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*President-elect,  Bola Tinubu,  departs Nigeria for Europe on working visit (Nigeria) President-elect Bola Tinubu on Wednesday, departed Nigeria for Europe on a working visit. Office of the President-elect, in a statement on Wednesday, by Tunde Rahman, said: “He will use the opportunity of the trip to finetune the transition plans and programmes, and his policy options with some of his key aides without unnecessary pressures and distractions. “During the visit, the President-elect will engage with investors and other key allies with the goal of marketing investment opportunities in the country and his administration’s readiness to enable a business-friendly climate through policies and regulations. “Already, meetings with multi-sectoral actors in Europe’s business community including manufacturing, agriculture, tech and energy have been lined up. “Asiwaju Tinubu hopes to convince them of Nigeria’s readiness to do business under his leadership through mutually-beneficial partn...

*President Muhammadu Buhari (Nigeria) Despite Nigeria's foreign debt profile, now about $41.7billion, President Muhammadu Buhari has written the Senate, asking it to approve a fresh loan request of $800million. According to a  letter addressed to the President of the Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan, said: read in full:  "It is with pleasure that I forward the above subject to you. Please note that the Federal Executive Council, FEC, approved an additional loan facitity to the tune of U$800 million to be secured from the World Bank, for the National Social Safety Net Programme, NASSP and the need to request for your consideration and approval to ensure early implementation. (Copy of FEC Extract attached). "The Senate, may wish to note that the Programme is intended to expand coverage of shock responsive Safety Net support among the poor and vulnerable Nigerians. This will assist them in coping with the costs of meeting basic needs. "You may wish to note that, the Fed...

(Nigeria) Police from Force Criminal Investigation Department, Force CID, Annex, Alagbon-Ikoyi, Lagos, have charged the Chairman of NEM Insurance company, Chief Adewale Teluwo on charges of conspiracy and wilful destruction of property. The insurance guru was arraigned Tuesday, before Yaba Chief Magistrate Court, Lagos on the alleged offences. The prosecutor, Morufu Animashaun, while arraigning the defendant before the court presided over by Magistrate O. Y. Adefope, told the court that the defendant committed the offences around Mile 12, Area of Owode-Onirin, Lagos, on November 25, 2021. He told the court that the defendant, and others now at large wilfully destroyed the perimeter fence of the aforementioned property belonging to one Isiaka Abdullahi. The prosecutor told the court that the offences committed by the defendant contravened sections 411 and and 340 of the Criminal Law of Lagos state 2015, and punishable under the same sections. The defendant pleaded not guilty to the...

(Nigeria) The Board Chairman of Seplat Energy Plc, Mr. Basil Omiyi, has assured that the company would hold its scheduled Annual General Meeting, AGM, on Wednesday, in compliance with the final and binding judgment of a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja. The court, Tuesday, in its judgment, ordered Seplat Energy Plc to hold its AGM as scheduled. The judgment by Justice A. Mohammed in suit number FHC/ABJ/PET/7/2023 - Akinnifesi & Adelaja V. Seplat Energy Plc - ‘further restrains any current or former directors, shareholders, and officers of the company from cancelling or postponing the AGM as announced to the public.” Consequently, Mr. Basil Omiyi in a statement said that in due compliance with the law and the judgment, its AGM will hold on May 10, 2023, at 11a.m., as expressly ordered by the court. According to him, the announcement on the AGM, “Is made pursuant to Rule 17.10 of the Rulebook of the Nigerian Exchange, 2015 (Issuer’s Rule).” The suit before Justice Inyang Ekwo, wa...

VP Yemi Osinbajo has commissioned 240MW Afam Three Fast Power plant in Afam, Rivers State (Nigeria) Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has commissioned Transafam Power Limited, a subsidiary of Transnational Corporation Plc’s 240MW Afam Three Fast Power plant in Afam, Rivers State. With an already existing power plant residing in Afam, this brings the cumulative generating capacity of the plant to 1,000MW. In line with Transcorp’s transformative drive, the VP and Chairman of National Council of Privatisation NCP, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, Tuesday presented Transcorp Power Limited, its post privatization discharge certificate, following fulfilment of all privatisation conditions at the meeting of the NCP. This means the power company will no longer be subjected to post-privatisation monitoring. Speaking at the commissioning ceremony the Vice President lauded Transcorp Group's impressive strides in the power sector, saying, “the last few days I must say belongs to Transcorp Power. Just ye...

