BREAKING NEWS

Telecommunications giant, MTN Nigeria, has said it will list its shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in 2017. The company said in a statement on Thursday that the listing was part of a settlement arrangement with the Federal Government. “The Board of Directors has resolved to proceed with preparations for a listing of MTN Nigeria on the NSE as soon as commercially and legally possible, and has established a management task team with the responsibility to guide the company towards a listing,” it said in the statement. “ At present, MTN Nigeria is targeting that the listing takes place during 2017, subject to suitable market conditions.” The statement was signed by MTN Nigeria’s Public Relations and Protocol Manager, Mr. Funso Aina. ‎The telecoms firm said it had appointed Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited (together with its affiliates, The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited and Standard Advisory London Limited) (collectively “Stanbic”) and Citigroup Global Markets Limi...

Sacked chairman of the House of Representatives committee on Appropriation, Abdulmumin Jibrin, has released a new statement indicting speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara. According to Jibrin, Dogara fraudulently diverted  a Federal government water project to his farm in Nasarawa state. Read his statement below  Good morning fellow Nigerians, Everyday I will give additional allegation against Mr Speaker and the 3 others until the law catches up with them. Allegation no21 to MrSpeaker: why did you fraudulently divert a Fed Govt water project to your farm in Nasarawa and how are you funding the farm?  When a new Speaker emerges and the other principal officers replaced, I will write to the presiding officers of both chambers to commence a radical internal reform in the entire NASS beyond budget to cover performance assessment, running cost and allowances, investigations etc  If the reform so done on NASS is not made public latest by Decemb...

Africa's richest man, Aliko Dangote, has dropped out of the list of top 100 richest people in the world. This is largely due to the devaluation of the Naira. Dangote who owns the second largest sugar-refinery in the world, remains richer than American billionaires, Donald Trump, and Oprah Winfrey who ranks as the second richest black woman in the world. Dangote is now worth $11.1 billion, while Trump and Oprah are estimated at $4.5 billion and $3.1 billion, respectively. The devaluation of the Naira against the dollar from about 198 to about 300, has eroded about a quarter of Dangote’s wealth as he continues to invest heavily in Nigeria. At the launch of the new foreign exchange regime on June 23rd, Dangote fell from number 46 on the world billionaire list to 71 and has continued to drop as the Naira continues to crash. According to Bloomberg billionaires, Dangote, who was worth $15.4 billion (N3.05 trillion) in March, is now worth $11.1 billion (N3.3 trillion) - richer in naira ...

Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II has just added a Rolls Royce Phantom to his fleet of exotic cars. He drove the car around Kano state yesterday July 27th. More photos after the cut...

Heavy rain and strong winds reportedly destroyed and swept some vehicles into a small river, after Kantoma Brigde, in Suleja, Niger state. According to an eyewitness, most of the cars were in a motor park and belonged to a car dealer. See more photos of the damaged vehicles as you continue.

\ US-based Chierika Ukogu will be making history at the 2016 Olympics Games, being the first rower to represent Nigeria. Born on October 1992, Okogu, who is a graduate of Stanford University, said in a recent interview that the sport had been challenging but she will put in her best, adding that her training with members of the U.S. team at the Vesper Boathouse at Schuylkill, Philadelphia had helped develop her skills. "It is my ultimate goal to be the 1st Nigerian to row at the Olympic Games. Heading into Rio, it's a really wonderful opporunity for Nigeria. This is the first time we've had an athlete at the Olympics in the sport of Rowing," said Ukogu  

Brexit is official! With 16,737,273 votes for Leave, Britain has voted to leave the EU, breaking the winning post in the referendum. Leave won 52% to 48%, with England and Wales voting for Leave while Scotland and Northern Ireland voted for 'Stay'. This exit has plunged the pound against the dollar to its lowest level since 1985 as Britain lurched towards Brexit. Sterling has crashed nearly 10% to $1.34, and by more than 6% against the euro. Gold is up nearly by 6% this morning. US markets were expected to open down 550 points on Friday morning. Trading in Tokyo was halted after stocks plunged nearly 7 per cent, while South Korea's Kospi tumbled about 4 per cent. Crude oil prices also took a hit. As results poured in, a picture emerged of a sharply divided nation: Strong pro-EU votes in the economic and cultural powerhouse of London and semi-autonomous Scotland were countered by sweeping anti-Establishment sentiment for an exit across the rest of England, from sout...

