Okonjo-Iweala on Verge of Becoming WTO DG as Contender ‘Quits’

By Adedapo Adesanya President Bola Tinubu extended his heartfelt condolences to King Mohammed VI of Morocco following Saturday’s devastating earthquake in his homeland, which has claimed close to 800 lives. In a statement signed by Mr Ajuri Ngelale, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity on Saturday, he commiserated with all families who lost loved ones and all those otherwise affected by this tragedy, while wishing a full and swift recovery to those who were injured. President Tinubu assured the government and people of Morocco that the heartfelt prayers and thoughts of Nigerians are with them during

By Adedapo Adesanya The Director-General (DG) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and the President of Kenya, Mr William Ruto, will hold a discussion on positive climate growth, investment, and trade in Africa tomorrow (Tuesday, September 19). The conversation, hosted by the Africa Center in partnership with Global Citizen, Climate Action Platform Africa (CAP-A), and the Government of Kenya, will take place at The Africa Center at Aliko Dangote Hall in New York City. Speaking on the programme, Mr Uzodinma Iweala, CEO of The Africa Center, said the conversation was coming at a time when Africa is

By Adedapo Adesanya In an unprecedented response to the devastation caused by the recent earthquake in Morocco, Binance, through its charity arm, has announced plans to airdrop up to $3 million in Binance Coin (BNB) to Binance users identified as living in the areas affected by the tragedy. Last Friday, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck Marakkesh in the North African country and has left close to 3,000 dead, with at least 2,500 injured and a host of others missing. In the aftermath of natural disasters, people often lose access to traditional banking at the exact moment when extra funds are

By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh The Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) is held annually in cooperation with the Far East regional administration in the city of Vladivostok. Three years of COVID-19, followed by Russia’s ‘special military operation’ and the current geopolitical situation, have adversely affected this corporate business event, as Russia looks towards the East and makes the main focus on developing the Far East. Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the opening session that the government would not allow the pace of development to slacken in the Russian Far East as it is a strategic region for the country. “We will

By Dipo Olowookere The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) depreciated by 0.57 per cent on Tuesday, no thanks to profit-takers, who strengthened the bears and caused the market to lose N188 billion. Sell-offs in industrial goods and insurance stocks left their respective sectors closing 1.90 per cent and 0.16 per cent lower. They overpowered the gains recorded by the banking (0.94) and consumer goods (0.07) sectors as the energy counter closed flat. At the close of transactions, the All-Share Index (ASI) went down by 226.26 points to 39,267.11 points from 39,493.37 points, while the market capitalisation reduced by N118 billion to

By Adedapo Adesanya President Muhammadu Buhari will address Nigerians via a live broadcast at 7:00 a.m on Sunday, June 12. This was disclosed by the Minister of Information, Mr Lai Mohammed, during a Thursday morning briefing at Radio House in Abuja where he detailed activities to mark this year’s Democracy Day celebration. The Minister listed some of the activities lined up for the day as a public lecture at the National Mosque on Friday and Jumat prayers on the same date and venue. According to him, this will be followed by the President’s address and a church service at the

By Dipo Olowookere A new ‘convert’ is joining the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) very soon and the company is Briclinks Africa Plc, Business Post can authoritatively confirm. Briclinks Africa Plc is a telecommunication company based in Abuja that empowers businesses and homes to thrive in a connected world through the provision of broadband data, voice system, upgrade and maintenance and other communications and cloud-based industry solutions, and integrated services. Over the weekend, in a regulatory document sighted by Business Post, it was confirmed that the approval for the listing of the company’s shares has been secured. But Briclinks Africa is

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The life ban place on the Managing Director of Partnership Investments Limited, Mr Victor Ogiemwonyi, by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been approved by the Federal Ministry of Finance. Anchor of Channels Television’s Business Morning, Mr Boason Omofaye, broke the news on Tuesday on Twitter via his account on the popular social media platform. Mr Ogiemwonyi was alleged to have fraudulently sold shares belonging to his clients and misappropriated the proceeds. His victims were Chairman of Standard Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Mr Godwin Anono; and former Managing Director of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), Mr Arnold

Stakeholders in the Nigerian hospitality and tourism industry convened at the Hotel Expo Nigeria 2022, with Africa’s leading integrated payments and digital commerce company, Interswitch, as one of its sponsors, to discuss the way forward for the sector that faced unprecedented challenges occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic. The event, which was held recently at the Landmark Centre, drew players from the various corners of the sector, including manufacturers, hoteliers, tourism and booking agents, and top executives, among others, to give insights into the hospitality business. With the disruption caused by the pandemic in hindsight, the two-day event focused on conversations

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has been accused of being used by influential politicians to influence outcome of the 2019 governorship election in Zamfara State. This allegation was made by a coalition of civil society organisations under the aegis of Zamfara Unity Forum, which said the consensus governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, Daudu Lawal, was arrested and detained by the EFCC for over a week. In the statement signed by Usman Bungudu, convener of the forum, the group said it is part of the “grand plan” to influence the election. “It is

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The betting industry in Nigeria is about to be disrupted with the introduction of Soloti Gaming Limited into the ecosystem. The firm, which obtained its operation licenses from the National Lottery Board and the Lagos State Lottery Board, has assured Nigerians the best betting experience. “We have over the last two years been conducting extensive research on the gaming industry in Africa, notably West Africa, and we believe it is time to revolutionise and reposition the gaming industry in Nigeria, offering innovative and more strategic outcomes beneficial to the over 70 million punters in the Nigeria gaming

By Sodeinde Temidayo David The Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) Plc has claimed that it disbursed a total of N400 billion to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the country in the past four years. This disclosure was made on Tuesday by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of DBN, Mr Tony Okpanachi, during the second annual lecture series of the bank which was held virtually. According to Mr Okpanachi, the bank has lived up to its mandate by providing long term financing, capacity building and partial credit guarantees to small businesses in the country. He disclosed that since the initiation