President Muhammadu Buhari, at the weekend, approved the appointment of a Chairman, and an Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer for the Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA). The Board Chairman is Mr Atuonwo A. Obinna, while the Executive Secretary and CEO is Mr Abdulkadir Saidu, whose appointment was renewed for another four years. According to the Presidential Spokesman, Femi Adesina, the appointment of Mr Atuonwo Obinna as Chairman Governing Board for a four-year term is in accordance with Section 2 (1-3) and 3 (a) of the Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (Establishment, ETC) Act 2003. Also, the renewed appointment of the CEO brings tranquility to PPPRA as anxious staff and stakeholders wondered why suspense pervaded the agency since Saidu’s first tenure e...
MTN Nigeria plans to invest N640 billion (approximately US$1.5 billion) over the next three years to expand broadband access across the continent’s most populous country, in line with the federal government’s 2020-2025 National Broadband Plan and in support of MTN Group’s strategy, Ambition 2025: Leading digital solutions for Africa’s progress. ‘Nigeria is one of our most important markets. We have a proud history of partnering with Nigeria and Nigerians to drive faster and more inclusive growth through digital transformation,’ said MTN Group President and Chief Executive Officer Ralph Mupita after a three-day visit to Abuja and Lagos, in which he met a number of key stakeholders. These included President Muhammadu Buhari; Vice President Oluyemi Oluleke Osinbajo; Minister of Communications...
The governor of Kaduna state, Nasir el-Rufai, has disowned an account passed off as his on Koo, an Indian microblogging platform. An image of the purported account, with the Koo handle @nelrufai and account name, Nasir El-rufai, has surfaced online. It also has a post that reads, “I am also here”. However, el-Rufai, in a statement by Muyiwa Adekeye, his spokesman, asked the public to disregard the impostor account. “The Kaduna State Government has disowned an account that is passing off as Malam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai on Koo, an app that recently debuted in Nigeria,” the statement said. “Malam El-Rufai has not signed on to Koo. As such, any account currently on that app purporting to be him is fake and should be treated as such. “The general public is advised to kindly disregard the impostor...
The Minister of Transportation, Mr. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, will in November inaugurate the ongoing Funtua Inland Dry Port project in Sokoto State. Also the French government has indicated its interest in collaborating with its Nigerian counterpart and therefore hinted that it will assist the government in form of financial assistance to the sector. The Executive Secretary/CEO Nigerian Shipper’s Council (NSC), Mr. Hassan Bello, made this known Thursday in Abuja during a meeting between the Council, Concessionaires for the Inland Dry Ports and the French Embassy. NSC ES, while highlighting the successes so far recorded by the Council stated that the federal government thought it necessary to bring shipping closer to the people by establishing ports in the hinterland. Hassan told the audien...
Cristiano Ronaldo skipped training with his Juventus mates to visit Ferrari’s factory in Maranello and then treated himself to a £1.4m Ferrari supercar according to reports. Ronaldo, 36, decided to give himself Monday off just a day after the crushing 3-0 defeat against AC Milan that leaves their Champions League dreams in tatters as they sit in fifth spot with just three games to go. And instead of taking part in a recovery session ahead of Wednesday’s away trip to Sassuolo, Ronaldo showed up at Maranello home of Ferrari’s F1 headquarters in Italy. He was accompanied by club chairman Andrea Agnelli and the 45-year-old’s cousin John Elkann, who is the CEO of Exor and Ferrari. Whilst at Ferrari’s HQ, Ronaldo posed for a photo with F1 drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, who were given ...
BudgIT BudgIT, a civic-tech non-profit organisation, says it has uncovered 316 duplicated capital projects worth N39.5 billion in the 2021 budget. In a statement, Iyanu Fatoba, communications associate at BudgIT, said the organisation’s findings is contained in its publication titled, “Demanding Budget Reforms for Resource Optimization”, released on Tuesday. On December 31, President Muhammadu Buhari signed the 2021 appropriation bill of N13.588 trillion into law. The signing was done more than a week after federal lawmakers passed the budget and raised its total sum by N508 billion. Speaking on the report, Gabriel Okeowo, BudgIT’s CEO, said out of the identified 316 duplicated projects, 115 are in the ministry of health. He said the development is “very disturbing” as the country is battl...
The Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) has restatement its commitment in repositioning business to efficiently play a more active and leading role in deepening the Nigerian capital market growth. Also, CSCS grew its profit after tax by 41.4 per cent for the year ended December 31, 2020. The company results showed that amidst unprecedented economic and financial market conditions occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Group grew total income by 31.3 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to N12.09 billion. Profit after tax grew by 41.4 per cent to N6.93 billion, translating to N1.39 earnings per share. The group delivered 20.3 per cent return on average equity for the 2020 financial year, compared to 15.3 per cent in 2019 full year. The company’s total assets stood at N41.42 billion, as again...
Two Senate Democrats are urging federal regulators to take “corrective actions” against Tesla to prevent further misuse of the company’s advanced driver assist feature. The request comes in the aftermath of a fatal crash in which two men from Texas were killed after their Tesla Model S crashed with no one in the driver’s seat. In a letter sent to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Acting Administrator Steven Cliff, Senators Ed Markey (D-MA) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) implored the agency to determine the exact cause of this recent crash to “better inform” future legislation around advanced driver assist systems like Tesla’s Autopilot. “We strongly urge you to conduct a complete investigation into Saturday’s fatal Tesla vehicle crash and develop recommendations for improving a...
Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke has confirmed that both Dortmund and Bayern Munich are against the formation of a Super League. Plans to launch a Super League were announced by 12 of Europe’s leading clubs late on Sunday night. However, they do not have the support of either of Germany’s two biggest clubs. “The members of the European Club Association (ECA) gathered for a virtual conference on Sunday evening and confirmed the board decision of last Friday remains valid,” Watzke said in a statement released on Dortmund’s website. “This decision means the clubs wanted to implement the planned reform of the Champions League. It was the clear opinion of the members of the ECA board to reject the plans to form a Super League. “Both German clubs who are represented on the ECA board, Ba...
Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, and the governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, were on Wednesday in Abuja presented with the Honourary Fellowship Award of the Nigerian Institution of Surveyors (NIS) alongside a former Minister of Defence, Brig-General Mansur Dan-Ali (rtd) and the Emir of Nasarawa, HRH Alh. Ibrahim Usman Jibril, at the institution’s 2021 investiture ceremony. Also, 24 members of the NIS, including Surveyor-General of the Federation (SGoF) Surv. Taiwo Samuel Adeniran and Registrar/CEO of the Surveyors Council of Nigeria (SURCON), Surv. Kabir Mohammed Mamman, were confirmed Fellows of the institution. Appreciating the honour, Senator Lawan said though right now he is in the political sphere, he felt drawn back to his professional root by the award, assuring ofevery suppo...