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…
Author: Temitope Nlewemchi
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…
The Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) Limited has concluded plans to supply electricity for water supply in Kano from a 4, 000 megawatts stranded plant. Executive Director, Generation, Kassim Abdullahi, who disclosed this during the signing ceremony of the deal said 20 megawatts would be supplied to the state water board. Abdullahi disclosed that the company has a total installed capacity of about 4,000 Megawatts (MW) in its plants across the country with 700 megawatts on the National Grid running. According to him, NDPHC has 10 power generating companies and Aloaji Power Plant, which would supply power to Kano…
Lagos State government said over N2 billion has been paid as a premium for life and non-life insurance policies for its 73, 000 workers in the year. The Commissioner for Finance, Dr. Rabiu Olowo, who said this at a press briefing on the maiden ‘Lagos State Civil Service Insurance Week’, stated that the gesture is in line with the present administration’s commitment to ensuring adequate care for its workforce while serving and after retirement. The commissioner implored residents to appreciate insurance as the state government has continued to reap the benefits of massive investment in insurance. Olowo said an effort…
Experts have underscored the need for the government to work out modalities on how to accelerate investment in infrastructure through bonds and other activities that would stimulate long-term fundraising from the capital market. This, they said is to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the country and boost job creation. Besides, they called for a concerted effort towards diversifying the country’s export base through the promotion of non-oil exports and expansion of government fiscal sources to boost the economy. Stakeholders who spoke during a panelist session at the just concluded Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) 2021 National Workshop held in…
Africa’s public transportation sector is gradually evolving with the emergence of new technology-driven modes of transportation. To speed up the pace of this evolution, Toronto-headquartered shared mobility startup, Plentywaka, which provides hassle-free shared rides on-demand, announced that it has fully acquired Stabus, one of Ghana’s leading mobility startups. This is a step to further Plentywaka’s ambition of building the largest shared mobility platform on the African continent, starting with West Africa. Stabus was launched in 2019 by its Co-Founder, Isidore Kpotufe who shared that the startup has moved over 100,000 people in Accra, the capital city of Ghana. Their services…
Iran says it is ready to ship more fuel to Lebanon if needed, a day after the leader of Lebanon’s Iran-aligned Hezbollah group said more vessels carrying Iranian fuel would sail soon to help ease the country’s energy crisis. Hezbollah’s foes in Lebanon have warned of dire consequences from the purchase, saying it risked sanctions being imposed on a country whose economy has been in meltdown for nearly two years. “We sell our oil and its products based on our own decisions and the needs of our friend. Iran is ready to send fuel again to Lebanon if needed,” Iran’s…
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has intercepted 2,504.8 kilograms of diverse illicit drugs from multiple suspects in five different states. The NDLEA spokesperson, Mr Femi Babafemi, said this in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria on Sunday in Abuja. Babafemi noted that it was in a string of operations in Edo, Ondo, Kaduna, Kano and Kogi states, in the past week, that the drugs were seized. According to him, in Kogi, 60-year-old Mrs Comfort Uzor was arrested with 62.1kg cannabis on Tuesday, Aug. 17 in Lokoja, where one Dayyabu Usman was also caught with 8kg…
The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) says the implementation of Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) does not mean automatic increase in the pump price of petrol in the country. The Executive Secretary of the Agency, Mr Abdulkadir Saidu, disclosed this in a statement in Abuja on Sunday. “There is no gainsaying that the PIA signals the implementation of full deregulation of the downstream sector. “However, it remains worthy of note that the PIA does not automatically translate to any immediate increase in the price of PMS. “ The current price will remain until a negotiation with organised labour, which will…
Following its recent name change from Total to TotalEnergies, the company has unveiled the new names of its Nigerian-registered Upstream Companies. TotalEnergies made the disclosure at a virtual media parley recently. It was also an opportunity to shed light on its trailblazing role in earning carbon credits in Nigeria while reiterating its long-term commitment to the country. In a presentation delivered by the Deputy Managing Director, Deepwater District, Victor Bandele, the Company explained that Total E&P Nigeria Limited would now be known as TotalEnergies EP Nigeria Limited and Total Upstream Nigeria Limited has become TotalEnergies Upstream Nigeria Limited. Bandele noted…
The shameless culture of open defecation in Lagos and Ogun communities is brewing a serious public health crisis, according to health experts. LARA ADEJORO who visited the communities report that residents are at risk of cholera, typhoid and other infection outbreaks: For regular commuters journeying from Ogun to Lagos State through the ever-busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, seeing persons engaging in open defecation on that popular route has become almost a normal occurrence. Daily, many persons are sighted on this route, sneaking out under the cover of darkness; some hide behind shrubs and bushes at dawn; others squat under bridges – they…