Femi Fani Kayode, Nigerian former Minister of Aviation has given thumbs up to the National Association of Online Security Reporters, NAOSRE over its commitment to unbiased security reportage in the face of
He gave the appraisal on Saturday in Abuja during a late night meeting with the President of the online media association, Mr. Femi Oyewale.
The former minister enthused that he has been following the activities of the association especially in its commitment to bridging the information gap between citizens and security agents.
Femi Fani Kayode emphasized that the task to enthrone a secured Nigeria should be all inclusive.
“All hands must be on deck to fight insurgency. The media has a big to play and I am very happy NAOSRE has engaged itself in such onerous task. I am proud of you Femi and you have my support,” he said.
Continuing, the lawyer noted that he has always been a friend of the media and would continue to hold the media in high esteem despite the once-a-while disagreement adding that he would have been personally present at NAOSRE Dinner Summit which held at Oriental Hotel on December 11, 2020 in Lagos but for other tight schedules
“I have always maintained that I am a friend of the media and it remains so. We may disagree sometimes. Disagreement is an integral part of friendship and should be expected amongst friends,” he explained.
Oyewale however thanked Femi Fani Kayode for his words of advice and promised that the NAOSRE he leads will not disappoint Nigerians.
Femi Fani Kayode whose father was a minister in the first republic, was the Special Assistant (Public Affairs) to President Olusegun Obasanjo from July 2003 until June 2006. He was appointed the Minister of Culture and Tourism of the Federal Republic of Nigeria from 22 June to 7 November 2006 and as the Minister of Aviation from 7 November 2006 to 29 May 2007
Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai, ret’d, the immediate past Chief of Army Staff, is now Grand Patron of the National Association of Online Security Reporters, NAOSRE.
In a brief ceremony on March 11 at the Army Resource Centre, Asokoro, Abuja, where the President of the online media association, Mr. Femi Oyewale presented a plaque of honour to the Ambassador Designate, Buratai thanked the association’s leaders and members for considering him for such enviable position.
He re emphasized the importance he attaches to the media as useful partners in nation building. He reinstated his determination to always co operate with the media, in any way possible, for a better and safer Nigeria.
Buratai urged NAOSRE not to relent in its patriotic efforts at promoting unity and harmony between citizens and security operatives through professional and unbiased reportage.
“I thank NAOSRE leadership and members for being here today to involve me as the association’s Grand Patron for a better and safer Nigeria. The unity and peaceful co existence of our dear country is what I have always worked for. I will continue to support anything that will make Nigeria safer and secured even outside office as Chief of Army Staff.
“I also want to use this opportunity to thank President Muhammadu Buhari for the confidence he reposes in me. I will never betray that confidence and I will not disappoint the Commander-in-Chief in any position of trust I am assigned from time to time,” Buratai stated.
Earlier in his presentation, Oyewale described General Buratai as radiating Warren Bennis’s philosophical definition of leader as a servant with capacity to translate vision into reality. He said “Of a truth, His Excellency, General Ambassador Dr Tukur Yusuf Buratai epitomized and exhibited those leadership skills as Chief Of Army Staff. We are sure he will do more in subsequent assignments.”
Oyewale disclosed that the idea to choose Buratai as NAOSRE Grand Patron is a product of the association desire to minimize errors in its pursuit of creating harmony between citizens and military operatives.
He said, “With an experienced General like Buratai as NAOSRE Grand Patron, we will always interface with him in the discharge of our media responsibilities especially security matters for a safer Nigeria.”
Oyewale’s statement reads in part:
“After an exhaustive evaluation of his unmatched pedigree in professionalism, humanitarian services, commitment to officers’ welfare and undiluted love for Nigeria’s security, the leadership, Board of Trustees and members of the National Association of Online Security Reporters, NAOSRE, have collectively chosen His Excellency, General Ambassador Dr Tukur Yusuf Buratai as our Grand Patron.
“The certificate of your Investiture as NAOSRE’s Grand Patron is hereby handed over to you.”
National Security Adviser, NSA, Mohammed Babagana Monguno has embarrassed the Presidency, yet again.
Monguno, during an interview with BBC Hausa Service apportioned blames sayings budgeted funds for arms and ammunition may not have been properly utilized, a development that has caused rift in the Presidency.
Arising from his statement, the National Association of Online Security Reporters, NAOSRE gathered that Monguno has been under fire owing to this careless statement.
Dependable sources availed that this is not the first time the NSA would be causing rift in the Presidency owing to unguarded statements.
