The Nigerian Exchange sustained its bearish trend on Thursday, losing N84 billion in market value, driven by declines in Skyway Aviation Handling and NEM Insurance stocks. The All-Share Index dropped by 0.15% to close at 97,978.02 basis points, while market capitalisation also decreased by 0.15% to N55.424 trillion. The market’s downturn was marked by a higher number of decliners (28) compared to gainers (17). This follows N89 billion loss on Wednesday, as investors reacted to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Committee’s decision to hike the benchmark interest rate. Among the significant losers, Skyway Aviation Handling experienced a steep…
Author: Omolemi Eboisetale
The Rivers State leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has renewed its efforts to persuade the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to join its ranks. During a one-million-man solidarity march for Tinubu’s ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ in Port Harcourt, the APC Caretaker Committee Chairman, Tony Okocha, emphasized Wike’s significant influence in Rivers State politics. Okocha stated Wike’s political acumen and referred to him as a “political strategist who cannot be ignored,” noting his instrumental role in Tinubu’s success in the 2023 elections within the state. “Wike is the leader of the ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ in Rivers State. He…
Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum, Heineken Lokpobri, has announced a boost in the country’s oil and gas sector, attributing it to the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA). In a recent briefing in Abuja marking the one-year anniversary of President Tinubu’s administration, Lokpobri disclosed that the PIA had already started yielding positive results by attracting a staggering $16.6 billion in deepwater offshore investments. Lokpobri stated that Nigeria’s pro-business policies over the past year had restored investors’ confidence, effectively removing obstacles that previously hindered investment in the sector. He highlighted key factors contributing to this surge in investment, including…
Former Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika, and his brother, Ahmad Abubakar Sirika, were granted bail on Thursday by Justice Suleiman Belgore of the Federal Capital Territory High Court. The bail, set at N100 million Naira each, comes with the condition that one of the sureties must own a landed property in the Federal Capital Territory of equal value. Additionally, the defendants are prohibited from traveling outside Nigeria without court permission. Justice Belgore’s decision to grant bail followed closely the conditions set by Justice Sylvanus Oriji, also of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja. The judge noted, “I see no…
Israeli forces thrust deeper into Jabalia in northern Gaza on Tuesday, striking a hospital and destroying residential areas with tank and air bombardments, residents said, while Israeli airstrikes killed at least five people in Rafah in the south. Simultaneous Israeli assaults on the northern and southern edges of the Gaza Strip this month have caused a new exodus of hundreds of thousands of people fleeing their homes, and sharply restricted the flow of aid, raising the risk of famine. In Jabalia, a sprawling refugee camp built for displaced civilians 75 years ago, the Israeli army used bulldozers to clear shops…
President Bola Tinubu has directed a thorough review of the recently announced governing boards of tertiary institutions in Nigeria following significant public outcry. The directive was conveyed by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a statement from the State House titled “President Tinubu Directs Comprehensive Review of Governing Boards of Tertiary Institutions.” The initial appointments included 555 individuals designated as Pro-Chancellors/Chairmen and members of the Governing Boards of 111 federal universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education. These appointments, which were approved by President Tinubu based on recommendations from the Ministry of Education, sparked controversy due…
Several Nigerian students enrolled at Teesside University in the United Kingdom were recently removed from their academic programs and ordered to leave the country due to difficulties paying tuition fees on time. The BBC reports that the issue stems from the devaluation of the Nigerian naira, making it challenging for the students to meet their financial obligations. According to the report, this situation has resulted in a breach of the students’ visa sponsorship requirements. Consequently, the university blocked their access to educational resources, reported them to the Home Office, and initiated deportation proceedings. The affected students expressed…
The Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission, Prof. Tunji Olaopa, has called for the scrapping of the Higher National Diploma (HND) to resolve the ongoing professional rivalry between HND and university degree holders in Nigeria. Speaking at a one-day dialogue on the future of HND in the Nigerian educational landscape, Olaopa emphasized that eliminating the HND would help end the “lingering professional war” between Bachelor of Science (B.Sc) and HND qualifications. Olaopa advocated for the conversion of polytechnics into degree-awarding institutions, retaining the National Diploma (ND) as a qualifying certificate for entrance into these newly designated universities of technology.…
The University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) has announced plans to conduct a mass burial for 270 unclaimed corpses if they are not claimed by their owners within the next six weeks. The announcement was made by Ehizogie Adeyemi, the Coordinator of Mortuary Services at UBTH, during a press briefing on Tuesday. The breakdown of the unclaimed corpses includes 201 infants and 69 adults. According to Adeyemi, the infants’ bodies have been in the hospital since 2023, while the adult bodies have remained unclaimed from April 2021 to December 2022. The hospital management had previously issued a statement on Monday,…
Migration is a crucial driver of economic resilience, growth and prosperity, Amy Pope, Director-General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said on Tuesday. Pope said in Lagos that migrants were often a solution to some of the world’s most pressing problems, including climate change. She spoke at the opening of the 2024 International Dialogue on Migration. The dialogue, with the theme – Facilitating Regular Pathways to a Better Future: Harnessing the Power of Migration – was organised by IOM. According to Pope, the 2030 Agenda explicitly recognises that migration can be a powerful catalyst for sustainable development because of…
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has called on the Nigerian House of Representatives to reject the proposed death penalty bill for drug offenders. This appeal follows the Senate’s approval of the bill, which now requires concurrence from the House before being presented to President Bola Tinubu for assent. UNODC Representative in Nigeria, Oliver Stolpe, voiced the organization’s strong opposition during the 2024 Media Personnel Training on Anti-corruption, Police Accountability, Wildlife Crime, and Sensitisation on Drugs and Drug Prevention, Treatment, and Care held in Abuja. The training event was co-organized by the UNODC and the National Drug…
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called Taiwan’s newly-inaugurated President Lai Ching-te “disgraceful” on Tuesday, stepping up Beijing’s rhetoric just a day after he took office. China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, believes Lai to be a “separatist”, and has rebuffed his offers of talks. China’s government has generally avoided directly naming Lai since he won election in January, unlike in the run-up to the vote where they regularly denounced him by name and said the election was a choice between war and peace. Speaking at a foreign ministers meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Kazakhstan, Wang said…