business
Rivers governor orders closure of Creek road, Bonny-Bille Jetty
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has reaffirmed the closure of Creek road in Port Harcourt to vehicular and human traffic beginning from midnight (Monday) to January 9, 2021. Governor Wike has also barred boat operators from using the Bonny -Bille Jetty during the same period. He stated this during inspection of the multi-million naira ultra modern Bonny-Bille jetty on yesterday. Governor Wike bemoaned the conversion of the dualised Creek road to market by traders and the filthiness of the Bonny-Bille jetty that is due for commissioning this Saturday. The governor while addressing residents of the Bonny-Bille waterfront, explained that the State government would from Monday midnight, close Creek road and temporarily shutdown the jetty for a thorough sanitation of the area. Governor Wike...
Wham’s ‘Last Christmas’ Completes 36-Year Journey to U.K. Chart Summit
“Last Christmas,” which until now had never gone better than No. 2, chalked up 9.2 million streams over latest frame. And it did so on the fourth anniversary of George Michael’s death. “I am delighted, somewhat amazed & profoundly pleased that Wham!’s iconic Christmas classic Last Christmas has finally achieved the accolade of becoming a No 1,” wrote Wham founding member Andrew Ridgeley on social media. “It’s a fitting tribute 2 George’s songwriting genius and 1 of which he would’ve been immensely proud & utterly thrilled.” Now, “Last Christmas” can shake off the unwanted title as the U.K.’s best-selling single to never reach No. 1, with 1.9 million combined sales since its release. That record is now passed onto Maroon 5’s “Moves Like Jagger” featuring Christina Aguilera, which ha...
Coronavirus: FCT threatens to shut markets, malls
The FCT Administration has told shop owners to choose between complying with COVID-19 guidelines or having their business premises shut as part of measures to contain the pandemic. Head, Media and Public Enlightenment of the FCT Ministerial Enforcement Task team on COVID-19 Regulations, Ikharo Attah, issued the warning while monitoring the level of compliance in some shopping malls and business premises across the city. He said the administration will “not hesitate to shut down shopping malls, Maitama farmers’ market and business premises in the city that fail to comply with the COVID-19 protocols and guidelines. “From what we observed, there is high compliance by costumers and visitors to these malls and business premises, sadly, same cannot be said of the workers and operators of shops a...
Report: Jack Ma’s Ant Group considers overhaul due to regulatory pressure
Chinese financial technology giant Ant Group plans reorganisation that would allow it to be regulated more like a bank, Bloomberg reports. Jack Ma’s besieged Ant Group Co. is planning to fold its financial operations into a holding company that could be regulated more like a bank, according to people familiar with the situation, potentially crippling the growth of its most-profitable units. The fintech giant is planning to move any unit that would require a financial license into the holding company, pending regulatory approval, said the people, who asked not be named because the matter is private. The plans are still under discussion and subject to change, the people said. Ant declined to comment. The operations that Ant is looking to fold into the holding company include wealth managemen...
House of Reps member petitions army over ‘unlawful dismissal’ of soldiers from Ebonyi
The member representing Ezza South/Ikwo Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Chinedu Ogah, has petitioned the Nigerian Army over the ‘unjust’ dismissal of soldiers from Ebonyi state . Ogah said that the soldiers were sacked unjustly from the military and that a petition has been submitted against their dismissal , expressing confidence that they would be reinstated very soon. The federal Lawmaker disclosed this while addressing thousands of members of his constituency who paid him Christmas visit at his Amagu country home, Ikwo in Ikwo local government area of Ebonyi state Ogah however, used the occasion to intimate them on his activities for the one year he has been in office as their representative in the National Assembly, saying that he had submitted petition agai...