“He knows about the defence budget and how monies are being spent. But to come out and apportion blames on former service chiefs by way of saying monies are missing as well as embarrass the Presidency in the Hausa BBC interview seems to be the height of incompetence,” a top Nigerian told NAOSRE.
Meanwhile, the NSA has issued a clarification saying he was quoted out of context and that he never said funds were missing.
The statement reads in part:
“The attention of the Office of the National Security Adviser has been drawn to some media reports regarding Armed Forces equipment during an interview with the BBC Hausa service.
“We would like to state that the NSA was quoted out of context as he did not categorically say that funds meant for arms procurement were missing under the Former Service Chiefs as reported or transcribed by some media outlets from the BBC interview.
“During the interview, the National Security Adviser only reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to deal decisively with insecurity and stated President Muhammadu Buhari’s continued commitment to provide all necessary support to the Armed Forces, including the provision of arms and equipment.
“In the interview, the National Security Adviser clearly informed the BBC reporter that Mr President has provided enormous resources for arms procurement, but the orders were either inadequate or yet to be delivered and that did not imply that the funds were misappropriated under the former Service Chiefs. The NSA also informed the reporter that, Mr President is following up on the procurement process as is usual with contracts relating to military equipments, in most cases the process involves manufacturing, due diligence and tedious negotiations that may change delivery dates.”
It should however be recalled that Mohammed Babagana Monguno, current National Security Adviser is a retired Nigerian military general. He was the Chief of Defence Intelligence from July 2009 to September 2011 and the Commander of the Brigade of Guards from 2007 to 2009.
Nigeria’s leading innovative bank, Wema Bank Plc., through its female proposition, Sara by Wema, will mark this year’s International Women’s Day (IWD) with a webinar on Friday, March 12 by 10.00 am.
The 90 minutes’ event themed ‘Challenge Today for an Equal Tomorrow’ will have key industry experts and leading female corporate policy influencers in the Nigerian financial, investment, talent development and management ecosystem as panelists.
The webinar aims at speaking to women on challenging societal norms to reach their full potential in entrepreneurship, the workplace, or personal lives.
The Executive Director, Business Support, Wema Bank, Folake Sanu will host the webinar, while Team Lead, Business Process Re-Engineering, Wema Bank, Chika Adun, will moderate.
Other panelists include Founder, Green Investment Club and certified financial education instructor, Tomie Balogun; global leadership development expert, Dupe Akinsiun, and Chief Knowledge Officer, Wofin Tech Limited, Omilola Oshikoya.
Commenting on the importance of the webinar, Head, Brands and Marketing Communications, Wema Bank Plc. Funmilayo Falola, reiterated the institution’s belief in female empowerment and equity.
“At Wema Bank, gender sensitivity and diversity are second to none – it is at the heart of our operations,” she said.
“With the 2021 IWD celebration, we are poised to entrench the importance of equity across the board as a sustainable voice for women to rise above every known challenge to the pinnacle of career excellence.
Our proposition, SARA, is a testimony that affirms Wema Bank’s commitment to towards the development of women and girls says Abiola Nejo, Head, Gender Banking
This year’s webinar is part of a week-long social media and online engagement with Wema Bank’s customers to share contemporary knowledge, deepening technology and financial inclusion for their business growth whilst growing the nation’s GDP.
The bank also plans to use the webinar platform to launch its new gender loan offering for female business owners.
Interested participants can register for the webinar through
The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) has revealed in a new monthly template that the price of Premium Motor Spirit, also known as petrol, has reached N212.6 per litre.
According to the template which the PPPRA released on Thursday, petrol is expected to sell at a lower retail price of N209.61 and at an upper retail price of N212.61 which is usually followed by marketers.
The expected ex-depot price as seen in the template is N206.42, while the landing cost is N189.61.
The template, published on Thursday night, shows that the retail price of petrol will be between market band of N209.61 and N212.61. Nigerian marketers usually sell at the upper band.
With ex-depot price standing at N206.42 per litre, the March template shows that the landing cost for petrol per litre is N189.61.
This is despite the Nigerian Petroleum Corporation saying there won’t be any change in the price of PMS in the month of March.
The NNPC had promised that petrol price would remain static in March to allow smooth negotiations between the government and labour unions, but the PPPRA template follows the increasing price of crude at the international market as well as instability in exchange rate.
“Hip-hop from the beginning has always been aspirational,” Jay-Z said in 2010 when Forbes got a ringside seat to the rapper’s first meeting in Omaha with billionaire investor Warren Buffett. “It always broke that notion that an artist can’t think about money as well.”
