President’s Choice for PENCOM DG Divides Senate

By Adedapo Adesanya The Senate has officially confirmed Mr Adamu Aliyu as the substantive chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC). He was confirmed following a screening session at the plenary on Thursday, a day after President Bola Tinubu pleaded with the upper chamber to speed up his confirmation. The screening commenced at approximately 11:50 am following a request by Mr Bamidele Opeyemi to temporarily suspend specific Senate rules, permitting external individuals to enter the chamber. The Deputy Senate President, Mr Jibirin Barau, led the screening of Mr Aliyu, who was the Attorney General of

By Bliss Okperan Nigeria’s President, Mr Bola Tinubu, has approved the appointment of new Chief Executive Officers for some agencies and parastatals under the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment. A statement on Friday from the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Ajuri Ngelale, disclosed that the appointments, which take immediate effect, are in line with his resolve to base the country’s economic revival on the foundation of trade expansion through small, medium and large scale industry facilitation. Mr Ngelale said his boss “expects all new appointees in the critical sector to optimally deliver in accordance with

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.

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A mobile application to make mutual fund investment easier for investors has been introduced by a leading investment management firm in Nigeria, SFS Capital. The interface known as SFS Fund Mobile App will enable individuals to start their mutual fund investment journey with ease. It can be downloaded for free download on Android and iOS and it has an easy-to-use dashboard that encourages transactions on the go. The launch of the SFS Fund Mobile app was in commemoration of the National Financial Awareness Day on Sunday, August 14, a day dedicated to assisting individuals to develop financial

By Dipo Olowookere For the third consecutive session, transactions at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) turned bearish on Tuesday. The local equity market lost 1.06 percent yesterday on further profit-taking on some blue-chip stocks like Dangote Cement, MTN Nigeria and others. This depressed the All-Share Index (ASI) by 254.93 points to settle at 23,695.90 points as against 23,950.83 points of the previous session. Equally, the market capitalisation reduced by N133 billion to close at N12.349 trillion in contrast to N12.482 trillion it ended on Monday. The market closed with 15 price losers and 14 price gainers. Dangote Cement was the

By Adedapo Adesanya Virtus Energy Solutions Limited, a decentralised energy consortium, has secured a five-year credit facility worth N446 million from Sterling Bank Plc. The financial support aligns with the Federal Government’s Energizing Economies Initiative which is supported by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The company is implementing the Decentralized Energy Programme using high capacity stand-alone solar technology and Sterling Bank provided the fund to Virtus for the deployment of distributed energy solutions across selected economic clusters like the market places, shopping centres, and industrial facilities in Nigeria. Reacting to the fund secured by Virtus, the Managing Director of

By Adedapo Adesanya Nigerian hitmaker, Adekunle Adekunle Gold Kosoko, has signed with a top recording label, Def Jam, in a deal that will see the company release his fifth studio album later this year. In a scoop with music publication, Billboard, Def Jam CEO/chairman, Mr Tunji Balogun, said that the label had been following the High crooner for the last six years when he was Olamide’s YBNL label and made Sade, a localised version of One Direction’s Story of My Life. He said, “Over the years, everything in AG’s world has elevated — his songwriting has refined, the scope of

By Dipo Olowookere A physically challenged man was on Tuesday, February 7, 2017, brutalised by two soldiers in Anambra State. It was gathered that the unfortunate incident precisely happened on the New Market Road in Onitsha, Anambra. The crippled man was accused by the military men of dressing in a camouflage, which is against the law. It was learnt that while the soldiers were passing along the road, they sighted the man wearing a camouflage on his wheelchair and then descended on him. One of the soldiers dragged the crippled man away from his wheelchair, while the other flung it

By Dipo Olowookere The presidency has reacted to reports in the media that President Muhammadu Buhari spent £6 million to treat an ear infection in the United Kingdom in June 2016. Spokesman to the President, Mr Garba Shehu, in a Facebook post, said the purported allegation by Prof Farooq Kperogi was totally untrue. In the post titled ‘In Response to Prof Farooq Kperogi’, Mr Shehu said the “story reads like an incredible tale by moonlight that belongs to a different era, which fortunately is now history. That’s when a fortunate lady saved USD15 million for medical treatment!” He rhetorically asked,

An alarm has been raised by the Federal Government over a fake malaria drugs in circulation and has warned Nigerians to be careful of them. The government said it has confirmed two falsified versions of Quinine Sulphate being sold in the market, which contain zero active pharmaceutical ingredients. A statement by the Federal Ministry of Health and signed by its Director, Media and Public Relations, Mrs Boade Akinola, revealed that the drugs were circulating in West and Central African countries. Mrs Akinola revealed that the two version of the drug were circulating in Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

By Kevwe Onokerhoraye Imagine this: Mr Okeke runs a small grocery store in the bustling city of Lagos, Nigeria. He has been in business for several years, and his shop is an integral part of the local community. Yet, like many small business owners in the informal sector, Mr Okeke faces a significant hurdle: accessing credit to grow his business. For many, credit can seem like a double-edged sword, promising growth on one hand but harbouring the risk of debt on the other. However, with the right approach, credit can be a powerful tool that propels a business forward without