Electron Native

The Sultan of Sokoto,  Sa’ad Abubakar III, has urged all Muslims to start looking for the new moon of Rajab 1440AH. Source : ABC Abubkar on Wednesday stated this in a statement by Prof. Sambo Junaidu, the Chairman, Advisory Committee on Religious Affairs and Sultanate Council in Sokoto. The Sultan said: “This is to inform the Muslim Ummah that Thursday March 7, equivalent to 29 day of Jumada al-Thani 1440AH, shall be the day to look for the new moon of Rajab 1440AH. “Muslims are, therefore, requested to start looking for the new moon of Rajab 1440AH on Thursday and report its sighting to the nearest district or village head for onward communication to the Sultan.” The monarch prayed to Allah to help religious leaders and the entire Ummah discharge their religious duty. Rajab is the Seventh month in the Islamic calendar that comes two month before the compulsory fasting month of Ramadan. - NAN

Some drastic changes are on the horizon at Real Madrid after their epic 1-4 lost to Ajax Amsterdam. These could affect the whole team management and the team itself. Despite Coach Santiago Solari's contract lasting till 2021 only a miracle will keep him at the Santiago Bernabeu beyond this seasons campaign. Source : Daily Express Jose Mourinho is already being touted as the man best suited to lead the transformation of a squad that has won it all but turned stale.The former Manchester United boss won a La Liga title with 100 points but left a legacy of division in his three years at Madrid. The Portuguese is out of work after being sacked by Manchester United in December. Despite meeting another dire end to his penultimate job with Chelsea, Madrid-based newspaper, Marca, appears to be beating the drum for his return. The paper urged president Florentino Perez to bring him back to the Santiago Bernabeu. Overhauling a squad with many underperforming players already ...

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) says it plans to set up a fertilizer plant in Brass, Bayelsa State, to boost agriculture in the South-South and other regions of the country and build three Independent Power Plants (IPP)  in Abuja, Kaduna and Kano states. The project will have a combined capacity of 4,000 megawatts of electricity. The state oil corporation disclosed this in a statement issued by its spokesman,  Nduka Ughamadu, in Abuja, on Tuesday. Chief Operating Officer, Gas and Power of the corporation,  Saidu Mohammed, said that the planned power projects would be driven by the coming on stream of the NNPC Power subsidiary, Gas and Power Investment Company (GPIC). Mohammed spoke at the inaugural board meeting of the GPIC He said the company would help the NNPC transform into an integrated energy company with the production of 4,000 megawatts of power at strategic locations. He added that all relevant stakeholders in the power sector wer...

Trading on Tuesday slowed with little gains of about 0.14 percent on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) . The All-Share Index rose by 43.72 points or 0.14 per cent to close at 32,173.66 against 32,129.94 achieved on Monday. von.gov.ng Also, the market capitalisation which opened at N11.981 trillion increased by N17 billion to close at N11.998 trillion. Analysts at Cordros Capital said that investors should tread cautious due to sensitive political landscape. “Amidst the still sensitive political landscape, we still hold the view that the blend of compelling valuation story, together with positive macroeconomic picture, leaves scope for market recovery in the medium-to-long term. “However, we guide investors to tread a cautious trading path in the short term,” they said. A breakdown of the price movement table shows that NASCON recorded the highest price gain of 80k to lead the gainers’ table to close at N20 per share. Dangote Flour followed with a gain...

The election "war chest" is being pumped with cash and the Naira is already responding to her increased demand as Saturdays Govnorship and State Houses of Assembly Polls looms. And this has led the Naira on Tuesday to gained 50 kobo and exchange at N358 to the dollar at the parallel market in Lagos, stronger than N358.5 traded on Monday. Source : Sahara Reporters The Pound Sterling and the Euro closed at N470 and N408, respectively. At the Bureau De Change (BDC) window, the naira traded at N360 to the dollar, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro closed at N470 and N408, respectively. Trading at the investors segment saw the Naira closing at N360.77 as market turnover stood at 91.66 million dollars

A small twist has been recorded from the recent Nembe pipeline incident.  The Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) denies having any record of the pipeline explosion in Nembe, Bayelsa. Source :  news.stanford.edu The Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the corporation disclosed, Ndu Ughamadu, this on Saturday. No fewer than 50 people were reported to be missing after a leaking oil pipeline exploded and caused stampede in Nembe Kingdom in Bayelsa, according to the spokesperson of the community’s council of chiefs,  Nengi James-Eriworii . He said the blast which happened in the early hours of Friday caused massive oil spillage in the community. But the NNPC said that the Nembe trunk line was operated by the Aiteo Group. ” It is not our pipeline, it is Aiteo that was mentioned, which ordinarily they are supposed to be on joint venture with NNPC. “I have cross-checked with our downstream unit that manages our pipeline and the...

Aiteo Exploration Limited, that operators of the 97 kilometre Nembe Creek Trunk Line (NCTL), has confirmed there is no loss of life in Friday’s explosion on the crude export pipeline. Source :  ng-construction.com Aiteo officials said that the fire from the explosion, which burned till Saturday, had been put out without loss of life. The NCTL situation, with a capacity of conveying 150,000 barrels of crude daily to the Bonny oil export terminal, will adversely affect crude export, having been put out of use. Public Relations Manager of Aiteo, Ndiana-Abasi Mathew, confirmed the incident  on Saturday. “There is no official statement at the moment but I can gladly inform you that the fire has been contained and no lives were lost,” Mathew said. The oil export line was shut for emergency repairs following a leak when the incident occurred and discharged residual crude and gas trapped in the pipeline. Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), in 2015, divested...