More than a decade later, the rapper-turned-billionaire is showing exactly what he means: In his second major deal in as many weeks, Jay-Z inked a deal to sell a majority stake in music streaming company Tidal to Jack Dorsey’s mobile payment company Square for $297 million. The transaction valued the company at about $450 million—$150 million more than Forbes’ 2019 estimate. Forbes figures he netted out $149 million in cash and stock—and got a board seat—after buying back 33% of Tidal from T-Mobile earlier this week and then selling that and the third he already owned. Tidal’s “artist shareholders” will continue to have a stake in the company, and Jay-Z will own a small percentage, as well.
This comes a week after he sold half of his Armand de Brignac champagne to LVMH in a deal that valued the luxury liquor company at about $640 million.
The two deals helped lift the fortune of hip-hop’s first billionaire to $1.4 billion, up from $1 billion.
It’s just the start. His diverse and growing business includes the remaining 50% stake in the $300-per-bottle Armand de Brignac, as well as D’Usse cognac and a collection of less-sexy startups including insurance startup Ethos and salad chain Sweetgreen. He also owns a chunk of his own music, shares multiple multi-million dollar mansions with his wife Beyoncé and has a growing art collection.
In 2005 he laid down the now prophetic lyric, “I’m not a businessman, I’m a business, man.”
Here’s how it breaks down:
Cash and Investments: $425 million
Jay-Z has been singing about the importance of spending money wisely for years—and he’s done just that, pouring a good portion of his $760 million estimated earnings (pretax) into investments. His holdings include stakes in Uber and now Square, as well as in private companies like salad chain Sweetgreen, insurance startup Ethos and SpaceX. His next likely big win: Oatmilk company Oatly is expected to IPO this year and is reportedly seeking a $10 billion valuation. He invested an undisclosed amount in July 2020.
Armand de Brignac: $320 million
Last week, Jay-Z announced he was selling half of his champagne company, also known as Ace of Spades, to luxury house LVMH’s Moët Hennessy. Forbes estimates that the deal valued the gold-bottled bubbly brand at $640 million—or more than double its estimated value in 2019 and even more than the “half a B” Jay-Z himself rapped about on Meek Mill’s 2018 song “What’s Free.”
Roc Nation: $140 million
Jay-Z’s joint-venture with Live Nation was founded in 2008 and is a full-service entertainment company serving some of the biggest names in the biz, from musicians Rihanna and Alicia Keys to athletes Kyrie Irving and CC Sabathia. The company is responsible for the Super Bowl Halftime Show, Made in America music festival and even has a publishing deal with Random House. While the pandemic has slowed the company’s live-touring business, it was growing steadily prior to Covid-19.
D’Usse: $120 million
A partnership with liquor giant Bacardi, Jay-Z’s cognac launched in 2012. While it typically retails for a reasonable $30 per bottle, fifty rare bottles—including a diamond-shaped crystal decanter—are currently at auction at Sotheby’s for an estimated price tag of $24,000 to $75,000 each.
Music Catalog: $95 million
With multiples for music catalogs on the rise, Jay-Z’s library of nearly 300 songs is worth $20 million more now than it was two years ago, and thanks to a series of smart negotiations, he owns both the publishing rights and master recordings to his music.
Art Collection: $70 million
A fan of Jean-Michel Basquiat—he raps about having one in his kitchen on his song“Picasso Baby” and reportedly spent $4.5 million on one in 2013—Jay-Z’s impressive art collection also features works by Damian Hirst, David Hammons and Richard Prince. He sees the collection as an investment. As he sang on “The Story of O.J.”: “I bought some artwork for one million, Two years later, that shit worth two million, Few years later, that shit worth eight million, I can’t wait to give this shit to my children.”
Real Estate: $50 million
Jay-Z and Beyoncé picked up two homes in 2017 after giving birth to their twins: an $88 million Bel Air mansion and $26 million East Hamptons spread. The Los Angeles home is already worth $5 million more than the purchase price. Proving that the couple is, in fact, human, they still have a mortgage on the home. He also still owns his Tribeca penthouse bachelor pad that he bought in 2004 for $6.85 million.
Mikel Arteta says his Arsenal side need to stop being their own worst enemy after defensive lapses undermined their last-16 first-leg victory over Olympiakos in the Europa League.
While Martin Odegaard’s opener paved the way for their win, familiar failings at the back saw the Greek champions level and made life uncomfortable until late goals from Gabriel and Mohamed Elneny swung the contest back in Arsenal’s favour.
“We have to be very clear and honest with ourselves. We gave three chances to the opponent, they took one and at that level they are going to punish you,” Arteta said.
“If we want to go to the next level we have to stop that and be more ruthless and when we are that dominant, kill the games off.”
