As “crazy bills” soar, Ikeja Electric bars customers from purchasing prepaid meters

SEPTEMBER 6, 2023 BY BN AFRICA

An investigation by Business News Africa has revealed that Ikeja Electric PLC, Nigeria’s largest and most profitable power distribution company has effectively barred its customers from paying for prepaid meters.

The company, which has the largest number of customers among all the electricity distribution companies in Nigeria, recently deactivated the meter payment feature on its website ikejaelectric.com/meterfee/, the only way through which customers are able to pay for meters after obtaining a unique payment code.

The unique payment code is usually provided to a consumer after a survey of a customer’s property has been procesed and approved by Ikeja Electric PLC.

Ikeja Electric PLC did not provide a reason for its abrupt decision to stop accepting payments for meters but several customers who spoke to Business News Africa expressed their frustration at being unable to acquire prepaid meters from the company after undergoing a lengthy and convoluted process.

An official of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) who spoke to this newspaper on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the matter, said that it was within the regulatory agency’s ambit to investigate the matter if it received a formal complaint from any consumer.

Ikeja Electric PLC is owned by the Sahara Group, a conglomerate that is involved in several lucrative sectors of the Nigerian economy. The Group also owns the Egbin Power Plant.

In the past, Ikeja Electric has been accused of overbilling its customers and constantly breaching the NERC cap for unmetered energy consumers and also creating hurdles for custoners who wish to procure prepaid meters.

Source: BNAFRICA.com

Ketron Investment Limited, an investment company owned by Lagos businessman Tayo Amusan has announced the acquisition of Retail Supermarkets Nigeria Limited, which operates a chain of Shoprite stores across Nigeria.

Ketron is promoted by Mr Amusan’s Persianas Investments, which also owns the Palms Mall in Lagos, where Shoprite is an anchor tenant and launched its first Nigerian store.

The divestment by Shoprite International is in line with its strategy to change from an ownership model to a franchise model.

Ketron says that the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has approved the transaction. The company says Shoprite International will continue as technical advisers and Ketron will sustain the relationships established by Shoprite over the last decade and a half while ensuring a smooth “transfer of values.”

Speaking on the acquisition, Chairman, Ketron Investment Limited, Tayo Amusan, said: “We are thrilled to complete the acquisition of Shoprite, ensuring the continued operations of one of the biggest retail success stories in Nigeria.

“We look forward to building an even stronger company following our acquisition and are excited about the greater impact we will achieve to the benefit of our customers and other stakeholders now and well into the future”.

Since its launch in Lagos in December 2005, Shoprite has expanded to 25 outlets across eight states and Abuja in the federal capital territory.

According to the terms of this acquisition, Ketron will 100 per cent ownership of Shoprite in Nigeria and will continue the brand’s operations across all existing outlets.

Ketron said it also plans to open additional stores and introduce more local products across its stores.

“It is our vision to create fundamental change for the better within Nigeria,” said Mr Amusan.

“With benefits from our knowledge of the ever-evolving Nigerian retail marketplace, well-grounded social and economic research, and hands-on experience from our team, we are confident that this acquisition will foster a robust and sustainable business model for the ultimate benefit of all stakeholders.”

Professional services firms, KPMG, MBO Capital Management Limited and Banwo and Ighodalo, advised Ketron on the deal.

https://www.lagostimes.com/2021/06/01/ketron-investment-limited-acquires-shoprite-nigeria/

Unity Bank Partners RIFAN on Ekiti Rice Pyramids Scheme
May 26, 2021 by Tomi Fajemirokun



Nigerian lender Unity Bank says it has collaborated with an influential farmers’ association to launch the Ekiti Rice Pyramid Project. The bank will work with the Rice Farmers Association (RIFAN) to assist its members in accessing funds from the Central Bank through the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme.

Unity Bank says it has already sponsored 900,000 smallholder rice farmers across the country through the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme and that the Ekiti project will build on the successful launches of similar rice pyramid schemes in Kebbi and Gombe earlier in the year. The bank recently announced that it would support 120,000 smallholder maize farmers in the 2021 wet season farming under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme after it financed 500,000 rice farmers across Nigeria in the wet and dry farming seasons in 2020.

