institute India; American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO); Bio Ventures for Global Health (BVGH); Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer

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 Adedapo Adesanya The co-founder and CEO of Drugstoc, Mr Chibuzo Opara, has been crowned winner of the Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa (CEMEA) edition of the Visa Everywhere Initiative (VEI), a global open innovation program and competition for start-ups and fintech companies. The helmsman of the startup that leverages technology, supply chain management, financial solutions, and product knowledge to enhance access to healthcare in emerging markets will take home the $20,000 prize. Mr Opara will now compete against the other regional champions from North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific at the VEI Global Finals, which

By Adedapo Adesanya The 25th week of trading at the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange ended on a positive note last Friday. In the five-day trading week, investors saw an expansion in their investment portfolios by 0.5 per cent or N10 billion as the market capitalisation closed at N1.011 trillion compared with the preceding week’s N1.010 trillion as the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI) increased by 3.86 points to 768.27 points from 764.41 points. Business Post reports that three stocks on the bourse contributed to the gains reported by unlisted securities investors last week as

By Ebitonye Akpodigha Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State has inaugurated the board of the Kwara State Public Private Partnership Bureau (KP3) to supervise all PPP arrangements in the state. At the ceremony held on Tuesday, Mr Ahmed said that one of the first assignments of the board is to oversee the effective implementation of the Kwara Infrastructure Development Fund, (IFK) and its associated projects. According to him, the IFK is enshrined in the Kwara State Public Private Partnership Law of 2015, which he signed into law shortly after he was inaugurated for a second term. He noted that in

By Adedapo Adesanya The Ekiti State Governor, Mr Kayode Fayemi, has approved the appointment of Professor Edward Olanipekun as the new Vice-Chancellor of Ekiti State University (EKSU), Ado-Ekiti. The appointment, according to a statement by Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Yinka Oyebode, is to take “immediate effect.” Professor Olanipekun, a Professor of Chemistry, was the former Dean at the School of Post Graduate Studies of the University. He is a native of Ado Ekiti metropolis and formerly served in his capacity as the Chairman, Ilorin Zone of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). Mr Olanipekun will be replacing

By Dipo Olowookere As part of its commitment to the socio-economic development of South Sudan, Oranto Petroleum Limited will be financing an educational programme in conjunction with the Ministry of Petroleum, to provide training to 25 teachers in the most under-privileged parts of the country. The support from Oranto Petroleum paves the way for 25 teachers to receive quality training that will benefit 60,000 children across 30 villages in Yirol, in South Sudan’s Eastern Lakes State. The program will run for a 5-year period and is expected to have a considerable impact on communities in the State, which is amongst

By Dipo Olowookere The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) closed 0.13 percent lower last Friday despite the mood of the market closing positive. At the session, the market breadth closed positive with 15 price gainers as against 13 price losers, but the losses printed by Dangote Cement and MTN Nigeria supressed the gains recorded by the likes of Zenith Bank and GTBank. Dangote Cement, which led the losers’ chart, fell by N3.40 to N125 per share, while MTN Nigeria lost 80 kobo to finish at N92 per share. C&I Leasing depreciated by 60 kobo to sell at N5.60 per unit, Nigerian

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The rich and prestigious catalogue of Netflix has been expanded with the addition of The Eve, a new movie from Hauwa Allabura. The film is the debut project of the filmmaker and director and it cast top stars including Beverly Naya, Meg Otanwa, Ronke Oshodi, Hauwa Allahbura, Adeolu Adefarasin and Kunle Remi. Others include Ghana’s’ Mawuli Peter Gavor and comedian John Okafor (Mr Ibu). The Eve centres on a young man, Funso (Adefarasin) and his bride-to-be, Yewande (Naya) set to marry in a few days. Before the D-day, three childhood friends of the groom decide to treat

By Modupe Gbadeyanka An alarm has been raised on how the illegal tobacco trade is operating during the COVID-19 global pandemic and preparing to reap the rewards in the economic aftermath that will follow. This information was contained in a report released by the Japan Tobacco International (JTI), which was independently verified by Intrinsic Insight Limited. The report titled The Gathering Storm has been welcomed by law enforcement agencies around the world because of the vital information packed in it. In the survey, it was discovered with evidence that criminal groups are biding their time in readiness for an anticipated

By Modupe Gbadeyanka One of the top lenders in Nigeria, the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has announced its audited half year financial results ended June 30, 2017, showing remarkable performance across major metrics. UBA grew its gross earnings for the period by 34.5 percent to N222.7 billion, as against N165.6 billion reported in June 2016. This impressive performance, which reflects the strong momentum of UBA’s business and its increasing share of customers’ wallet, was driven by the 44.3 percent and 16 percent growth in interest income and non-funded income respectively. The group’s operating income stood at N161.8 billion,