Nigerian Rapper Oladips Dies at 28

Afro-pop songstress Abigail Chams (real name Abigail Chamungwana) continues to collect accolades. Following her nomination in 2022 for the Emerging Artist award at the Tanzania Music Award, she closes 2023 as the Spotify EQUAL Africa ambassador for the month of December. The prodigiously talented Abigail, or Abby, as she is often referred to, is a multilingual singer who performs in Swahili, French and English. She is also a multi-instrumentalist who plays five musical instruments, the violin, piano, guitar, flute and drums. The Nani hitmaker was born into a family with a musical heritage where her grandfather directed an orchestra and

Nollywood has numerous actors and actresses who wear different characters to entertain us in movies. The steady rise of Nollywood talents in recent years is remarkable, and this is down to the investment of platforms like Africa Magic in talent discovery and commissioning/licensing of movies and series that cast budding talents. In celebration of Africa Magic at 20, here is a list of renowned Nollywood telnets who rose to stardom on the Africa Magic platform: Tobi Bakre: He’s no doubt one of the hottest talents around at the moment. Tobi rose to stardom on one of Africa Magic’s reality TV

Since its launch in 2018,  MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF), a dynamic corporate shared value (CSV) initiative, has been at the forefront of imparting the technical skills needed for high-quality film production in Africa. Yearly, the MTF West Africa Academy trains and graduates a new set of African storytellers, via a 12-month fully funded training programme that equips them to project the culture of African communities through their films and moves. Some of these young talents have gone on to produce movies and series, some of which aired on Africa Magic channels. Like in any industry, partnerships are the strategic anchor

By Adedapo Adesanya The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has said that its role was not properly considered while enacting the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), 2021. This was contained in a communique issued at the end of a two-day retreat in Uyo, Akwa Ibom signed by the Acting Chairman, Mr Umaru Abdullahi. As a body, RMFAC monitors the accruals to and disbursement of revenue from the federation account. It also reviews, from time to time the revenue allocation formulae and principles in operation to ensure conformity with changing realities as well as advises the Federal and State Governments

By Dipo Olowookere It was another bearish week for investors at the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) Plc. Business Post reports that at the close of business transactions on the floor of the trading platform yesterday, its benchmark index, the Unlisted Securities Index (USI), went down by 1.13 percent week-on-week. Specifically, the NASD USI, which closed at 659.16 points last Friday, finished this Friday at 651.69 points. Also, the total market capitalization depreciated to N441.02 billion yesterday from N446.07 billion last week. On the gainers’ table this week is Friesland Campina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which closed at N141 per

By Dipo Olowookere The Head of Tax and Corporate Advisory Services at PwC Nigeria, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, has said the aim of the controversial Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020 (CAMA 2020) especially concerning non-profit organisations, including religious bodies, is to regulate their activities and not to control them as it is being pushed. The CAMA 2020, which was signed into law recently but is yet to be gazetted, has generated controversies from different quarters, especially from church leaders, who claimed that the law was aimed at controlling the affairs of churches. Many respected Christian leaders have spoken on the

By Dipo Olowookere President Muhammadu Buhari is currently having a crucial National Council of State meeting with some former presidents of Nigeria, serving governors, heads of the two chambers of the National Assembly, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and others. The gathering, which is taking place at the State House in Abuja, is believed to have been called to discuss the Naira redesign policy of the central bank, which has created tension across the country. The Governors of Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara State approached the Supreme Court recently to stop the implementation of the deadline for

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Rules regarding the payment of dividend to shareholders by banks and discount houses in the country have been tightened by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The apex bank, in a circular titled ‘BSD/DIR/GEN/LAB/11/002’ and dated January 31, 2018, explained that the move was to ensure that the lenders use retained earnings as an important source of growing their capital. The circular, signed by the CBN Director in charge of Banking Supervision Department, Mr Ahmad Abdullahi, expressed worry that some institutions pay out a greater proportion of their profits, irrespective of their risk profile and the need

By Adedapo Adesanya The House of Representatives has directed its committee on Petroleum Resources Downstream to investigative the true state of the Port Harcourt refinery, which the federal government has approved the sum of $1.5 billion for its rehabilitation. The lower chamber also mandated the committee to carry out a comprehensive audit of funds previously spent on the Port Harcourt refinery and other refineries across the country. This decision follows a motion moved as a matter of public importance by a lawmaker representing Etinan/Nsit Ibom/ Nsit Ubium Federal Constituency, Onofiok Luke. While debating on the matter, the lawmakers expressed worry

By Adedapo Adesanya The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has voted to appoint Kuwaiti candidate, Mr Haitham al-Ghais, as its new secretary-general. According to Reuters on Monday, this was confirmed by four sources from the group. The appointment of the new secretary-general to succeed Nigeria’s Mohammad Barkindo will become effective in July 2022. Mr al-Ghais, a former Kuwaiti governor to OPEC, had been expected to get the job as he enjoys wide support from member countries. He stepped down as Kuwait’s OPEC governor in June 2021 and was appointed deputy managing director of international marketing at state-owned Kuwait

By Kester Kenn Klomegah The Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU) will host the 6th edition of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) on September 2-4 in Vladivostok that is expected to bring together corporate business directors and investors from the Asian-Pacific region and the Far East region of Russia. Roscongress Foundation, the organizer of the forum, said in a statement that preparations were underway and would depend on the situation with the current pandemic. “The EEF will most likely be held this year, the dates are under discussion so far, but the issue is about autumn. The format will depend on