UAC Nigeria Appoints Aiyesimoju Group MD/CEO

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 Precious Olisa The appointment of Mr Akutah Ukeyima as the Executive Secretary/CEO of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) has been approved by President Bola Tinubu. The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Ajuri Ngelale, confirmed the appointment of Mr Ukeyima in a statement signed on Wednesday. Mr Ngelale said the new chief executive of the NSC was recommended for the position by the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Mr Adegboyega Oyetola. He also disclosed that another recommendation was the appointment of Mr Munirudeen Oyebamiji as the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the National Inland

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 Adedapo Adesanya  The Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, has sacked the General Manager of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Mr Bolaji Oreagba. It was disclosed that Mr Oreagba was removed from office because of the various incidences of misdemeanours among staff of the traffic control agency. According to the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Transportation, Mr Olawale Musa, the Governor has appointed Mr Olalekan Bakare-Oki as the acting general manager of LASTMA with immediate effect to bring sanity into the organisation. Mr Musa explained that the new chief of LASTMA was favoured for

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A new player has joined the bakery business in Lagos with the launch of Bakersfield Pastries by an Information Technology (IT) expert, Mr Abidemi Adeyi. The tech enthusiast, popularly known as Abi, has set up his new business in the Opebi area of the aquatic city. The one-of-a-kind pastry restaurant offers a unique range of custom-made pizzas and sandwiches. It also has an unbeatable range of menus for a pastry outfit, with over 10 categories of menus with great taste and nutritional value, diligently curated for customers’ delight. Mr Adeyi has promised his customers quality products, which

By Dipo Olowookere The need for African leaders to address the deepening job and employment crisis bedevilling the continent has been emphasised by Chairman of Heirs Holdings and Founder of Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), Mr Tony Elumelu. Mr Elumelu submitted that paying more attention towards the agricultural sector, creating access to electricity and developing entrepreneurship would help solve this problem. Speaking on the theme ‘How do we create 10 million jobs by 2020?’ at the Youth Connekt Africa Summit in Rwanda yesterday, the business mogul opined that access to electricity and increased focus in the agricultural sector would enhance entrepreneurship

By Dipo Olowookere Nigeria’s Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs Aisha Alhassan, fondly called Mama Taraba, has resigned her appointment, becoming the third person to leave the cabinet of President Muhammadu Buhari this year. The first to resign as Minister this year was Mr Kayode Fayemi of Mines and Steel, who is now the Governor-elect of Ekiti State. The second was the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, who resigned as a result of a certificate scandal. Mama Taraba, the third to now leave, in a letter to the President, explained that she was forfeiting the position because she felt the

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The cost of funds declined on Tuesday as there were no significant inflows into the system, Business Post is reporting. At the close of business yesterday, the average money market rate declined by 15.30 percent to settle at 26.83 percent. Specifically, the Open Buy Back (OBB) rate lost 12.77 percent to close on Tuesday at 24.14 percent from 39.92 percent, while the Overnight (OVN) rate declined by 17.83 percent to end at 26.50 percent from 44.33 percent. According to Zedcrest Research, the system liquidity yesterday was estimated to be much unchanged from its opening levels of N50

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The average yields of treasury bills slightly went up on Wednesday by 0.08 percent to finish at 12.71 percent. There was a huge sell-off at the T-bills market yesterday as the yields on the 6-month, 9-month and 12-month tenors surged to 0.41 percent, 0.09 percent and 0.02 percent respectively. However, the yields on the shorter tenors; 1-month and 3-month, fell by 0.01 percent and 0.03 percent respectively. Business Post reports that the system liquidity remained significantly buoyant yesterday at around N460 billion. Today, investors will anticipate some maturing OMO bills. Consequently, the yields are expected to inch

Nigeria has been charged to lead and positions itself to get optimum benefits from the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). This was the view of Ecobank, which said Nigeria undoubtedly has the largest and most vigorous economy in Africa and therefore must position itself to lead in the continent with a population of about 1.2 billion people that is projected to double by 2050, making it one of the largest free trade area the world. Managing Director of Ecobank Nigeria, Mr Patrick Akinwuntan, who spoke at the 25th Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja, highlighted the need

By Adedapo Adesanya The value of the Naira stabilised against the US Dollar across segments of the foreign exchange (forex) market on Friday, September 25. This may have been influenced by the interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to converge the exchange rate of the local currency at the various market windows. The CBN has sold over $250 million to the Bureaux De Change (BDCs) since the resumption of forex sales on Monday, September 7, 2020, all in a bid to ease the pressure on the Nigerian currency. With more liquidity made available to the retail end of

By Adedapo Adesanya The average prices residents of Nigeria across the country paid to refill their 12.5kg cylinder of liquified petroleum gas (LPG) otherwise known as cooking gas stood at N7617.61 in March 2022. According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the amount was 2.28 per cent higher than the N7447.79 paid in February 2022 and 74.75 per cent higher than the N4359.23 in March 2021. It was revealed that the highest average retail price for 12.5kg cooking gas was recorded in Osun State with N8782.14, followed by Oyo with N8400.00 and Katsina with N8300.00. Conversely,