Residents of Fajuyi Housing Estate along Ilawe Road, Ado Ekiti, were on Saturday night tormented and robbed of their belongings by a 7-man gang of armed robbers.

ONE of the candidates in the rescheduled March 12 Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, election accused of promoting tribal and ethnic agenda, was in the South-West part of the country last week, promising to increase the number of delegates from Oyo, Ekiti and Ondo states by five delegates each.

The crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Ondo State was weekend, resolved as the leaders agreed to sheathe their swords for the success of the party in the general elections.

The main challenge facing stockbroking firms at the moment is that of volume of business. Trades in the market have been largely done by institutions (mainly foreign) while the domestic retail investors have not sufficiently returned to the stock market since the financial crisis of 2008/2009. There are a few stockbrokers working with these foreign institutions who collectively control the major volumes traded in the market. Foreign investors are also very sensitive and any information that reflects uncertainty in politics and government policies trigger a fast withdrawal from the market which results in high levels of volatility.

Delta State All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship candidate, Olorogun O’tega Emerhor, yesterday, promised to rescue Delta State from the stranglehold of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, saying that if voted into power, his government will run the state like a business empire with a human face.

Itsekiri Leaders of Thought, weekend, said that the groundbreaking ceremony of the $16 billion Export Processing Zone, EPZ, in Ogidigben, Warri South- West Local Government Area, Delta State, on March 13 will determine the vote of the Itsekiri nation in the forth- coming general elections.

ABUJA—AHEAD of the general elections, the Ondo State Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, Mr. Olusegun Agbaje, has said that National Electoral Commissioners and the State Resident Electoral Commissioners, RECs of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, were not in any way contemplating passing a vote of no confidence on the Commission’s Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega.

ABUJA — The Presidency, yesterday, urged the north to forget the 2015 presidency and wait till 2019, saying that the 2015 general election was about the stability of the country and not the fulfilment of the ambition of one man.

The Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC has urged the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and the Advertising Practitioners’ Council of Nigeria (APCON) sanctions television stations and newspapers that are broadcasting and publishing damaging documentary and hate advertorials on key opposition leaders.

As Nigerian women joined the rest of the world to celebrate this year’s International Women’s Day, medical experts and partners on the NOTAGAIN Campaign have called for effective implementation of policies and commitments that promote rights and access to quality maternal health and family planning services.

Dele Sotubo is the Chief Executive Officer of Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers, Nigeria’s largest stockbroking firm in value and volume of transactions handled at the Nigerian Stock Exchange. In this interview Sotubo talks about the capital market and efforts to deepen it, the bond market, corporate governance issues, listing of oil and gas companies, among other issues. Excerpts:

The project has economic, social and environmental impact angle. We are also aware that houses for low-income earners are not just shelters, but are equally locations for their economic activities, to this end, we are putting in place a system that will enable impact assessment not only in terms of number of houses but with equal attention to social indicators. The success recorded so far is due to a number of factors which include commitment of the partners in the project who have all delivered on their obligations.

The Nigerian Mortgage Refinancing Company (NMRC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a US-based investment firm, Cantor Fitzgerald, for the investment of $1bn (about N200 billion) in the Nigerian mortgage sector. Cantor Fitzgerald is a global private investment firm with strong expertise in asset-backed mortgage securities. The firm has also made arrangements to build 10,000 houses in Kaduna, Lagos, Enugu and Abuja within the next one year.

The Minister of State for Works, Prince Adedayo Adeyeye has tasked the Regional Centre for Training in Aerospace Surveys (RECTAS) to improve its standard in order to compete favourably among institutions like it in the world. Adeyeye threw the challenge to the Executive Director of RECTAS, Mr Adewale Akingbade when the new ED paid a courtesy call on the Ministry of Works in Abuja on Tuesday.

The Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, Engr. Saleh Dunoma has said that the Authority will support any effort aimed at maximising the potentials in the country’s air cargo sector. Engr. Dunoma made this remark last week during the Nigerian Air Cargo Summit in Lagos. He said that the quest to maximise these potentials has led to the remodeling of designated perishable cargo airports across the country.