GTBank Fashion Weekend 2019 Begins November 9

Veteran Nollywood actress, Joke Sylva, has said Africa Magic heralded a paradigm shift in the entertainment industry when it launched in Nigeria in 2003. The actress in an interview with The Guardian Newspaper, said the platform raised the bar through huge investment in equipment and technology for movie production, which spurred the development and growth of talents in the industry. According to her, the popular series, Tinsel, upped the ante for storytelling and production standards in Nollywood. “There was a comment I sent to Mr Odugbemi recently where I said Tinsel was almost envisioning the future of Nollywood because when

By Ncebakazi Manzi The rise of Afrobeats over the past decade or so has been nothing short of remarkable. From the streets of Nigeria and Ghana, it has become a global phenomenon, with some of the world’s biggest artists collaborating with Afrobeats icons and emerging artists alike. In a sign of how rapid the ascent of Afrobeats has been, Spotify recently held events in Nigeria celebrating 13 billion streams of the genre. The growth of Afrobeats is unlikely to slow down anytime soon either, especially as streaming continues to grow across Africa. According to research firm Statista, the continent’s streaming

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A veteran Nigerian actor, Mr John Okafor, popularly known as Mr Ibu, has lost one of his legs to amputation, his family has confirmed. Doctors treating the movie star cut off the leg to quicken his recovery after undergoing seven successful surgeries. His family recently appealed for support from Nigerians over the deteriorating health of the superstar. Several persons heeded the call, enabling him to get the required medical care from doctors. In an update on Monday, his family thanked Nigerians for standing by him, disclosing that one of his legs had been amputated by the doctors.

By Adedapo Adesanya The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has voted to increase the benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points, bringing it to 18.00 per cent from 17.50 per cent. This was disclosed by the CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, on Tuesday while reading the communiqué of the 290th MPC meeting. Mr Emefiele said the committee voted to keep the asymmetric corridor at +100 and -500 basis points around the MPR. He also disclosed that the MPC voted to keep the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) at 32.5 per cent, as well as the

By Dipo Olowookere The treasury bills market space was slightly bullish on Friday after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) failed to conduct an Open Market Operations (OMO). It was observed during the trading session that investors started to cherry pick on attractive yields around the mid tenors. According to analysts at Zedcrest Research, yields consequently closed lower by 0.15 percent on the day. However, in the coming week, yields are expected to trend slightly higher as the CBN will likely sustain its spate of OMO and FX interventions in the market. Meanwhile, rates in the money market remained elevated

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited have expressed optimism that the country can achieve rapid economic growth if they further strengthen their synergies. At a closing gong ceremony held on Tuesday at the NGX to commemorate the 25th anniversary of CSCS and celebrate the long-standing cooperation between both entities, the chief executive of CSCS, Mr Haruna Jalo-Waziri, expressed satisfaction with the level of collaboration between both organisations and called for more. He recognised the efforts of the exchange in starting the central clearing and settlements firm and structuring the

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Crowdsourcing firm, SpeedChecker, has ranked Airtel Nigeria as the fastest network provider in Nigeria, beating other telecommunications service providers in the country. In its 2021 report for Africa’s Mobile Network Champions, SpeedChecker said Airtel Nigeria recorded an average country mobile download speed of 11.55Mbit/s. The report ranked countries and mobile network operators in two different categories; fastest mobile network champion and best mobile coverage champion. According to the report, internet speed in Nigeria ranked 16th out of the 46 countries that were examined by SpeedChecker. The platform helps mobile operators get a better understanding of their network

By Dipo Olowookere Senate President, Mr Bukola Saraki, has formally announced his intention to contest the presidential election in 2019. The embattled Senate President is planning to pick to the sole ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to enable him slug it out with candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), which will most likely be President Muhammadu Buhari, who is seeking a second term in office. Mr Saraki formally made his presidential ambition known on Thursday afternoon at the Sheraton Hotel, where he held a meeting with some young aspirants of the PDP. The Senate President will

By Ashemriogwa Emmanuel The United Kingdom (UK) has advised its citizens against travelling to some northern and middle belt states in Nigeria it described as danger zones as a result of the heightened kidnap cases and increased insecurity in those regions. These states include Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Gombe, Kaduna, Katsina, Zamfara, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River. In a travel advisory for its nationals released on Saturday, October 16, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) announced to foreign nationals that there was a high threat of kidnap throughout Nigeria for ideological, financial or political reasons. According

By Dipo Olowookere Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has expressed his determination to provide an enabling environment for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMES) sector in the state. According to him, any entity that intends to grow its economy must treat the sector well because it has the huge tendency to lift many people out of poverty than big corporations. Speaking on the occasion of the International Day for Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, celebrated on June 27, the Governor said lauded the resilience of men and women across the world, who have continued to champion MSMEs despite poor

By Kester Kenn Klomegah Since the Soviet collapse in 1991, the question of media representation both ways, in Russia and in Africa, has attracted unprecedented concern and discussions. Over the years, nearly 30 years after the Soviet era, Russia has not encouraged African media, especially those from south of Sahara, to operate in the Russian Federation. Interestingly, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Information and Press Department has accredited media from Latin America, the United States, Europe and Asian countries, and only two African media came from the Maghreb region (Morocco and Egypt) in North Africa. An official information presented during the