Author: Ifetayo Adeniyi

Paris Olympics: Favour Ofili reaches women’s 200m final Celebration as Ofili gets nearest to the best in 200m race achievement. Nigerian athlete, Favour Ofili has raced into the women’s 200m final of the Paris 2024 Olympics. The 21-year- old finished 2nd behind 100m champion Julien Alfred in a semi final race. Ofili could not participate in the 100-metre contest because owing to the Nigerian Olympic Committee’s alleged failure to enter her for the competition.

Data revenue of MTN goes higher by 54.7% for first half, 2024 The telecom operator revealed that it also implemented price optimisation across some of its data bundle offerings in Q4 2023, which contributed to the surge in data revenue. MTN Nigeria has announced a 54.7 per cent growth in data revenue for the first half of 2024, driven by an expansion in its user base and increased data usage. This was disclosed in the company’s financial results for the period ending June 2024, released recently. The growth in data revenue was supported by enhancements in service quality and a…

Airtel SmartCash boosts payment with new card Airtel Nigeria’s subsidiary, SmartCash Payment Service Bank, has announced a new partnership with Touch and Pay, the provider of automated payment solutions and owner of Cowry Card. This collaboration enables SmartCash customers to top up their Cowry cards using the SmartCash mobile app, promoting convenient and cashless transportation payments. The digital bank said in a statement on Monday that the new SmartCash feature aimed to meet the social needs of the masses, enhancing the ease of transportation while promoting the Central Bank of Nigeria’s cashless initiative. Commenting on the integration, Chief Executive Officer…

Civil society groups monitor crude sale to Dangote refinery in naira A coalition of 28 Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) has announced plans to establish a situation room in Abuja to ensure compliance with the presidential directive requiring the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPC Ltd) to sell crude oil to the Dangote Refinery in naira. The initiative follows concerns raised by the CSOs during a facility tour of the 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) refinery, which is the world’s largest single-train refinery, located in Lagos. The CSO leaders voiced their discontent with the NNPC Ltd and regulatory bodies, accusing…

Half-year result: Dangote Cement revenue grows to N807.1 billion, 139.9% increase Dangote has continued to attract huge forex into the country through his pan-African operations as the half-year result for Dangote Cement indicates an increase in revenue from Pan-African operations by 139.9 per cent, growing to N807.1 billion as against N336.4 billion, reported in the corresponding period of 2023. The cement plant also reported a 10.9 percent increase in the Nigerian market which rose from 8.0Mt to 9.0Mt in the half year ended June 30, 2024. According to the 2024 half-year results of the cement company, group volumes rose by…

Nigeria’s fixed-income market becomes attractive with huge investors’ oker Nigeria’s fixed-income market has become increasingly attractive to investors, offering a stable and predictable return on investment amid the nation’s economic instability. Conversely, the equities market has been in the eyes of the storm. While the Nigerian equities market saw substantial gains in the first quarter (Q1) of 2024, with the All-Share Index (ASI) rising to nearly 40 per cent, the second quarter (Q2) was not so spectacular. Moreover, trading activities on the local bourse in recent weeks have been marked by increased volatility and profit-taking. Factors such as socio-economic…

International market: NNPC launches new crude oil grade, exports first shipment to Spain The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has introduced the Utapate crude oil blend, a new crude oil grade, into the international market. According to a statement on Monday by Femi Soneye, NNPC’s spokesperson, the Utapate crude oil blend commenced operations in July, as its first cargo headed for Spain. The crude oil grade, Soneye said, is from an oil mining lease (OML) 13, fully operated by NNPC Exploration and Production Limited (NEPL), the company’s upstream subsidiary. “Located offshore Akwa Ibom State in Nigeria, Utapate’s current crude…

Heartland FC gets new head coach in Emmanuel Amuneke  Uzodinma and Amuneke … “marks a renewed commitment to revitalise” Heartland FC. Hope Uzodinma, governor of Imo, unveils Amuneke as Heartland FC’s head coach Hope Uzodinma, governor of Imo, has appointed Emmanuel Amuneke, former assistant coach of the Super Eagles, as the new head coach of Heartland Football Club. Amuneke was unveiled by the governor on Monday at the Imo state government house in Owerri. Uzodinma said the appointment of Amuneke “marks a renewed commitment to revitalise” Heartland FC. “Amuneke’s remarkable career has made us incredibly proud, and his return to…

Nigeria Oborududu wins and proceeds to S’final after defeating Koumba – Paris 2024 Oborududu silenced the capacity crowd at the arena. Team Nigeria will have cause to smile with any colour medal following a brilliant display by Blessing Oborududu a few minutes ago in her match against Koumba Larroque at the Champ de Mars Arena in Paris. The Nigerian, who made her debut at the Rio Olympic Games in 2016, was a better wrestler of the night in the women’s Freestyle 68kg but had to come from 1-2 down to a 3-2 towards the final stage of the bout. But…

Sahara Online Opens UK branch, Appoints Dr Odesanya Olumide As Liaison Officer Leading Media Platform, Sahara Weekly Magazine, Sahara Online/TV has opened a new office in the UK and appointed Dr. Odesanya Olumide, a Political analyst, Media/ PR Practitioner, Author, Social Media Commentator, Motivational Speaker, and Integrated marketing communicator to Head the Directorate. Contact our Liaison Office at Anfield, Liverpool to cover all Nigerian events, parties, engagements and advertisements of your products and services across the UK and massively broadcast them across Africa. Contact Our UK correspondent on: midesanya.saharaweekly@aol.com or +447424964535