The risk of rare blood clotting after receiving COVID-19 vaccines is far lower than from the virus, a large-scale study by researchers from the University of Oxford found Friday. Fears over rare cases of clotting conditions have prompted some countries to rule out or limit the rollout of the Oxford-developed AstraZeneca jab, with the UK recommending that healthy people under 40 get alternative vaccines. The study published in the BMJ medical journal examined data on almost 30 million people in England first vaccinated between December and April. It found a very small increased risk of some clotting conditions that could…
Author: Temitope Nlewemchi
Having had to postpone for a year, Food & Beverage West Africa will return on September 1st as the region’s premier F&B trade event. Food & Beverage West Africa, the largest F&B trade show across sub-Saharan Africa, will return to Lagos in a little over one weeks’ time. Running from Wednesday 1st to Friday 3rd September at the Landmark Centre, Food & Beverage West Africa has more than 100 exhibitors from over four continents taking part. This is the event’s much-awaited third edition and is the first post-COVID exhibition for the experienced hosts, BtoB Events Ltd, Nigeria’s largest exhibition organisers.…
In an effort to stem incidences of business failures in the corporate polity, H. Michael & Co. founded by Dr. Adeyinka Hassan in commemoration of its 10th anniversary has put together a conference tagged: Corporate Governance and Enterprise Development conference. The convener, Dr. Hassan, is a notable Corporate Governance Practitioner and a frontline advocate of Corporate Governance. Corporate Executives, Chairman, Polaris Bank Limited, Muhammed Ahmad, will be chairing the event with Mrs. Oluyemisi Edun, MD/CEO First City Monument Bank Limited as Guest Speaker, while Professor Sunday Owolabi, the immediate past Deputy Vice Chancellor of Babcock University would be giving the…
Shareholders of Total Plc have unanimously endorsed the firm’s resolution to change its identity to TotalEnegies, even as the company moves to anchor its business on a broad energy company strategy. At the company’s extraordinary yearly general meeting held in Lagos, the shareholders expressed optimism that the name change would boost the firm’s profitability and increase shareholders’ value. Specifically, the Founder of Independence Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Sunny Nwosu urged the management to ensure that every segment of the business contributes to the overall growth of the company. He also stressed the need for the company to stay ahead of…
The Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) is working with the Borno State Government to revive the comatose Banki Border Free Trade Zone in the state, the Managing Director, Adesoji Adesugba, has disclosed. Recall that the Banki Border Free Zone was given an operating licence in 2000 and subsequently renewed in September 2011 to grant it right to manufacturing and warehousing. But, it went into comatose following the taking over of the place by insurgency. “We know that the trade zone is yet to settle the outstanding operational fees put at over N246.93 million covering the year 2011to 2021. We…
… Eterna announces shareholders’ divestment from firm As price gains outweighed losses, transactions on the equities sector of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) closed in an upbeat yesterday, causing market capitalisation to increase by N15 billion. Yesterday, the market capitalisation of listed equities increased by N15 billion to N20.568 trillion from N20.533 trillion reported the previous day. The All Share Index (ASI) which measures the performance of quoted companies appreciated by 27.36 basis points to 39477.18 points from 39449.82 points reported yesterday. Investors traded 186.326 million shares valued at N1.793 billion in 3595 deals against 198.331 million shares worth N1.056…
•Commission seeks more spectrum frequency from NFMC, tasks states on Row Investments in Fourth Generation (4G) in Nigeria and Africa dropped by seven per cent in 2020, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has said. This is even as the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has again assured on the country’s readiness to deploy 5G technologies. The drop in 4G technologies in Africa, according to ITU, was as a result of COVID-19 pandemic, which ravaged and still ravaging the world. It noted that the pandemic has further created huge gap in bridging the globe’s digital divide. The ITU, in its latest report,…
The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Lagos State chapter has suggested the restructuring of existing systems for tax expansion to improve the nation’s domestic revenue and tackle debt. The institute stated that Nigeria’s financing requirements need improved domestic revenue collection. Branch Chairman, CIBN, Peter Ashade, said this at the institute’s yearly general meeting. He stressed the importance of a solid financial sector to achieve growth and development, adding that the banking industry plays an important role in implementing economic policies. Noting that financial institutions were integral parts of any economy, he said seamless functioning of the banks was…
Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos), yesterday, denied influencing the suspension of eligible customer policy, which allows direct connection of electricity consumers from generation plants without the utility companies. While infrastructure bottlenecks delayed the dispatch of generated electricity, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) had in 2017, introduced the eligible customers policy but abruptly ended it earlier this month in the face of poor electricity supply in the country. The Association of the Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED) yesterday, insisted that they have no hand in the abrupt termination of the policy. Executive Director, Research & Advocacy at ANED, Sunday Oduntan, said the…
YouTube said on Wednesday that it has removed more than one million videos with “dangerous coronavirus misinformation” since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The statement by the Google-owned video platform comes as social media platforms are under fire from political leaders for failing to stem the spread of false and harmful misinformation and disinformation about the virus and other topics. YouTube said in a blog post it relies on “expert consensus from health organisations,” including the US Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organisation but noted that, in some cases, “misinformation is less clear-cut” as new facts…
