Author: Ifetayo Adeniyi

Lagos First Lady Ibijoke empowers 87 resident with N11.4M in RHI-ASP L-R: Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Mr. Jamiu Alli-Balogun; Wife of the Deputy Governor, Mrs. Oluremi Hamzat; First Lady of Lagos State and Renewed Hope Initiatiave (RHI) State Coordinator, Dr. (Mrs.) Claudiana Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu; Commissioner for Agric and Food Security, Ms. Abisola Olusanya; and APC Lagos State Women Leader, Hon. Jumoke Okoya-Thomas, during the official launch of the RHI 2025 Agricultural Support programme, held at Lagos House Ikeja, on Monday, 28th July, 2025. In a bold step toward food security and grassroots empowerment, the First Lady of Lagos…

NiDCOM, Sydani, FirstBank launch ‘Home and Abroad’ platform to empower diaspora Nigerians In a landmark partnership for development, Sydani Group, in collaboration with the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) and FirstBank Plc, has officially launched the Home and Abroad Platform, a secure and tech-enabled solution designed to help Nigerians in the diaspora own verified real estate properties in Nigeria with ease. The launch took place at the Presidential Villa on Friday, July 25, 2025, the first day of the National Diaspora Day and National Diaspora Merit Awards. The event, with the theme “Optimising Formidable Diaspora Potentials for National Development and…

Transactions on e-payment channels reach N285 trillion in Q1 • Total registered BVNs by accounts is 66.2 million as of July 2025. In spite of increased network glitches across networks in the first three months of 2025, electronic payment transactions, across various platforms, rose by 22 per cent to N284.9 trillion in the first quarter of 2025. Latest data from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) showed that within the same period in 2024, the transaction value was N234.4 trillion. These electronic payment transactions cut across Internet banking, mobile apps, Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD), POS, ATM, among others. Indeed,…

NDE opens online registration for Phase-2 of Renewed Hope employment initiative The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) has officially commenced registration for Phase Two of the Renewed Hope Employment Initiative (RHEI), which aims to combat unemployment and equip Nigerians with relevant skills. Mr Silas Agara, Director-General of NDE, announced this during the inauguration of the digital platform and the launch of the online registration on Monday in Abuja. He explained that the new digital platform would power the initiative, emphasising transparency and inclusivity. “After the success of Phase One, we have enhanced our infrastructure to make Phase Two fully digital.…

RSIEC reschedules LGA elections to August 30 Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) has fixed August 30, 2025 for the conduct of the local government areas elections. Chairman of RSIEC, Michael Odey, announced the date at stakeholders’ meeting held at the commission’s head office, 249 – 243 Aba Road, Port Harcourt on Monday. RSIEC chairman assured the stakeholders that the elections would be free, fair and credible, stressing that Rivers people would witness the best local government polls. The RSIEC had at the weekend, invited relevant stakeholders to the general meeting ahead…

Nigerian Poet Maryam Bukar Appointed United Nations First-Ever Global Advocate for Peace. The United Nations proudly announces the appointment of Maryam Bukar Hassan of Nigeria as its first-ever Global Advocate for Peace a historic milestone in advancing the role of arts, youth, and storytelling in global peacebuilding. In a moment of profound significance, Ms. Hassan was formally received today by UN Secretary-General António Guterres at UN Headquarters in New York. Her appointment marks a bold step forward in the UN’s commitment to inclusive and creative approaches to peace and security. A celebrated spoken word artist, poet, and passionate advocate for…

Google unveils AI footprint in Ghana, Africa Minister of Communications, Digital Technology and Innovation of Ghana, Samuel George, alongside Google executives, at the launch of the AI hub in Accra. Google is cementing its position in the field of artificial intelligence with the launch of its first AI Community Centre in Africa, located in Accra, Ghana. The initiative is part of a broader $37m investment to advance AI development across the continent, the technology giant said in an email. The centre, described as the first of its kind on the continent, is designed to serve as a hub for AI…

Without urgent debt settlement, power sector will collapse – Adelabu File photo of the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has sent out warning that Nigeria’s power sector could face imminent collapse if urgent liquidity support is not provided to offset the N4tn debt owed to power generation companies. While he spoke during the recent meeting between President Bola Tinubu and members of the Association of Power Generation Companies at the Presidential Villa, Adelabu said the debt overhang, a legacy liability dating back to 2015, poses a grave threat to the sector’s progress and…

Dangote Cement posts N311bn Q2 profit Dangote Cement Plc has reported a robust profit of N311.2bn for the second quarter ended June 30, 2025, representing a remarkable increase of 303 per cent compared to the N77.2bn recorded in the corresponding period of 2024. The cement giant’s impressive earnings were driven by a 14 per cent rise in revenue to N1.08tn in Q2 2025 from N943bn in Q2 2024. The company also improved its gross profit margin, which rose to N630.6bn, up 24 per cent from the N507.6bn recorded last year. Despite a rise in administrative and selling expenses, Dangote…

Airtel Nigeria revenue jumps 30% on data surge File: Airtel Airtel Nigeria generated $333m in revenue for the quarter ended 30 June 2025, representing a 30 per cent year-on-year increase in reported currency and a 48.9 per cent rise in constant currency. The figures were disclosed in the second-quarter financial report of Airtel Africa Plc. The growth was primarily driven by strong performance in data and voice services. Data revenue rose to $164m, reflecting a 40.2 per cent increase in reported currency and 60.3 per cent in constant currency. Voice revenue also climbed to $134m, up 19.1 per cent…