Man U manager Jose Mourinho is set to increase the bad blood between him and Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger as he has tabled a £35m bid for Arsenal and Wales midfielder Aaron Ramsey. According to the Sun UK, Mkhitaryan of Dortmund is Mourinho's first choice, but after watching Ramsey at the Euros, has ordered Man U executive Ed Woodward to trash out a deal for Arsene Wenger's prized asset.  Mourinho wants him to be Manchester United’s answer to Frank Lampard, and believes he could achieve for Man U what Lampard achieved for Chelsea. Raiding Premier league rivals Arsenal for Ramsey  would be one of Mourinho’s boldest ever transfer moves as he knows he would face fierce resistance from Gunners boss  Wenger.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron resigned today after his devastating defeat in the EU referendum. He had fought strongly for Britain to remain in the EU but lost. He said he will stay in post till about October this year when a new Prime Minister is chosen. He said the country requires fresh leadership. Cameron's voice broke as he spoke outside Downing Street this morning with his wife Samantha in tears next to him. “We should aim to have a new prime minister in place by the start of the Conservative Party conference in October," he told the media after the country voted to leave the European Union. The Brexit campaign officially passed the winning post in the EU referendum at around 6am today, triggering a political earthquake and panic in the markets. Nigel Farage earlier declared it to be 'independence day' and a 'victory for real people' as the Leave campaign racked up votes across England and Wales - defying the verdict of London, Scotland and most of the...

The unveiling of the new foreign exchange guidelines for the country by the Central Bank of Nigeria has prompted stock investors to pump huge amount of funds into the market, STANLEY OPARA writes The Nigerian Stock Exchange reacted positively to the news of the unveiling of the new foreign exchange guidelines by the CBN last Wednesday as the market capitalisation soared by over N760bn, with investors committing huge sums to acquire more shares. The move by investors to acquire more stocks at this time is hinged on their desire to re-enter the market when share prices are at their lowest, as the market is expected to recover after months of persistent fall. Prior to the three-day straight gains last week, the NSE market capitalisation had stood at N9.284tn on Tuesday. But as of the last day of trading last week on Friday, the value of the market had soared to N10.044tn. Other variables like the All-Share Index, market turnover, share volume and deals also recorded signi...

Zara Holland, former Miss Great Britain winner, took to her Twitter handle to announce her sadness at leaving the dating program after hearing of her mother's illness, days after she lost her Miss GB crown for having sex with a housemate. In a statement, published by Mirror UK, she said: "I'm so sad to leave the villa but it's important for me to get home and spend time with my mum while she gets better. "I've had the time of my life on Love Island and would like to thank all of my fellow Islanders and the production team for all their support." ITV added: "Our thoughts are with her and her family and we send all of our best wishes After being told of the news of her crown being taken from her, off-camera, Zara returned to the villa in a fluster of emotion. She burst into tears before calling everyone to hear her cry.

Four states, namely Rivers, Cross River, Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom have been thrown into darkness following the collapse of the National Grid which occurred yesterday June 19th. According to PM News, the Head of Corporate Communications at the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company, PHED, which supplies electricity to these states, yesterday notified its consumers in the four states that the National Power Grid had collapsed and so they will not be able to supply them power until the grid is repaired. He said PHED would however source for power from other alternative sources to consumers that are willing to pay for the power.

Presumptive Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump told NBC’s “Meet the Press”  on Sunday  that he will win the U.S Presidential election in November 'one way or the other'. The Billionaire businessman said everyone should forget the polls, forget the short list of important endorsements and forget the GOP infighting, that he'll win the elections. “We're going to go onto a great victory. It would be nice if the Republicans stuck together,”  “I'm a different kind of a candidate, I think that I win either way. I can win one way or the other,” he said.

