Innoson Nigeria Ltd has asked a federal high court in Lagos to set aside an order granting Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) permission to restructure to a holding company. In a statement on Sunday, Cornel Osigwe, head of corporate communications and affairs at Innoson Group, said the company is asking the court to stay the order granted to the bank on June 16, 2021, “until it pays its total outstanding judgment debt of N32,875,204,984.38 to Innoson Nigeria Ltd.” Innoson and GTB have had a long business dispute leading to legal battle. Innoson had secured judgment debt against the bank in suit…
Author: Temitope N.
Ikeja Electric Plc. says it has installed prepaid meters in the premises of 98,000 customers under the National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP) of the Federal Government. Mr Felix Ofulue, its Head, Corporate Communications, made the declaration when he spoke with newsmen on Wednesday in Ikeja. He said that the figure showed that the company had covered more than 90 per cent of the 106,701 customers on its list scheduled for metering under the Phase Zero of the NMMP. “After the initial challenges we had with the metering scheme, we have now installed about 98,000 free meters for our unmetered customers…
Clover Biopharmaceuticals has signed an agreement with Gavi – the vaccine alliance, to make over 400 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccines available to the COVAX portfolio. Clover through the agreement signed with COVAX co-lead, Gavi, will make over 400 million doses of its vaccine candidate available for procurement in 2021 and 2022, pending Emergency Use Listing from the World Health Organisation. Clover became the ninth COVID-19 vaccine developer to partner with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations in Spring, 2020, after submitting a proposal to CEPI’s COVID-19 vaccine call launched earlier in the year. Disclosing this on its website,…
No fewer than 17 persons have died in Ebonyi and Plateau states following the outbreak of cholera. In Ebonyi, the state government said three persons had died, while 12 other infected persons were currently responding to treatment in hospital. The situation is worse in Plateau State, where 14 persons have been confirmed dead. The acting Commissioner for Health in Ebonyi State, Dr. Richard Nnabu, gave the casualty figure after a visit to Amachi-Igwebuike village in the Agba community, Ishielu Local Government Area of the state. According to him, through the efforts of the state government, the situation has been brought…
Scientists at Oxford University, United Kingdom, have commenced a clinical trial for a novel HIV vaccine. The trial known as HIV-CORE 0052 began on Monday. The goal of the trial, according to Oxford, is to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity of the HIVconsvX vaccine – a mosaic vaccine targeting a broad range of HIV-1 variants, making it potentially applicable for HIV strains in any geographical region. For this clinical trial, 13 healthy adults aged between 18–65 who were considered not to be at high risk of infection received one dose of the vaccine which will be followed by a…
The Coalition of Nasarawa State Health Professional Associations has suspended its one-month-old strike. The spokesperson of CNSHPA, Mr. Kyari Caleb, disclosed this while briefing newsmen on Friday in Lafia. Caleb, who is also the state Chairman, Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria, explained that the suspension of the strike followed interventions by major stakeholders in the state. He added that the agreement to suspend the strike was reached on Friday (today) at the congress of the coalition, following appeals by the Traditional Council of Chiefs in the state, led by its Chairman and Emir of Lafia, Sidi Bage. Caleb,…
An insider told newsmen last night that the emergency board meeting was called as a result media report that alleged that ‘’the company was being used as a conduit to siphon public funds’’, especially when it was discovered that NBET Plc was allocated N7.68 billion in 2021 budget – for projects outside its mandates. It was alleged that there was N630 million in its 2021 budget to buy transformers; a budget for “electrifying communities across the country” — a project that ought to have been handled by the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) charged with the responsibility of electrification of…
The Department of Petroleum Resources has sealed 30 filling stations and eight liquefied Petroleum Gas outlets for various offences in Akwa Ibom. The state Operations Controller of DPR, Victor Ohwodiasa, said this when he spoke with newsmen in Eket, headquarters of Eket Local Government Area of the state on Thursday. Ohwodiasa said the filling stations and LPG outlets were sealed for offences ranging from under dispensing, operating without valid sales and storage license, poor housekeeping, poorly sited and illegally operating in the state. “I can authoritatively tell you that we have sealed 30 filling stations and eight gas outlets for…
The House of Representatives has said Nigeria must begin to adopt other sources of energy as the world is shifting from fossil fuel to cleaner, renewable energy. It also stated the need for the country to have a national policy on energy, which drives the power and petroleum sectors. This was made known in Abuja on Wednesday at a public hearing organised by the House Committee on Science and Technology on three bills seeking to amend the Amend Energy Commission of Nigeria Act and create a National Renewable Energy Development Agency. One of the legislation is titled, ‘A Bill for…
The Independent Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has commended the Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr Abubakar Malami, for his intervention in the reopening of its national secretariat. IPMAN’S National President, Mr Chinedu Okoronkwo, gave the commendation in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja. NAN reports that the secretariat located, at No. 41 Gnasimgbe Eyadema St., Asokoro District, Abuja, was sealed off on June 25 by some police officers acting on an alleged petition against IPMAN’S national executive. Okoronkwo said Malami’s directive to the police authorities which led to the reopening of the secretariat…
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…
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,…