Author: Ogochukwu Ndubuisi

Nigeria’s Fertility Rate Drops to 4.8 Children per Woman — NDHS The 2024 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) Report says Nigeria’s Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has declined from 5.3 children per woman in 2018 to 4.8 in 2024, marking a major demographic shift over the past five years. The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Salako, disclosed this on Friday in Abuja at the launch of the report. Salako said the decline reflects gradual gains in access to and use of family planning services nationwide. “Modern contraceptive use among currently married women increased modestly to…

NUPRC Opposes Establishment of Oil, Gas Decommissioning Commission The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has opposed the National Commission for Decommissioning of Oil and Gas Installations (NC-DOGI) establishment Bill (2024). The position of NUPRC was contained in a memorandum submitted at a public hearing organised by the House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream) in Abuja. Earlier, the Chairman, House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream), Rep. Ado Doguwa (APC-Kano), said that over the years, Nigeria’s petroleum industry had continued to face challenges in the decommissioning and abandonment of oil and gas facilities. According to him, these challenges have environmental, economic…

IMF Hails Africa’s Resilience as Region Defies Global Economic Storm The Director of the African Department in the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Abebe Selassie, says Sub-Saharan Africa shows resilience amid global economic headwinds. Selassie said this during a news conference on the regional economic outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa at the 2025 Annual Meetings of the IMF and World Bank, in Washington on Thursday. According to him, the continent has shown resilience despite a challenging global environment marked by slowing global growth, fluctuating commodity prices, and tight financing conditions. Selassie said that, though growth remained steady, resource-dependent and conflict-affected countries still…

Botswana Eyes Control of De Beers in Major Diamond Deal Botswana is accelerating efforts to secure control of De Beers, the world’s leading diamond producer by value, as parent company Anglo American prepares to divest its 85% stake in the diamond giant. President Duma Boko said his government intends to finalize a deal by the end of October, despite ongoing negotiations between Anglo and other potential buyers. “We are more than ready for the transaction and we’ve said the transaction must be concluded by the end of October,” Boko told Bloomberg News. “It’s a matter of economic sovereignty for Botswana.”…

Apple’s AI Search Head Ke Yang Exits for Meta Apple’s head of AI search effort, Ke Yang, is leaving the company to join Meta Platforms, just weeks after being appointed to lead a team developing features to make Siri more ChatGPT-like. Yang’s team, known as Answers, Knowledge and Information (AKI), is central to a major Siri revamp planned for March, which aims to enhance the voice assistant’s ability to pull information from the web and handle complex requests. This move marks another significant departure from Apple’s artificial intelligence division, following the exit of Ruoming Pang, the founder of Apple’s Foundation…

Johnson & Johnson Ordered to Pay $966 Million in Latest Talc Cancer Lawsuit Johnson & Johnson has been hit with a record-breaking $966 million verdict in a Los Angeles mesothelioma cancer case. The lawsuit was filed by the family of Mae Moore, an 88-year-old woman who died from mesothelioma in 2021. The family claimed that Moore’s use of Johnson & Johnson’s talc-based baby powder caused her illness. The jury awarded Moore’s family $16 million in compensatory damages and $950 million in punitive damages, citing the company’s negligence and failure to warn consumers about the risks associated with their product. The…

US Targets Foreigners Who Celebrated Charlie Kirk’s Assassination, Revokes Visas The United States Department of State has revoked the visas of six foreign nationals who publicly celebrated the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The decision was made following an internal review of social media posts deemed “offensive and contrary to U.S. values.” According to the State Department, the individuals, hailing from Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Mexico, Paraguay, and South Africa, had their visas canceled after posting inflammatory comments online. Examples of these comments include an Argentine national calling Kirk “devoted to spreading racist, xenophobic, misogynistic rhetoric” and stating he “deserves…

Nigeria Assures Foreign Investors of Conducive Business Environment The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has assured foreign investors that the government will continue to advance reforms and unlock opportunities for sustainable investment and growth. CBN Governor Yemi Cardoso gave the assurance on Wednesday in Washington while addressing investors at the Nigeria Investors Forum held on the sidelines of IMF/World Bank annual meetings. He said that the nation’s external reserves had risen to 43.4 billion dollar, the highest level in five years. Cardoso assured the investors that the government would continue to advance reforms and unlock opportunities for sustainable investment and…

NERC Approves N28bn for Procurement of Meters for Band A Customers The Nigerian Electricity Regulation Commission (NERC) says it has approved N28 billion for the procurement of meters for all outstanding unmetered Band A customers at no cost. This announcement was contained in the Order on the Operationalisation of “Tranche B” of the Meter Acquisition Fund (MAF) issued by NERC and signed by its Vice Chairman Musiliu Oseni and Commissioner Legal, Licensing and Compliance, Dafe Akpeneye, According to the order, the funds approved under Tranche B of MAF scheme apart from intended to meter all outstanding unmetered Band A customers…

Nigerian Exchange Index Climbs by 0.02%, Bargain Hunting Slows Up by 2 basis points, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) platform closed on a positive note on Wednesday, though buying momentum eased sharply despite the third-quarter earnings release. The All-Share Index inched up 0.02% to 147,742.22 points, maintaining year-to-date returns at 43.54%, reflecting the fact that the gainers list was dominated by lightweight companies. Hence, market capitalisation increased by ₦19.84 billion to ₦93.78 trillion, reflecting optimistic investor confidence in market fundamentals remained intact.  Market sentiment was upbeat, with 33 advancing stocks surpassing 27 decliners, producing a positive 1.2x breadth ratio. Trading activity…