Author: Festus Adeloye

The Presidency has slammed former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar over claims that he is under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over financial transactions linked to the Lagos State Government. On Thursday, Atiku, a former vice- president of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007 claimed that the EFCC was probing him in connection with financial activities involving the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu. In a statement issued on Friday, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, described Atiku’s claims as baseless and misleading. The Presidency dismissed the…

Belgian food group Vandemoortele has announced the acquisition of French frozen bakery products producer Délifrance. Vandemoortele will acquire Délifrance from the grain cooperative Vivescia. The deal for the French company includes taking over 3,200 employees, 14 production sites, and an annual turnover of approximately €930 million. This is the second major announcement from Vandemoortele in a week. On Tuesday, it confirmed plans to acquire the €450 million European margarine and spreads business of US food company Bunge. Délifrance supplies frozen bakery products to supermarkets, hospitality businesses, and bakers in Europe and Asia. Vandemoortele has been active in the bakery sector…

Stock markets fell on Friday as a closely-watched US inflation reading heated up, adding to concerns over the fallout from an incoming wave of tariffs by President Donald Trump. Shares in automakers fell further as they brace for 25-percent levies due to kick in early next week along with a raft of “reciprocal” tariffs tailored to different countries. The market mood has soured over fears that Trump’s tactics will trigger tit-for-tat tariffs that would rekindle inflation, which could put the brakes on interest rate cuts and spark a recession. “Investors remain nervous over the economic repercussions from President Trump’s tariff…

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has admitted he and his players do not deserve a bonus even if they salvage their dismal season by winning the Club World Cup. Guardiola’s side are languishing in fifth place in the Premier League and crashed out of the Champions League and League Cup. English champions for the previous four seasons, City could finish without a major trophy for the first time since Guardiola’s maiden season in charge in 2016/17. Their last hope of landing domestic silverware lies in the FA Cup, with a quarter-final tie at Bournemouth looming on Sunday. But even if…

Brazil’s public prosecutor asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to drop a probe into far-right ex-president Jair Bolsonaro for allegedly falsifying Covid-19 vaccine certificates while in power. The decision came a day after the court decided to put the former leader on trial on charges of plotting a coup in a case that could torpedo his hopes of making a Donald Trump-style political comeback. The ex-army captain, widely criticized for his handling of the pandemic that killed more than 700,000 people in Brazil, was accused of ordering the falsification of vaccination certificates for himself, his wife and daughter. The prosecutor’s…

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has expressed condolences to the family of former Governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, especially Mrs. Florence Ajimobi, over the death of their first daughter, Mrs Bisola Kola-Daisi. Sanwo-Olu in a statement issued on Friday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Gboyega Akosile, commiserated with the immediate past Oyo State First Lady, Mrs Florence Ajimobi, over the demise of her daughter, describing it as tragic and shocking. Sanwo-Olu, who also sympathised with the husband of the deceased, Mr Idris Kola-Daisi, and his family, urged the entire family, friends and associates of the…

Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke has directed relaxation of the previous 24-hour curfew to 17-hour in Ifon, Ilobu and Erin communities recently embroiled in violent communal clashes. With the new directive, curfew in the three communities starts at 2pm and ends at 7am the following day. The relaxation of the curfew is to take effect from Friday, March 28, 2025, until further notice. The spokesperson for the governor, Olawale Rasheed, made this known in a statement obtained on Friday. The latest crises initially started as boundary disputes between the Ifon and Ilobu communities in the early hours of last Friday.…

The Senate has confirmed the appointment of the second nominee from the South-East, Nnanna Uzor-Kalu as a member of the National Assembly Service Commission. Kalu, a former two-term House of Representatives member, is the younger brother of former Governor of Abia State, Senator Orji Uzor-Kalu. He joined 11 others who were cleared last week. Kalu’s confirmation, initially deferred due to a petition against him, was eventually approved on Thursday after the Senate Ethics Committee submitted its report recommending his nomination. During Thursday’s plenary, the Chairman of the Committee, Senator Cyril Fasuyi, presented the list of confirmed members, which included Dr…

The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, says last Detty December opened the government’s eyes to the need to open up Nigeria more for tourists to come in. Detty December in Nigeria refers to the end-of-the-year festive period, typically from mid-December through the New Year. Last December, the country witnessed an influx of tourists, leaving a positive mark on the country’s economy. Tunji-Ojo, who was a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, said that the Federal Government has now made it a point of duty to ease access into the country to attract more foreign direct investment. READ ALSO: China Chamber…

Keystone Bank has overtaken Bacita Sugar Company (Josepdam Sugar Company) over its failure to settle a N25,358,203,258.09 debt. The bank immediately appointed Mr Yunus Abdulsalam (SAN) as the firm’s Receiver/Manager. This development followed an order of the Federal High Court, Ilorin, which mandated the bank to recover its debt from KIA Africa Group of Africa, which has acquired. Josepdam Sugar Company. The court has also frozen 21 accounts belonging to the KIA group. The Presiding Judge, Justice A. O. Awogboro, ruling on an ex-parte motion, asked Keystone Bank to manage all the firm’s assets. The judge said: “It is hereby declared…