Thursday
Profit taking persist on NSE, market capitalisation loses N232 billion
Nigerian stock market closed on a negative note for the fourth straight session on Thursday with the market capitalisation losing N232 billion. Specifically, the market capitalisation which opened at N18.304 trillion dipped N232 billion to close at N18.072 trillion. Also, the All-Share Index lost 464.00 points or 1.32 per cent to close at 34,557.26 compared with 35,021.26 achieved on Wednesday. Accordingly, month-to-date loss increased to 1.3 per cent, while year-to-date gain moderated to 28.8 per cent. The downward trend was also driven by price depreciation in medium and large capitalised stocks amongst which are; Lafarge Africa, Guinness Nigeria, Zenith Bank, Dangote Sugar Refinery and MTN Nigeria Communications (MTNN). Market breadth was strongly negative with 40 laggards, in relative ...
Mikel Arteta wants Arsenal transfer European form into Premier League
Mikel Arteta has demanded Arsenal transfer their Europa League form into the Premier League, where he says his side need to start winning matches “immediately”. Goals from Eddie Nketiah, Mohamed Elneny, Joe Willock and Folarin Balogun helped the Gunners ease past Irish side Dundalk 4-2 in Dublin on Thursday to finish top of Group B with a 100 per cent record – the first time they have won six successive European matches since 2005. That fine European form is in sharp contrast to their domestic struggles, where the club have lost six out of their last nine matches to slump to 15th in the table. With the Europa League now finished with until February, Arsenal can focus all their attention on domestic competition, with Arteta stressing the urgent need to pick up positive results, starting wit...
NHRC: Ending gender-based violence is responsibility of all
In commemoration of the International Human Rights Day, the National Human Rights Commission, Ebonyi State Chapter, Thursday, called on all citizens to join hands to put an end to all forms of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, SGBV. The Commission in collaboration with other Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO)/Community and Social Organizations (CSOs) made this call at a seminar organized at Pinnacle Hotels, Abakaliki, to mark the world’s Human Rights Day and the end of the 16 days of activism of campaign against violation of human rights. Speaking on the year’s theme “Recover better – Stand Up for Human Rights,” the National Executive Secretary of the Commission, Tony Ojukwu (Esq) said the selection was made considering the need to recover fully from COVID-19 pandemic and restore the sit...
Canada approves Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine
Canadian health officials have authorised the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, hailing the development as a “critical milestone” and paving the way for the inoculant to be administered across the country. The authorisation on Wednesday comes a day after the United Kingdom became the first country to begin giving the vaccine to the public. Emergency use authorisation (EUA) is also pending in the United States, with officials saying the first doses could be administered as early as next week. The US Food and Drug Administration is scheduled to consider its EUA on Thursday. Bahrain has also authorised the vaccine for public use. “Canadians can feel confident that the review process was rigorous and that we have strong monitoring systems in place,” Health Canada, the department responsible fo...
Egyptian rights group head hopes release will help other prisoners
The head of a leading Egyptian human rights group who was held for two weeks on terrorism charges said Saturday he hoped the campaign to secure his release would help others still jailed on similar Allegations. Activists saw the detention last month of Gasser Abdel Razek, executive director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), and two of the group’s other staff, as the latest escalation of a broad crackdown on political dissent under President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi. Egypt’s foreign ministry had said EIPR was operating illegally, an accusation the group denies. There has been no official statement from public prosecutors since Abdel Razek’s release, and officials could not be reached for comment. The arrests, which came after EIPR hosted a briefing on human rights for 13 s...
Senate threatens labour ministers over absence at hearing
The Senate Committee on Local Content has threatened to sanction the Ministers of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige and Festus Keyamo, over their failure to appear at an investigative hearing on diving operations in the oil and gas industry. It also threatened to sanction the managing directors of international oil companies (IOCs) in Nigeria for the same reason. The IOCs MDs include ExxonMobil, Total and Chevron. The chairman of the committee, Teslim Folarin, said this at the hearing on Thursday after they all failed to show up for the event which was meant to review the challenges experienced by diving operators in the sector. The invitation followed a debate on a motion on the urgent need to ensure strict compliance with statutory regulations and provisions on Nigerian diving sector. P...