There were 278 metric tonnes of rice paddy on display at the high-profile event attended by several stakeholders in the rice production value chain including Ekiti Governor Kayode Fayemi and CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele. Ekiti, a tiny, landlocked state in Nigeria’s south-west, is largely agrarian and receives one of the lowest allocations from the federal government. The state has recently started modernising its agriculture sector as it looks to reduce unemployment and revive its economy.

Unity Bank’s chief executive Tomi Somefun said that the bank had financed 273,000 smallholder farmers at the onset of the programme, which was then the largest single-ticket transaction in any CBN intervention programme in the agricultural sector.

She said that Unity Bank followed up with the financing of 146,810 smallholder rice farmers for the wet and dry season farming activities in 2019 across 35 States of the Federation and the (FCT).

Unity Bank’s Regional Manager, South West, Adenike Abimbola who represented Ms Somefun praised the central bank for backing the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme to boost food production in the country.

She asked the rice farmers....

https://www.lagostimes.com/2021/05/26/unity-bank-partners-rifan-on-ekiti-rice-pyramids-scheme/

US feds charge Nigerian man with defrauding Washington State Employment Security Department of over $350,000
May 18, 2021 by Habib Ahmed
https://www.lagostimes.com/2021/05/18/us-feds-charge-nigerian-man-with-defrauding-washington-state-employment-security-department-of-over-350000/

The United States Justice Department has charged a 42-year-old Nigerian man with defrauding the Washington State Employment Security Department. Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman said Abidemi Rufai was arrested Friday evening at JFK Airport in New York on a criminal complaint charging him with wire fraud for his scheme to steal over $350,000 in unemployment benefits from the Washington State Employment Security Department. Mr Rufai, also known as Sandy Tang of Lekki, Nigeria, made his initial appearance Saturday May 15, 2021 in New York. He is scheduled for a detention hearing Wednesday.

“Since the first fraud reports to our office in April 2020, we have worked diligently with a federal law enforcement team to track down the criminals who stole funds designated for pandemic relief,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Gorman. “This is the first, but will not be the last, significant arrest in our ongoing investigation of ESD fraud.”

The criminal complaint alleges that Rufai used the stolen identities of more than 100 Washington residents to file fraudulent claims with ESD for pandemic-related unemployment benefits. Rufai also filed fraudulent unemployment claims with Hawaii, Wyoming, Massachusetts, Montana, New York, and Pennsylvania. Rufai used variations of a single e-mail address in a manner intended to evade automatic detection by fraud systems. By using this practice, Rufai made it appear that each claim was connected with a different email account.

Rufai caused the fraud proceeds to be paid out to online payment accounts such as ‘Green Dot’ accounts, or wired to bank accounts controlled by “money mules.” Some of the proceeds were then mailed to the Jamaica, New York address of Rufai’s relative. Law enforcement determined more than $288,000 was deposited into an American bank account controlled by Rufai between March and August 2020.

“Greed is a powerful motivator. Unfortunately, the greed alleged to this defendant affects all taxpayers,” said Donald Voiret, Special Agent in Charge FBI Seattle. “The FBI and our partners will not stand idly by while individuals attempt to defraud programs meant to assist American workers and families suffering the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Wire fraud is punishable by up to thirty years in prison when it relates to benefits paid in connection with a presidentially-declared disaster or emergency, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

The charges contained in the complaint are only allegations. A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

This case was investigated by the FBI, with assistance from the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG). The fraud on ESD is being investigated cooperatively by the FBI, DOL-OIG, Social Security Office of Inspector General, U.S. Secret Service, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations. The Washington Employment Security Department is cooperating in the investigation.

The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Seth Wilkinson, Cindy Chang, and Benjamin Diggs of the Western District of Washington, and Trial Attorney Jane Lee of DOJ’s Cyber Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS).


L-R: Ogun State Chief of Staff Shuaib Afolabi Salisu and Abidemi Rufai
In Nigeria, where Mr Rufai was celebrated as a successful realtor and upcoming politician, he owned a betting company Ecobet and had access to some of the most powerful politicians in his native Ogun state.

Operatives of the Uyo Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Friday May 14, 2021, arrested one Stacy-Dan Ekpenyong (alias Daniel Ekpenyong), the Managing Director of Stewardship Rural Investment Limited for allegedly obtaining the sum of N11.5m by false pretence.

Ekpenyong was arrested at Keystone Bank, University of Uyo branch, Akwa Ibom State, following a petition by one Titilayo Bolos Malgwi who alleged that the 36-year-old suspect tricked her into investing in his Micro Finance Company. She claimed that she paid the sum of N11m into the suspect’s company account, after he convinced her that, she will get 10% interest on any amount invested after a period of three months.

