Author: Ifetayo Adeniyi

2026 placement test: Lagos sets N5,000 fee for private schools The Lagos State Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education has announced that e-registration for the 2026 Universal Basic Education by Continuous Assessment Scores and Placement Test will run from January 26 to April 30, 2026. According to a circular issued on Wednesday by the Registrar of the Lagos State Examinations Board, Mr Orunsolu Adebayo, registration for pupils in public primary schools is free, while those in approved private schools are required to pay N5,000 per candidate through the Lagos State Central Billing System. Adebayo explained that only Primary Six pupils…

Olu of Warri Hosts Commonwealth Secretary General, Harps On Traditional Leadership The Olu of Warri Kingdom, Ogiame Atuwatse III on Tuesday has hosted the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Honourable Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, in a landmark one day visit that underscored the growing role of African traditional institutions in global development discourse. The visit, hosted by Their Royal Majesties, Ogiame Atuwatse III, CFR, the 21st Olu of Warri Kingdom, and Her Royal Majesty, Olori Atuwatse III, is the first of it kind by Botchwey to any country. The visit was aimed at positioning community rooted leadership, culture, and inclusive growth at…

Nigeria exempted from high-risk financial list ~ EU File photo: President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen  Minister of State for Finance welcomes move as a major boost to investors confidence. Nigeria has been removed from the European Union’s list of high-risk jurisdictions, a move expected to ease trade, payments and investment flows between the country and Europe, according to a report by Business Insider. Business Insider reports on Wednesday that the European Commission confirmed that Nigeria, alongside South Africa, Burkina Faso, Mali, Mozambique and Tanzania, had strengthened its AML/CFT regimes and no longer posed “strategic deficiencies” under…

In December 2025, Nigeria’s headline inflation eased to 15.15% – NBS Headline inflation stood at 0.54 per cent in December 2025, drop from 1.22 per cent. Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased to 15.15 per cent in December 2025 following a methodological review by the National Bureau of Statistics, marking a sharp moderation in price pressures compared with both the preceding month and the same period last year. The latest Consumer Price Index report released by the NBS, on its website on Thursday, showed that the CPI rose to 131.2 points in December 2025 from 130.5 points in November, indicating…

Fidelity Bank Champions Tree Planting Initiative At Elegushi Beach In line with its commitment to environmental preservation and sustainable development, leading financial institution, Fidelity Bank Plc, has partnered with Greenfingers Wildlife Initiative, to plant trees at Elegushi Beach, Lekki, Lagos. The intervention was implemented as part of the bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative, Fidelity Helping Hands Programme (FHHP). It was funded and administered by the newly inducted employees, referred to as the Vault Class, who selected this initiative for their community impact project. The bank provided matching financial support to ensure the project’s successful execution. Speaking during the…

Dangote Appreciates Cement Distributors At Awards Nite, Splashes N15bn In Gifts, Cash L-R: President/CE, Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote; Overall Winner, Otunba Kazeem Olayemi Odeyeyiwa, MD/CEO Kazab Heritage Limited and his wife, Chief Mrs Adesola Odeyeyiwa; Chairman, Dangote Cement Plc, Emmanuel Ikazoboh at the Dangote Cement Plc 2025 Customer Award Night and Celebration, in Lagos on Wednesday, 14 January, 2026. …declares bigger plan for the future through expansion. Dangote Cement Plc has celebrated its top distributors and customers with ₦15 billion worth of rewards for their continued loyalty, resilience, and outstanding performance. The 2026 Distributors’ Awards Night, held at…

Atiku’s Son prefers APC to PDP and ADC for 2027 Presidency Atiku Abubakar’s son joins Tinubu Claims move was decided on belief in Tinubu’s leadership and policy. Abubakar Atiku Abubakar, son of former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has formally defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), declaring his intention to support the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027. The defection was announced on Thursday at the National Assembly in Abuja, where Abubakar, popularly known as Abba, was officially received by the Deputy President of the Senate, Barau Jibrin, alongside APC leaders from the North-East. According to Vanguard,…

Manny Ita The Chief Executive of the newly renamed Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts, Mrs. Tola Akerele, has returned Nigeria to the forefront of global cultural discourse following her high-profile participation at the International Society for the Performing Arts (ISPA) Congress in New York. Held from January 13 to 15, 2026, the congress gathered approximately 500 arts leaders from over 50 countries under the theme “Resilience: A Global Dialogue,” a forum dedicated to ensuring cultural institutions remain financially sustainable and impactful despite dwindling public funds and geopolitical pressures. Mrs. Akerele, representing Nigeria’s premier cultural monument, was featured…

Manny Ita Organizers have finalized preparations for the 2026 National Yoruba Youth Summit, popularly known as “Îwà Day,” scheduled to convene on February 7, 2026, at the Federal School of Surveying in Oyo, Oyo State. Hosted by the Coalition of Yoruba Youth Leaders Forum in partnership with the Palace of the Alaafin of Oyo and the Federal Ministry of Arts and Culture, the summit is designed to institutionalize the philosophy of “Îwà Omolúàbí” or “good character” as a cornerstone for contemporary leadership. Prof. (Prince) Tolani Hassan, President-General of the coalition, characterized the gathering as “a movement to restore values and…

Manny Ita Access Holdings Plc has officially emerged as the largest financial institution in West and Central Africa by asset base, overtaking long-time rivals Zenith Bank and First Bank of Nigeria. According to the 2025 Africa’s Top 100 Banks report released in mid-January 2026, the group now commands a balance sheet of approximately $26 billion (estimated at over ₦42.45 trillion), supported by a Tier 1 capital of roughly $2 billion. This shift at the top of the regional hierarchy highlights a strategic divergence in the Nigerian banking sector; while competitors have focused on profit margins and digital efficiency, Access Holdings…