D’Banj Expresses Excitement Joining Afrozons Dubai Soundoff

By Dipo Olowookere A fast-rising music act in Nigeria, Divine Ikubor, professionally known as Rema, has achieved a remarkable milestone with his hit single, Calm Down. The smash-hit song has recorded one billion streams on the prominent audio streaming platform, Spotify, joining the prestigious Billions Club of the company, the first African artist-led track to achieve such. “It’s a blessing,” Rema enthused, emphasising that, “It’s not just a big win for me, my team and my family; it’s also a big one for the culture.” The singer, who disclosed in March that he abandoned his admission to the University of

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 Modupe Gbadeyanka Eight nightclubs and event centres within Ikeja and Victoria Island have been sealed by the Lagos State government over safety violations. A statement by the Lagos State Safety Commission disclosed that the affected facilities were shut down to ensure the safety of lives and properties in the metropolis. A few facilities accused of contravening the state’s safety laws were Hot Box Night Club, Shades Night Club, Buzzbar, and CCX Lounge. The Director General of the agency, Mr Lanre Mojola, said the administration of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has zero tolerance for violation of safety laws and will continually

By Modupe Gbadeyanka To immortalise iconic figures in the Nigerian movie industry fondly called Nollywood, a US-based entertainment outfit, Nollytainment Incorporated, is creating an NFT Collection through Nollywood Superstars NFT Collection. A statement from the organisation said three superstars in the industry have been pencilled down for this and they are Kate Henshaw, Richard Mofe Damijo (RMD), and Odulade Adekola. It was disclosed that the NFT Collection would be unveiled on Sunday, October 1, 2023, a day set aside to celebrate Nigeria’s independence. On that day, 1,000 of these exquisite Nollywood super digital NFTs will be distributed for free to

By Dipo Olowookere The trading indices of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited maintained a downward movement on Thursday on the back of sustained profit-taking across the major sub-sectors of the platform. The industrial goods counter managed to close flat yesterday but the others pointed south, with the consumer goods sector losing 0.26 per cent, the insurance space declining by 0.18 per cent, the energy index dropping 0.16 per cent and the banking sector depreciating by 0.09 per cent. Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) cracked by 35.45 points to 49,540.48 points from 49,575.93 points, while the market capitalisation decreased by N19

By Ashemiriogwa Emmanuel No fewer than four Nigerians have been sponsored by the United States Government to participate in the advanced Public Health Emergency Management (PHEM) Fellowship program. The two-week advanced PHEM program is focused on core principles of an Incident Management System (IMS) as an efficient coordination mechanism for responding to small disease outbreaks. The training, which will take place at the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, also covers more significant public health emergencies such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The sponsorship was disclosed by the United States Consul General, Mrs Claire Pierengelo, during the

By Dipo Olowookere Friday, June 12, 2020, has been declared a public holiday by the federal government to mark the democracy day celebration in Nigeria. A statement issued on Monday, June 8, 2020 by the permanent secretary in the ministry of interior, Ms Georgina Ehuriah, stated that the day would be used to mark the sacrifices some Nigerians made for the return of democracy into the country. She said the Minister of Interior, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, while declaring the holiday for federal government, congratulated all Nigerians at home and abroad for the entrenchment of democratic rule in the country. He

By Dipo Olowookere The federal government went to the debt market on Wednesday to raise some funds through the issuance of local bonds to interested investors. The exercise was conducted on behalf of the government by the Debt Management Office (DMO) and two tenors were auctioned to subscribers. According to results of the bond sale released by the DMO, the notes auctioned yesterday were the 15-year bond and the 25-year bond, both reopening. During the exercise, N30.0 billion worth of the 15-year instrument with an actual maturity of 14 years and 3 months was auctioned, while another N30.0 billion was

By Prince Charles Dickson PhD Two neighbours came before Jupiter and prayed to him to grant their hearts’ desires. Now the one was full of avarice, and the other ate up with envy. So, to punish them both, Jupiter granted that each might have whatever he wished for himself, but only on condition that his neighbour had twice as much. The Avaricious man prayed to have a room full of gold. No sooner said than done, but all his joy was turned to grief when he found that his neighbour had two rooms full of the precious metal. Then came

By Investors Hub The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a lower opening on Tuesday following the long holiday weekend. Traders may look to cash in on recent gains, which lifted both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 to record closing highs last week. After trending higher for several sessions, stocks showed a lack of direction throughout the trading day on Friday. Despite the choppy trading, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 ended the day at new record closing highs. The major averages finished the day on opposite sides of the unchanged line. The Dow edged down 2.67 points

By Investors Hub Major U.S. index futures are pointing to a higher opening on Friday, with stocks poised to extend the seesaw trend seen over the past few sessions. The upward momentum on Wall Street comes on the heels of the sharp pullback seen in the previous session, which largely offset the rally seen on Wednesday. The markets may also benefit from window dressing, as traders look to boost their portfolios on the final trading day of the second quarter. Stocks climbed well off their worst levels in afternoon trading on Thursday but remained stuck firmly in negative territory. With

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to speak with him from his London medical vacation to prove he is hale and hearty. Mr Fayose, in a statement issued on Sunday by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Idowu Adelusi, said speaking with him (Fayose) would make Nigerians believe he is still okay as citizens are being made to believe by the media handlers. According to the Governor, “I advised the President to speak with me for the purpose of convincing Nigerians that he is hale and hearty instead of looking for people outside