Nigerian govt promises support for MSMEs

Federal Government on Tuesday promised continued support for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in order to create more job opportunities for the nation’s teeming youths.

The Director-General of Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (SMEDAN), Alhaji Dikko Radda, made the pledge during an MSME’s Support Organisation Dialogue in Kano.

He said the dialogue was aimed at bringing key stakeholders in the Nigerian MSME Ecosystem to discuss possible measures at moving the sector forward despite the COVID–19 pandemic.

Radda, who was represented at the forum by the Director of Partnership and Coordination in the agency, Dr. Friday Okpara, said the MSME was considered a key factor in economic transformation globally, and called for greater emphasis in the sector to achieve the set objectives.

Nigerian stock market starts the week in red, investors lose N39.54bn

The Nigerian bourse opened the week on a negative note as the benchmark- All Share Index (ASI) dropped by -0.23percent to close at 41,082.38 index points.

Investors lost N39.54billion to close market capitalization at N24.4 trillion as year-to-date returns currently stand at +2.02 percent.

Market activity measured by aggregate volume stood at N738.5 million at the end of trading valued at N4.1 trillion in 7,396.00 deals.

Market breadth closed positive as AIICO led 35 gainers as against 21 losers topped by JAPAULOIL at the end of today’s session – an unimproved performance when compared with the previous outlook.

Market turnover closes positive as volume moved up by +10.79% as against -17.64% downtick recorded in the previous session.

AFRINSURE leads the list of active stocks that recorded impressive volume spike at the end of today’s session.

JAPAULOIL, UNIVINSURE and TRANSCORP were the most active while GUARANTY and ZENITHBANK topped market value list.

WOMAN CRUSH WEDNESDAY (WCW).

Our WCW for today is Inidima Okojie. Inidima Okojie is a nollywood actress and fashion enthusiast. She attended Air force comprehensive secondary school , after which she proceeded to Covenant University , both in Nigeria.


After graduation , she got hired in an investment bank. Later on , Inidima made up her mind to quit her job and decided to start acting. Inidima also studied at the New York film academy and attended the “Become the host” boot camp in Los Angeles. She has starred in many movies.


Her role as Hadiza in the movie, “North East” sparked her ascent to the top. Inidima also acted as lead role in the 2016 romantic comedy , “it’s her day” .
In 2016, Ini was one of the few Nigerians selected for the relativity workshop in Los Angeles .
Inidima Okojie is a talented actress and has been described as a style icon.

Death of socialite and brother-in-law of former Senate President, Bukola Saraki causes controversies.

The death of Dapo Ojora, a socialite and brother-in-law of former Senate President Bukola Saraki, has generated controversies.

Dapo, one of the sons of the boardroom guru, Otunba Adekunle Ojora, was said to have shot himself in the head Friday evening, The Street Journal quoted sources as saying.

It was reported that his death might be connected to the marital crisis with his wife, Patricia, a lawyer and an entrepreneur.

They started having a strained relationship a few years ago and they both decided to go their separate ways for undisclosed reasons.

“His marital woes were a huge blow to him especially because of the love he shared with his wife, Patricia. And much as he tried to put up a brave face, his marriage problems were too hard for him to handle as he couldn’t bear to lose his loving wife,”

The couple, however, reconciled last year when they hosted the crème de la crème to the wedding of their daughter, Tara, in their family house in Ikoyi, Lagos.

Young Nigerian-born Democrat, Oye, Elected As United States House Of Representative Member

A Nigerian, Oye Owolewa, has been elected to the United States Congress.

Owolewa from Kwara, who holds a doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in Pharmacy from the North-Eastern University, Boston, contested on the platform of the Democratic Party as a ‘shadow’ (non-voting) House of Representative member out of the District of Columbia (DC).

It was gathered the 31-year-old politician is the first Nigerian congressman in the country’s history.

Sharing the news on his Facebook page, he wrote, “Good morning. Looks like we did it! I want to thank everyone, from family and close friends to DC residents. Because of your contributions and sacrifices, I stand before you as America’s first Nigerian-American congressman.