Microsoft, today, announced that it is acquiring LinkedIn, the social network for professionals with 433 million users, for $26 billion, on $196 per share, in cash. The transaction has already been approved by the boards of LinkedIn and Microsoft. LinkedIn is keeping its branding and product. It will become a part of Microsoft’s productivity and business processes segment. LinkedIn’s CEO Jeff Weiner will report to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Read the letter Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella sent to employees about the buy after the cut. Team, I'm excited to share that today Microsoft announced a deal to acquire LinkedIn. You can see how Jeff Weiner, the CEO of LinkedIn, and I envision the opportunity ahead in this public presentation. This deal brings together the world's leading professional cloud with the world's leading professional network. I have been learning about LinkedIn for some time while also reflecting on how networks can truly differentiate cloud services. It...

Former Super Eagles captain and coach, Stephen Keshi died after a Cardiac arrest in the early hours of today Wednesday June 8th. Nigerian celebrities have been sharing tributes and mourning his death on Social Media. See more screenshots as you continue...

Nigeria: Ahead of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games taking place in August, the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), has unveiled Red Sapphire and Team Naija as the first-ever exclusive Online Media Partners (OMP) and exclusive Raffle Draw Operator of the Committee.  At the formal unveiling just held at the prestigious Barcelona Hotels, Abuja the National Olympic Committee President, Habu Gumel, also unveiled the campaign theme tagged “We Believe, We Can”. The RIO 2016 Olympic is billed to kick-off on August 5 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  The exclusive partnership gives Red Sapphire the right to run the NOC – RIO 2016 Telethon Raffle and to relay the Olympic Games via KairoswebTV and the TeamNaija website, Social media profiles and other selected media platforms. In his keynote address at the unveiling ceremony President of the Nigerian Olympic Committee, Engr. Habui Gumel, called on all Nigerians and corporate organisations to support Team Naija as they prepare to ensure a grand su...

In what is set to become a major milestone achievement in its 50 years of existence, the Lagos State Government on Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to kick-start the construction of the 38km 4th Mainland Bridge, expected to bring a 14-year old dream to reality. The Bridge, which is geared towards economic growth in the State, is expected to gulp N844billion in a Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative and would be delivered in three years. Speaking at the signing of the MoU held at the Banquet Hall, Lagos House, Ikeja, State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, said that the need for the bridge had become imperative following the phenomenal growth of the State with a population of over 21 million people, which has in turn increased commercial activities and traffic gridlock. “This has made it imperative for us to have a 4th Mainland Bridge that will serve as an alternative route to the Eastern axis and decongest traffic in the State. “More importa...

ABUJA — The Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), yesterday, accused the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, and other oil and gas companies of shortchanging the country and failing to remit $4.4 billion and N358.3 billion to the Federation Account in 2013. This comes as Lagos-based indigenous chartered accounting firm, SIAO Partners, had been contracted by NEITI to carry out the 2014 audit, even as it is in the process of procuring auditors for its 2015 audit. Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), yesterday, accused the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, and other oil and gas companies of shortchanging the country and failing to remit $4.4 billion and N358.3 billion to the Federation Account in 2013. This comes as Lagos-based indigenous chartered accounting firm, SIAO Partners, had been contracted by NEITI to carry out the 2014 audit, even as it is in the process of procuring auditors for its 2015 audit. ...

Just hours before official confirmation that Louis Van Gaal was sacked by Man utd, storage boxes containing Jose Mourinho's belongings were transported out of his London home and he was surrounded by journalists as he left his London home to get a new house in Manchester ahead of official confirmation this week that he will become the new manager of the World's most popular football club. More photos after the cut.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has announced a commitment of $80 million (about N15.8billion) towards accelerating progress of women and girls in order to close widening gender data gaps. In a statement, made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Lagos, the foundation said that the funding would run for the next three years, to help accelerate the progress for women and girls around the world. The statement quoted Melinda Gates, co-chair of the foundation as announcing the commitment at the “Women Deliver Conference’’ held on May 17 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Gates was quoted as saying that the foundation was making the commitment because it believed that a reliable gender data was important for accelerating development outcomes. “Data holds power and demonstrates the size and nature of social or economic problems, and brings clarity around who is falling through the cracks. “Through reliable data, women and girls’ lives can become visible and counted, he...