Cross River bye-election: Court affirms Stephen Odey as PDP candidate
A Federal High Court sitting in Calabar on Thursday affirmed Dr Stephen Odey as candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the Cross River North Senatorial bye election. Ruling in the suit with number FHC/CA/CS/87/2020, presiding judge, Justice S.A. Amobeda held Odey was the validly nominated candidate of the PDP for the said bye election. Relying on relevant provisions of the the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), provisions of the Electoral Act 2020 and Articles of the PDP guidelines for conduct of its primaries, Justice Amobeda ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to publish the name of Odey as the duly nominated candidate of the People’s Democratic Party to contest the election. Citing the relevant provisions of the const...
Borno holds bye-election for state assembly
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Borno said it has concluded necessary preparations to hold bye-elections for the two vacant seats in the state House of Assembly on Saturday. INEC Resident Electoral Commission in the state, Alhaji Mohammed Ibrahim told newsmen at a Press Conference on Thursday in Maiduguri, Borno capital the bye-elections for the state constituencies hold in Bayo and Ngazai local governments Saturday. Two members of the House of Assembly representing Bayo and Ngazai State Constituencies died in the heat of Coronavirus pandemic, making the seats vacant. INEC said bye election to fill the vacancies earlier fix for October was postponed due to the anti-police brutality protests in most parts of the country “The commission had earlier fixed 31st October,...
Gareth Bale scores 200th career goal
Tottenham and Wales forward Gareth Bale scored his 200th career goal as he equalised for Spurs against LASK in the Europa League. Gareth Bale scored his 200th career goal on Thursday after he netted for Tottenham in their Europa League clash with LASK. Wales international Bale had been stuck on 199 goals for club and country since he scored for Spurs in their 2-1 Premier League win over Brighton at the start of November. He went close to reaching the milestone during Tottenham’s 4-0 win over Ludogorets in the Europa League on November 26, but hit his 200th goal in Spurs’ next European outing. Bale’s landmark strike – his first away goal for Spurs in Europe since he scored a hat-trick at the San Siro against Inter in 2010 – came from the penalty spot, Bale restoring parity after Peter Micho...
UEFA Nations League: France draw Belgium, Italy to face Spain in semi-finals
The draw for the UEFA Nations League finals has been conducted, with World Cup holders France set to square off against world number ones Belgium while hosts Italy face Spain next October. The European governing body rubber-stamped Milan and Turin as the cities set to welcome the second edition of the tournament’s showpiece last four event on Thursday, confirming that the Group 1A winners would be on home soil. Roberto Mancini’s Azzurri will welcome La Roja under the stewardship of Luis Enrique to San Siro on October 6, while Didier Deschamps’ Bleus will face Les Diables Rouges led by Roberto Martinez at Allianz Stadium a day later. The winners will then meet in Milan three days later on October 10, with the third-place play-off unfolding in Turin upon the same date. The second semi-final ...
France: Coronavirus vaccine will be free for all
France will ensure free COVID-19 vaccinations for all who are in its social security system and has earmarked 1.5 billion euros of next year’s social security budget to cover the cost, Prime Minister Jean Castex said on Thursday. Castex said the vaccination campaign would begin in a matter of weeks, pending regulatory approval by the European Medicines Agency. The inoculation programme would be staggered over three categories of people, he said, commencing with the most vulnerable in nursing homes. “The vaccination will be free for all,” Castex told a press conference. France has ordered some 200 million doses from different pharmaceutical companies developing vaccines, Castex said, enough to inoculate 100 million people – more than France’s population. The COVID-19 vaccination will be vol...
Mikel Arteta expects difficult January transfer window
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says the club do not have much room to manoeuvre in the January transfer window and may have to offload players before they can add to the first-team squad. Arsenal are reportedly looking for a creative midfielder, with RB Salzburg’s Dominik Szoboszlai and Olympique Lyonnais’ Houssem Aouar among the options being considered, while Arteta would also like to improve his defensive options. “We are planning, talking with (technical director) Edu and with the club about the things we can do in January,” Arteta told reporters. “But at the moment it’s pretty difficult, unpredictable as well. In terms of places, we are very restricted in the moment. “We will need to do something knowing the limitations of that market in January and the limitations we have as well to si...
