Obi conferred with honorary citizenship in US
Eric Johnson, the Mayor of Dallas, on Tuesday conferred on Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, with the honorary citizenship of Dallas, United States.
Obi reacting to the conferment through his Twitter handle said that “Today in Dallas Texas United States, I met with the Mayor of Dallas and his team.
I had the privilege of being conferred with the honorary citizenship of Dallas. I also met with a select group of Texas Judges.-PO”
Read also: New poll shows, Peter Obi, Labour Party’s candidate, likely to win Osun
ASUU president regards two breakaway unions as inconsequential
Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, the national president of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Tuesday said that the registration of two parallel unions by the Federal Government is inconsequential to ASUU as an association.
“That does not in any way affect us,” he said. “We are a disciplined and focused union and we know what we are doing and what we are after. Let them register as many unions as they like. That is inconsequential as far as we are concerned. We are not also in any way threatened. The sky is big enough for birds to fly,” Osodeke said.
“We know our members, we know our strength and we also know what our vision and mission are. Our members are not saboteurs or bootlickers. Our struggle is for a better educational system in the country. If the system is good, all of us will benefit and it is not only ASUU members’ children and wards that are going to benefit from improved funding and the provision of better facilities in our institutions.”
The Federal Government had earlier on Tuesday registered the Congress of Nigerian University Academics (CONUA) and the National Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA).
CONUA is a union for lecturers across the nation’s universities, led by Niyi Sunmonu, a lecturer at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife.
However, Chris Ngige, the Minister of Labour and Productivity, had explained that the two bodies will exist alongside ASUU.
He further stated that the two associations will enjoy the rights and privileges accorded to other academic unions in the tertiary education system.
It is not clear what the implication of recognising the bodies will be on the seven month-long industrial action embarked upon by ASUU.
Access Bank plans to acquire majority equity stake in Angolan-based Finibanco
Access Holdings Plc, trading as Access Corporation, has announced its planned acquisition of majority equity stake in Angolan-based Finibanco S.A by Access Bank Plc.
According to NAN, Sunday Ekwochi, the Company’s Secretary, said in a statement on Tuesday that the transaction would be effected via the purchase of existing shares owned by Montepio-the Holding Company for Banco Montepio, one of Portugal’s commercial banks.
Ekwochi said: “Access Holdings Plc, trading as Access Corporation (‘the Corporation’) today announces that its wholly owned subsidiary, Access Bank Plc (the Bank) has entered into a binding agreement with Montepio Holding SGPS S.A (‘Montepio’) to acquire a 51 per cent majority shareholding in Finibanco Angola S.A. (the Transaction).
“Finibanco Angola S.A. (Finibanco) is a profitable, well-capitalised full-service commercial bank with over 20 branches and around US$300 million in total assets that has operated in Angola since 2008.
“The Angolan market as the sixth largest economy in Africa and the seventh largest country overall, with a vast and diversified natural resource base and a growing population represents a strong potential for the bank’s growth aspiration.
“The Transaction furthers the bank’s strategy to be Africa’s payment gateway to the world whilst working with other Africa-focused multilaterals to provide robust and efficient payment platforms and ecosystems to serve the continent.”
The secretary said that the prospective operation was expected to contribute strongly to the bank’s overall growth path and financial results over the long-term.
He also said the transaction, which was subject to regulatory approvals in Nigeria and Angola was expected to close in the first half of 2023, following fulfillment of customary conditions precedents.
According to him, upon completion of the transaction, the bank is expected to increase its shareholding in Finibanco S.A and will reach certain conditional agreements in this regard.
Tight global oil supply can’t be reversed easily, Shell, Aramco CEOs say
Saudi Aramco’s Chief Executive alongside the Chief Executive Officer of Shell said on Tuesday that they agreed that the oil market is not focusing on the low global spare capacity to raise oil production. They insist that investments into the sector will not shift regardless of a rise in price.
“(The market is) focusing on what will happen to demand if recession happens in different parts of the world, they are not focusing on supply fundamentals,” Aramco Chief Executive Amin Nasser said at the Energy Intelligence Forum in London.
Putting spare capacity at 1.5 percent of global demand, he added that providing a buffer of spare capacity, which will be used up the moment China’s economy opens up from coronavirus restrictions, was not just the responsibility of Saudi Aramco.
According to Reuters, Shell Chief Executive Ben van Beurden said that the current high prices do not easily translate into a shift in capital allocation given it can take decades for oil and gas projects to produce and start paying off.
“You cannot have a quick response to the market signals we are seeing today,” van Beurden said, adding that Shell’s overall strategy remained to pivot away from oil and gas products.
“We cannot live in this world without spare capacity.”
If he had a spare $1 billion to spend, he would invest in the “energy system of the future”, said van Beurden, who will leave Shell next year.
Elon Musk says he’s willing to buy Twitter after all
Elon Musk has on Tuesday insisted that he is now ready to go through with his original offer to buy Twitter for the previously agreed upon price.
The legal team for the Tesla CEO sent a letter to Twitter Monday, which could put an end to the knock-down, drag-out legal fight over the merger that he tried to abandon in July.
The news, first reported by Bloomberg, sent shares of the struggling social media company soaring before the Nasdaq halted trading for a few hours. Twitter stock ended the day up 22 percent.
Musk agreed in April to buy Twitter for $54.20 per share, or about $44 billion, but then tried to back out of the deal after the company’s value sank, along with other tech stocks and the broader market.
Twitter sued to force Musk to abide by the deal. A trial is scheduled to begin in less than two weeks. It’s now up to the company to accept Musk’s renewed offer or force the billionaire to go to court in an effort to seal the deal.
In the letter, Musk’s legal team makes clear that the offer is good only if Twitter drops its lawsuit. In a statement, a Twitter spokesperson gave little clue about which direction the company would take.
“We received the letter from the Musk parties which they have filed with the SEC. The intention of the Company is to close the transaction at $54.20 per share,” they said.
The two sides are discussing how to drop the litigation, while guaranteeing that the deal will be completed, according to a person close to the talks.
