Before social distancing became a trend, we were all planning our social calendars for the Spring and Summer seasons. Over the past two months, major conferences, concerts, festivals, and weddings have been canceled or postponed. Attending the Offshore Technology Conference was the norm and personally, I have always anticipated attending the notable CERAWeek to hear the new trends in energy and discuss the future scope of oil and gas from top leaders in the industry....
Google on Monday proffered six best ways to enjoy video conferencing with friends and colleagues while on COVID-19-induced lockdown. In a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Mr. Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, West Africa Communication Officer, Google, said that Nigerians have had a rapid transition to working from home. Kola-Ogunlade said this could be a daunting task if one was not familiar with tools like video conferencing. He said that Google had compiled...
Gov. Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State has banned the operation of commercial motorcycles, popularly called Achaba, throughout the state as a measure to check the spread of COVID-19. Mr. Samaila Misilli, Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and Publicity, announced this in a statement on Monday in Gombe. Misilli said: “Gombe State Governor, Inuwa Yahaya, has approved four additional measures to curtail the spread of Coronavirus in the state with effect from 6...
A Nigeria-based civil engineering firm, China Zhonghao Nigeria has been sanctioned by the African Development Bank (AFDB) for fraudulent activities. The firm was suspended from participating in executing projects financed by the bank, following an investigation conducted by the bank’s Office of Integrity and Anti-Corruption which uncovered that China Zhonghao as part of a joint venture with Oceanic Construction, was culpable in its joint venture partner’s fraudulent claims. According to the statement by the AFDB...
As more corporate organisations and individuals continue to donate toward boosting the response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Nestle Nigeria Plc has contributed items and cash worth N700 million to support the cause. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the donation includes nutritious food and beverage products worth N450 million expected to reach about 600,000 vulnerable people hit by the crisis. Mr. Mauricio Alarcon, the outfit’s Managing Director, in a statement in Lagos,...
Akinyemi Sunday sells clothes. He mainly trades male items of clothing at Ilesha central market within Osun state. Akinyemi’s daily earnings mean the most to himself and his family. He reaches for the market every day despite the curfew. He believes the stay-at-home order is unnecessary and would do the masses little or no good. West African Pilot visited his stall, as well as many others. He looked tensed and agitated. He had been running...
FBN Holdings Plc. on Monday announced gross earnings of N159.7 billion for the three months ended March 31, 2020. The gross earnings represented a growth of 14.5 per cent when compared with N139.4 billion achieved in the corresponding period of 2019. The company’s unaudited results released by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) indicated a profit before tax of N28.7 billion against N17.8 billion in March 2019. Profit after tax stood at ₦25.7 billion in contrast...
Google on Monday proposed five channels to help gym, a home fitness routine, so as not to miss out on regular work out during the lockdown. Mr. Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Communication Officer, West Africa said in Lagos that it was easy to start missing out on regular routine being cooped up at home and looking after kids. Kola-Ogunlade in a statement noted that turning a gym routine into a home routine is not as hard as...
United States crude oil prices fell sharply, plummeting to their lowest levels since 1986, as a collapse in demand because of the coronavirus and the resulting economic shutdowns come atop shortages in storage capacity. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, dropped to nearly 10 dollars a barrel, a 45-per-cent decline, before ticking up a couple of percentage points. However, longer-term contracts were faring somewhat better, while still down on the day, signalling optimism that economic...
The subject of funding is nearly always top of mind in Nigerian startup and venture spaces. But while founders and startups looking to raise funding have typically had to look to the US and Europe for venture capital, there’s an increasing number of options back home. The latest addition to that growing list is the Future Africa Collective, launched by Iyin Aboyeji, who made his name as a early co-founder of Andela and then Flutterwave....
