NAFDAC set to investigate as Malaysia, Taiwan recall Indomie noodles over cancer-causing substance

The decision by Malaysia and Taiwan to recall Indomie’s “special chicken” flavour noodles has raised some concerns about the safety of the food globally, including in Nigeria.

The development followed the detection of ethylene oxide, a substance known to cause cancer, in the product by the health institutions in the two countries.

Nigeria has also reacted to the development as the agency in charge of standards has set in motion plans to conduct fresh independent tests on the concerned products.

Efforts are currently in place by The country’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to investigate the new claim. 

Femi Otedola sold his 2.47 billion shares in Tony Elumelu's Transcorp

 

Femi Otedola has reportedly sold his 2.47 billion shares in Transnational Corporation (Transcorp) to Tony Elumelu, bringing an end to the powerplay between the billionaires.

According to multiple sources, Elumelu allegedly acquired the shares from Otedola at the cost of about N32 billion.

This indicates that Elumelu bought out Otedola at 300 per cent above Transcorp’s market value as of Thursday. This means each share was bought around N12.5 kobo, compared to Thursday’s closing price of N3.12 kobo per share.

 

Union Bank Plc in multiple trouble as court awards N1.49trn against it, another $15bn judgment debt.

Union Bank of Nigeria Plc has admitted it may be facing its worst nightmare yet, after a Nigerian court awarded N1.49trn against the bank, as it looks to the Supreme Court to upturn the judgment made by the appeal court.

According to an online news outlet, in Union Bank’s ‘assessment of contingent liabilities’ contained in its 2022 financial report, the bank admitted the “matter was considered to be a key audit matter due to the size of the potential liability.”

The bank had said no provision was made for the N1.49trn judgment liability which is more than half of the lender’s N2.79trn total asset, but said that, “The Bank is involved in various legal actions in the ordinary course of business, which has resulted in contingent liabilities amounting to N1.497 trillion as of 31 December 2022 (2021: N1.98 trillion).

“The most significant is a case with a total claim of N1.495 trillion (2021: N1.54 trillion) in which judgment had been awarded against the Bank and other co-defendants by a Federal High Court in prior years. The Bank appealed against the judgment, which is currently pending before the Supreme Court.”

Glo dealers across the country smile home with houses, cars

Scores of Glo Dealers on Monday night smiled home with mouth-watering gifts, including state-of-the-art houses, brand-new cars, and household appliances, courtesy of the digital solutions company.

The prizes were presented by the company at the 2022 Dealers' Award events held in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Jos, and Kaduna simultaneously for dealers in those regions. 

Altogether, 70 Glo dealers went home with amazing prizes. 14 Category 1 dealers received keys to houses, while 37 Categories 2, 3, and 4 dealers were presented with a variety of brand-new cars. The final set of dealers in Category 5, who were 19 in number, received assorted valuable household items.

The telecoms company disclosed that the prizes were in continuation of the company's tradition of rewarding and upholding excellence among its partners, especially those who met the established threshold across the regions.

CBN fines GTBank N128.6 million over failure in money laundering test, others

Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) was fined N128.6 million by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for failing to meet several regulatory requirements.

Our reporter gathered that CBN fined GTBank for offences relating to failure in the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) examination.

The financial institution was also penalised for infractions relating to CBN Prospective Employee Clearance Review, Consumer Protection Review, failure in the Risk Asset Examination and CBN Review infraction.

According to a statement breakdown in the lender’s financial record for the full year 2022 seen by Ripples Nigeria, GTBank was fined N20 million for failing the 2021 Risk Asset Examination.

Court orders UBA to pay N1m to ex-staff for freezing account

A Lagos Federal High Court has described United Bank for Africa Plc’s (UBA) action of closing the account of one of its former staff, Ms. Olufunke Bella, without any court order as illegal, unlawful, and a breach of fundamental rights.

