Sterling Bank Plc has apologized to the public for putting up a post that compared the resurrection of Jesus Christ to the rise of Agege bread on its social media page and subscribers’ mail. In celebrating Easter, the bank had shared a post with the quote, “Like Agege Bread, He Rose” which met serious reprisal by many Christians. Describing the post as one that is insensitive and insulting to Christians, social media users demanded that the post be brought down immediately and an apology be tendered by the bank. In their reaction, the bank pulled down the post on its…
Author: Temitope N.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has disclosed how it foiled attempts by Brazil-based drug cartels who attempted to smuggle large consignments of cocaine into Nigeria through three international airports across Nigeria within six days. This was confirmed by Femi Babafemi, Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA. According to the spokesperson of the agency, the cartels and seven traffickers were arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport and Port Harcourt International Airport. Babafemi disclosed that five suspects were arrested on April 9 at the Port Harcourt International Airport. He said, “Three of them were arrested during the…
The Lagos State Government is proposing to raise ethical and sustainable financing such as Sukuk, Green, and Blue Bonds to execute infrastructure projects that would further consolidate the State’s position as an economic nerve centre. This was made known by the Lagos State Commissioner for Finance, Dr. Rabiu Olowo, during a training session for the Staff of Debt Management Office on Sukuk Issuance, facilitated by STL Trustees at the State Treasury Resource Centre, CBD, Alausa, Ikeja. Olowo said that the appetite of investors across the world is for ethical and sustainable financing which, ultimately, is a win-win situation for all…
The Governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, has explained that the Agro-Cargo Airport currently being constructed by his administration would serve as a conglomeration to agro-processing companies as well as aerotropolis that have added value services, when completed. The governor noted that the airport is expected to provide facilities for cargo processing, storage, warehouses and a training centre, among others. This was made known by Abiodun over the weekend when he conducted the Chief Executive Officer, Arise Integrated Industrial Platform, Mr. Gagan Gupta around the airport at Illisan-Remo. Abiodun said that this is just not an airport, but also one…
The Federal Government has established its commitment to the completion of the stalled Brass Liquefied Natural Gas (BLNG) project as it seeks for new investors to revive the project. This was made known by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, during an inspection of the project site in Twon Brass, Bayelsa State on Saturday, according to a statement by his Senior Adviser (Media and Communications), Horatius Egua. According to NAN, Sylva was on inspection of the project with the management of the Greenville LNG, an interested investor, in the BLNG. Sylva said that the Federal Government…
The Ministry of Mines and Steel Development has refuted the claims that the Federal Government plans to hand over the Ajaokuta Steel plant to a British firm for rehabilitation. This was disclosed by the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Arc. Olamilekan Adegbite, via a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Media, Ayodeji Adeyemi on Monday. According to the statement, the Minister had never said the plant will be rehabilitated by a British firm. To correct the false narratives that was carried by some media outlets on Ajaokuta Steel plant and the purported handover to a British firm, Adegbite…
The Federal Government announced that it is prepared to renegotiate terms with the Academic Staff Union of Universities to get young Nigerian students back to school. The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige said this when he received members of the government side of the 2009 Federal Government/University-based unions agreement re-negotiation committee led by its Chairman, Prof. Nimi Briggs, on Monday in Abuja. This comes as ASUU had announced last month that it has extended its strike by 2 months. Disclosing details of the recent strike, the Minister stated that the FG has been pushing to see that…
The Nigerian Customs Service has officially released a circular announcing the reduction of import duties on both used and new vehicles. In a statement by, Timi Bomodi, Customs National Spokesman, the service said the new duty rate for both used and new vehicles is now 20% as against the 35% usually paid. The statement noted that implementation will take effect immediately. The service revealed that on April 1, 2022, they migrated from the old version of the ECOWAS Common External Tariff (2017-2021) to the new version (2022-2026). The statement noted that the reduction in import duties on new vehicles was…
Nigeria’s power and rail infrastructure are the most attacked infrastructures in Nigeria in the last three years. This was made known in a report by a socioeconomic research firm, SBM intelligence, on Monday titled, “Attacks on infrastructure in Nigeria.” The report comes as the Federal Government blamed the grid collapse on an act of vandalism on a transmission tower on the Odukpani-Ikot Ekpene 330KV double circuit transmission. The report revealed that from Q3 2019 to Q1 2022, Nigerian power generation plants suffered 6 attacks in the state of Borno alone. In the North West, Kaduna State has experienced 5 train attacks and…
The Clearing agents operating in Nigeria’s maritime sector may soon protest and embark on industrial action, withdrawing their services, following the reintroduction of a 15% National Automotive Council (NAC) levy by the Nigeria Customs Service on imported used vehicles. This was confirmed by affected stakeholders in the industry on Tuesday. They lamented that such a levy will have an adverse effect on the sector and if the decision is not reversed, it would lead to protest and strike from April 14, 2022. The Chairman of the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents, Ports & Terminal Multipurpose Limited…