“In this role, I’m going to fight for DC statehood and bring our values to the lawmaking process. While today is a day for some celebration, the hard work also follows. Again, thanks so much for everything. I would not be here without you all.”

End SARS: Senate Chief Whip, Orji Kalu throws weight behind Nigerian youths

As reactions continue to trail the attack on End SARS protesters, the Chief Whip of the Nigerian Senate, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu has thrown his weight behind Nigerian youths calling for an end to police brutality in the country.

The End SARS protest which began a few weeks ago across states in Nigeria is now engulfed in crisis with heavy casualties.

But reacting on Thursday, the former governor of Abia State said their demands were cogent enough that must not be swept under the carpet under.

The Senator who represents Abia North, in a statement on Thursday, condemned the criminal abuse of power by officers of the proscribed Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS); stressing that such act must stop.

“The major responsibility of the Nigeria Police is to ensure that they protect lives and property of the citizenry.

“It is indeed painful to hear that some members of the force & SARS have misused the power vested on them to brutalize some citizens,” he said.

The former Governor of Abia State condoled with families who have lost their loved ones to police brutality as well as those killed in the wake of the End SARS protests in many parts of the country.

“My heartfelt condolences to everyone that has lost their loved ones through police brutality and the ongoing protests.

“I stand with Nigerians and the youths at these trying times,” he said.

Meanwhile, the protest has snowballed into alleged killing of youths by officers of the Nigerian army.

We will meet in court.- Former presidential aspirant threatens C.E.O of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, for supporting “END SARS” protest.

During the late hours of yesterday , the co-founder and C.E.O of Twitter, Jack Dorsey solicited for support towards the ongoing “end sars” protest in Nigeria.

He did this through his verified Twitter account and of course, this caused a lot of controversial comments on Twitter. Many Nigerians praised him for showing his concern for Nigerian youths , while others criticised his action.

Jack wrote ;

“Donate via #Bitcoin to help #ENDSARS.”

However, amongst those who criticised Jack Dorsey , is a former presidential aspirant for the 2019 presidential election and C.E.O of IPI group limited, Adam Garba.

Adamu Garba replied Jack Dorsey by tweeting the following statements;

“Dear @jack, It’ll do you a lot more good if you stay away from Nigerian Politics. You should know that the so-called #EndSARS protest have transformed into political agitation, capable of breaking law & order in our country. You should not be a moral & financial sponsor to this.”

“This is Nigeria, most of the demands initially presented was attended to by the responsible authorities. SARS no longer exist in this country. Your support for a disbanded entity was a needless interference. We cannot allow killings again in Nigeria in the name of protests.”

“I understand that this may play well to your business, you have more content, more people & more activity on your platform, but to us is about life, peace & security of our dear Country, we cannot allow you to be part of the people sponsoring disorder. We need peace & prosperity.”

“I can see you are even sharing a link for people to donate money for this protest, an event capable of escalation beyond our already overstretched security management. If this protest continues to evolve into disorder (hopefully not)…As a Nigerian citizen, we’ll meet in court. Thank you. @jack”

We Are Suffering, Paid ‘Peanuts’, Nigerian Policewoman Says

A Nigerian policewoman has said that the #EndSARS protest will do nothing to the rot in the system because police officers were paid ‘peanuts’ while politicians they protect take huge sums of money home.

She disclosed this during a radio programme in Lagos.

The policewoman said though she earns N53,000 monthly, she’s been unable to pay her house rent for three years.

According to her, most police officers were suffering.

Over the past few days, there have been renewed calls for the scrapping of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Nigeria Police Force over reports of brutality and extrajudicial killings.

Following the protests, Mohammed Adamu, Inspector-General of Police, had disbanded SARS on Sunday.

President Muhammadu Buhari had also issued a directive calling for a reform of the police in the country.

However, the protests have continued with activists issuing a five-point demand including the release of all persons arrested and justice for victims of police brutality.