The President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, on Sunday said the group was partnering with the government of Tanzania to complete a $600m cement factory in the east African country. He said the plant in Tanzania had already reached 25 per cent completion, adding that when completed, it would have annual 3,000,000 metric tons of cement production capacity.
Updated 6 Years ago

In a move aimed at improving Nigeria’s health indices and reducing maternal mortality ratio by three quarters by 2015, in line with the Millennium development Goal (MDG 5), the Private Sector Health Alliance of Nigeria (PHN) has announced a $24.2 million commitment to drive a private sector emergency response to Saving One Million Lives initiative and invest in critical segments of healthcare value chain that benefits the underserved. This initiative, billed to span within a two year period, is targeted at advancing Nigeria’s progress in meeting the health MDGs in the short term and advance the health sector from being an economic drag to a net contributor to economic growth and job creation in the mid-term.
Updated 6 Years ago

Diamond Bank Plc has launched Season 4 of the Building Entrepreneurs Today (BET4) programme, a corporate social responsibility initiative of the bank aimed at enhancing the growth potentials of Nigerian entrepreneurs through capacity building. Speaking at the official launch of the fourth season of the programme in Lagos, head, Consumer Propositions Group, Diamond Bank Plc, Mr Olumide Akindele, said, “the Building Entrepreneurs Today programme is a strategic initiative of Diamond Bank to invest in the micro, small and medium enterprises segment of the economy by increasing the capacity of these small businesses to run thriving businesses.
Updated 6 Years ago

Abuja — The Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, Uche Orji has said that about 30,000 Nigerians spent $1 billion annually on medical tourism. Orji disclosed this while speaking at a side session of the just concluded World Economic Forum on Africa, organised by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, PWC. He said opportunities abound in the Nigerian healthcare sector for private sector participation, if the affluent class had the will and determination to end the capital flight and invest the money back in the local economy.
Updated 6 Years ago

Ngala (Borno) – The Borno State Government on Sunday said it planned to rebuild about 400 shops destroyed during last Monday’s attack by suspected Boko Haram insurgents at the Ngala Central Market. Gov. Kashim Shettima made the promise when he paid a sympathy visit to the market, which is located at the headquarters of the Gamboru-Ngala Local Government Area of the state. He said government would also assist the traders with some money to enable them go back to business.
Updated 6 Years ago

Sterling Bank Plc has stressed that an improvement in the quality of infrastructure in the country will boost the operations of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs). Executive Director, Sterling Bank, Mr. Abubakar Suleiman said this in an interview with journalists at a seminar organised by the banks for SME operators that was held in Lagos recently.
Updated 6 Years ago

The Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer designate of Skye Bank Plc. Mr. Timothy Oguntayo, has said that for Africa to achieve sustainable economic growth there is need for the faithful and committed implementation of the ongoing reforms across the continent. He also stressed the need for improved governance, political stability in the continent to drive growth.
Updated 6 Years ago

A 24-hour curfew has been imposed in Kachia, the headquarters of Kachia Local Government Area of Kaduna State following clashes between Muslims and Christian youths in the area. The incident was said to have led to the burning and demolition of churches and mosques in the area. It was gathered that trouble started when some Muslim youths went to fence a prayer-ground known as “Idi” to prevent encroachment only to discover that a part of the fence which was earlier renovated the previous day, was demolished by unknown persons.
Updated 6 Years ago

The Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) has clarified issues regarding the altercation on May 8 between the popular musician, Mr. David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, and its staff at the Murtala Muhammadu International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, over the absence of the Nigerian visa on his American passport. The Public Relations Officer with the NIS, Mr. Chukwuemeka Obua, in a statement yesterday, debunked the allegation that Davido was denied an exit permit because he refused to bribe the immigration officials at the airport. Giving a detailed account of what transpired between NIS staff and the Skelewu crooner, Obua said he had approached immigration officials at the airport on the fateful day with the intention of travelling out of the country and presented a US passport with number 460918874 issued by the US State of Georgia on December 14, 2009 and valid till December 13, 2019.
Updated 6 Years ago

The violent sect, Boko Haram and other groups in northern Nigeria received $3m from Osama bin Laden in 2002, according to a report by some United States intelligence analysts. Bin Laden was said to have dispatched an aide to Nigeria to hand out the seed money in naira to a wide array of Salafist political organisations that shared al Qaeda’s goal of imposing Islamic rule.
Updated 6 Years ago