The court also ordered UBA Plc and ordered the bank to tender an unreserved apology to Ms. Olufunke Bella.

The court further ordered UBA Plc, to pay Ms. Olufunke the sum of N1 million as aggravated and punitive damages for the unlawful act.

Justice Ayokunle Faji made the above orders while delivering judgment in a fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by the former UBA Plc staff against the bank.

 The applicant, Ms. Olufunke Bella, a former Recovery Officer of the bank, had approached the court in a fundamental rights enforcement suit marked FHC/L/CS/1001/2021, under Rules 2010 made by the Chief Justice Of Nigeria under Section 46(3) of the constitution of the Federal Republic Of Nigeria 1999.

The applicant by an originating motion on notice dated August 3, 2021, but filed on August 11, 2021, asked the court for the following reliefs: “a declaration(s) that UBA’s act of freezing her account number 1002525153 with the respondent and also blacklisting her Bank Verification Number (BVN) for an alleged forgery without affording her fair hearing before a court of competent jurisdiction or court order permitting the UBA’s action is illegal, unlawful, a breach of banker and customer relationship and most importantly, a breach of her fundamental rights as guaranteed by Sections 36(1) & (2) and 44(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

President-Elect Bola Tinubu named :The 100 Most Influential People of 2023

Winning an election in Africa’s most populous country is no easy feat. But Nigeria’s newly elected President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has had nearly two decades to prepare. Called Jagaban, or “leader of the warriors,” by his supporters, the now 71-year-old ran in a presidential election for the first time this March. His campaign slogan, “It’s my turn,” was a nod to his role as a longtime political power broker. Tinubu helped restore the country’s democracy in 1999 after fighting military rule and then served two consecutive terms as governor of Lagos.

But Tinubu’s win with the ruling All Progressives Congress Party came in a fraught election and by a slim margin over Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi. It was the first time Nigerian voters contended with a third-party candidate, and many discontented young Nigerians yearning for change pinned their hopes on Obi. Marred by allegations of intimidation and vote rigging, the outcome of the ballot is being challenged in court.

Tinubu now faces a litany of crises in a fractured nation, including deep-rooted corruption, religious insurgencies, and shortages of cash, fuel, and power in a crumbling economy. But the President-elect seems aware of his inheritance: “[Nigeria] is one country and we must build it together,” he said in his acceptance speech.

Rajvanshi is a TIME staff writer

Al Nassr sacks Rudi Garcia, Ronaldo’s manager

 

Al Nassr head coach, Rudi Garcia has left the club by mutual agreement as announced by the club.

Garcia was fired due to poor relationship with the dressing room, which includes Cristiano Ronaldo.

He recently confronted the players, a move which proved costly, as the Saudi Pro League club has taken the decision to dismiss him.

With seven fixtures left to play, Al Nassr is currently in second place, three points behind Al Ittihad.

How London immigration officers ‘Harassed, Detained’ Peter Obi at Heathrow for hours

LP’s Presidential Candidate Peter Obi arrived the Heathrow Airport in London from Nigeria on Good Friday, April 7, 2023, and joined the queue for the necessary airport protocols when he was accosted by immigration official who handed him a detention note and told him to step aside.

He was taken into an office and was questioned for a long time and it was very strange for a man who lived for over a decade in that country.

The high implication of the offense is that the impersonator could be committing all kinds of weighty crimes and other dubious acts and it would be recorded in Obi’s name.

Obi's media office says:

“Since the impersonator is still at large, the scenario is unimaginable as Obi could be implicated in a series of forbidden acts and even be framed in a manner that could be a huge embarrassment to him, his family, his party, the obidient Movement, and indeed Nigeria, where he currently and indisputably remains the conscience of the people,” the LP Campaign Office spokesman stressed.

The Obi-Datti Media office said its principal has been under all kinds of attack, since the February 25th, 2023 Presidential election in which he came third out of 18 contestants as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, even though its “supporters and many other election watchers including international observers believe very strongly that he won the election but was manipulated out”.

