Author: Abdallah el-Kurebe

Dangote Cement Plc has announced the successful issuance of N50 billion series 1 fixed rate senior unsecured bonds, under its new N300 billion multi-instrument issuance programme. Mr Michel Puchercos, Chief Executive Officer, Dangote Cement, disclosed this in a statement made available newsmen in Lagos on Wednesday. Puchercos said the bonds were issued on May 26 at coupon rates of 11.25 per cent, 12.50 per cent and 13.50 per cent for the 3, 5 and 7-year tranches, respectively. He said the bond issuance was well received and recorded participation from a wide range of investors, in spite of the market headwinds.…

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Trading activities on the Nigerian Exchange rebounded on Wednesday with a gain of 0.15 per cent due to interest in MTN Nigeria Communications (MTNN). Specifically, the All-Share Index increased by 57.41points or 0.15 per cent to close at 38,564.70 from 38,507.29 achieved on Tuesday. Consequently, the month-to-date return increased to 0.3 per cent, while the year-to-date loss moderated to 4.2 per cent. Similarly, the market capitalisation rose by N30 billion or 0.15 per cent to close at N20.099 trillion against N20.069 trillion posted on Tuesday. The market upturn was driven by price appreciation in large and medium capitalised stocks amongst…

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By Eugenia Cheng Emmy Noether, a pioneer of abstract math, helped explain the theory of relativity to mathematicians I find it hard to memorize numbers; I have no emotional connection to them, contrary to stereotypes of mathematicians. So when I want to remember a phone number, for example, I am more successful if I translate the numbers into musical notes or words. I think of this as a mathematical technique, because math is about making connections between different topics to help our thought processes. Often we start with something hard to understand and build a connection with something more intuitive.…

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The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Lucky Irabor and all Service Chiefs have arrived in Maiduguri, capital of Borno, ahead of Thursday visit by President Muhammadu Buhari. The president will be in Borno to assess security situation in North-East. The chiefs include Chief of Army Staff, Maj. Gen. Farouq Yahaya; Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Isiaka Amao; Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Awwal Gambo and Chief of Military Intelligence. The Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali, who arrived earlier, received the CDS and service chiefs at the Maiduguri Airport from where they all  proceeded to headquarters of Joint Task…

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By Tina George, Minna In its bid to prevent further increase in the price of rice across the country, the National Cereals Research Institute (NCRI) Badeggi, has disclosed that it is scaling up rice technologies and innovations. The Executive Director of the Institute, Aliyu Umar disclosed this during the West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development and Partnership for Agricultural Research, Education and Development, (CORAF-PAIRED) 2021 inception and annual work plan review and implementation meeting in Badeggi on Wednesday. The scale up, according to Umar would improve rice productivity, which would enable farmers to meet up with…

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Delta state governor Ifeanyi Okowa has written again asking President Muhammadu Buhari to release the £4.2 million Ibori loot to be spent on six projects in the state. The governor in his second letter suggested that the £4,214,017.66 could be used to fund important road projects in Warri, Agbor, Abraka, Sapele, Igheli, Effurum and Asaba. Recall that Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami disclosed on May 18 that the account of the federal government was credited with the naira equivalent of the £4,214,017.66 of on May 10. Okowa in the letter addressed to the AGF opined that it would be…

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A former Chairman, Police Service Commission, Mr Simon Okeke has described incessant attacks on policemen and their facilities in the South East as misplaced anger by the citizenry. Addressing newsmen in Nnewi South local government area of Anambra, Okeke decried increasing security challenges in the country, particularly in the South East, describing it as worrisome. He lamented the killing of policemen, destruction of police stations, patrol vehicles, security gadgets and loss of arms. “These incessant attacks on the police facilities can be linked to bottled anger or accumulated aggression or what we can call misplaced anger on the part of…

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The Consulate General of Nigeria in New York, Amb. Lot Egopija, says no fewer than 1,328 passports produced at the mission are yet to be collected. Egopija said in New York that the passports were among the backlogs cleared, but were yet to be collected by the applicants. The Nigerian envoy said the clearing of the passport backlogs was in line with the directive of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS). He said the backlogs were due to the shutdown of the Consulate from March 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic and the skeletal services rendered at the mission following phased resumption…

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Ericsson, a multinational telecommunications company has said that 5G would become the fastest adopted mobile generation in history. Ericsson made this known in a statement on Wednesday in Lagos, noting that subscriptions were increasing at a rate of about a million per day. According to the report, China, North America and the Gulf Cooperation Council markets are leading the way on subscriber numbers, while Europe is off to a slow start. It said that 5G subscriptions with a 5G-capable device grew by 70 million during the first quarter of 2021 and is forecast to reach 580 million by the end…

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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced its readiness to conduct the by-election for the Sabon Gari constituency seat in the Kaduna State House of Assembly. The Acting Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr Awwal Mashi gave the assurance at a stakeholders meeting on Tuesday. He explained that the by-election, slated for June 19 followed the vacancy declared for the seat of Aminu Shagali, the member representing Sabon Gari Constituency in the assembly. The seat occupied by Shagali, a former speaker of the assembly, was declared vacant in April, after he was alleged to have absconded from activities of the assembly…

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