Lax play from both David Luiz and Odegaard had gone without punishment but Arsenal were not as fortunate when Bernd Leno played substitute Dani Ceballos into trouble and Youssef El Arabi stroked in an equaliser.
It added to a litany of recent errors, with Arsenal guilty of conceding soft goals against Burnley and Benfica in fixtures over the last month.
“The goals and chances we have conceded are coming from ourselves,” Arteta added.
“That’s positive because when we stop it, we will be stronger. The reality is that we have to stop it immediately. It’s my responsibility. I make them play the way we want to play it is just understanding the risk and reward.”
Thankfully for Arteta, three valuable away goals mean his side are well placed to avoid a repeat of their dramatic exit to Olympiakos last term.
In general he will also be satisfied with a display that saw Arsenal create several early openings and take the lead courtesy of Odegaard’s powerful 20-yard drive.
The Norwegian midfielder could and perhaps should have opened the scoring earlier than that, skewing a left-footed effort wide, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was also superbly denied a goal when home goalkeeper Jose Sa diverted his header on to the crossbar.
And while the Gunners did not run away with the game, their resolve came to the fore at the Karaiskakis Stadium for the second time in under a month.
Twelve minutes after El Arabi had spurned a chance to put the hosts ahead, Gabriel towered above his marker to head in Willian’s right-wing corner, with Elneny’s late effort adding deserved gloss to the result.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, speaking to BT Sport: “We started the game really well, really dominant and creating a lot of chances.
“We gave them a goal trying to play out from the back but then we reacted well to score two more goals. Overall a really positive result but we have to stop making the errors that are costing goals because we cannot sustain that.
“This is half-time and anything can happen. Full focus and we start 0-0 again in the second leg and try to win the game.”
Manchester United’s defensive vulnerabilities returned as AC Milan grabbed an injury-time equaliser in their Europa League last-16 first-leg tie at Old Trafford.
Amad Diallo’s stunning header five minutes into the second half looked like giving United a first-leg lead.
But Milan, who had already been harshly denied a goal when Franck Kessie’s first-half volley was ruled out for handball, replied when Simon Kjaer evaded the attentions of Nemanja Matic at a corner right at the death and steered a near-post header past Dean Henderson’s weak attempt to save.
It was the least a Milan side lacking former United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic deserved.
It was tough luck on Diallo, who scored in quite brilliant fashion with his first effort on goal in only his third appearance for the Red Devils.
The Ivorian raced on to Bruno Fernandes’ brilliant chipped pass five minutes after replacing Anthony Martial at half-time, then, with his back to goal close to the penalty spot, looped the ball over Gianluigi Donnarumma and into the net.
Diallo’s entrance was delayed slightly as he had a band he was wearing on his wrist taped up. It was the only waste of time the 18-year-old was responsible for. It might only be his third United game but he already looks good value for the initial £19m United paid Atalanta for him in January.
Only Mason Greenwood, Marcus Rashford and George Best have scored European goals at a younger age for the club and for a long time, the inspirational effort seemed set to spare Harry Maguire’s blushes for a simply woeful first-half miss.
Maguire timed his far-post run to perfection as he arrived, unmarked, to meet Fernandes’ flick-on from an Alex Telles corner. Amazingly, even though he was barely half a yard out when he connected, Maguire ended up in the net but the ball did not as it flicked off the inside of the post and flew across the six-yard area to safety.
Martial went close in the opening stages but it was one of the Frenchman’s more ineffective displays and it only took five minutes for his replacement to upstage him.
But while the window of opportunity is open for Diallo, Henderson now fully understands the reality of life in the harsh glare of the spotlight at Old Trafford.
Henderson has performed pretty well in his 16 appearances for United this season, so much so it has been suggested he is ready to replace David de Gea as the first-choice goalkeeper at the club.
But mistakes on this stage get magnified in a way they do not at Sheffield United, where he did so well last season to take him into the England fold.
And the more often Kjaer’s goal was replayed, the more a view began to form that Henderson should have done much better in his attempt to keep it out.
In five previous two-legged European ties with Milan, United have emerged victorious only once and with Ibrahmovic potentially returning at the San Siro next week, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men have their work cut out to reach the last eight.
Despite Ibrahimovic’s absence, there were still some familiar faces in the Milan side.
Diogo Dalot is still a United player but, unlike in the Premier League, Uefa rules allowed him to play against his parent club, while England defender Fikayo Tomori may yet have a future at Chelsea.
It is now more than two years since Brahim Diaz left Manchester City for Real Madrid.
