Osunbunmi Quits Cornerstone Insurance Board

By Modupe Gbadeyanka About 170 of the 200 graduate trainees of Flutterwave (85 per cent) have been absorbed into the organisation as full-time employees after the completion of their programme. The leading payments technology firm in August 2022 launched its Graduate Trainee (GT) scheme to nurture young talents seeking clear career growth opportunities in technology. Some days ago, a graduation ceremony was held in Lagos to celebrate the end of the rigorous 12-month-long paid traineeship scheme. The participants were put through technical and soft skills and practical experiences. “We are excited that our aim of giving 200 extremely bright young

By Adedapo Adesanya Vice President Kashim Shettima has lauded Google’s N1.2 billion grant to the federal government’s one million jobs scheme. In a statement from Mr Olusola Abiola, the Director of Information at the Office of the Vice President, the announcement of a grant of N1.2 billion to support the administration of President Bola Tinubu’s digital jobs initiative was commendable and worthy of emulation by other companies as he received some executives of Google at the Presidential Villa on Monday. “Let’s think outside the box and create more job opportunities. We need to walk the talk. It is easy to

By Adedapo Adesanya President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of a new board and management team for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) more than two months after the last board was dissolved. In a statement signed by Mr Ajuri Ngelale, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, on Tuesday evening, the President approved the 17-man board and management team. The team will be led by Mr Chiedu Ebie as Chairman (Delta), while Mr Samuel Ogbuku (Bayelsa) will continue as the Managing Director/CEO. The Executive Directors include Mr Boma Iyaye – Executive Director (Finance and Admin)

By Adedapo Adesanya President Bola Tinubu has nominated Ms Jamila Bio Ibrahim to serve as the Minister of Youth and Mr Ayodele Olawande as the Minister of State for Youth. These nominations indicate a separation of the ministry, which used to be joined with the Ministry of Sport in the previous administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. In a statement signed by Mr Ajuri Ngelale, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, on Sunday, it was emphasised that the nominees would have to undergo screening at the Senate for confirmation. Upon confirmation by the Mr Godswill Akpabio-led parliament,

By Adedapo Adesanya The shares of the newly listed Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Group Plc on the trading floor of the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange are getting brutally baterred. On Monday, the value of the stock further decreased by 9.81 per cent or N2.16, causing it to close at N19.87 per unit compared with N22.03 per unit it ended last Friday. The shares were admitted at the unlisted securities market last Tuesday at N25.00 per unit and the next day, the equity price rose by 2.36 per cent or 59 kobo to trade at N25.59 per unit. Yesterday, NGX Group

By Gregory Kronsten This week, we are sharing the findings of the third round of COVID-19 Impact Monitoring, a telephone survey conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) with support from the World Bank. The bureau contacted the same 1,950 Nigerian households in April/May, between 02 and 16 June, and now between 02 and 16 July. The first survey was held during the selective lockdown, the second once some restrictions had been eased and the third when the country was making further steps towards what passes for normality. At this stage, a total of twelve rounds are planned with

By Adedapo Adesanya Crude oil reacted positively to the news of headway in possible coronavirus vaccines which were announced simultaneously on Monday. Brent crude futures gained 14 cents or 0.33 per cent to $43.28 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 19 cents or 0.34 per cent to $40.67 per barrel. More than 14.5 million people have been infected by the novel coronavirus globally and more than 604,000 have died of COVID-19, the disease caused by the pathogen, and with rising cases, fuel demand recovery is taking the hit. However, prices found support after three groups

By Dipo Olowookere A new report has warned that the financial sector M&A in Africa and the Middle East will experience a drop of about 69.5 percent in 2018 to $9 billion from $29.5 billion recorded in 2017. The report, conducted by Baker McKenzie’s Global Transactions Forecast in conjunction with Oxford Economics, explained that the higher amount in 2017 was the result of one megadeal that inflated 2017’s deal total: the $14 billion merger of the National Bank of Abu Dhabi and First Gulf Bank. In 2019, the Forecast predicts deal activity in the region’s financial sector to increase slightly

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The online marketplace in Kenya has now been taken over by Jiji two years after it opened its shop in the country, serving the consumers in the East African country with quality services. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Jiji entered the Kenya market and has since become the fastest growing e-commerce with over 6 million users and 2 million ads in Kenya. In March 2022, Alexa, a website traffic analytics platform, ranked the firm as the leading platform among all, having 2.5 million unique visitors monthly compared to 1.5 million in 2021, indicating that it nearly

By Adedapo Adesanya The African Development Bank (AfDB) has secured $90 million in donor funds for the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) project. The SEFA fund, according to the bank, is expected to expand, make more flexible and be responsive to Africa’s fast-changing energy market, with a sharper focus on green mini-grids and green base load as well as offering a wider array of catalytic finance instruments. The SEFA fund was secured during the virtual launch event organised by the AfDB for the SEFA donors to reaffirm their support for the institutional priorities of the fund and had in

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The United Nations (UN) has launched a major support plan to promote sustainable peace and inclusive growth as well as empower women and youth in Africa’s vast Sahel region. The launch was held on the margins of the 31st Summit of the African Union, in Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania and was chaired by Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mauritania. The UN support plan, entitled ‘Sahel, Land of Opportunities,’ targets 10 countries, namely Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad, Senegal, the Gambia, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Nigeria and Cameroon, with efforts to accelerate prosperity. The

By Sodeinde Temidayo David I’m sure you know that catfish farming in Nigeria has become one of the most commonly practised fish farming businesses, with a lot of back benefits. The high demand and consumption of fish have made the business very profitable if well-managed. Catfish farming has become one of the fastest-growing areas of animal food production. Gone were the days when the only means of getting fish was by catching it in the local rivers, ponds or from fishermen. About half of the fish consumed in Nigeria are now raised in artificial environments. If you are looking forward