NGX to Host TechNovation Conference September 30

By Adedapo Adesanya The Nigerian government has expressed a fresh commitment to the harmonisation of the country’s data through the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC). This was disclosed by the Minister of Interior, Mr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who said that his Ministry was committed to the success of the project, assuring that the days for multiple ID registration would soon be over. Mr Tunji-Ojo, while hosting the MTN management team led by its chief executive, Mr Karl Toriola, earlier this week in Abuja, disclosed that NIMC has been mandated to harmonise the country’s database as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu seeks to

By Adedapo Adesanya X, formerly known as Twitter, has announced plans to introduce voice and video calls to the platform. This is the latest move by the billionaire owner, Mr Elon Musk, to turn his app into what he calls an “everything app” modelled after China’s super app, WeChat. These features, when introduced, would place X in direct competition with WhatsApp, Telegram, and other social media apps offering the same services. Making its features unique, Mr Musk said users would not need phone numbers to make calls on X. According to the Twitter owner, the features would work on different

By Adedapo Adesanya Data and AI technology company, Flapmax, has announced 12 startups selected for the second cohort of the FAST Accelerator startup programme, created in partnership with Microsoft to help strengthen and scale Africa’s digital ecosystem. Following the conclusion of its 2-week Online Bootcamp, which saw 60+ tech companies participate in intensive online training with experienced mentors, FAST Accelerator’s cohort of 12 startups will progress to a 5-week comprehensive acceleration experience in Silicon Valley, California, starting in October. Speaking on this, Mrs Mame-Fatou Gueye, SME Program Manager, Microsoft Africa Transformation Office, said, “Microsoft believes that African startups and small

By Adedapo Adesanya The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange appreciated in Week 36 by 0.61 per cent after the share prices of five companies compressed the losses posted by four firms on the alternative stock exchange. This pushed the market capitalisation of the bourse higher by N10 billion to N1.12 trillion from the N1.11 trillion achieved in Week 35, as the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI) increased by 4.82 points to 796.04 from 791.22 points. Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc increased by 16.7 per cent to close at 21 Kobo per unit compared with last week’s 13 Kobo per

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A few days ago, the sale of Afam Power to Transcorp Plc for N105 billion was celebrated and the transaction boosted the demand for the shares of the conglomerate at the stock exchange, where it is listed. “This investment deepens our play in the power sector and takes our overall installed generation capacity as a business to 1,936MW from 972MW installed at Transcorp Power located in Ughelli, Delta State,” Transcorp had said after its Chairman, Mr Tony Elumelu, and the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE), Mr Alex Okoh, signed the deal at a ceremony

By Dipo Olowookere BacTech Environmental Corporation on Tuesday announced the results of the first 47 samples (35 routines and 12 control samples) from 3 holes drilled on a 60-hole drill program (approximately 600 m in total) at the company’s joint venture Silver-Copper-Tin tailings remediation project at Telamayu, Bolivia. The purpose of the program is to verify earlier work carried out by BacTech’s partner, Mining Corporation of Bolivia, the Bolivian state mining company, and to provide material for upcoming metallurgical work. Additional results will be released in batches over the next few weeks. Telamayu is an historic mill town situated next

Two pilots of Carveton Helicopters were on Tuesday remanded in prison custody by a Port Harcourt Chief Magistrate Court in Rivers State. The two pilots, Mr Samuel Ugorji and Mr Samuel Buhari were ordered to remain at the Port Harcourt Correctional Centre till May 19, 2020 when their trial will commence. They were accused of intentionally disobeying the Executive Order issued by the Rivers State Governor, Mr Nyesom Wike, aimed at checking the spread of coronavirus in the state. Prosecution Counsel and Officer-in-charge, Legal of the Rivers State Police Command, Superintendent of Police Gladys Amadi, while arraigning the suspects today

By Dipo Olowookere Analysts at Meristem Research have picked four stocks investors should watch keenly this week because they have the huge potentials of delivery good yields to holders. In their weekly recommendation, they said these equities are the top picks for the week and can be mopped up during this five-day trading sessions. These stocks are CAP, Dangote Cement, NEM Insurance and Zenith Bank. Explaining why these equities should be acquired by investors, the analysts said for example, Zenith Bank could bring an expected return of 50.16 percent when bought at its opening price of N18.50k on Monday to

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The nation’s parlous energy situation took the centre stage on Monday in Asaba as stakeholders lamented the massive power outages in Delta State, particularly Sapele. They also agreed on eight – hour daily uninterrupted power supply for Sapele. Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Mr Monday Igbuya, described the electricity situation in Sapele as unbearable and oppressive. Mr Igbuya spoke on the recent protest in Sapele. He gave his view on the drop in electricity supply in the country and its effects on people and organizations during. His comments follow a recent protest concerning the

By Investors Hub Asian stocks finished broadly higher on Wednesday as record closing highs on Wall Street overnight on the back of upbeat economic data and a positive reaction to Fed Chair nominee Jerome Powell’s comments regarding financial regulations helped investors shrug off news about North Korea’s latest missile launch. China’s Shanghai Composite Index closed up 4.35 points or 0.1 percent at 3,338.00, led by property developers and resource firms. However, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index edged down 57.02 points or 0.2 percent to 29,623.83. A strong rally in financials helped the Japanese markets end higher for the day. The

By Adedapo Adesanya Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Mr Isa Ibrahim Pantami, has said that Nigeria was taking steps to fully embrace Open Data Initiative in order to compete and attract global recognition in the world of Information Communication Technology, (ICT). He made this known at the South-South zone of the Nigerian Open Data Conference held in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. Mr Pantami stated that for Nigeria to play a key role in the ongoing data revolution, there was a need to embrace Open Data Initiative and improve data literacy of its citizenry, especially now that data is the