Diaz was part of the same City youth team as Phil Foden and Jadon Sancho. Like Sancho, he decided there was a future away from Pep Guardiola.
Evidently he decided to use his return to Manchester to remind an English audience of his talent as he probed and prodded around the United box as Milan took control.
One through ball for Davide Calabria was exceptional but the full-back was unable to get the ball under control quickly enough.
Aside from Kessie’s disallowed effort, Alexis Saelemaekers drew a save from Henderson after stepping inside Matic’s outstretched leg and Rade Krunic put a header just over.
Kjaer ensured their efforts did not go unrewarded.
A commodities trader was given painted stones instead of $36m (£26m) of copper from a Turkish supplier in a fraudulent deal last summer.
Geneva-based Mercuria Energy Group says it’s been the victim of cargo fraud following its purchase of 10,000 tons of copper blister.
When the cargoes started arriving in China, it found containers full of painted stones instead.
The bizarre case happened despite security and inspection controls.
Last year, Mercuria agreed to buy the copper blister, an impure form of the metal, for delivery to China. About 6,000 tonnes was loaded for shipment in more than 300 containers on eight vessels.
But before its journey from a port near Istanbul, the copper was switched with paving stones, spray-painted to resemble the semi-refined metal.
Mercuria, one of the five-biggest oil traders in the world, is seeking redress in Turkish and UK courts against the copper supplier Bietsan Bakir.
Turkish police have taken a number people into custody in relation to the fake copper scheme.
“Suspects have been taken under custody who are thought to be involved in the various parts of this organised crime against Mercuria,” the company said in a statement while thanking the Istanbul Financial Crimes Department.
It appears the copper was initially loaded into the first shipment of containers, before being surveyed by an inspection company. Seals used to prevent fraud were fixed to the containers.
But the containers were opened and the copper replaced with paving stones, Istanbul law firm KYB told media. The fraudsters switched between fake and real container seals to avoid detection.
Once the vessels were at sea, Mercuria paid $36m over five installments.
The fraud wasn’t discovered until the ships began arriving in the Chinese port of Lianyungang later that month.
“There has been a criminal investigation petition by the buyer against the seller and two intermediaries,” Turkish police said in a statement. “It’s been determined that the incident is the outcome of fraud perpetrated in an organised manner.”
In cases of non-delivery a trader could make a claim against a cargo’s insurance policy. But Mercuria found that just one out of seven contracts used by the Turkish company to insure the cargo was real. The rest had been forged.
Bietsan Bakir, the Turkish firm which sold Mercuria the copper, did not respond to requests for comment when contacted by Reuters. More hearings on the case are expected this week.
African fintech company Flutterwave announced that it has raised $170 million in Series C funding, valuing the company at over $1 billion.
The round was led by growth-equity firms Avenir Growth Capital and Tiger Global. New and existing investors who participated include DST Global, Early Capital Berrywood, Green Visor Capital, Greycroft Capital, Insight Ventures, PayPal, Salesforce Ventures, Tiger Management, Worldpay FIS, and 9yards Capital.
This funding round comes a year after Flutterwave raised a $35 million Series B and a $20 million Series A in 2018. In total, Flutterwave has raised $225 million and is one of the few African startups to have secured more than $200 million in funding.
Hitting the $1 billion valuation means Flutterwave is the third unicorn coming out of Nigeria after fellow fintech Interswitch and e-commerce company, Jumia. What’s impressive about this milestone is how quickly Flutterwave has joined the small club of African unicorns – under 10 years.
Founded by entrepreneurs Iyinoluwa Aboyeji and Olugbenga Agboola in 2016, the company is present in 20 African countries, with a reach of over 33 countries on the continent.
According to CEO Olugbenga Agboola, the company grew more than 100% in revenue within the past year due to the pandemic without giving specifics on numbers. This contributed to its compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 226% from 2018.
With this new capital, Flutterwave says it will invest to accelerate customer acquisition in existing and international markets, as well as develop complementary and innovative products. One of such products is the newly launched Flutterwave Mobile, an app to help to accelerate e-commerce growth as a result of the success of the Flutterwave Store.
Two years later, @theflutterwave had processed over $1Bn in transaction value by making it easier to complete seamless and secure payments across Africa. Today we’re announcing our $170m Series C funding. We’ve come a long way and you made it possible.https://t.co/SgO4hThPf8
Following Paystack’s acquisition by Stripe for more than $200 million last year, there were rumours of Flutterwave taking the same route. This Series C round suggests otherwise.
What other plans does Flutterwave have? The African fintech giant is open to the idea of acquiring smaller players in the African fintech space and plans to go live in North Africa.
