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Lagos, Nov. 17, 2024 – Nigeria and India have agrees to boost their bilateral relationship in areas of economic development, defence, healthcare and food security. The two countries also agreed to a greater collaboration in counterterrorism, maritime security, and intelligence sharing. According to Bayo Onanuga, the Presidential Spokesman, these were the major outcome of the bilateral talks between the two countries held on Sunday during the state visit of Narendra Modi, the Indian Prime Minister. “The leaders reiterated their unequivocal condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations including …

Lagos, Nov. 17, 2024 – First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Holdings Plc is to change its name to First Holdco Plc. The shareholders of the bank approved the change of name at the 12th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held virtually on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. The approved changes include shifting the company’s legal name from FBN Holdings Plc to First Holdco Plc and its brand name to FirstHoldco. The shareholders also approved the proposal of the board to raise the bank’s capital by N350 billion. Adewale Arogundade, the company’s Secretary, …

Abuja, Nov. 15, 2024 – Nigeria’s headline inflation rate rose to 33.88% in October from 32.7% in September 2024. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) disclosed this in its Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released on Friday. The report is attributed the rise to increased transportation costs and higher food prices. The food inflation rate rose by 7.64% on year-on-year basis to 39.16% in October from 31.52% in October 2023. On a month-on-month basis, the food inflation rate rose to 2.94%, a 0.30% increase from the 2.64% recorded in September …

Abuja, Nov. 14, 2024 – The Tinubu Stakeholders Forum (TSF) has urged stakeholders to engage constructively with the content of the tax reforms and embrace the useful suggestions made by President Bola Tinubu on the tax reforms bills rather than heating up the polity unnecessarily.  In a statement signed by its Chairman Ahmad Sajoh and Secretary Josiah Afolabi, TSF argued that no final decision had been made on the bills, especially the contentious one on Value Added Tax (VAT) even though they are at the National Assembly. It said: “While …

Washington, Nov. 13, 2023 – President-elect Donald Trump returned to the White House on Wednesday for the first time since his election victory and met with President Joe Biden to discuss the upcoming transition of power. “Welcome, welcome back,” Biden greeted Trump as they began their meeting in front of a roaring fireplace, pledging a smooth transition and offering to ensure Trump’s needs were met. “It’ll be as smooth as it can get,” Trump responded, marking a stark contrast to their long-standing political rivalry. The two men have clashed on …

Abuja, Nov. 13, 2024 – The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has directed the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC) and Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDP) stop their plan to replace Unistar prepaid meters. The FCCPC gave the directive in a statement on Wednesday. It said the directive was issued due to the DisCos’ non-compliance with instructions from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). Tunji Bello, the Chief Executive of FCCPC, said the directive to discontinue the replacement process stemmed from the DISCOs’ non-compliance with NERC’s order on the …

Abuja, Nov. 11, 2024 – The recent Fitch Ratings projection of deceleration of Nigeria’s inflation rate has been described to be in concordance with the research work of The Democratic Front (TDF) which had long expressed the view that considering various emerging economic variables, inflation rates were bound to come down.  In its statement issued by the team of researchers and signed by the Chairman, Mallam Danjuma Mohammed and Secretary, Chief, Wale Adedayo, the TDF expressed its happiness that Fitch is projecting that inflation figures would nose-dive from the current 33.7% …

Abuja, Oct. 5, 2024 – The Federal Ministry of Works has terminated the N740 billion contract with Julius Berger for the rehabilitation of Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Dual Carriageway. The ministry disclosed this in a statement, explaining that termination of the contract was due to non-compliance with reviewed cost, scope, and terms, stoppage of work, and refusal to remobilise to site. The statement said the ministry took the decision after several months of discussions with the contractor failed to yield any meaningful progress. Th statement readsin parts: “Based on non-compliance with reviewed cost, …

Abuja, Nov. 3, 2024 – The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says it thwarted an attempt by an international drug syndicate to smuggle in 845 wraps of cocaine weighing 18.72 kilograms at the Lagos airport. The drug consignments, worth ₦4.492 billion in street value, were recovered from two lavatories of an Ethiopian Airlines aircraft during the post-landing cleaning of the cabin of flight ET900 from Addis Ababa to Lagos on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024. Femi Babafemi, the NDLEA Spokesman, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday. He said: “The …

Iyin-Ekiti, Nov. 3, 2024 – It was all majesty, grandeur and pageantry on Saturday as Iyin Ekiti, a major town in South-West Ekiti State, celebrated Iyin Day 2024, an annual socio-cultural celebration that brings together all the sons and daughters of the town as well as invited guests from around the country. Notable personalities, including traditional rulers, turned out in their numbers to witness Iyin Day Carnival, which was the culmination of week-long activities that included interdenominational service, medical outreach, environmental sanitation, commissioning of projects, medical outreach, health and fitness …