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has launched fresh minimum standards for the operation of credit guarantee companies (CGCs). The document requires participating financial institutions (PFIs) to apply and obtain a guarantee from only CGCs licensed by it for any loan granted to medium and small scale enterprises (MSMEs). The regulator also said where it is satisfied that a CGC “is engaging in, has engaged in or intends to engage in an unsafe and unsound practice” in conducting its business or in any conduct that violates any provision of the guidelines, there will be sanctions. The CBN reiterated that it…
A new report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has drawn attention to the severity of port congestion as a drawback to efficient supply chains, saying facility upgrades are necessary to reduce the challenge. The report – ‘Supply Chains and Port Congestion Around the World’ – draws on experiences at ports across 183 countries and territories using datasets of both pre-COVID-19 and during the pandemics. According to the report, shipping times jumped upwards as soon as the COVID-19 crisis hit and after a marked acceleration from the end of 2020. Delays, it states, surpassed 1.5 days or 25 per cent…
Shareholders of Access Bank Plc has endorsed the company’s board changes in furtherance to the completion of the scheme of arrangement between the bank and holders of its fully paid ordinary shares of 50 kobo each, resulting in the listing of Access Holdings Plc and related companies on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX). The shareholder at the bank’s 33rd yearly general meeting held in Lagos on Monday also endorsed a total dividend of N35.5 billion, translating to N1 per share due to every investor of the bank for the 2021 financial year. The new changes made by the bank include…
With a growing population, rising energy demand, geopolitical tension across the world, the African Refiners and Distributors Association (ARDA) has stressed the need for Nigeria and other African countries to prioritise energy security. Recall that the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine has rattled the energy market with crude and natural gas prices hitting record highs. Expressing concerns at the 2022 ARDA Week in Cape Town, South Africa, stakeholders, which include most of the players in Africa’s downstream value chain, noted that the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict has significant implications for African economies, especially as it relates to trade, financial flows,…
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has urged deposit money banks to establish a service level agreement with other service providers to reduce financial technology-related challenges faced by customers. According to NAN, the call was made by the Executive Vice Chairman of FCCPC, Mr Babatunde Irukera, on Tuesday in Abuja, where he said the Commission was currently insisting on the agreement. Irukera frowned at the practice of banks literally leaving everything to customers to establish when something goes wrong. He said, ”I personally have a problem with banks literally leaving everything to customers to establish when something goes…
Ghana has officially passed the electronic transfer levy (e-levy) bill which has been a subject of controversy in the last few months in the country. The parliament passed the bill at a 1.5% tax levy (down from 1.75%) on the electronic transfer of money across various platforms after a walkout by the minority group who did not want the bill passed in the House. The bill will become operational after it is assented to by the president. According to Ken Ofori-Atta, the Finance Minister, the new electronic transaction tax will help the country raise millions of dollars in revenue as…
President Muhammadu Buhari had a sit-down meeting with Security Chiefs on Tuesday and gave them new directives. This was disclosed by the State House via it’s Twitter handle, shortly after the meeting with the Chief of Defense Staff, Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Air Force Staff and Inspector General of Police among others. According to the State House, the President had called for the meeting after the terrorist attack on the Abuja-Kaduna train. Here are the directives The immediate conclusion of all processes for implementation of the Integrated Security Surveillance & Monitoring(ISSM) Solution for the Abuja-Kaduna Rail Line Extension of the…
The Nigerian government has disclosed its plans to beef up security in its railway infrastructure, revealing that it will implement an integrated surveillance system in the Abuja-Kaduna, Lagos-Ibadan and Warri-Itakpe railway systems. This was disclosed by the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed in an interview with the Nigerian Television Authority on Wednesday morning. This comes as the Kaduna State government had announced that 8 people have been declared dead so far from the attacks with multiple others missing. The minister expressed sincere condolences to the families of the bereaved and prayed for quick recovery for those who were injured and quick release for those…
Nigerians are still in disarray following the attack of the Abuja-Kaduna train by terrorists on Monday night which recorded 8 deaths and scores of passengers injured, with many others still unaccounted for. The tragic incident which has brought to the fore, the alarming state of insecurity across the country, is coming barely 2 days after the deadly terrorist attack on the Kaduna International Airport on Saturday, March 26, 2022, which had a security guard attached to the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), shot dead. This has elicited reactions from different interest groups and individuals, with the main opposition party, the…
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the sum of N1.06billion for the supply of eye-scanning lie detectors and digital night vision goggles for the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). This is part of the federal government’s effort aimed at technological improvement and effectiveness in its fight against illicit drugs as well as enhancing the capacity of officials of the agency to stop drug trafficking, sale and consumption. This was disclosed by the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, while briefing State House correspondents on the outcome of the meeting of the council, chaired by…