*Mr. Peter Obi (middle), addressing workers at Abuja May Day celebration. (Nigeria) Presidential candidate of Labour Party, LP in the just concluded 2023 general elections, Mr. Peter Obi, has charged Nigerians not to be disheartened over the pervading economic and political space of the country, saying “We are determined to take back our nation for good and we are not giving up.” Obi in his message at the Eagle Square, Abuja on Monday, venue of May Day Workers celebration, said: “Do not be disheartened by the many challenges that, today, pervade the economic and political space of the nation. Everyone should remain focused on building a more productive and prosperous nation, which are part of the offerings of the New Nigeria. “I want to assure you that the forces of darkness that have held this nation bound for long, will not continue to have their way. We are determined to take back our nation for good and we are not giving up. I urge you all to remain steadfast. The sun of justic...

*Prof. Fabian Ajogwu, SAN (Nigeria) Apparently worried by efforts by some forces outside Seplat Energy Plc to derail the company's steady progress, a non-executive director of the company, Prof. Fabian Ajogwu, has resigned from the Board of the leading indigenous oil and gas firm. Ajogwu, a Professor of Corporate Governance and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, cited unwholesome conduct by some people external to Seplat, but nonetheless resolved to negatively distract the Board of Seplat thereby militating against the smooth operations of the company. His arrival on the board in July 2021 saw him bring the benefit of corporate governance experience from his works and teachings, including the benefit of having drafted Nigeria’s pioneer code of corporate governance, chaired NCC telecoms Code and assisted with the National Code of Corporate Governance as a member. It is understood that he will remain a Board member until October 2023. Reacting to this development, some oil and gas i...

*President Muhammadu Buhari (Nigeria) Amid probe of the alleged loss of over $2.4 billion in revenue from illegal sale of 48 million barrels of crude oil export in 2015 and the the call by the Socio-economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, for President Muhammadu Buhari to set up a presidential panel of enquiry to probe allegations that over 149 million barrels of crude oil are missing, as documented in the 2019 reports by the Auditor General of the Federation and Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, NEITI, the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties, CNPP, has said that such investigation by the current administration would be fruitless. In a statement by its Secretary General, Chief Willy Ezugwu, the CNPP noted that President Buhari cannot probe himself as the Minister of Petroleum Resources since 2015. While SERAP also urged the President to ensure prosecution of anyone suspected to be responsible for plundering the country’s oil wealth and make full re...

*Niger Delta Development Commission's Managing Director, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku (Nigeria) Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has said that capacity-building and thinking out of the box were necessary ingredients for the realisation of the commission’s resolve to make a difference in the development of the Niger Delta region. Speaking while declaring open a two-day training in Capacity-Building on Policy Process and Security Management in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, NDDC's Managing Director, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, stressed the importance of training and re-training in any organisation, noting that periodic update of knowledge was necessary to enhance the service delivery of the commission. Ogbuku, who was represented by the Executive Director Finance and Administration, Major General Charles Airhiavbere,(retd), said that the NDDC management recognised the need for staff development and urged the participants to pay attention and take advantage of the training. The NDDC Chief ...

*UBA corporate headquarters, Lagos (Nigeria) Africa’s Global Bank, United Bank for Africa, UBA, Plc, has released its unaudited results for the first quarter ended March 31st, 2023, recording remarkable growth across all its major income lines. The Bank’s result which was released to the Nigerian Exchange Limited, NGX, on April 13, 2023, showed that gross earnings rose by 47.5 percent from ₦183.9 billion to ₦271.2 billion; while Interest Income which stood at ₦125.9 billion as at March 2022, grew by 53.4 percent to ₦191.9 billion in the quarter under consideration. The results further revealed that Operating Income rose by 39.6 percent to ₦175.7 billion, as against ₦125.9 billion recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2022. Following the sterling performance recorded in its just released 2022-year-end financials, UBA again saw its Profit Before Tax, PBT, rising significantly by 38.2 percent to ₦61.4 billion in Q1 2023, up from ₦44.5 billion recorded in the first quarter of 202...

