9mobile Partners Lasmara to Fuse Art, Technology

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Twenty talents have been shortlisted to battle for the grand prizes of the second edition of the Headies Mic Check competition sponsored by Airtel Nigeria. The almost two dozen music acts picked by the organisers were from the over 2,000 entries received from across the country. Several aspiring Nigerian musical talents were in Lagos from different states across the country, singing songs that suited the texture of their voice, written either by them or their favourite artists. However, only 20 persons were selected, and they will now have to impress the judges through the live show stage

By Modupe Gbadeyanka More encomiums have continued to pour in for fast-rising musician, Asake, who was named as the winner of the Album of the Year award at the 16th edition of The Headies. The singer also clinched the coveted Next Rated Award at the event, which took place on Sunday, September 3, 2023, in Atlanta, the United States of America (USA). The headline sponsor of the Headies, Airtel Nigeria, while reacting to the award won by Asake, said it was glad to be associated with him, stressing that his quick rise to fame was commendable. “Considering the amazing quality

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A Nigerian musician, Ilerioluwa Oladimeji Aloba, otherwise known as Mohbad, has reportedly died at age 27. The death of the fast-rising Afrobeats star was announced on Tuesday, with his colleagues in the music industry reacting to the news of his demise. The deceased was formerly signed by Marlian Records, owned by popular and controversial Nigerian street-hop artist, Naira Marley. He left the entertainment outfit in 2022 after some controversies regarding how he was allegedly treated badly. Before his death, he had hit singles like KPK (Ko Por Ke), Ponmo, and Feel Good. At the time of filing

By Dipo Olowookere Farmers in the country have been assured by the Federal Government that with ongoing underground plans, they would be able to access funds to boost their yields at a low interest rate. At the moment, most lenders give loans to investors at an interest rate higher than 14 percent. Efforts by stakeholders, including the Senate, to reduce the interest rate for loans obtained from banks have not yielded any meaningful result. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), at its last Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in September 2017, left the benchmark rate at 14 percent. Speaking at

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Financial institutions operating in Nigeria have been warned and directed not to “use, hold, trade and/ or transact in anyway in virtual currencies.” This order was given by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in a circular titled ‘Circular to Banks and Other Financial Institutions on Virtual Currency Operations in Nigeria’ and signed by the Director, Financial Policy and Regulation Department, Mr Kevin Amugo. In the circular, the apex bank admitted that the emergence of Virtual Currencies (VCs) has attracted investments in payments infrastructure that provides new methods for transmitting value over the internet, but emphasised that

By Dipo Olowookere Assr Al Jawal has been appointed as the TP-Link Technologies distributor for the Neffos smartphone portfolio in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). TP-Link is a global provider of SOHO, SMB networking products, wireless LAN solutions and mobile devices. According to the vendor, which manufactures a broad range of products to the consumer, SOHO and SMB markets, including Wireless Solutions, ADSL, Routers, Switches, IP Cameras, Powerline Adapters, Print Servers, Media Converters, Network Adapters and Smartphones, the appointment of Assr Al Jawal as its distribution partner paves the way for the company to further develop its business with independent

By Dipo Olowookere It was a day of honour for the Group Managing Director of Rainoil Limited, Mr Gabriel Ogbechie, at the 2018 edition of Oil Trading and Logistics Conference. During the event, Mr Ogbechie was announced as the Downstream Man of the Year for the Nigerian oil industry. The debonair entrepreneur, who sits atop the fast-growing Rainoil Group of businesses, was presented the award at the event, which had in attendance energy experts, petroleum industry big wigs, public sector personalities, a cross section of thought leaders and celebrities. Preceding the individual award, Rainoil Limited was presented the Merit Award

By Investors Hub Asian stocks ended mostly lower on Monday as Beijing cancelled upcoming talks with the U.S. and a new round of tariffs between China and the United States came into effect, ending hopes of a resolution to the trade dispute. Trading activity was subdued as markets in Japan, South Korea, China and Taiwan were closed for public holidays. Australian shares fell slightly, led down by banks and financials. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index dipped 7.70 points or 0.1 percent to 6,186.90, while the broader All Ordinaries Index closed marginally lower at 6,299.50. Lower commodity prices pulled down material

By Adedapo Adesanya Following the approval by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria’s lifestyle and payment service bank, 9PSB (Payment Service Bank), is set to commence operations in fostering financial inclusion drive in the Nigerian ecosystem. According to a statement from the bank, this move will allow customers to overcome some constraints such as regular long queues in the banking halls, consistent network failure, stringent documentation to assess credit facilities, frequent transaction/dispensing error, delay in transaction completion and process among others. Speaking on the vision of 9PSB’s entrant into the Nigerian financial sector, the CEO of 9mobile, Mr Alan

By Adedapo Adesanya  Pele, the Brazil footballing legend and three-time World Cup winner, has died at the age of 82. The Brazil football legend had been treated for colon cancer following surgery to remove a tumour in September 2021 and had required regular medical treatment. He was admitted back into the hospital at the end of November to re-evaluate his cancer treatment. There, he was diagnosed with a respiratory infection before subsequently being moved to palliative care when his body became unresponsive to chemotherapy. Doctors and nurses at the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo duly made him as comfortable

By Dipo Olowookere In the first nine months of 2021, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc recorded a net profit of N104.6 billion, higher than the N77.1 billion reported in the same period of 2020. Before then, it posted a profit before tax of N123.4 billion in the period under consideration in contrast to the N90.4 billion achieved in the first nine months of last year, while the earnings per share (EPS) increased to N2.94 from N2.16. According to the financial statements for the period ended September 30, 2021, UBA said it had a net interest income of N229.3 billion