Author: Ogochukwu Ndubuisi

Health Sector Funding Still Below Global Commitments-Akpabio The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio has said that the current funding levels for the health sector remain far below the commitments the National Assembly has made at continental and global levels. He made the remarks at a public hearing organised by the Senate Committee on Health (Secondary and Tertiary) held in Abuja on Monday. The hearing was on five bills, including the Sickle Cell Disorder Research and Therapy Centres (Establishment), sponsored by Sen. Sunday Katung (Kaduna South). The National Health Act (amendment) Bill sponsored by Sen. Ipalibo Banigo (Rivers West), seeks…

Africa Deserves Permanent Seats on UN Security Council – Tinubu President Bola Tinubu, says it is time for Africa to occupy permanent seats on the United Nations (UN) Security Council, with all attendant privileges, including the veto. Tinubu, represented by the Vice-President Kashim Shettima, said this on Monday during the first plenary session on Peace, Security, Governance and Multilateralism at the Seventh African Union–European Union Summit in Luanda, Angola. The Nigerian leader insisted that a comprehensive reform of the global governance system is long overdue. ” It is time for Africa to occupy permanent seats on the UN Security Council,…

MTN Nigeria Sets to Pay Shareholders Interim Dividend Telecommunication company MTN Nigeria Plc (Ticker: MTNN) is set to pay an interim dividend to shareholders this week, details from its corporate disclosure revealed. Following a bumper earnings harvest in the 9 months of financial year 2025, the telecom company board of directors announced a plan to share profit with shareholders in the form of a dividend. The telecommunication company has been on dividend holiday for two years, as FX liabilities exposed its balance sheet to significant fluctuation that damaged its earnings performance after naira devaluation.  “An Interim Dividend of N5 per…

Guinness Nigeria: Analysts See Upside Potential, Differ on TP Reflecting their different expectations, equities analysts at two leading investment firms have estimated significant upside potential for investors holding Guinness Nigeria Plc at N167 reference market price. Guinness Nigeria Plc lost about 2% of its market value last week due to soft selling pressures at the same time when the Nigerian bourse went down by more than N2 trillion. The brewer share price settled at N167, a moderate decline from its opening price of N170. Guinness Nigeria has peaked at N183.90 in the market, its highest value in 52 weeks. The…

Alleged $14.8m Fraud: Senate Summons NCDMB Executive Secretary The Senate has summoned the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian content Development and monitoring board (NCDMB), giving him two weeks to appear before the committee on local content over an alleged $14.86 million fraud linked to investments in Atlantic International refinery and petrochemical Ltd. Following an interactive session, the Senate resolved that the NCDMB management must provide the committee with full documentation on all transactions connected to the alleged conspiracy and dishonest conversion of $14,859,257 by December 2. The directive follows recent reports from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) declaring…

Shettima in South Africa for G20 Summit Vice-President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa, for the G20 Leaders’ Summit. The Vice-President who will represent President Bola Tinubu at the summit, is scheduled to engage foreign leaders and development partners on issues relating to the economy, security, climate change, among others. On arrival at the Waterkloof Air Force Base in Johannesburg, Shettima was received by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun; and Chargé d’Affaires, Amb. Alexander Ajayi. Others are Consul General, Amb. Umar Bashir; the Defence Adviser, Commodore Ibrahim Ari-Gwaska; and the Chief…

Cardano Drops by 6.5% as Sentiment Fuels Selloffs Investors across grades are exiting positions, and the sentiment is shared across top cryptocurrency names. Cardano (ADAUSD) fell by 6.5% as crypto market conditions worsened on Friday. The altcoin price declined to $0.4060 with a total trading volume that printed at $1.77 billion in the last 24 hours. The selloffs heat up ahead of the plan to launch a spot ADA exchange-traded fund (ETF) to enhance accessibility and bridge traditional finance with blockchain. Based on data from CoinMarketCap.com, ADAUSD trading volume has increased by 72% on the day, driven by investors exiting…

Naira Sold Off Amidst Liquidity Shortfall in FX Market The naira swung negatively against the US dollar at the official currency market in Nigeria, and the parallel market rate also beamed with similar FX pressures. Uncertainties around capital gains tax triggered significant selloffs in the equities market, and there were offshore position liquidations that increased demand for dollars. Foreign portfolio investors sold the naira assets in an effort to optimise portfolio return, as the market now expected the monetary authority to significantly axe interest rate next week. In the absence of sufficient FX liquidity, the official exchange rate pulled back…

Nigeria to Open N460bn in Local Bonds for Subscription Nigeria’s Debt Management Office (DMO) will hold its monthly auction for Federal Government Bonds, aiming to reopen 5-year and 7-year securities valued at N460 billion for subscriptions. The offer size for the November auction is twice the previous offer as the authority moves to ramp up local borrowing after its successful eurobond market visit in Q4. According to the auction circular, the office is anticipating raising N230 billion from the reopening of 5-year bonds and another N230 billion from the reopening of its 7-year local borrowing note. The upward review in…

Suspected Terrorists Raid Niger School, Abduct Students, Staffers Suspected terrorists have abducted some students of and members of staff of St. Mary’s School, school in Papiri community in Agwara Local Government Area of Niger. The incidents comes three days after Kebbi State Government confirmed abduction of 25 female students of Maga Comprehensive Girls Secondary School during which the school’s vice principal was killed by the invaders. Confirming the incident on Friday in Minna the Niger State Government said the number of victims was yet to be ascertained, adding that security agencies were still assessing the situation. However, a resident of…