Author: Ogochukwu Ndubuisi

Iran-Israel War: ‘A Fire no One Can Control’, UN Warns UN Secretary-General António Guterres has warned that the ongoing violent conflict between Iran and Israel is “a fire no one can control” and risks spiralling out of control. Guterres also warned that the world stood on the edge of catastrophe as Israel’s military campaign inside Iran intensified and strikes on nuclear facilities threatened to trigger a catastrophe. The regional fallout is expanding, with missiles from Yemen’s Houthi forces targeting Israel and occupied Palestinian territory, while armed groups in Iraq are reportedly mobilising. In an address to the UN Security Council…

Iran Warns U.S. Against Involvement in Israeli Strikes, Urges Return to Diplomacy Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday warned that the U.S. participation in Israel’s ongoing attacks on Iran would be “very unfortunate” and “extremely dangerous for everyone.” Araghchi was speaking to reporters in Istanbul ahead of the 51st Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul. He said: “Diplomacy worked in the past, it can work again. But to return to it, aggression must stop.” He emphasised Iran’s readiness for peaceful negotiations. “We are absolutely ready for a negotiated solution,…

Direct Flights from Abuja to London Heathrow Begin Oct. 26 – Keyamo Mr Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, says Air Peace will begin direct flights to London Heathrow Airport from Abuja on Oct. 26. Keyamo made this known in Abuja on Sunday in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Mr Tunde Moshood. According to him, the landmark achievement follows sustained diplomatic efforts by the Federal Government to enforce reciprocity in international air travel agreements. The minister said that the breakthrough was the result of a strongly worded letter from the ministry…

Pension Remittance Defaulters to be Blacklisted from Nov. 30 – PenCom The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has warned that organisations failing to comply with pension remittance obligations will be blacklisted starting Nov. 10. The Director-General of PenCom, Ms Omolola Oloworaran, issued the warning during the commission’s second-quarter media briefing in Lagos on Wednesday. Oloworaran noted that this was to reinforce PenCom’s adoption of its zero-tolerance approach to non-compliance with the Pension Reform Act of 2014. She said, “Moving on, it is now zero tolerance for non-compliance with the pension reform act of 2014. Effective immediately, PenCom has launched an uncompromising…

Nigeria, Benin Sign Regional Integration Deal The Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Republic of Benin on Saturday signed a pact to deepen bilateral integration and serve as a model for wider cooperation within ECOWAS. The agreement was signed during the inaugural West Africa Economic Summit (WAES), held in Abuja, with Presidents Bola Tinubu Nigeria and Patrice Talon of Benin in attendance. Nigeria’s Dr Jumoke Oduwole and Amb. Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu signed on behalf of Nigeria, alongside Benin’s Shadiya Assouman and Shegun Bakari. President Talon described the agreement as a bold step towards genuine, practical regional integration and called for prompt…

How Africa can Fast-Track Industrial Revolution – Tinubu President Bola Tinubu says Africa’s industrial revolution can only be fast-tracked by creating a smart value-chain for the region’s abundant natural resources. The President stated this in his remarks at the inaugural West Africa Economic Summit (WAES) on Saturday in Abuja. “Let us recognise that Africa was left behind in previous industrial revolutions. “We cannot afford to miss the next one. Our rare minerals power tomorrow’s green technologies—yet it is not enough to be resource-rich. “We must become value-chain smart and invest in local processing and regional manufacturing. ‘The era of ‘pit…

Investors Increase Bets on Nigerian Stocks By 126% Stock market investors traded 3.566 billion shares worth N115.403 billion in 99,960 transactions on the floor of the Exchange this week. This is 126.2 per cent compared to 2.057 billion shares valued at N51.015 billion that exchanged hands last week in 65,016 deals. Consequently, the value of transactions traded by investors on the Exchange soared by 126.2 per cent. The Financial Services Industry led the activity chart with 2.166 billion shares valued at N62.046 billion traded in 45,851 transactions. This contributed 60.73 per cent and 53.76 per cent to the total equity…

Equities Investors Gain N175bn, Banking Index Key Driver Equities investors gained about N175 billion as the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) continued to break into new highs, pushing year-to-date return to 14.78%. The local bourse ended the week on a bullish note, extending its winning streak as key market performance indicators advanced by 0.24%. Today’s positive close was driven by selective bargain hunting in fundamentally good large-cap and moderately priced stocks. This activity reflects a continued rise in investor confidence in the domestic equity market. The NGX All-Share Index increased by 277.09 basis points today to close at a new all-time high…

Pension Fund Assets Rise to N23.33trn in Q1 2025 — PenCom National Pension Commission (PenCom) says the total assets under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) rose to N23.33 trillion as at March 31. Mr Saleem Abdulrahman, Director of Surveillance, PenCom, disclosed this on Thursday in Lagos. Abdulrahman said that the figure represented an increase of N820 billion when compared with the N22.51 trillion recorded as of Dec. 31, 2024. He attributed the growth in pension assets to additional contributions from Retirement Savings Account (RSA) holders and investment income, including gains from the appreciation of equity prices and interest income on…

Naira Stabilises as CBN Injects $41m into Forex Market The naira stabilised around N1549 against the US dollar in the foreign exchange market as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) conducted FX intervention. The CBN injected about $41 million to boost FX inflows in the official market to enhance liquidity following a surge in corporate demand for dollar in the previous day. The US dollar injected were sold to authorised dealer banks at the rate of N1,546.15 and N1,550. Compared with last month, CBN FX interventions sale has reduced in July. In May, the authority used $580 million to defend…