The Federal Government on Thursday assured operators in the oil and gas sector as well as other stakeholders that the Petroleum Industry Bill would soon be signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari. Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, who gave the assurance in Abuja, stated that the bill would be signed into law because it would ensure openness in the oil sector. Sylva disclosed this when the Board of Trustees of Corruption Reporters led by Yunusa Tanko gave him an award for championing anti-corruption fight by promoting transparency in the petroleum industry. The non-passage of the…
Author: Temitope N.
The Federal Inland Revenue Service has raked in over N650 billion in June, which is its highest monthly revenue recorded since the inception of the COVID-19 pandemic. This was disclosed on Thursday in a statement titled ‘FIRS makes historic tax haul, rakes in N650 billion in June’, signed by the FIRS Director of Communication and Liaison, Abdullahi Ahmad. The statement partly read, “The Federal Inland Revenue Service has raked in over N650 billion in June 2021, the highest revenue in a single month since the COVID-19 pandemic started and the assumption of office of the current management.” The statement revealed…
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a $50 million loan to First City Monument Bank (FCMB) to support local enterprises and women-led businesses in the agribusiness, manufacturing, healthcare and renewable energy sectors. In a recent statement by AfDB on Wednesday, the bank said 30 percent of the funds, intended to mitigate effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, are earmarked for underserved women-empowered businesses. AfDB said it will provide a technical assistance grant of $200,000 through its affirmative finance action for women in Africa (AFAWA) initiative, supported by the World Bank-AfDB’s women entrepreneurship finance initiative. It said the grant will complement…
FCMB Pensions Limited, one of the subsidiaries of the First City Monument Bank Group Plc, has acquired a 60 percent stake in AIICO Pension Managers Limited, taking control of the subsidiary of AIICO Insurance Plc. FCMB’s Chief Financial Officer, Kayode Adewuyi, stated on Wednesday that the acquisition follows relevant regulatory approvals. According to the deal, FCMB pensions acquired a 33.9 percent stake held by AIICO Insurance Plc and 26.1 percent stake held by other shareholders in AIICO Pensions. FCMB Pension Limited, had in June 2020, announced that it is in talks with AIICO Pensions to acquire a total of…
A new study has suggested that people who suffered stroke may have started experiencing signs of the health condition 10 years before the attack occurs. Reporting in the BMJ Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, the team of scientists from the Netherland said that they wanted to determine the long-term trajectories of cognition and daily functioning before and after stroke because little is known of the cognitive decline that occurs before a stroke. To understand this, the researchers analysed 14,926 participants between 1990 and 2018 who were 45 years and above. Between this time, the participants underwent tests that assessed…
The World Health Organisation on Wednesday urged “extreme caution” for countries considering lifting COVID-19 restrictions, warning that high vaccination rates would not stop the increasing transmission of the virus. The UN health agency urged governments not to squander hard-won gains and return to scenes of overwhelmed hospitals and exhausted health workers. Asked about England’s plans to ditch most of its coronavirus restrictions from July 19, WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan said: “I would urge extreme caution in the complete lifting of public health and social measures at this time because there are consequences for that.” WHO figures show that globally,…
Six states and the Federal Capital Territory have recorded 110 new COVID-19 infections, according to figures released on Thursday morning by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control. The agency also reported no new COVID-19 related death. The NCDC disclosed this on its official website on Thursday. According to the NCDC, the 110 new cases were recorded from the FCT and six other states. Lagos recorded the highest figures for new infections by reporting 88 new cases, Rivers – 12, Akwa Ibom – 4, Jigawa–2, Ogun–2, while FCT and Kano reported one new infection each. According to the health agency, the…
The 400-metre-long container ship will be seen off on Wednesday in a ceremony attended by dignitaries, diplomats and company officials from around the world. In fact, the last time the Suez Canal Authority, which is hosting the event, promised this much fanfare was in 2015, when an $8 billion expansion project was completed within a year. The ship is slated to sail into the Mediterranean and then to Rotterdam. This time though, the event will be as much about closure as celebration. Because it was the Ever Given, the giant Japanese-owned vessel carrying some $1 billion worth of cargo, that…
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says Nigeria faces a six-year delay in achieving its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Kristalina Georgieva, IMF managing director, made this known in her remarks at the UN high level political forum on sustainable-development, on Tuesday. Georgieva said the decision of policymakers across the world resulted in an increase in the IMF global growth forecast to six percent in 2021 and four percent in 2022. She said despite the increased growth projection, countries are facing a set back in the path to accomplishing the SDGs. The IMF MD noted that enormous challenges are faced by all…
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, has tasked the board of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) on enforcement of deregulation when the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) becomes law. Sylva gave the charge while inuagurating the Board Chairman of the Agency, Mr Obinna Atuonwu, in Abuja, on Wednesday. “You were carefully chosen, and more especially at a good time when the PIB has been passed by the National Assembly. This entails a lot of movement. “There is a provision for deregulation and subsidy removal in the bill, you are going to manage so many things,…
