Jadesimi, Sofowora Join FCMB Board

By Modupe Gbadeyanka President Bola Tinubu has appointed Mr Felix Omatsola Ogbe as the new Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB). A statement issued on Thursday by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Ajuri Ngelale, said the appointment of Mr Ogbe aligns with Sections 71(1), 72, and 73 of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act (2010). The new executive scribe of the agency will replace the former occupier of the position, Mr Simbi Wabote, who had headed the management team of the organisation since 2016. Business Post

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 Modupe Gbadeyanka Mr Olasupo Olusi has been appointed by President Bola Tinubu as the new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank of Industry (BoI). He is to replace the former occupier of the seat, Mr Kayode Pitan, who resigned from the lending institution for small and medium-sized business owners in the country. In a statement issued by his aide on Media and Publicity, Mr Ajuri Ngelale, the President tasked the new BOI chief executive to ensure that Nigerians, who are operating all sizes of enterprises across sectors, are given fair and equitable access to much-needed support

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Four new persons have been appointed to the board of directors of a Nigerian consumer-packaged-goods company, Rite Foods Limited. A statement from the company explained that the appointments were part of a strategic move to position the business for accelerated growth and improve the organisation’s market presence as it takes giant strides into the next phase of its growth strategy. The appointees are Mr Kunle Elebute and Isa Mohammed Inuwa as Independent Non-Executive Directors, Raheem Owodeyi as a Non-Executive Director and Dr Kehinde Onijingin as an Executive Director. The new board members are expected to use their

By Adedapo Adesanya Many influential figures, among them businessmen, athletes, music stars, actors, and even religious leaders, have lost their blue tick on the popular social media platform, Twitter. The legacy blue checks, which Twitter imprints on official accounts for free to help curb impersonations and spam, were supposed to end on April 1 but Mr Elon Musk, its owner, shifted the end date to April 20. With the legacy checks gone, Twitter will have verification marks only for paid users and businesses, as well as government entities and officials. Many Nigerians are not exempted, with the likes of President-elect,

By Cordros Research Lafarge released Q3-17 result late on Friday, showing revenue growth of 28.2% y/y, and a loss after tax of N18.8 billion which almost erased the N19.73 billion profit reported as at H1. The revenue of N68.8 billion was well above our N53.3 billion estimate (and consensus N59.7 billion) while the LAT also beat the N2.3 billion loss we estimated (consensus estimate was for N5.2 billion profit). Given the largely stable cement prices across markets, we attribute the higher-than-expected revenue to both higher (than expected) sales volume in Nigeria and the stronger performance of the aggregate and concrete

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been urged to allow members of the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) be involved in the China-Nigeria Swap deal. Recall that recently, the apex bank sealed a deal worth N720 billion with the Peoples Bank of China in a move that would facilitate trade between both countries and maintain financial market stability, among others. President of ABCON, Mr Aminu Gwadabe, in a chat with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, said it would be nice for the central bank to approve Renminbi (Yuan) disbursements

By Adedapo Adesanya The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange further closed unchanged on Thursday like the previous trading day as both the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) and market capitalisation remained remaining at their previous levels. However, there were changes in the other market indicators yesterday. At the close of business on Thursday, the market capitalisation of the NASD Exchange closed at N502.64 billion, the same amount it recorded on Monday and Wednesday, while the NSI also stayed flat at the 699.63 points it recorded previously on Wednesday. However, the volume of trades which had been declining in the past

By Adedapo Adesanya Top insurance company, NEM Insurance Plc, recorded 18 percent increase in profit after tax (PAT) to N2.4 billion from N2.04 billion achieved in the preceding year. The higher net profit in the period under review was boosted by the tax refund of N475.6 million. Before taxes, NEM Insurance recorded a lower profit in 2019 when compared with 2018. In the results released by the insurer, the profit before tax went down by 29 percent to N1.9 billion from N2.7 billion. Analysing the topline of the results, there was an increase in the Gross Premium Written of the

By Investors Hub European stocks have gained ground on Thursday to hit over four-year highs after China and the United States reportedly agreed to cancel tariffs on each other’s goods for both sides to reach a “phase one” trade deal. The two sides have agreed in the past two weeks to cancel tariffs imposed during their months-long trade war in different phases, the Chinese commerce ministry said. The proportion of tariffs cancelled must be the same, and how many tariffs should be cancelled can be negotiated, Gao Feng, spokesman at the commerce ministry, told reporters. While the German DAX Index

Nigeria’s number one online shopping destination, Jumia has announced that it will offer up to 80% discount during its Easter Sale campaign which is scheduled to start 12.01am on Monday, April 8th, 2019 and run till April 21st. The campaign will be predominantly hosted on the Jumia mobile App, and is expected to drive a sharp upturn in the shopping habits of Nigerians across the country, including those in the far-flung rural areas during the Easter season. There will also be flash sales at up to 50% off on limited stocks daily at 10am and 3pm. While explaining the objective

By Adedapo Adesanya The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has led a $17 million investment into South African insurtech firm, Naked, to expand access to vehicle, home, and other insurance products. The World Bank member, alongside the German Development Finance Institution (DEG), South Africa’s largest privately-owned insurance group, Hollard, and a private investment group with interests in insurance ventures around the world, Yellowwoods, jointly announced the investment, which it aims would help increase access to quality insurance products and services in South Africa, one of the largest economies on the continent. The investment will support Naked’s strategy to expand its digital