*L-R: Group Managing Director/CEO, Dangote Cement Plc, Arvind Pathak; Independent Non-Executive Director, Dangote Cement Plc, Dorothy Ufot, SAN; Independent Non-Executive Director, Dangote Cement Plc, Emmanuel Ikazoboh; Chairman, Dangote Cement Plc, Aliko Dangote; Non-Executive Director, Dangote Cement Plc, Abdu Dantata; Independent Non-Executive Director, Dangote Cement Plc, Ernest Ebi; Non-Executive Director, Dangote Cement Plc, Olakunle Alake; Non-Executive Director; Devakumar Edwin; at the 14th Annual General Meeting of Dangote Cement Plc on Thursday. (Nigeria) Chairman of Dangote Cement Plc, Aliko Dangote has guaranteed shareholders and other stakeholders of the company’s management’s resolve to keep the company profitable by leveraging on strategic innovations for the continuous growth of their investments. Speaking at the 14th Annual General Meeting, AGM, of the company in Lagos, Dangote said the prospects for the cement company remain bright as the management will continue to ...

*Embattled of Seplat Energy Plc, CEO, Mr. Roger Brown (Nigeria) A Federal High Court, sitting in Lagos on Thursday vacated the interim ex-parte orders previously made by the court, restraining the Chief Executive Officer of Seplat Energy Plc, Mr. Roger Brown, from participating in the management of the company. Trial judge, Justice Aneke vacated the order while ruling on applications filed by the Respondents, namely Seplat Energy Plc, Mr. Roger Thompson Brown, Mr. Basil Omiyi, and Persons affected by the ex parte orders in Suit No. FHC/L/402/2023. The court held that by virtue of Order 26 Rules 9 and 10 of the of the Federal High Court Civil Procedure Rules 2019, the interim orders of the court made on 8th March 2023 are hereby discharged and vacated. The court also refused the request of counsel to the petitioners to move his application for joinder. Justice Aneke held that the business of the day was for ruling on application to set aside the ex-parte orders made on 8th of March 2023...

  Burnt spare parts and shops at the market (Nigeria) The popular Olowu automobile spare parts market  in Ikeja area of Lagos, has been gutted by fire in the early hours of Thursday. Though no life was lost, this is the third market in Lagos State that would be engulfed by fire in one month. The cause of the fire could not be ascertained at press time. *Burnt spare parts at the market Chairman of the Traders Association, Mr. Bassey Ikpendu,   disclosed that apprentices who slept in the building raised the alarm  at 2.30am of Thursday, when he saw smoke billowing from the roof of one of the shops. Meanwhile, Director, Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Adeseye Margaret, said the fire men from the Ikeja Fire State reached the scene in three minutes after receiving the distress call. She said: “ They were joined by the Alausa fire station. Combustive substance such as refrigerators and air conditioners made the fire to spread rapidly. But we were ...

(Nigeria)  Old and new subscribers to telecoms service provider, Globacom, will benefit from a new MiFi and Router offer which connects up-to 32 Wi-Fi-enabled devices including smartphones, tablets, laptops, smart TVs and game consoles at once. The offer gives subscribers FREE 60GB and 180 GB data upon purchase and activation of a MiFi and Router respectively According to the company, the devices ensure faster downloads, faster music and movie streaming, faster gaming experience and seamless video calls on various smart devices can be used by Students, corporate employees, small and medium scale businesses or by individual subscribers on the go seamlessly. “ Nigerians can purchase the devices from any of our Gloworld one-stop shops or partner outlets.  All they need to do is insert a registered Glo SIM into the MiFi or Router device to access the free 60GB and 180 GB once the device is switched on”, Globacom stated in a press release on Wednesday. The ...

*Zenith Bank Plc corporate headquarters, Lagos (Nigeria) Zenith Bank Plc has announced its audited results for the year ending December 31, 2022, achieving double-digit growth in gross earnings, hitting N945.5 billion, up 24 percent from N765.6 billion reported in the previous year. According to the audited financial results for the 2022 financial year presented to the Nigerian Exchange, NGX, the growth was driven by a 26 percent year-on-year (YoY) growth in interest income which rose to N540.2 billion from N427.6 billion and a 23 percent year-on-year (YoY) growth in non-interest income to N381 billion from N309 billion. Profit before tax grew by 2.0 percent to N284.7 billion from N280.4 billion. The bank recorded 107 percent growth in impairments which rose to N124.2 billion from N59.9 billion, while interest expense grew 63 percent YoY to N173.5 billion from N106.8 billion. The impairment growth, which also resulted in an increase in the cost of risk (from 1.9% in 2021 to 3.3% in ...

