No less than 100 suspected members of the dreaded Badoo Boys cult were arrested weekend, during a joint raid on the group’s hideouts by operatives of the Rapid Response Squad, RRS, of Lagos State Police Command, Anti-Robbery operatives, members of the Oodua peoples Congress, OPC, and members of vigilante groups in Ikorodu.

THE Nigerian Army, yesterday, reiterated its loyalty to President Muhammadu Buhari’s government, saying it would ever remain apolitical.

From a political angle, it is not in the interest of some groups to restructure, because restructuring will reduce some of these issues

SOME civil society organizations, CSOs, in the Niger Delta, weekend, insisted that there was no going back on the demand for restructuring of the country, lambasting the national chairman of All Progressives Congress, APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun.

THE petroleum industry is, perhaps, the biggest source of worry for the Nigerian economy. Its most sensitive part is the downstream segment where the populist product, petrol, is messing up both the economy and the fiscal profile of the Federal Government.

DIRECTOR General Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Osita Aboloma, has declared that the agency would spare no effort at boosting intra and inter-African trade.

President of Nigeria Football Coaches Association Ladan Bosso has called on coaches to rally round the federation in the planning and organisation of the burial of late Coach Kelechi Emeteole who died recently in India.

Reflecting uptick in economic activities buoyed by improved foreign exchange inflow courtesy of oil price rebound and increased foreign investment inflow occasioned by new foreign exchange policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, investors’ fortunes on the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) soared by whopping N2.2 trillion in the first half of the year (H1’17).

President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Mr. Amaju Melvin Pinnick will on Monday declare open this year’s FIFA Member Association (MA) Elite Programme for Nigerian referees, assessors and physical fitness trainers in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. This year’s programme will run between 3rd and 8th July 2017.

THE crash in crude oil price is usually identified as the major contributor to the prevailing parlous state of our economy; clearly, the drop in oil prices from over $120/barrel to a more humble price below $50/barrel and the significant drop in output, certainly reduced revenue inflow. Thus, one may be tempted to suggest that if “fortuitously”, oil prices soar well above $120/barrel, once more, with production also constantly exceeding 2.5mbd, our revenue base should expectedly flourish and all will be well again.

Director, Other Financial Institution and Supervisory Department (OFISD) Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Mrs. Tokunbo Martins, disclosed this at the just concluded second annual two-day professional seminar organized by the National Association of Microfinance Banks, Lagos State Chapter (NAMBLag) in conjunction with CA Compuconsult &Associates with the theme: ‘Strategic Options for Sustainability of Microfinance Operations in a Challenging Environment.

IN that short sentence, Fashola summarized all that has been wrong with the political-economy of Nigeria. In 2016, while executing the first budget of the Buhari administration, no single kobo was spent on the Second Niger Bridge.

AHEAD of the launch of Exchange Traded Derivatives, ETDs, by the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, later in the year, the 2nd Vice-President of the NSE Council, Mr. Abimbola Ogunbanjo, has expressed optimism that the ETD initiative will develop into a robust market that could support the nation’s growth ambition.

As at the end of the day we are able to close on a very sound note. We increased the premium income from $33.5million in 2015 to $49.6million in 2016 which is about 35 percent growth.

BUSINESSES and consumers have differed in the expectations of the direction of the inflation rate in the third quarter of the year.