When it was time for her to start reaping from her investment, the complainant severed communication with her and efforts made to get her money back, proved abortive.

However, the Commission had been on the trail of the suspect since December 18, 2020, when it first received a petition against him from one Amasi Ignatus whom the suspect allegedly defrauded of the sum of N500, 000.00, through the same scheme.

Ekpenyong has made useful statements and will be charged to court as soon as investigation is concluded.

https://www.lagostimes.com/2021/05/17/efcc-arrests-uyo-man-over-alleged-n11-5m-investment-fraud/

Stallion Group, the large conglomerate, which operates in several African countries and the United Arab Emirates, is facing the greatest challenge in its corporate existence as several Nigerian banks seek to liquidate its assets over mounting unpaid debts.

Founded by the colourful and controversial businessman Sunil Vaswani, the Stallion Group, which is involved in a range of diverse businesses spanning food processing, sales of automobiles and manufacturing, has seen its stock go down since Nigeria’s president Muhammadu Buhari assumed power in mid-2015.

Prior to this, the fifty-seven year old Mr Vaswani and his brothers Haresh and Mahesh who also are part of the group’s executive management, had developed a close friendship with the past administration of Goodluck Jonathan, an academic from the Southern part of the country who ensured that Stallion reaped the benefits of its promoters’ fealty through widely-criticized concessions.

Mr Buhari’s ascendancy to the presidency, fueled by a mantra of change has led to greater scrutiny of the labyrinthine dealings of the Vaswanis who have been under countless investigations by several law enforcement authorities in Nigeria.

In addition to well-publicized investigations by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Stallion Group has had serious issues with state and federal tax agencies, the Nigerian Customs Service and the police against which Stallion’s directors sought a protective fundamental human rights order in November 2019.

In 2018, the EFCC filed charges against Stallion Motors Limited and its chief executive Hapreet Singh for allegedly giving a N1.275 billion to the People’s Democratic Party to finance the 2015 elections and the inexorable pressure from the anti-graft agency and other quangos has disrupted the group’s business leading to a rapid downsizing of its workforce.

Industry watchers say that Stallion’s closeness to senior officials of the People’s Democratic Party, including Sambo Dasuki, the former National Security Adviser, who was incarcerated for several years by the Buhari administration after being accused of diverting billions meant for security to partisan causes, has effectively placed Stallion and the Vaswanis on a government blacklist cutting it off from lucrative contracts that had been a cash cow for the group.

Continue here:

https://www.lagostimes.com/2021/05/17/as-debts-pile-up-stallion-group-faces-an-uncertain-future/

Vice-president Yemi Osinbajo says that he has not declared interest in the 2023 presidential contest. In a statement issued by his spokesperson Laolu Akande, Mr Osinbajo said that he was not involved with a website supportosinbajo.ng that was seeking support for him to contest the presidency.

Mr Akande’s statement reads:

“The attention of the Office of the Vice President has been drawn to a website: supportosinbajo.ng that is calling on Nigerians to join a volunteer group mobilizing support for Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, ahead of the 2023 presidential election.

“Details of this website and the solicitation of the group are currently trending on WhatsApp with a suggestion that Professor Osinbajo has “quietly” declared interest in the 2023 election.

“The Office of the Vice President is not in any way connected to this website or the group behind it and considers such an enterprise an unnecessary distraction. Prof. Osinbajo has not declared any interest whatsoever in the 2023 election, but he is rather focused on working in his capacity as Vice President in the current administration to address all the compelling issues in the country and concerns of Nigerians, including finding effective and lasting solutions to the security challenges.



https://www.lagostimesnews.com/2021/05/17/vice-president-osinbajo-says-he-has-not-declared-interest-in-2023-presidency/

https://www.lagostimes.com/2021/05/17/zenith-bank-chief-onyeagwu-increases-his-shareholding-to-47-162m-units/

Zenith Bank’s chief executive Ebenezer Onyeagwu has increased his shareholding in the bank after he bought 662,842 units of the bank’s shares.

In a disclosure notice filed at the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), the bank said that the shares were purchased in two tranches. The first tranche was 652, 842 units at N22.10 kobo per share and another tranche of 10,000 units at N21.70 Kobo per share.

