Author: Abdallah el-Kurebe

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) opened trading for the week on Monday,  with a loss of 0.09 per cent, ending five days consecutive bullish trend. Specifically, the All-Share Index lost 23.41 points or 0.09 per cent to close at 25,582.23 compared with 25,605.64 recorded on Friday. Accordingly, the Month-to-Date gain moderated to 1.0 per cent while Year-to-Date loss increased to -4.7 per cent. Also, the market capitalisation dropped N13 billion to close at N13.345 trillion from N13.358 trillion achieved on Friday. The downturn was impacted by losses recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, amongst which are; Guaranty Trust Bank,…

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The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) -assisted Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP) has earmarked over N2 billion to support farmers in Ebonyi during this year’s farming season, an official has said. The state Programme Coordinator of IFAD-VCDP, Mr Sunday Ituma, in Abakiliki on Monday, said that the intervention was being sponsored in collaboration with the Federal Government. He said the objective was to stimulate the economy through the provision of agro-inputs to more than 3,000 farmers in the state. “This intervention, which is through our annual marching grant scheme, will enable us to provide agro-chemicals, fertilizers, improved seeds for…

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The Economic Community of West African States, (ECOWAS), at its 57th Summit in Niger Republic on Monday, elected President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana as its new Chairman. The Ghana Ministry of Information announced through its Twitter handle that “President @NAkufoAddo has just been elected as the new Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), at the ongoing 57th ECOWAS Summit, which is being held in Niamey, capital of Niger.” In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the President Muhammadu Buhari also warned ECOWAS leaders against elongating their tenure in office…

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The African Development Bank returns as a top-tier partner of the African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) – Africa’s largest agriculture conference – to be held online for the first time from 8-11 September 2020, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The tenth annual AGRF will be headlined by African Heads of State and Government, and will bring together delegates from governments, civil society, the private sector and research communities. AGRF 2020 is hosted by the Government of Rwanda and the AGRF Partners Group, organized under the theme:

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The witness of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Rislanudeen Mohammed, on Monday said that the $2.2 million transaction in respect of the liquidation of a loan former Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Bello Adoke, obtained from Unity Bank PLC, was transparent. Mohammed, a former Acting Managing Director of the bank, told Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja during a cross examination by Adoke’s lawyer, Chief Kanu Agabi, SAN. The court had, on July 1, adjourned until Monday for the continuation of cross examination of Mohammed who is the second…

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The International Press Centre (IPC), has said that 41 journalists have been attacked at different locations in the country in the course of their duties between January and August. IPC Programme Officer, Mrs Melody Akinjiyan-Lawal, made the revelation during a webinar on Edo and Ondo State elections in Benin on Monday. The webinar was organised by the IPC, in conjuction with the Association of Communication Scholars and Professionals of Nigeria (ACSPN) for journalists. Akinjiyan-Lawal, who spoke on journalists safety during elections, said of the 41 attacks, 35 were on male, while five were on female and one was on a…

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The National Oil Spills Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), on Monday confirmed that 45 barrels and not 45,000 barrels of crude oil leaked from a well head owned by Shell at Angiama community in Bayelsa on March 17. NOSDRA admitted on its official twitter handle that it erred in an earlier update that indicated that the spilled volume was 45,000 barrels and apologised for the error. When contacted, the Director-General of NOSDRA, Musa Idris urged the public to disregard the earlier tweet on the 45, 000 barrels spill. It will be recalled that on Friday, the agency announced that a…

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A Lecturer in the Department of Geology, Yobe State University, Mr Ahmed Maina says there are about 18 untapped mineral resources at commercial quantity across the stat\e. According to him on Monday in Damaturu, some of the minerals include  limestone, gypsum, trona, kaolin, diatomite, bentonite, crude oil, among others. He said Yobe, Borno, Adamawa, Bauchi and Jigawa states were part of the Chad Basin blessed with abundant mineral resources. “Trona which is available in Fika Local Government is used to manufacture detergent. It is also used for producing Plaster of Paris (POP). “In the same local government, we have limestone…

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Fidelity Bank has announced N105.8 billion gross earnings in its audited results for the half-year ended June 30, in spite the economic challenges occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic. The bank in a statement in Abuja on Monday, said it had sustained the financial performance trajectory of recent years with another set of impressive financial results. “Details of the Audited Half Year results ending June 30, 2020 for the top Nigerian lender, released on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Sept. 3, show strong growth in profits and other indices. “The bank recorded a surge in Profit Before Tax of N12.0…

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Airtel Nigeria in Lagos on Monday said it had launched an Outdoor Unit (ODU) Smartbox, a new broadband internet booster to improve connectivity for customers at homes and offices. The telco said in a statement that the launch of the Airtel ODU Smartbox, which rides on its expansive and modernised 4G network, would further deepen broadband connectivity in homes and offices across the country. It said that the smartbox would give customers the freedom to do more as well as become more productive. The telco said that the Airtel Smartbox came with an Outdoor Unit (ODU), an antenna for extended…

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