Author: Abimbola Daniels

FINANCIAL institutions that have started raising capital have stated that they will allocate $1.20bn from the proceeds to invest in technology and bolster their cybersecurity infrastructure. This was indicated in the offer prospectus of five lenders that have commenced their capital raise, to meet the new capital requirement of the Central Bank of Nigeria. In late March, the CBN announced new capital requirements for the banks operating in the country. The apex bank directed commercial banks with international authorisation to increase their capital base to N500bn, national banks to N200bn and those with regional authorisation were expected to achieve a…

TRANSCORP Power Plc wishes to notify the investing public of significant changes to its Board of Directors. Mr. Christopher Ezeafulukwe has been appointed as a Non-Executive Director. According to a statement issued by the company, this appointment has been approved by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, in accordance with the provisions of the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020 and the Articles of Association of Transcorp Power Plc. “Mr. Ezeafulukwe is a highly accomplished professional with over 20 years of executive management experience spanning multiple sectors, including power, oil and gas, financial services, legal services, and corporate governance. He currently…

THE Ogun State Government, on Thursday, faulted the process that led to the provisional attachment of three Nigerian-owned aircraft in France by the Judicial Court of Paris. In a statement signed by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Strategy, Kayode Akinmade, the Ogun State Government described the latest development as the new antics by a Chinese company to appropriate Nigerian assets in foreign jurisdictions, as past efforts had continually failed. The Chinese company, Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Ltd, sought orders from the court over an aborted contract between the company and Ogun State Government, which was…

THE cord of consanguinity within the All Progressives Congress (APC) family in Lagos State seems to be waxing strong with the refreshing sight of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and his immediate predecessor Akinwunmi Ambode. In the sight rare as hen’s teeth, the two men beamed with pleasing teeth-opening smiles after a meeting on Monday. “Today, I welcomed my brother and predecessor, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, back to Lagos House on a courtesy visit,” an elated Sanwo-Olu captioned social media photos of himself and his predecessor. “Our conversation centred around the future of Lagos and building on the solid foundation already in place.…

THE Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) is probing the destruction of the country’s passport by a lady and has also invited the woman for questioning. A viral video captured the female traveller identified as Favour Igiebor destroying the Nigerian Standard Passport – said to belong to her husband – at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos. It was initially unclear the reason for her action but in a Monday statement, the NIS spokesman Kenneth Udo said the incident is a violation of the law. “The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has launched a formal investigation following the circulation of a…

NIGERIAN billionaire businessman, Tony Elumelu, has said oil theft largely contributed to the reasons International Oil Companies (IOCs) are divesting their interests from Nigeria to other countries. Elumelu stated this in an interview published by the Financial Times on Friday. According to him, the government and security agents in Nigeria should be able expose those responsible for stealing the country’s crude oil. His recent outburst follows that of 2022 when he tweeted about how the country lost a huge amount of its crude oil to oil thieves. “How can we be losing over 95 per cent of oil production to…

WITH President Bola Tinubu’s directive to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to sell the crude meant for local consumption to Dangote and other local refineries in naira, a lawyer and energy consultant, Liborous Oshoma,  says Dangote refinery should sell fuel to depot owners and other marketers in local currency to ease forex pressure There has been a series of controversies about the Dangote refinery, what are your views about it?  I think what is basically playing out here is like two friends quarrelling over a pot of soup. You have a government that has been overly protective of Dangote…

HEIRS Insurance Group (HIG), Nigeria’s fastest-growing insurance provider, has announced the appointment of Ibrahim Puri and Sonny Iroche as Independent Non-Executive Directors of its non-life insurance business, Heirs General. The appointments further strengthen HIG’s governance and leadership team.  HIG has enjoyed rapid growth since its launch in 2021, as consumers benefit from the Group’s unique offering of digitally driven insurance products and customer-centric service proposition. Ibrahim Puri is an accomplished financial services leader, with over 30 years of experience in banking, fintech, and FMCG industries.  He was Group Executive Director at the United Bank for Africa and serves on the…

ONE of the domestic workers of Aribemchukwu, the slain daughter of Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia, has owned up to being involved in the murder of her boss, a police source exclusively disclosed on Thursday. This newspaper reported that the deceased, popularly called Chuchu, was reportedly killed in her Parkview Estate residence in the Ikoyi area of Lagos State. Although a family source said she was killed Tuesday night, her lifeless body was discovered on Wednesday morning outside the gate of her residence. Her three domestic employees, which included the house help, a security guard, and a driver, were, however, arrested in…

DESPITE a court order restraining the #Endbadgovernance protests in Lagos to specific venues, the demonstrators still held street processions in the nation’s commercial capital. A Lagos High Court had on Wednesday granted an exparte application filed by the State’s Attorney General Lawal Pedro (SAN), seeking to restrict the nationwide protest, in Lagos to the Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park in Ojota and the Peace Park in Ketu. Justice Emmanuel Ogundare granted the order of pre-emptive remedy by way of an interim injunction to restrict the defendants from converging and carrying out the proposed protests in Lagos from Aug 1-10th except in…