The National Association of Itsekiri Graduates (NAIG) Worldwide has given Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL) a 28-day ultimatum to commence the reclassification of Itsekiri graduates under its Vocational Training Programmes (VTP 5 and 6) and Operational Training Programme (OTP 2). NAIG’s President and General Secretary, Mr. Ben Eburajolo and Mr Esiategiwa Mino respectively, at a press conference in Warri, Delta State, threatened that the association would shut down operations of the multinational oil company in their communities should it failed to respond accordingly. They said the reclassification of the affected graduates should be backdated, noting that they have completed the on-the-job…
The Federal Government has announced that production of airplanes in Nigeria will commence before President Muhammadu Buhari leaves office. Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika gave the hint when he paid an inspection visit to the Magnus Aircraft Industry in Pogany, Hungary. “If we venture with them, we may start with assembling plant and later manufacturing”, James Odaudu, the ministry’s spokesman quoted him in a statement. Sirika said the Magnus aircraft is lightweight, good for military training, has an aerobatic manoeuvre and made of high-strength composite materials. The plane, he added, uses normal car petrol and outperforms any training aircraft of its…
A tax appeal tribunal (TAT) sitting in Lagos has ordered Multichoice Nigeria Limited to deposit 50 percent of the disputed N1.8 trillion tax with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). Abdullahi Ismaila Ahmad, FIRS spokesperson, made this known in a statement on Wednesday. Multichoice is the owner of the satellite televisions, DStv and Gotv – popular subscription-based platforms in Nigeria In July, the FIRS had appointed some commercial banks as agents to recover N1.8 trillion from accounts of MultiChoice Nigeria Limited (MCN) And MultiChoice Africa (MCA). Muhammad Nami, FIRS chairman, had said the decision to appoint the banks as…
Nigeria flares an excess of 700 million standard cubic feet (SCF) of gas per day from 178 flare sites, which translates to Nigeria losing approximately $10 billion of revenue yearly, equating to $2,00 per MMBtu, due to its inability to capture and commercialise flared gas in the country. If flared gas is properly harnessed, Nigeria can produce 600,000 MT of LPG per year and generate 2.5 GW of power from new and existing Independent Power Plants to power the economy. Considering that electricity generation from the grid is largely thermal-based, which means that about 80 per cent of the power…
The Federal Government has expressed readiness to partner Magnus aircraft manufacturing firm in Hungary, to establish an assembling plant and manufacture light airplanes locally. Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, expressed the interest when he paid an inspection visit to the Magnus Aircraft Industry in Pogany, Hungary. Sirika said the goal is to assemble aircraft locally, from start to finish, and before the end of the Buhari administration. He said: “If we venture with them, we may start with assembling plants and later manufacturing.” He noted that the Magnus aircraft is an aeroplane that is good for military training, especially for…
Facebook has extended its marketplace initiatives to 37 countries and territories in sub-Saharan Africa. Already available in South Africa, Ethiopia, Kenya and Nigeria, the new destinations are Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Comoros, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Eswatini, Equatorial Guinea among others. Marketplace is a convenient destination where people can discover, buy and sell items from others in their communities by tapping on the marketplace icon or visiting https://bit.ly/3Dn4Uz8 to browse and search for items. Commenting on the launch, Facebook Director of Public Policy Africa, Kojo Boakye, said: “Increasing the availability…
The Association of Chief Audit Executives of Banks in Nigeria (ACAEBIN) has reaffirmed its commitment to promoting professionalism of audit practice, ethical standards and interbank cooperation. Chairman of ACAEBIN, Yinka Tiamiyu, revealed this in Lagos, at the yearly capacity development programme for internal auditors in partnership with the Financial Institutions Training Centre (FITC) titled, ‘Cybersecurity with special emphasis on cloud security, areas of vulnerability, challenges and assurance’. Tiamiyu said the programme was in fulfillment of ACAEBIN’s commitment towards ensuring that auditors get the right skill set to discharge their duties. He urged the participants to maximise the opportunity provided by…
Crown Interactive has offered grants of N400 million in product value to 20 medium-sized Nigerian manufacturers, distributors of fast-moving consumer goods and suppliers of raw materials. The solution, according to the firm, is designed to address common challenges relating to the manufacturing supply chain, including customer order, inventory and workflow management as well as provides a platform for electronic payments and inventory finance. The special offer presents the firm’s supply chain management solution to the selected firms and would be offered the CICOD Suite of business support systems (BSS) free for the first 12 months. Subsequently, it would be available…
With the operationalisation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Nigerian exporters have been implored to build capacity and be prepared to compete under the free trade area to avoid dumping of goods in the country. The Executive Director/CEO of Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) Olusegun Awolowo while receiving in his office, the Governor of Borno State, Babagana Zulum, in Abuja, said: “We (Nigerians) must be ready with an army of exporters to compete with our goods under AfCFTA to avoid dumping of foreign goods in the country”. Speaking on Borno State, Awolowo reiterated the need to formalise trade…
Despite boasting of a 206 trillion standard cubic feet of gas reserves and topping major countries, Nigeria’s per capita consumption of gas is the lowest in the sub-Saharan African region, Ministers of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylvia has said. He stated this at the 2021 yearly sub-Saharan African Oil and Gas Conference tagged ”The future of Upstream and Deepwater Development, Advancing Digitisation and Gas Development Options in Sub-Saharan Africa” and organised by Energy & Corporate Africa. With the rapidly growing population of Nigeria, expected to outnumber that of the USA in about 20 years, Sylvia feared that the upsurge…