Mr Onyeagwu now owns 47.162 million units of shares, making him the third largest individual shareholder of the bank behind Deputy Managing Director, Adaora Umeoji and foudner and chairman Jim Ovia.

Mr Ovia owns 3.546 billion shares while Ms Umeoji owns 68.873 million shares.

Mr Onyeagwu was appointed by the board in June 2019 to replace former Group MD Peter Amangbo, whose tenure expired May 31, 2019.

https://www.lagostimes.com/2021/05/14/icpc-declares-deborah-agbonayinma-wanted-for-certificate-forgery/

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has issued a “Wanted” notice for Miss Deborah Ighiwiyisi Agbonayinma, the daughter of a former member of the House of Representatives Ehionzuwa Johnson Agbonayinma. Mr Agbonayinma, an APC leader who represented Egor/Ikpoba-Oha in Edo, was the former Ad-hoc Committee Chairman on PENCOM. Sources told the Lagos Times that the former congressman may have used his influence as a Committee chairman to get employment for his daughter at the agency.


The ICPC said that the thirty-four-year old Ms Agbonayinma used a fake certificate to gain employment at the Pension Commission. She was sacked on February 27, 2019 after the agency discovered that her certificate was fake.

While applying for a job at PENCOM, Ms Agbonayinma submitted a bachelor’s degree in Accountancy, which she claimed she obtained in August 2012 from Irish University Business School located at 219 Bow Road, London E3 2SJ. A verification committee at PenCom, however, found that no such university existed as a valid UK degree-awarding institution. When PENCOM discovered the certificate was fake, the agency tried to cover up the scandal and asked Ms Agbonayinma to present another degree for verification.

She procured another fake degree in accounting purportedly from Olabisi Onabanjo University which also turned out to be doctored. The university disowned the degree and in a letter dated February 6, 2019 and signed by the University’s Principal Assistant Registrar in charge of Exams and Records, Mrs O. L. Kaka, informed PenCom that Miss Agbonayinma’s academic records and transcripts were fake. Ms Agbonayinma also claimed to have participated in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) from 2014 to 2015, with the fake certificates but the NYSC did not respond to repeated requests for comment from the Lagos Times.



ICPC spokesperson Azuka Ogugua said that Ms Agbonayinma’s last known address was House 22, Road, 131, Phase 2, Kado, Abuja. She said, “Anyone who has useful information on her whereabouts should report to ICPC Headquarters Abuja, any of the ICPC State Offices or the nearest police station. The spokesperson also listed ICPC Toll-Free lines: 0803-123-0280, 0803-123-0281, 0803-123-0282, 0705-699-0190, 0705-699-0191 and 0800-CALL-ICPC (0800-2255-4272).

The Buhari administration has said that over two thousand hectares of land with titled documents have been given by 24 States for the Buhari administration’s Social Housing programme, while 17 States have indicated interest to participate in the Solar Power programme, both important elements of the ongoing Economic Sustainability Plan.

The administration also announced that it had reached an agreement with at least one major cement manufacturer in the country to sell at significantly discounted prices as low as N2600 per bag of cement for the social housing projects. This was after a meeting the Vice President held with three major cement manufacturers in the country namely Dangote Cement, Bua Cement and Lafarge Cement manufacturers.

Commenting on the implementation of components of the Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP), Professor Osinbajo said the Buhari administration will continue to focus on creating more jobs while improving access to power and affordable housing for majority of Nigerians.

Highlighting the progress so far, the Vice President assured that the Federal Government will ramp up efforts to so more Nigerians have access to electricity and affordable housing.

According to the presentation made by the Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Alhaji Ahmad Salihijo, the Solar Power Naija team has had engagements with the 6 states who have identified private sector developers. The team has also selected Akwa Ibom, Ekiti and Kano as pilot states for the state-guaranteed transaction model for the solar power programme.

He explained that REA is currently tracking transactions worth N55 billion potentially contributing the first two million connections in Nigeria and providing thousands of jobs.

https://www.lagostimes.com/2021/05/09/buhari-administration-pushes-ahead-with-economic-sustainability-plan/

Telecommunications and mobile money giant Airtel Africa has announced the appointment of Olusegun Ogunsanya as its new Chief Executive Officer after receiving a notice of retirement from its current chief executive officer Raghunath Mandava.

Airtel issued a statement to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) signed by its Group Company Secretary, Simon O’Hara. Mr Ogunsanya who is presently the Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Nigeria will join Airtel Africa’s board with effect from Oct. 1, 2021.

