General Electric Appoints Brenda Mbathi East Africa CEO

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The publisher of an online news platform, Per Second New (PSN), Mr Femi Oladapo Soneye, has been appointed as the Chief Corporate Communications Officer (CCCO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited. The appointment of the veteran journalist was announced on Wednesday night by the state-owned oil agency, which said it looked “forward to his valuable contributions to our company.” The new spokesman will be in charge of the corporate communications of the NNPC, leading the organisation’s “corporate communications team and drive our brand penetration, strategic communications initiatives, and stakeholder management.” According to the statement, Mr

By Adedapo Adesanya President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of three new Executive Commissioners to serve in the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC). He also approved the redeployment of one current Executive Commissioner along with these three personnel who will take up their duties after their confirmation by the Nigerian Senate. The new executives are: Mr Bashir Indabawa — North West — Executive Commissioner, Exploration & Acreage Management Mr Kelechi Ofoegbu — South East — Executive Commissioner, Corporate Services & Administration (Redeployed) Mr Enorense Amadasu — south south — Executive Commissioner, Development & Production Mr Babajide Fasina —

By Aduragbemi Omiyale Mr Andrew Ikekhua has been authorised by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) to become the chief executive of NEM Insurance Plc. The astute insurance professional was appointed by the underwriter to lead its affairs, but needed the approval of the regulator. In a statement signed by the group head of its legal department, Ms Olajumoke Philip-Akede, NEM Insurance said the sector’s watchdog has given its nod, noting that the appointment became effective October 1, 2023. “We wish to notify Nigerian Exchange Limited, our esteemed shareholders, and the investing public of the appointment of Mr Andrew Ikekhua as

By Adedapo Adesanya The Senate on Tuesday confirmed the nomination of Mr Zacch Adedeji as the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). Mr Adedeji, who appeared at the upper chamber for his screening today, revealed his plans to improve the nation’s revenue, referring to the dearth of information in the oil and gas sector. The FIRS boss promised that most of the leakages would be halted. According to him, the core problem in the country is that of proper data, adding that developing data upon which decisions will be made is fundamental. He explained that this would enable

By Dipo Olowookere Former President Goodluck Jonathan has applauded the appointment of former Minister of Finance in Nigeria, Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, as a member of South Africa’s Presidential Economic Advisory Council. President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday appointed the Nigerian into his economic think tank after his country slipped into another recession in two years. Worried by the economic crisis in his country, Mr Ramaphona, who was a businessman before becoming President of South Africa, approached Mrs Okonjo-Iweala for assistance and invited her to the council meeting in Pretoria on Friday, which he presided over. The former Finance Minister said the

By Dipo Olowookere The stop rate of the 364-day treasury bills depreciated by 0.48 per cent on Wednesday when the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) auctioned the debt instrument to investors. Details of the exercise showed that the apex bank came to the primary market auction (PMA) yesterday with N71.6 billion worth of the one-year bill. However, it was surprising that market participants showed a significant appetite for the tenor, staking N556.2 billion on it. This may have made the central bank tamper with the stop rate of the tenor. Business Post reports that the 364-day t-bills rate cleared at

By Dipo Olowookere A leading data centre, Rack Centre, has secured a BSI ISO 45001 certification, an international standard for health and safety work developed by national and international committees, independent of governments. The BSI ISO 45001 is designed to help organisations of all sizes and industries put in place a safe working environment for their employees and will amongst other benefits enable Rack Centre to reduce workplace injuries, and illnesses and create better, safer working conditions. The cloud-neutral Tier III data centre in West Africa is one of the few in the region to obtain the BSI ISO 45001

By Adedapo Adesanya The Kano State Government has disclosed plans to spend not less than N2.3 billion for the development of Dala Inland Dry Port in the state. This was disclosed by Governor Abdullahi Ganduje at a working visit to the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) in Lagos yesterday. The stipulated amount, according to the Governor, is for the development of the first phase of the port, which he noted would boost Kano State’s economy and that of Nigeria in general. He then called on the council to ensure that inland dry port was linked with the railway network, stressing the

By Adedapo Adesanya Connect Lab, an African focused Innovation Lab, has launched a female entrepreneurship development programme designed to reduce the inequalities and barriers affecting women in business. According to the initiative, this will be done by accelerating progress in gender equality through entrepreneurship development, linking and learning and access to finance. The Women in Business Growth Lab is a 3-month programme for early-stage women-led start-ups in Nigeria, created to stimulate businesses into profitable & sustainable enterprises to accelerate the creation of jobs on the continent. The project is aimed at fostering gender equality and bridging the gap in the

By Aduragbemi Omiyale A former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Obadiah Mailafia, has died at a medical facility in Abuja, the nation’s capital. The ex-central banker, who recently claimed his life was under threat because he claimed that some powerful persons, including a serving Governor, were sponsors of the Boko Haram terrorist group, died at the age of 64. Mr Mailafia was said to have died on Sunday morning at the National Hospital Abuja, according to the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the Middle Belt Forum, Ms Ndi Kato. According to reports, the renowned economist

By Ashemiriogwa Emmanuel An indigenous airline operator, Air Peace, has become the exclusive airline sponsor of the Nigerian football national teams after signing a deal with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). The sponsorship agreement is worth N300 million in cash and value-in-kind and is renewable every four years, a statement issued on Wednesday disclosed. The president of the NNF, Mr Amaju Pinnick, said the four-year deal is fund-based and will be “ploughed back to the players as it is a huge impact on them,” adding that it is valued at N300 million and the cash component is N200 million. “The

By Dipo Olowookere On Thursday, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) intervened in the treasury bills market by mopping up N190 billion from the system. The central bank mopped up this cash with the sale of the government instrument via the Open Market Operations (OMO). Business Post reports that the N190 billion raked from the exercise was significantly lower than the total amount offered by the CBN, N400 billion. This amount, N190 billion, was also lower than the total amount of T-bills that matured at the market yesterday, N327 billion. It was observed that generally, the treasury bills market traded