Author: straightnewsng.com

Airtel Africa says it is looking to raise $1 billion through an initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange, offering 25 per cent of its shares. The telco said it is considering a stock market flotation in London to reduce existing debt. “In furtherance to our previous intimations in this regard, we wish to inform you that Airtel Africa, a subsidiary of the company, has announced its potential intention to undertake an initial public offering for listing its equity shares on London Stock Exchange,” the company said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange. In 2018, the company…

A popular Nigerian clergyman has advocated scrapping of state electoral commissions to give verve to the proposed local government autonomy, saying it won’t amount to anything different if the commissions were not scrapped. The National Publicity Secretary of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, Bishop Gospel Emmah Isong who stated this on Tuesday argued that the state governors can use electoral commissions to put their cronies in places of authority while council chairmen would be used as conduit pipes to siphon local government funds. Isong, who is also the General Overseer of Christian Central Chapel International CCCI a.k.a Faith Mansion, was appraising the state…

President Muhammadu Buhari has blamed poverty and insecurity Nigeria is experiencing on decades of neglect and resource mismanagement. Buhari stated this Tuesday when he received the board of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, led by the Group Chairman, Mr Emmanuel Ikazoboh, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. According to him, Nigeria would have been prosperous and peaceful if her assets and resources were properly managed. He said government remains committed to the goals of securing the country, engendering inclusive economic growth and fighting corruption, adding that Nigeria was in a unique position as the most populous and resource-rich nation on the African continent. In…

A dehydrated six-month-old baby, who stayed with her dead parents at Michigan Motel room in the western part of the state, was rescued by a trooper, police said. The trooper discovered the bodies on Friday at the Rodeway Inn near Whiteball after responding to a request for a well-being check. Authorities say the baby girl, Skylah, could have been alone for three days. Skylah was in critical condition at a Grand Rapids hospital Saturday and was expected to fully recover. It was not clear who might take custody of the girl. Police identified the parents as 26-year-old Jessica Bramer of…

The Federal Government earned N289.04 billion from Value Added Tax (VAT) in the first quarter of 2019, National Bureau of Statistics reported. This is against N298.01billion generated in Q4 2018 and N269.79 billion generated in Q1 2018 representing 3.01 per cent decrease quarter-on-quarter and 7.13 per cent increase year-on-year. The National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, stated this on Monday in its report on ‘Sectoral distribution Of Value Added Tax (Q1 2019)’. The manufacturing sector generated the highest amount of VAT totalling N31.42 billion followed by professional services with N24.31billion, commercial and trading generated N14.92 billion while mining raked in the…

Guavas are tropical trees originating in Central America. Their fruits are oval in shape with light green or yellow skin and contain edible seeds. Guava leaves are used as an herbal tea and the leaf extract as a supplement. Guava fruits are amazingly rich in antioxidants, vitamin C, potassium, and fiber. This remarkable nutrient content gives them many health benefits. Here are eight health benefits of guava fruits and leaves. 1. May Help Lower Blood Sugar Levels Some evidence suggests that guava can improve blood sugar control. Several test-tube and animal studies found that guava leaf extract improved blood sugar…

By Victoria Orok At least, one million animal and plant species across the globe are facing extinction owing to Nature’s dangerous decline with grave consequences on human race, Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) has alerted. A report from the concluded 7th session of the IPBES Plenary held in Paris shows that “The average abundance of native species in most major land-based habitats has fallen by at least 20 per cent, mostly since 1900. More than 40 per cent of amphibian species, almost 33 per cent of reef-forming corals and more than a third of all marine…

Senator Shehu Sani has accused governing Northern elite of misusing religion to enslave the poor and manipulate their conscience. Sani, in a statement on his Facebook wall, said “by this manipulation, the governing northern elite reinforced, expanded and consolidated their political ambitions and maintain their class and economic privileges.” According to him, “the elite had today systematically created an impoverished, divided, inhabitable, inhospitable and insecure region, threatening the peace and stability of the rest of the country and by extension the West African sub-region.” In his words: “The reactionary governing elites in the North misuse religion to enslave the poor…

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Social Investment, Mrs Maryam Uwais, has defended the federal government’s Social Investment Programmes, SIP. Her defence came against the backdrop of last weekend’s claims by wife of the President, Mrs. Aisha Buhari that the programme had failed in the north. Mrs Buhari Buhari had specifically said she was told that 30,000 women from Adamawa, her home state, would benefit from the programme but that nothing of such happened. “The SSA to the president on social investment is a lady from Kano and I’m sure that my husband decided to put somebody from Kano…

Former President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, said Monday that the African Free Continental Trade Area, AfCTA, Agreement will not be hindered by Nigeria’s reluctance to sign up to the process. Obasanjo, who made the remark in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, during the opening session of the Stakeholders’ Dialogue on Continental Trade and Strengthening the Implementation of the AfCTA, also said Nigeria shouldn’t bring its internal problems to African Union, AU. The dialogue was organised by the African Union Commission (AUC) and the Coalition for Dialogue on Africa (CoDA). The former President was reacting to concerns raised by one of the…