“Segun Ogunsanya joined Airtel Africa in 2012 as the Managing Director and CEO Nigeria and has been responsible for the overall management of its operations in Nigeria, the largest market in Africa.

‘Segun has more than 25 years of business management experience in banking, consumer goods and telecoms. Before joining Airtel in 2012, Segun held leadership roles at Coca-Cola in Ghana, Nigeria, and Kenya (as the Managing Director and the Chief Executive Officer) before joining Airtel.

He has also been the Managing Director of Nigerian Bottling Company Ltd (Coca-Cola Hellenic owned) and Group Head of retail banking operations at Ecobank Transnational Inc, covering 28 countries in Africa. He is an Electronics Engineer and also a chartered accountant.

Raghu Mandava will be retiring as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, as a Director of Airtel Africa and as a member of the Market Disclosure Committee on Sept. 30, 2021.”

After his retirement, Mandava is expected to be available to advise the Chairman of Airtel Africa, Mr Bharti Mittal, and the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer for a period of 9 months.

Airtel Africa chairman Bharti Mittal said that the company was delighted to appoint Mr Ogunsanya as the next Group Chief Executive Officer.

https://www.lagostimes.com/2021/04/29/segun-ogunsanya-takes-the-reins-at-airtel-africa/

​Sources say that Bravura Zimbabwe, the mining company controlled by the Nigerian billionaire Benedict Peters has agreed to help the Zimbabwean government pay a US$15m settlement to South Africa-based Amari Platinum the previous holder of the concession.
Amari had sued the Zimbabwean government in several courts over the cancellation of its concession in 2011 by former president Robert Mugabe’s administration.

The company had held t​​he rights to operate the Serui concession and had spent millions of doll​a​rs in exploration costs before the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development revoked the company’s lease

The Serui concession is now believed to contain 18 million ounces of platinum.

In 2019, Bravura Zimbabwe (Pvt) signed a platinum mining project agreement with the Emmerson Mnangagwa administration prompting Amari, which had an existing joint venture agreement with the State-owned Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation to sue for $500m.

Sources say that Amari has now reportedly settled for $15m after several years of litigation although analysts ​are sceptical as they ​say the proposed settlement is a ​tiny ​fraction of the $65.9 million that Amari was seeking after the Zimbabwean government lost an appeal against an earlier arbitration ruling.
​Bravura had previously denied approaching Amari to negotiate a settlement.

https://www.lagostimes.com/2021/04/27/benedict-peterss-bravura-to-settle-zimbabwe-concession-dispute-reports-say/

NOVA Merchant Bank Limited has declared a profit after tax of N3.49bn for the 2020 financial year which ended on December 31, 2020. The merchant bank said it recorded a 112% increase in its 2019 profits which stood at N1.65bn. Nova sais it recorded growth across its main financial parameters: Gross Earnings grew by 130% and Profit Before Tax grew at 135%.

Customer deposits grew to N89.6bn in 2020 from N40.5bn in 2019, loans to customers grew by 71% from N29.3bn in 2019 to N50bn in 2020 while there was a decline in the Cost to Income Ratio from 55% in 2019 to 44% in 2020.


https://www.lagostimes.com/2021/04/18/nova-merchant-bank-declares-n3-52bn-profit/

https://www.lagostimes.com/2021/04/16/kano-seals-five-gt-bank-branches-over-unpaid-taxes/

Several customers of GTBank were unable to access the bank’s premises on Tuesday after officials of Kano State Internal Revenue Service (KIRS) sealed five branches of Nigeria’s largest bank by market capitalisation as they enforced a Kano State High Court’s order authorizing the agency to seal of the banks’ premises over its failure to audit and pay taxes totalling N1,005,687,755.55 between 2014 and 2019. The branches include those situated at Murtala Muhammad Way, Wapa, Zaria Road, Bachirawa and France Road.

KIRS’s Legal Director of the agency Bashir Yusuf Madobi, said that the agency was forced to act after GTBank refused to pay the accrued amount and provide copies of their audited reports to the agency’s officials.

He said, “What irritated us to take this action is that right from the initial stage, we have demanded for some documents from them which they failed to honour us and give us the document (sic). But, still the first action we will take is to still request for this documents (sic). It is based on them that we will come with actual figure of the liability due to the KIRS (sic).

