Ecobank demands rejection of Otudeko’s First Bank comeback over N13.5bn debt
Ecobank Nigeria Limited has demanded the rejection of the recent acquisition of FBN Holdings shares by an entity associated with Oba Otudeko, an erstwhile chairman of the banking group, over an alleged unsettled debt of N13.5 billion.
In a letter to FBN Holdings, Kunle Ogunba, lawyer of Ecobank, accused Otudeko of “diverting his assets and that of the Honeywell Group of Companies through the said Barbican Capital Limited, in order to frustrate the enforcement of the judgment of the Supreme Court against him and the Honeywell companies, towards recovering his/their undisputed indebtedness to our client”.
Read more: Ecobank demands rejection of Otudeko’s First Bank comeback over N13.5bn debt
Energy Week 2023: Stakeholders advocate increased local content for energy security
Some stakeholders in the oil and gas industry have echoed the importance of exploring available opportunities in the sector to ensure energy security in the country.
They made this call while speaking on “Exploring Energy Opportunities for Local Content in Achieving Energy Security” at the 2023 Nigeria Oil and Gas (NOG) Energy Week on Monday in Abuja.
In the conference themed “Nigerian Content Role in Achieving Energy Security,” the stakeholders commended the efforts of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) towards driving local content in the country and advise for more to be done.
Mining: NGO leader urges FG, stakeholders to support artisanal miners
The Society for the Promotion of People’s Rights, an NGO,, has called on the Federal Government and other stakeholders to support artisanal and small-scale miners with grants to enhance mining activities.
Williams Osaze, the President of the organisation, made the appeal during a talk with the press in Abuja on Monday.
Osaze called on governments of all levels to encourage Nigerians, especially youths and women, to participate actively in mining activities to improve their income generation.
He said that the government`s support through investing in the sector would generate employment for youths and take them away from all forms of criminal activity.
He also charged artisanal miners in the state to form cooperatives to enable them to benefit from the government’s training and other necessary support.
He warned the miners to desist from unauthorised mining and cautioned them against hazards in mining.
AfDB backs Tinubu over Forex rate unification
The African Development Bank (AfDB) on Monday in Abuja commended the President Tinubu administration for unifying the naira exchange rate, saying it would bring much-needed change and transparency to the forex system.
Akinwunmi Adesina, the bank’s president, said this at the 2nd Edition of the Nigeria Employers’ Summit, themed “Trade and Non-Oil: Changing the Narratives for Rapid National Development”.
Speaking on behalf of Adesina, Lamin Barrow, Director-General, Nigeria Country Department of the AfDB, said that “The unification of the exchange rate management system is an important reform by the new administration that will enhance transparency in the allocation.
“And access to foreign exchange, as well as eliminating distortions to boost export competitiveness.”
Yellen says US, China want to ‘stabilize’ relationship
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said she believes the United States and China want to stabilise their economic ties with “candor” and “respect.”
Yellen told American Public Media’s Marketplace in an interview taped shortly before her departure from Beijing on Sunday that she believed her trip, during which both sides discussed “significant disagreements,” had succeeded in putting a floor under the relationship.
“There are challenges, but I believe there is a desire on both sides to stabilise the relationship and to constructively address problems that each of us see in our relationship, to do so frankly, with candor, with respect, and to build a productive relationship going forward,” she said.
Yellen told Marketplace that the visit had been constructive and allowed her to make clear that U.S. export controls and other actions were motivated by national security concerns and to diversify supply chains, not to gain an unfair economic advantage. (Reuters)
