New Nokia 110 Africa Edition Hits Markets

By Adedapo Adesanya The Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (EVC/CEO) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Mr Aminu Maida, has charged Nokia Networks to increase its investments in Research and Development (R&D) to support the growth of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Nigeria. Mr Maida spoke when a delegation from Nokia Networks of Finland led by the Deputy Minister, Under-Secretary of State for International Trade from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, Mr Jarno Syrjala, visited the commission recently to explore further opportunities for mutually beneficial relationships. He told the delegation that the Nigerian government is

By Adedapo Adesanya The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Mr Bosun Tijani, has announced a plan to help Nigerian tech startups raise a total of $5 billion yearly in funding rounds by 2027. He disclosed the plan in the ministry’s 31-page Strategic Blueprint document titled Accelerating our Collective Prosperity through Technical Efficiency, released and seen by Business Post on Monday. Mr Tijani said the ministry’s primary objective is to stimulate the growth and sustainability of startups, with a specific focus on developing innovative solutions for critical sectors of the economy. “Recognising the critical role of patient capital in the

By Adedapo Adesanya The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Mr Bosun Tijani, intends to close the world’s tech talent shortage by almost a quarter with Nigerian workers. He said this would be achieved through the federal government’s plan to train 3 million technical talents over the next four years. The initiative could help achieve President Bola Tinubu’s goal of creating a million tech jobs in the first two years of his administration. “I believe, based on data that LinkedIn has projected, Nigeria can fill about 23 per cent of the current global shortage in technology talents,” Mr Tijani

By Adedapo Adesanya The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Mr Bosun Tijani, has announced a N1 billion partnership between the ministry and IHS Towers, one of the largest independent communications infrastructure firms in the world, to establish the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) Learning Community. The ministry earlier this month released a 31-page policy document titled Accelerating our Collective Prosperity through Technical Efficiency which outlined plans to boost the country’s economy through the use of technology. It said it would collaborate with other ministries and parastatals, including private sector stakeholders to drive opportunities for startups to facilitate the

By Dipo Olowookere The All-Share Index (ASI) of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) crossed the 24,000 threshold on Wednesday on sustained bullish trend. According to data from the exchange, the benchmark index increased by 334.06 points to 24,143.37 points from 23,809.31 points. Similarly, the market capitalisation, which measures the total market size of the exchange, increased by N174 billion at the midweek session to N12.582 trillion from N12.408 trillion. Business Post reports that there were only four price losers yesterday, while the market closed with 35 price gainers. Nigerian Breweries was the highest price gainer, adding N3 to its share

By Adedapo Adesanya Brent crude surged by 8.77 per cent or $8.6 on Thursday to $106.6 per barrel following warnings that the market could lose about 3 million barrels per day of Russian oil supply starting from next month. In the same vein, the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) grew by 8.21 per cent or $8.64 to trade at $103.3 per barrel as the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its latest Oil Market Report that the world could run into the biggest supply crisis in decades. Prices had fallen in the previous session after government data showed US crude

By Dipo Olowookere On Thursday, one of the cement manufacturing firms in the country, Cement Company of Northern Nigerian (CCNN) Plc, released its unaudited financial statements for the period ended March 31, 2019. From the results released, the company improved its revenue by 213 percent to N16.9 billion from N5.4 billion, which was impacted by its merger with Kalambina Cement last year. This increased the production capacity of CCNN from 500,000MT/annum to 2 million MT/annum. The merger also impacted on the cost of sales of CCNN, which significantly grew to N9.2 billion in Q1 2019 from N3.1 billion in Q1

By Dipo Olowookere A total turnover of 1.8 billion shares worth N31.2 billion in 24,604 deals were traded last week by investors on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in contrast to a total of 2.7 billion shares valued at N84.8 billion that exchanged hands last week in 19,715 deals. The Financial Services Industry, measured by volume, led the activity chart with 1.4 billion shares valued at N19.7 billion traded in 13,950 deals; thus contributing 81.37% and 63.23% to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively. The Consumer Goods Industry followed with 153.1 million shares worth N6.8

By Module Gbadeyanka The Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Mr Funminiyi Afuye, has died, a statement from the state government has confirmed. Mr Afuye died on Wednesday evening at the Ekiti State Teaching Hospital (EKSUTH), Ado- Ekiti, the state capital. He was said to have died after suffering from a cardiac arrest. “The Government of Ekiti State regrets to announce the death of the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Funminiyi Afuye.  “Afuye died Wednesday evening at the Ekiti State Teaching Hospital (EKSUTH), Ado- Ekiti, where he was receiving treatment after suffering a cardiac arrest. “The

By Modupe Gbadeyanka General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has been described by the Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, as God’s gift to Nigeria. Mr Ambode said this on Wednesday as the renowned man of God clocks 75 on Thursday, March 2, 2017. The Governor, in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Habib Aruna, said Mr Adeboye is a minister of God who has over the years exhibited an unrivalled passion to expand the work of God and humanity at large. He said that aside the fact that the

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Nigerian stock market recorded a marginal gain on Thursday, closing 0.01 percent higher to push the year-to-date gain to 36.36 percent. The market had begun bearish and it was looking like it would be the third consecutive losses at the stock market, but before the close of business, it picked up to finish bullish. At the close of transactions, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 4.13 points to close at 36,645.65 points, while the market capitalisation improved by N1.4 billion to settle at N12.6 trillion, and the market breadth ended negative with 19 gainers and 20

By Adedapo Adesanya The sugar plan of federal government has received a huge boost following the Sunti Sugar Estates investment in Mokwa, Niger State. Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, Mr Niyi Adebayo, paid a courtesy visit to the plantation on Thursday, December 12, 2019. During the visit, the Minister expressed surprise at the level of investment at Sunti Golden Sugar Estates, describing it as the largest under the Sugar Backward Integration Policy of the federal government. He said the plan of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration was put in place to attract over $1 billion annually in local and