“As a revenue authority, KIRS is saddled with the responsibility of enforcing payment of taxes which are due.

“One of the procedures we follow in order to enforce payment of due tax is through the institution a court case before a competent court. So, we decided to file this case before the State High Court on ex-parte application (sic).

“So, we the KIRS as plaintiff after furnishing the court with all the evidences, the court satisfied that the tax is due, and based on that, it granted us judgement that we should go and seal the property of GT Bank.

“This is why we went there today to enforce the judgment and enforce the payment of due tax as provided under the extant revenue laws.

“The money is over N1bn. The next line of action is we expect them to come so that we sit down and sort it out if they are willing to do so,” Mr Madobi said.

KIRS said the bank must pay a minimum of 25 percent of the liability and provide the earlier requested documents before the branches are reopened.

Mr Madobi said that GTBank is also expected to pay an additional 10 percent of the total revenue amount until the matter is resolved in court.

This is not the first time that GTBank is having a run in with state tax authorities. In December 2020, two branches of the Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State were closed for about three days by the Akwa Ibom Internal Revenue Service after the agency obtained a court order over unpaid N184 million in taxes.

An official of the revenue agency, Leo Umanah, had said GTBank failed to settle its outstanding liabilities to the Akwa Ibom state government, despite a warning issued to it since February 2020.

GTBank’s spokesperson Oyinade Ogunade did not respond to an email seeking comment from the Lagos Times.

GTBank’s shares closed at $3.74 at the London Stock Exchange and N28.85 at the NGX.

China's tech behemoth Alibaba has been hit with a huge fine of 18 billion yuan ($2.75 billion) in a move that signals that Chinese regulators are ramping up their anti-trust policies while also reining in the growing influence of the country's largest tech conglomerates.

https://www.lagostimes.com/2021/04/10/signalling-a-major-anti-monopoly-push-chinese-regulators-hit-alibaba-with-2-75b-fine/

Billionaire Kase Lawal's brother owns Quorum Aviation operators of helicopter that crashed into Ikeja building

http://lagostimes.com/2020/08/28/former-oil-chief-owns-helicopter-that-crashed-into-busy-lagos-district/

Two people have been confirmed dead and one person said to be in critical condition after a helicopter crashed into a building in Opebi, a busy business district in Ikeja, Lagos.

Sources say that the helicopter, a Bell 206, with registration number 5N BQW is owned by Quorum Aviation and came into Lagos from Port Harcourt, the capital of the oil-rich Southern state of Rivers.

http://lagostimes.com/2020/08/28/helicopter-crash-kills-two-in-lagos/

Professor Folasade Ogunsola has been elected the acting Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos after her peers gave her a sweeping landslide in a lop-sided contest against Ben Oghojafor, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor in charge of Management Services.

Ms Ogunsola, a professor of medical microbiology, who was the substantive Deputy Vice-Chancellor in charge of Development Services, is the first woman to head the university in any capacity since it was established fifty-eight years ago.

http://www.lagostimes.com/2020/08/24/unilag-appoints-new-acting-vice-chancellor/

The Enugu zonal office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has arrested seven internet fraudsters. They are: Ebere Tochukwu; Onuh Harrison; Christian Ogbonna; Ojobo Kingsley, Eze Charles, Princewill Nwalu and Ekene Ibekaku .

They were arrested at Loma Linda Extension Enugu, Enugu State. Their arrest followed intelligence signalling them as a syndicate of fraudsters that specialise in defrauding unsuspecting members of the public, especially foreigners through the internet

http://www.lagostimes.com/2020/08/19/efcc-arrests-seven-suspected-internet-fraudsters-in-enugu/

Guaranty Trust Bank PLC, Nigeria’s largest lender by market capitalisation, has delayed the payments of dividends to holders of its Global Depository Receipts (GDRs) due to the bank’s inability to purchase US dollars from the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The bank said in a note to its GDR holders that its registrar – the company which maintains the list of bondholders and shareholders, was still trying to purchase dollars from the Central Bank.

Nigeria has witnessed a worsening shortage of dollars since a sharp drop in crude oil prices, the West-African country’s major source of foreign exchange, at the peak of the global coronavirus pandemic, and while oil prices have since partially rebounded, the Central Bank of Nigeria has not sold hard currency to buyers since March...

http://www.lagostimes.com/2020/08/19/gtbanks-gdr-dividends-delayed-over-dollar-shortages/