Why Arik chairman was barred from entering office

Drama occurred on Tuesday at Arik Air Limited’s headquarters at Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos when the airline’s Chairman/Founder, Johnson Arumemi-Ikhide, was denied access to the premises.

Arumemi-Ikhide had gone to the airline’s premises with some of his aides in line with a court order that granted him access to the premises.

The decision followed a court order in 2017 that gave Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) to take over the airline and appoint a receiver-manager, Kamilu Omokhide.

In 2021, Arumemi-Ikhide, and his wife, Mary, (plaintiffs) filed an originating motion dated December 14 and prayed the court to declare that the duty imposed on the receiver-manager, Omokhide (first defendant) by section 553 of the CAMA 2020, to act in the best interest of Arik as a whole, includes the duty to act in the best interest of the plaintiffs as members of Arik.

Former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Bola Ajibola, is dead

 

A former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice under the Ibrahim Babangida administration, Prince Bola Ajibola, is dead.

Ajibola, who was also a former judge of the International Court of Justice, Hague, Netherlands, is reported to have died on Saturday midnight after a long-time illness due to old age.

This disclosure is contained in a statement issued by the eldest child of the late jurist, Segun Ajibola (SAN), on Sunday, April 9, 2023, in Abeokuta.

The respected legal icon, who founded Crescent University, Abeokuta, and once served as the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), died at the age of 89.

Court order winding up of Group of Anyiam Osigwe Group Limited

On Thursday, A Federal High Court in Lagos ordered the Winding Up of Anyiam Osigwe Group Limited.

Justice Ayokunle Faji gave the order following the company’s inability to pay a debt of N750 million owed to First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Plc since November 2006.

In Nigeria, winding up Is primarily governed by the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) and section 401 CAMA provides for the various ways a company can be wound up.

Court order

in suit no: FHC/L/CP/925/14 Justice Faji held that the petitioner had proved before the court that Anyiam Osigwe Group Limited was unable to pay its debt pursuant to Section 408(d) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2004.

Consequently, the judge said: “In the instant case, the respondent (Anyiam Osigwe Group) has not said that it has paid the entire sum due. It has not even shown that it has paid the principal sum of N750,000,000. It has only alleged paying N230,000,000.

“Even though a court should not hastily grant a winding up order, where there are strong grounds for doing so, particularly where the dispute as to the debt is not on substantial grounds, the Court will grant a winding up order.

“This Petition has immense merit and ought to and is hereby granted in its entirety.” The court declared.

How Aero Aircraft develops fault mid-air, almost crashland In Abuja

A Port Harcourt-bound Aero Contractors plane on Wednesday developed fault mid-air and had to return to Abuja for an emergency landing.

Sources say the aircraft took off at about 8:40am and a few minutes into the flight, the pilot announced he had to return back to Abuja for an emergency landing.

Passengers on board didn’t understand the gravity of the technical issues the plane encountered until it was almost impossible for the pilot to land safely in Abuja.

It was later realised that the engine had serious issues like hydraulic leakage according to our source. 

'It was terrifying. Many people on board started crying and saying their last prayers. But we managed to land back in Abuja despite the difficulty encountered,” our source narrated.

Forbes Releases Comprehensive 2023 World Billionaire Rankings As Three Nigerians - Dangote, Rabiu, Adenuga, Make The List

Forbes has released its comprehensive list of world's billionaires for 2023. The list, which came out Tuesday, April 4th, with 2460 individual billionaires globally, has a couple of surprises. This is more so since the last year has been full of falling stocks, wounded unicorns and rising interest rates which translated into a down year for many of the world's richest people. The 25 richest people in the world are worth a collective $2.1 trillion, down a combined $200 billion from $2.3 trillion in 2022.

