Author: Ifetayo Adeniyi

SMEDAN The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria has launched a new entrepreneurship programme designed to support more than 100,000 young Nigerians annually as the Federal Government seeks to strengthen youth participation in the economy. The initiative, known as the Building Resilient Young Nigerian Entrepreneurs Project, was unveiled as part of SMEDAN’s activities to mark International Youth Day 2026. The programme will combine enterprise training, incubation, mentorship, access to finance, market opportunities and business development support through physical and digital platforms. The agency said the initiative was designed to address one of the major challenges confronting young entrepreneurs,…

New US Consul General, Brandon Hudspeth, at the US Consulate General in Lagos… Photo Credit: US Mission The United States Mission in Nigeria has announced the arrival of Brandon Hudspeth as the new Consul General at the US Consulate General in Lagos. Hudspeth will serve a three-year tenure as the senior US government representative across the 17 states in southern Nigeria. He succeeds Rick Swart, who retired from the US Foreign Service in July. According to U.S. Consulate General Lagos Press Office in a statement on Friday, Hudspeth, a career member of the US Senior Foreign Service, is returning to…

President Bola Tinubu. Photo: State House President Bola Tinubu has charged the Independent National Electoral Commission and security agencies to ensure a peaceful, transparent and credible governorship election in Osun State. The election is scheduled to hold on Saturday, August 15, 2026, with 15 candidates contesting the governorship seat. Among the candidates are the incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party, the All Progressives Congress candidate, Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji, and the African Democratic Congress candidate, Najeem Salaam. Joash Amupitan INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan. In a statement on Friday by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga,…

Airtel Nigeria has accelerated the expansion of its fifth-generation (5G) network, integrating more than 1,000 new 5G sites in the last one year as rising data consumption puts increasing pressure on mobile networks across the country. The rollout, which gained momentum from August 2025, has seen the telecommunications firm integrate 759 5G sites since December alone, extending the reach of high-speed connectivity beyond its initial deployment areas across major cities and urban centres. The latest expansion comes as Nigerians consume increasing volumes of mobile data, driven by the growing use of smartphones, video streaming, cloud applications, artificial intelligence (AI) tools,…

The Queen Consort of the Warri Kingdom, Olori Atuwatse III, has called for increased participation of women in leadership across Africa, saying the continent can no longer afford to exclude half of its talent from decision-making at a time of growing economic, political and social challenges. Speaking at the Amujae High-Level Leadership Forum in Senegal, the Warri Queen praised former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf for inspiring generations of African women, describing her as a transformational leader who not only broke barriers but has continued to mentor and create opportunities for other women to assume leadership positions. Olori Atuwatse III…

Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has directed a structured debt repayment schedules from airlines. He gave the order at an emergency stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja. The meeting was convened by the minister to resolve the lingering industrial disputes and restore lasting harmony within aviation sector. The engagement followed previous consultations with aviation sector unions and the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON). It came on the heels of the unions’ temporary suspension of industrial action on Tuesday. According to a statement issued in Abuja yesterday by the permanent secretary of…

L-R: Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Yu Dunhai, and Dr Dunoma Ahmed, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during the meeting on Thursday in Abuja. (NAN) The grant forms part of China’s support for Nigeria’s national development. The Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Yu Dunhai has said that China will provide a grant of RMB200 million (40.3 billion naira) to support the implementation of development projects in Nigeria. Yu disclosed this on Thursday during a meeting with Dr Dunoma Ahmed, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Abuja. He said the grant would support projects jointly agreed upon by the governments…

Sanusi said Amnesty International considered the remarks serious enough to warrant international attention. Amnesty International Nigeria has said it will name and shame Senator Francis Fadahunsi, who represents Osun East Senatorial District, across 150 countries where Amnesty International is represented, over alleged incitement to electoral violence ahead of the 2026 Osun State governorship election. The Country Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, Isa Sanusi, disclosed this while speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily. Sanusi said the organisation would use Fadahunsi’s case as an example in its efforts to hold Nigerian politicians accountable for statements capable of provoking violence during elections. Fadahunsi…

The Mountain Top Chorale of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM) has returned home after emerging Champion of the 2026 World Choir Games in the Spiritual Category of the competition in Sweden. The Nigerian choir won gold in the Spiritual Category with 87.38 points before emerging champion of the Champions Competition, according to information from the World Choir Games and MFM. Dr Daniel Olukoya, General Overseer of MFM, celebrated the achievement in a social media post, describing the victory as a glorious moment for Mountain Top Chorale and for Nigeria. He wrote: “A CHAMPION’S SOUND! GOLD FOR MOUNTAIN TOP…

Union Bank of Nigeria has been certified under the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) version 4.0.1, effective from 11 August 2026. PCI DSS sets a baseline of technical and operational requirements for environments where payment card account data is stored, processed or transmitted. The certification confirms that Union Bank met those requirements across a broad scope of operations included in the assessment. Covered areas included network infrastructure, card issuance, ATM and POS transaction acquiring and payment processing, reconciliation, settlement, chargeback and dispute resolution, and retail banking. The bank was assessed and certified in the Service Provider category.…