Total Energies Nigeria Appoints Jean-Philippe Torres as Chairman

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 Aduragbemi Omiyale Two new independent non-executive directors have been appointed to the board of a sector-agnostic proprietary investment company, VFD Group Plc. The firm, which publicly trades its stocks on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, confirmed this development in a statement. The appointees joining the board comprising highly respected professionals are Ms Rashida Saleh and Ms Nneka Okekearu. The statement disclosed that the appointments became effective on Wednesday, October 25, 2023, though subject to shareholder approval at the next Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the organisation. VFD Group, which said the addition of the duo underscores its commitment to

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 Dipo Olowookere The decision of the management of Transcorp Hotels Plc to design a digital platform called Aura has been applauded by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. At the launch of the app on Thursday in Abuja, Mr Osinbajo said the initiative will help revive Nigeria’s hospitality industry in general, especially in the aftermath of the COVID-19 global pandemic as it will provide a major avenue for other small businesses in the value chain to grow. “This is an excellent innovation, a service that leverages smoothly on technology and one that will be a tremendous boost to the hospitality industry

By Dipo Olowookere Mr Kunle Rasheed, head of the media team of Fuji maestro, K1 De Ultimate, has lambasted another Fuji icon, Mr Abass Obesere, over his outburst on K1. Few days ago, Obesere had attacked Ogun State-born K1 De Ultimate for allegedly insulting the Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, at a public function during an informal chat with his friends. Reacting, Mr Rasheed, who took Obesere to the cleaners, described the musician as an opportunist who wants to latch onto K1’s fame to get noticed by all means. He advised the Omo Rapala crooner to rather concentrate on

By Investors Hub The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a lower opening on Thursday, with stocks likely to give back ground after trending higher over the past several sessions. Profit taking may contribute to initial weakness on Wall Street, as traders cash in on the recent strength in the markets that has lifted the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 to record highs. Uncertainty about trade talks between the U.S., Canada and Mexico may also weigh on the markets along with concerns about the ongoing trade dispute between the U.S. and China. The U.S. is considering imposing tariffs on

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A court in Abuja has described the collection of tenement rates by the six area councils of the Federal Territorial Capital (FCT) from property owners as unconstitutional and has consequently barred them from further collecting the propter tax. Justice Valentine Ashi held that the collection of the property tax by the six councils was usurpation of functions donated to the National Assembly by the Constitution. “An area council in the FCT is equivalent to a local government area in a state in the light of section 318 [1] of the constitution. “By virtue of section 299 [a],

By Ebireri Henry Ovie Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State has reiterated his administration’s determination to support the education of brilliant students in the state. Mr Bello made this disclosure when he received the best graduating student at the 2015 Call to Bar examination of the Nigerian Law School (NLS), Ms Fatima Bombom Sani, her relatives and Barrister Natasha Akpoti at the Government House. The Governor lamented a situation where academic excellence has not been given the requisite reward in Nigeria. He then gave the young lawyer scholarship to the tune of $93,000 for her effort at the law school.

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Worried by the rising #FakeNews phenomenon in the country and the globe, a group known as TMTR, has commenced a special workshop for select journalists in Lagos. The inaugural lecture was help on Saturday, February 10, 2018 and participants were drawn from the print, broadcast and online platforms. Tagged ‘The Training Room,’ the seminar gave the participating journalists a better understanding of the Cybercrimes Prohibition Act 2015 and how it affects their practice especially with the imminent 2019 elections. Facilitators at the event were Peter Okwoche of the BBC, award winning writer Kaine Agary who is also

By Adedapo Adesanya Nigeria has been named interim co-chair of the Alliance for Poverty Eradication launched by the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday. The Alliance is a collection of 30 member states seeking to raise awareness about the danger posed by poverty to world peace, human rights and sustainable development. It also seeks to galvanise the international community and other stakeholders to support actions geared toward poverty eradication. The launch came at a virtual high-level meeting of the Assembly on poverty eradication with the themed Trends, Options and Strategies in Poverty Eradication Across the World.” According to the President

By Aduragbemi Omiyale No fewer than 96 companies have submitted proposals to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for the rehabilitation of some of its facilities. The downstream infrastructure of the state-owned oil agency would be repaired through the Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) financing model. They include critical pipelines, depots and terminals In a statement on Thursday, the NNPC explained that it decided to work on the pipelines to get them ready to support the refineries when they become operational after their rehabilitation. The Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the NNPC, Dr Kennie Obateru, which signed