(Nigeria) Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige has taken steps to avert the impending nationwide strike of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, billed to commence on Wednesday. Ngige, Monday, intervened in the dispute between NLC and the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, over the latter's Naira Redesign Policy, which caused a cash crunch in the country. The congress had threatened to embark on the nationwide industrial action, if the cash crunch, fuel scarcity and electricity tariff increase were not addressed. In response to the strike threat by the NLC, Ngige invited the leadership of the Congress and the CBN management to a meeting in his office on Monday, to resolve their differences. The ten-man delegation of the NLC was led by the President, Comrade Joe Ajaero and the General Secretary, Emmanuel Ugboaja while the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele was accompanied by two Deputy Governors, Kingsley Obiora (Economic Policy) and Ade Shonubi (Organised Private Sector). Mak...

*NDDC Corporate Headquarters, Port Harcourt, Rivers state (Nigeria) The Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has said it w ould review the c ommission’s youth development programmes in the Niger Delta region to ensure that the youths we re engaged in productive activities. Speaking at the c ommission's headquarters in Port Harcourt , Rivers State, when a delegation from the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education led by the Vice Chancellor, Prof . Okechukwu Onuchukwu, paid a courtesy visit on him, tNDDC Managing Director, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, said that the c ommission was reviewing its youths’ programme to make it more wholesome and sustainable. According to Ogbuku, the NDDC will review the NDDC Youth Volunteer programme into a Youth Internship programme as part of its efforts towards discouraging sedentary lifestyles among the youths of the Niger Delta region. He said: "We no longer want to encourage sedentary lifestyle among our youths. We don't want our youths...

*Federal High Court, Lagos  (Nigeria) A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has struck out the Federal Government's suit seeking to recover and forfeit the sum of N70trillion it alleged was stashed in 29 bank accounts by looters. Justice Peter Lifu held that the Federal Government's lawyers and the private lawyers which it subsequently gave a fiat, did not diligently prosecute the case. The judge expressed shock that the plaintiffs/applicants' counsel from Mohammed Ndarani, SAN, to Femi Falana, SAN "suddenly developed cold feet over this alleged public interest case." The Federal Government of Nigeria and the Attorney-General of the Federation/ Minister of Justice are the plaintiffs/applicants in suit FHC/L/CS/968/2021. The 19 Defendants/Respondents, including 17 banks, are Zenith Bank Plc, Polaris Bank Plc, Citi Bank Ltd, Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, Standard Chartered Bank Plc, Sterling Bank Plc, Union Bank Plc, Unity Bank Plc, Keystone Bank Plc, Heritage Bank...

Onitsha  Main Market on fire (Nigeria) Presidential Candidate of Labour Party, LP, Mr. Peter Obi has commiserate d with traders, who lost goods woth billions of naira to the fire outbreak at Main Market, Onitsha , Anambra State in the early hours of Tuesday. Obi in his tweets on Tuesday, said: “ I received reports of the fire outbreak in Main Market, Onitsha , Anambra State . Preliminary reports suggest that the fire started early in the morning today, and goods worth millions of Naira have been lost to the fire. “ I am saddened by the occurrence of such an ugly incident. Beyond the State, the Main Market, Onitsha plays a vital role in the economy of the nation by boosting the volume of trade in the nation. “ I commiserate with all the victims of the fire incident and hope that the government and concerned Nigerians will come to their aid. I also urge the government to fully investigate the cause of the fire outbreak so as to forestall future occurrences. ”

*Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, corporate headquarters, Abuja (Nigeria) The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has ordered banks in the country to comply with the judgment of the Supreme Court, ordering o ld N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes to r emain l egal t ender till December 31, 2023. CBN’s Ag. Director, Corporate Communications , Isa AbdulMumin in a statement on Monday, said: “ In compliance with the established tradition of obedience to court orders and sustenance of the rule of law principle that characterised the government of President Muhammadu Buhari, and by extension, the operations of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, as a regulator, Deposit Money Banks operating in Nigeria have been directed to comply with the Supreme Court ruling of March 3, 2023. “ Accordingly, the CBN met with the Bankers’ Committee and has directed that the old N200, N500 and N1000 banknotes remain legal tender alongside the redesigned banknotes till December 31, 2023. “ Consequently, all co...