Lafarge Africa Appoints Sylvie Rochier as New Vice-Chairman

By Adedapo Adesanya President Bola Tinubu has announced the reappointment of Mr Mele Kolo Kyari as the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited. This move comes as part of a larger reshuffle, where President Tinubu has unveiled a new board and management team for the NNPC Limited which will commence their duties from December 1, 2023. Mr Kyari’s reappointment comes after recent calls to have him sacked. Having spent four years under the immediate past administration of Mr Muhammadu, the renewed appointment shows the current government has confidence in his ability to steer the

By Precious Olisa The federal government has threatened to stop paying salaries of unidentified workers on its payroll, saying it was determined the loopholes in the civil service. The Head of Civil Service, Mrs Folashade Yemi Esan, confirmed this development, noting that it was to tackle the prevalence of ghost workers on the government’s payroll. She said the unverified employees of the government would be fished out with the implementation of the Human Resources (HR) software designed to capture accurate data of workers. According to her, the software will be implemented by the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPS) in

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 Modupe Gbadeyanka A veteran journalist, Mr Bayo Onanuga, has been appointed as the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy. A statement issued on Friday by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Ajuri Ngelale, said Mr Tinubu also appointed Ms Delu Bulus Yakubu as his Senior Special Assistant on Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation. In the statement, the President wished his new aides “well in the discharge of their duties,” noting that their appointments were “part of efforts to prioritize effective and efficient working synergy between the Presidency and Federal Ministries.

**As Tier-2 Banks Dominate Gainers’ Chart By Dipo Olowookere A total turnover of 5.011 billion shares worth N45.816 billion in 44,569 deals were traded this week by investors on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in contrast to a total of 5.021 billion shares valued at N68.974 billion that exchanged hands last week in 41,542 deals. The Financial Services Industry (measured by volume) led the activity chart with 3.672 billion shares valued at N29.946 billion traded in 28,608 deals; thus contributing 73.29 percent and 65.36 percent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively. The Conglomerates Industry

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, has refuted claims in some quarters that her Ministry and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) were not working together for the growth of the Nigerian economy, which is presently battling with recession. This insinuation was fuelled last month when the CBN failed to lower the interest rates as advocated by Mrs Adeosun. While the Minister argued that a reduction in the interest rates would help in revamping the economy and boost domestic borrowing by the government, the CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, disagreed. At the end of the Monetary Policy

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, as well as Minister of Budget and National Planning, Mr Udo Udoma, have been summoned by the Nigerian Senate. At the plenary on Tuesday, a Senator from Lagos State, Mr Gbenga Ashafa, warned that inadequate releases from the Federal government to Ministries, Departments and Agencies to finance their capital projects might return the country to recession. The lawmaker, in his motion titled captioned ‘Inadequate releases in the 2017 budget and the need to expedite releases in order to stimulate the Economy,’ observed that “while the total size of the 2017 budget

By Adedapo Adesanya The local currency depreciated by N1.67 or 0.41 per cent against the Dollar at the Investors and Exporters (I&) window on Tuesday, April 27. This made the Nigerian currency close at N411.67/$1 at the investors’ FX window yesterday compared with N410/$1 it ended on Monday. Business Post reports that the Naira could no longer withstand the pressure it has come under in the past few days from FX demand and yesterday, it finally succumbed. The Naira, despite a rise in the demand for FX in the previous trading session, had maintained stability against the American currency. But

By Nyokabi Florence The 19th day of November offers people from across continents, professional fields, diverse thoughts and beliefs an opportunity to recognise and celebrate men for the unique value they bring, and equally important, a chance to surface pertinent issues affecting men across the world. This day seeks to promote conversations about being male, with the aim to make a positive difference to the lives and wellbeing of men and by extension, the ecosystems that men operate in. Dr Jerome Teelucksingh, who is recognised as the founder of International Men’s Day began the call for the United Nations to

By Dipo Olowookere An agricultural development programme tagged Green Imperative was launched on Thursday in Abuja. The scheme is a partnership between Nigeria and Brazil. The key objective of the scheme is to up-scale the country’s agriculture to boost food production, improve food security, expand job growth and ultimately boost household income in Nigeria. The project also aims to develop deep collaboration between Nigerian and Brazilian industries to deliver and use appropriate technologies to improve productivity in crops such as rice, cassava, cocoa, wheat, soya beans, and maize, sugar cane, tomatoes etc. It was gathered that the bilateral development programme

By Adedapo Adesanya  Some residents of Lagos and Ogun States under the coverage area of the Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) have been thrown into darkness. This is because a heavy downpour on Monday, March 8, 2021, has destroyed over 20 electric poles along the Agbara-Badagry expressway. The General Manager, Corporate Communications of EKEDC, Mr Godwin Idemudia, disclosed on Thursday in Lagos that the fallen poles have been removed and the company’s technical team was already working hard to resolve the problem. He assured residents that electricity supply would be restored to the affected communities after the repair. According to

**As Backs Google’s Next Billion Users Plan By Dipo Olowookere In line with its Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), especially its strategy to diversify the economy by making technology an enabler for forex revenue earnings, the Buhari administration would be actively supporting Google’s Next Billion users plan intended to ensure greater digital access in Nigeria and around the world. This will afford millions of Nigerians access to the Internet and particularly support content distribution. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, gave the assurance during a meeting with Google executives at the company’s corporate headquarters in the Silicon Valley at the