AN Improvised Explosive Device (IED) was discovered at the fence of the Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Zone A of the Nigeria Customs Service on Bank Anthony way, Ikeja, Lagos, on Wednesday. The object was discovered on the eve of the planned nationwide protest against the hardship in the land. The 10 days protest would start from August 1 to and end 10 August 10, 2024, according to the organisers. Our Correspondent gathered that the IED was allegedly dropped by a yet to identified person who drove to the spot in a car and zoomed off immediately after the action. It…

ARIBEMCHUKWU, the daughter of Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia, has been killed. The deceased, popularly called Chuchu, was reportedly killed in her Parkview Estate residence in the Ikoyi area of Lagos State on Wednesday morning. A family source who craved anonymity because of the current state of the family said she was killed last night, and her body was discovered this morning outside the gate of her residence. “It would appear that new household staff might have been responsible and tried to stage as if she was outside when it happened. “There are signs of an attempt to clean up blood inside…

A LAGOS High Court has granted an exparte application filed by the State’s Attorney General, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Lawal Pedro seeking to restrict the proposed August 1 nationwide protest, in Lagos to the Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park in Ojota and the Peace Park in Ketu. Justice Emmanuel Ogundare granted the order of pre-emptive remedy by way of an interim injunction to restrict the defendants from converging and carrying out the proposed protests in Lagos from Aug 1-10th except in the two approved locations from 8 am to 6 pm. Listed in the application as defendants are Adamma Ukpabi and…

DESPITE the ongoing spat between Dangote Refinery and the Nigerian regulators, Midoil Refining and Petrochemicals Company Limited has finally performed the turning of sod ceremony, marking the commencement of construction activities in Lagos. The turning of the sod took place at Shekungba, Ikosi/Ejinrin Local Council Development Area of Lagos State recently. The Executive Chairman of Midoil, Mrs Elizabeth-Omolara Akintonde, led dignitaries to the large expanse of land spanning various communities at Ikosi/Ejinrin Local Council Development Area. Akintonde assured leaders and members of the communities that the refinery would transform their areas by bringing immediate development, creating both direct and indirect…

THE Nigeria Police Force has clarified misconceptions surrounding the redevelopment of police barracks, particularly the Falomo Barracks in Lagos State. According to a statement on Tuesday via X, signed by the Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, the police counter what it describes as “misleading write-ups and social media comments” alleging the sale of the Falomo Barracks land. According to the NPF, the redevelopment initiative is part of a broader strategy to improve living conditions for police personnel and their families nationwide. The Force stated, “Due to the critical state of several police barracks (including the Falomo Barracks) the…

THE Federal Government, through the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, is expecting fresh reports to confirm the real sulphur content of the diesel produced by the Dangote refinery as the company debunked claims of inferior fuel production. The NMDPRA spokesman, George Ene-Ita, in an interview with this newspaper, said the agency had done its job and would not engage in a media fight with anybody over the claims made by the NMDPRA Chief Executive, Farouk Ahmed, that Dangote’s diesel has more sulphur content than imported one. According to Ene-Ita, the authority has about 15 engineers and scientists embedded…

THE President of the Dangote Group has called on the House of Representatives to investigate the quality of diesel and petrol at filling stations. Dangote made the call on Saturday when he received the leadership of the House led by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas and his deputy Benjamin Kalu. To carry out the investigation, he urged the House to set up a committee to test products at various filling stations across the country. Decrying the damage being done to vehicles and engines by substandard products, also called on the House to investigate the quality of laboratories being used to test imported…

THE leadership of the House of Representatives have visited the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos. Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, led the lawmakers who arrived at the refinery located in the Lekki Free Trade Zone in Lagos around 11am. Africa’s richest man and President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, and top executives of the refineries received the lawmakers. The lawmakers are expected to take a tour of the 650,000 barrels per day refinery during the visit. The visit marks the second time federal lawmakers will visit the refinery in two months. It also comes at a…

THE Zone A Federal Operations Unit of the Nigeria Customs Service in Ikeja, Lagos, on Thursday, announced that it intercepted 150 cartons of bulletproof jackets worth N1.687bn. Addressing journalists in Ikeja, the Customs Area Controller in charge of the unit, Kola Oladeji, said the contrabands were intercepted along the Ijebuode-Sagamu Expressway in Ogun State. Oladeji explained that each carton contains 10 packs of the jacket, adding that these contrabands were seized in June. He explained that under Schedule 4 of the Customs Common External Tariff, the importation of all kinds of military wares by individuals was under absolute prohibition. “An…

THE Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, has ordered the final forfeiture of five properties linked to the former Managing Director of Nigerian Army Properties Limited (NAPL), Major-General Umaru Mohammed, to the federal government. Justice Chukujekwu Aneke issued the final forfeiture ruling on Wednesday after a request by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) lawyer, A.O. Mohammed. The properties, which include No.8b, Bedwell Road, Ikoyi; No.3, Force Road, Ikoyi, Lagos; No.14, Glover Road, Ikoyi, Lagos; No.6, Marina, Ikoyi, Lagos; and No. 28, Point Road, Apapa, Lagos, were found to be fraudulently misappropriated and the proceeds of the sale diverted…