According to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, thanks to the federal government’s COVID-19 stimulus package, the Nigerian economy did not degenerate as feared and at least over 2 million jobs have both been created and saved with the implementation of the Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP). The Osinbajo-led Economic Sustainability Committee (ESC) also reiterates that although the target of N2.3 trillion estimated to be spent under the ESP has not yet been achieved, the federal government’s appropriation of part of that total–which is N500 billion–was completely released by the end of May. The committee also says that a total of 2,100,021 jobs…
The African Development Bank Group has appointed Mr Lamin Barrow as the director-general of its Nigeria office. According to a statement issued by the bank on Tuesday, before his appointment, Barrow was Acting Senior Director, Nigeria Country Office, in the Regional Development, Integration & Business Development Vice Presidency. Commenting on the appointment, President, AfDB, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, said, “Mr Lamin Barrow is a seasoned professional, with a proven track record in strategic management, country dialogue, portfolio management, negotiations and building partnerships. “The Nigeria Country Office is strategic for the bank as it manages a large country portfolio and operations with…
The international oil benchmark, Brent crude, pared some of its recent gains on Tuesday, after the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies cancelled a meeting due to clashes over plan to increase supply to meet rising global demand. Offshore or Onshore Oil Rig Brent, against which Nigeria’s crude oil is priced, plunged by $2.59 to $74.57 per barrel as of 7:40pm Nigerian time on Tuesday after hitting a session peak of $77.84, its highest since October 2018. Ministers from OPEC and its allies, a group called OPEC+, abandoned talks on Monday as negotiations failed to close divisions.…
The World Health Organisation has recommended HPV DNA testing as a preferred screening for cervical cancer The WHO announced the new guideline in a press statement it released on Tuesday. The world’s health agency stated that the preferred method of cervical cancer screening should now be HPV DNA testing and not pap smear that is commonly used. The statement reads, “In particular, the new WHO guideline recommends an HPV DNA based test as the preferred method, rather than a visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) or cytology (commonly known as a ‘Pap smear’), currently the most commonly used methods globally…
The Federal Government has commenced massive installations of anti-theft rail clips to check acts of vandalism, the Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, has said. The minister, who revealed this while briefing State House correspondents on Friday, in Abuja, on the measure adopted by his ministry to guard against the thefts, stated that the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) lost no fewer than 15,000 clips along the Abuja-Kaduna rail line in the last five years. As a result, he revealed that his ministry had resolved to henceforth install anti-theft clips to guard against the stealing of the rail tracks and other…
The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) has ordered app stores to remove Didi Chuxing’s app, claiming the ride-hailing company had been illegally collecting users’ personal data (via Reuters).The regulator said it had ordered the company to make updates to put it in compliance with China’s data protection rules, but didn’t elaborate on what the violations may have involved. Didi was founded in China in 2012, and a recent regulatory filing shows it has 377 million active users in China alone. The company just went public on June 30th, the biggest IPO of a Chinese company on a US stock exchanges…
Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL), operator of the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal Two (MMA2) has advised travelers and others using the terminal to avail themselves of the rules guiding the picking up and dropping of passengers at the terminal. The rules, according to BASL, are aimed at restoring sanity to the Drop-Off Zone area of the terminal, and also part of the strategic moves to ensure that safety and security of all terminal users are not subjected to undue risk. In a statement signed by the Group Corporate Affairs Manager of BASL, Mr. Mikail Mumuni, and made available to journalists…
Ahead of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) audit coming up by first quarter of 2022, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) on Saturday joined forces with critical stakeholders in aviation emergency rescue operations to conduct a live aeronautic simulation of an air crash, which occurred at the Mafoluku area of Oshodi in Lagos, a few meters from Runway 18 Left and the local airport, Ikeja. Code named “SAREXNAMA 2021,” the search and rescue exercise focused on a disaster that could result from an air crash and create a mass casualty incident requiring a coordinated response from critical stakeholders saddled…
Healthcare experts say body massage should be seen as a fundamental part of healthcare delivery, noting that it offers a lot of benefits in the management of chronic health conditions. According to the experts, if body massage is professionally handled, it can help to induce muscle relaxation and the flow of blood as well as reduce pain from parts of the body. The experts, President, Association of Clinical and Academic Physiotherapists of Nigeria, Dr. Chris Okafor, and an alternative medicine practitioner, Mr. Augustine Oresanya explained that some health benefits of massage have been validated by research, adding that other benefits…
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has reiterated its commitment to ensuring effective stewardship of the nation’s hydrocarbon resources to guarantee energy security and drive wealth creation in Nigeria. The Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari, made this assertion while delivering the keynote address at the 2021 Nigeria Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition (NOG 2021) on Tuesday in Abuja. Speaking on the topic: “Vision and Priorities for Nigeria’s Energy Transformation,” Mallam Kyari stated that for a nation with a teeming youth and a developing economy, Nigeria needed the right policies to unlock its huge economic potential, stressing…