Luxury goods tycoon Bernard Arnault‘s net worth surged by $53 billion to $211billion dollars since last year, a bigger gain than anyone on the planet, to climb to the number one spot for the first time ever on the rise of share in his company, LVMH. Former world’s richest man, Elon Musk, slipped to second position after his worth reduced by $39billion due to his purchase of social messaging g app, Twitter.

Court stops LP National Chairman, Julius Abure others from parading as officers

A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory FCT has issued an order restraining the National Chairman of the Labour Party, Mr Julius Abure, National Secretary, Farouk Ibrahim and two others from parading themselves as National Officers of the party.

Others stopped from parading themselves as National Officers are the National Organizi Secretary, Mr Clement Ojukwu and one other.

Justice Hamza Muazu issued the restraining order on Wednesday in Abuja while ruling in an ex-parte application argued by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria SAN, James Ogwu Onoja.

UEFA look to target abuse in soccer with tougher sanctions

UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin on Wednesday (April 5) highlighted the need to clamp down on the abuse of soccer players by spectators.

"Football is an inclusive sport, open to everyone," he said. "Unfortunately, some people have still not grasped this concept, which is why we're going to have to rethink our approach.

"We need to target offenders more effectively when a player is subjected to racist, homophobic or sexist insults during UEFA competitions. We’re here to protect the players."

How First Bank Staff Bolted Away With Millions of Naira As Bank Moves Against Guarantor

A staff of First Bank PLC, Marina Branch, Lagos State, Banniya Babatunde Anthony, has allegedly bolted away with the bank’s money worth millions of Naira and went into hiding.

TrackNews reports that following the ugly incident the management of the bank has moved against his guarantor, Mowobi Sunday, for falsely claiming his integrity before he was employed as staff.

The 47-year old guarantor, Sunday, has been arrested and charged before Court for allegedly acknowledging the deed of recognizance for Anthony, who is now at large, for him to secure a job in the bank.

Nigeria's naira hits record low

Nigeria's naira currency dropped to a record low of 465 per dollar on Monday (April 3), data from Refinitiv showed.

That's as traders await the outcome of Friday's (March 31) central bank foreign exchange auction.

The naira later recovered to trade at 461 to the dollar.

Ifeoma, wife of Orji Kalu, is dead

Ifeoma, wife of Orji Uzor Kalu, chief whip of the senate, is dead.

Kalu announced her demise in a Facebook post on Monday. She was 61.

“With a heavy heart and pain, we announce the passing on to eternal glory of Mrs Ifeoma Ada Kalu aged 61 years,” he said.

“She was a woman of virtue who was committed to the service of God and humanity. A memorial service in her honour is scheduled to be held in the United States of America (USA).

“Please remember her and loved ones in prayers during this difficult period. May her gentle soul rest in perfect peace. Amen.”

No details has been shared regarding her death as at the time of filling in this report

Zenith Bank’s Gross Earnings Rises By 24% To N945.5 Billion In 2022

Zenith Bank Plc has announced its audited results for the year ending December 31, 2022,achieving an impressive double-digit growth of  24%  in gross earnings from NGN765.6billion  reported   in   the   previous  year   to   NGN945.5   billion   in   2022.   This   is   despite  thepersistent challenging macroeconomic environment and headwinds.

According to  the   audited financial   results   for  the  2022  financial  year  presented to  theNigerian Exchange (NGX), the double-digit growth in gross earnings was driven by a 26%year-on-year (YoY) growth in interest income from NGN427.6 billion to N540.2 billion and a23% year-on-year (YoY) growth in non-interest income from NGN309 billion to NGN381billion. Profit before tax also grew by 2% from NGN280.4 billion to NGN284.7 billion in thecurrent year. The increase in profit before tax was due to the significant growth in all theincome lines.Impairments   grew   by   107%   from   NGN59.9   billion   to   NGN124.2   billion,   while   interestexpense grew 63% YoY from N106.8 billion to N173.5 billion, respectively.