AU Suspends Burkina Faso over Military Coup

By Adedapo Adesanya Prices of food in the globe remained unchanged in September 2023, according to measuring indices by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). The FAO Food Price Index (FFPI) averaged 121.5 points in the month under review, almost unchanged from its value in August, as declines in the price indices of vegetable oils, dairy and meat had offset increases in the sugar and cereal price indices. At this level, the index stood 14.6 points (10.7 per cent) below its corresponding level a year ago and 38.3 points (24.0 per cent) from the all-time high reached in

By Professor Maurice Okoli As stipulated by the guidelines, Russia will take over BRICS [Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa] from January 2024.  With the heightening of geopolitical tensions, Russia’s priority focus is on the group’s possible enlargement to counter U.S. hegemony. It plans to push seriously for critical reforms in the international financial architecture and create a solidified platform for building an equitable multipolar world order. In the past few years, the BRICS group has taken a number of broad initiatives that aim at countering hegemonic policies and against the collective West for imposing the ‘rules of the

By Precious Olisa The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has established a circular economy committee that will develop a national strategy for the efficient use of resources and reducing waste in the country. A statement disclosed that the team would focus on the circular economy principles of reducing, reusing and recycling materials to minimize environmental impact and save resources. The new circular economy committee comprises public and private sector members, who will promote investments in circularity and accelerate the adoption of circular economy practices. Last year, the UAE announced the UAE Net Zero by 2050 Strategic Initiative, a national drive to

By Dipo Olowookere Former bank chief, Mr Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, has retired as Chairman of Wapic Insurance Plc with effect from Monday, April 27, 2020. To succeed him is Mr Mutiu Sunmonu, whose appointment was approved by the board and management of the company. “I am excited to take on this new role and build on the tremendous achievements of Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede. “I am going to work with management and employees to actualise the aspirations espoused in the second phase of our company’s growth plan, most especially creating value for shareholders,” Mr Sunmonu said. Also, the board approved the appointment of

By Adedapo Adesanya The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has reiterated its commitment to tackling oil theft, illegal oil bunkering, sea piracy and other criminality in the maritime sector through multi-agency approaches. To this end, the anti-graft agency says it will collaborate with the Nigerian Navy to tackle the menace of illegal oil bunkering in the Niger Delta region. The Port Harcourt Zonal Head of EFCC, Mr Aliyu Naibi, said this in Port Harcourt, Rivers State while delivering a lecture to students and staff of Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, who came on a study tour of

By Modupe Gbadeyanka President Muhammadu Buhari has been urged to sack the Minister of Information and Culture, Mr Lai Mohammed, and one of the presidential spokesmen, Mr Garba Shehu. The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP), which called for the sacking of Mr Mohammed and Mr Shehu, accused the two officials of ‘misinforming Nigerians and “turning Nigeria into a laughing stock in the international sphere.” In a statement signed by the Secretary-General of CNPP, Mr Willy Ezugwu, on Sunday, the group stressed that the two persons “have contributed to the poor image of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) administration.”

By Adedapo Adesanya The travel ban imposed on African countries because of the Omicron coronavirus variant is hard to justify and will injure Africa’s emergence from the negative impact of the pandemic, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa, has warned. Dr Moeti made the remarks on Thursday as Africa reported a spike in new weekly infections. “With Omicron now present in nearly 60 countries globally, travel bans that mainly target African countries are hard to justify,” said Dr Moeti. “Through the diligent surveillance efforts of African scientists, the new variant of concern was first

By Dipo Olowookere The share price of one of the publicly listed companies, Vitafoam Nigeria Plc, has been slashed by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). The action, which is actually a price adjustment, was taken as a result of the dividend proposed by the board of the organisation. The company’s leadership has recommended the payment of a cash reward to shareholders and they will get 70 kobo for each of the firm’s equities in their portfolios. The dividend, which is higher than the 42 kobo per share of the previous year, would be paid after the shareholders approve it at

SES S.A. announced today a record uptake of its satellite capacity for the Olympics as compared to previous Games. A total of 23,000 hours of capacity has been booked on four SES satellites — NSS-806, SES-4, NSS-7 and SES-3 — to enable transmission of the Games to broadcasters in The Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa. SES is serving a total of 10 leading broadcasters based in the US, the UK, Switzerland, Italy, Brazil and Japan, which includes Eurovision, CNN / Turner and Nippon Television Network. “SES has provided capacity for the Olympics since 2000, and we are pleased that the

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A leading African private equity fund manager, Advanced Finance and Investment Group (AFIG Funds), is investing in Nigeria’s FSDH Merchant Bank, a financial services group. CEO of AFIG Funds, Mr Papa Madiaw Ndiaye, expressed his company’s excitement in being a shareholder of the Nigerian bank through the Atlantic Coast Regional Fund (ACRF). “We are pleased to become a shareholder in FSDH, a well-established financial services group in Nigeria with exciting growth prospects, and a long track record of strong performance. “We look forward to working with the Bank’s management, the board of directors, and the other shareholders

Alcatel has hit the road for its 2016 road show across Nigeria. The brand will be visiting ICT markets, shopping complexes and tertiary institutions across the South-West and South-South parts of the country in the month-long road show which is aimed at showcasing the full range of Alcatel’s affordable devices to consumers. Speaking on the road show, Nick Imudia, Regional Director, Alcatel Nigeria and Central Africa, said, “At Alcatel, we take pride in the fact that we’ve reduced the price points for premium products. Our devices are stylishly designed and packed with premium features but come very affordable. We want