Kebbi governor empowers 205 women vegetable sellers with N6.15 million
The Kebbi Governor, Alhaji Atiku Bagudu, on Sunday, donated N6.15 million to 205 women vegetables sellers in the state as part of efforts to encourage them to be self-reliant. Newsmen report that each of the 205 women received N30,000 from the donation, in order to boost their vegetable businesses. Gov. Bagudu, who announced the donation at the graduation of the benefitting women in Birnin Kebbi, said that all the women who benefitted from the program had received training in preservation of perishable items. “The comprehensive training of the women traders was conducted by the state chapter of the Kebbi State Vegetables Sellers Association,” he said, lauding the association for the unparalleled gesture that was worthy of emulation by other groups. “The association needs to be commended fo...
Ever-present Boko Haram threat casts shadow in Niger
Seven years after the first Boko Haram attacks in southeastern Niger, people in the city of Diffa, dare not even speak the group’s name. Residents live in a state of siege, frightened and struggling with the economic impact of the Islamist threat. For fear of reprisals, people speak of “insecurity”, of the “problems” or the “current situation”. The fear is well-founded, according to one security source who says Boko Haram sympathisers in the city pass on information to the group. Among the poorest countries in the world, Niger, which is holding presidential elections on Sunday, faces jihadist groups from the Sahel in the west and Boko Haram in the east. “I don’t have 1,000 CFA francs (1.5 euros) in my pocket. I have been unemployed for four years,” says Abdou Maman, 46, who has two wives a...
Strictly Discs in Wisconsin, in a Pandemic: ‘Everybody Realizes We’re at a Critical Point for Retail’
We talked last time about how December is a really important month for you. How has business been the last couple of weeks? It’s been good. Madison has a very strong ‘buy local’ spirit, and we’re really feeling that love this year. In addition, so many customers, either on the phone or in person, are asking how we’re doing with genuine concern. I think everybody realizes that we’re at a critical point for retail and restaurants and local establishments, and everybody is hoping that their favorites will stay. That’s really heartening to hear, especially now with the pandemic, when it’s a lot more convenient and, I guess, safer for people to buy online or on Amazon. We definitely feel that in our business. I hesitate who I say this to, but the ...
LadBaby Leads Mariah Carey In Race to U.K. Christmas No. 1
With the race to the U.K.’s Christmas No. 1 entering the final straight, LadBaby will be hard to beat. Ladbaby, featuring YouTuber Mark Hoyle, his wife Roxanne and their two kids, take a strong lead with “Don’t Stop Me Eatin’,” according to the Official Charts Company, with Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” the closest competition. LadBaby have elite form. The novelty act took out the Christmas No. 1 in 2018 and 2019, with money raised from those singles benefiting food bank charity The Trussell Trust. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and h...
Music Biz Applauds Pandemic Aid Package: ‘These Relief Provisions Will Save Lives and Livelihoods’
“We also welcome the inclusion of consensus-driven intellectual property reforms in the omnibus bill. The Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (CASE) Act and Protect Lawful Streaming Act (PLSA) will strengthen creators’ ability to protect their works against infringement online, and promote a safer, fairer digital environment, which are particularly needed as the arts struggle to survive the pandemic. We look forward to continuing our work to provide greater relief for the American creative community.” Chief among the music and entertainment-focused measures included in the bill is the Save Our Stages Act, which will provide $15 billion in relief funding for “live venues, independent movie theaters and cultural institutions” that have been devastated by coronavirus-related clo...
Paul McCartney’s ‘III’ On Track For U.K. Christmas No. 1
Recorded in isolation earlier this year, McCartney performed every instrument on the new release. The master songwriter is already the most successful albums act in U.K. recorded music history, with 22 No. 1s across his career with the Beatles, Wings, and solo efforts. His most recent solo collection, 2018’s Egypt Station, went to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 but peaked at No. 3 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart. It wouldn’t be the first time he’s worn the Christmas chart crown. Twenty years ago, The Beatles hits collection 1 ruled the 2000 Christmas chart, and the Liverpool legends nabbed six holiday chart leaders in the 1960s. Further down the midweek chart is Eminem’s surprise release Music To Be Murdered By – B Side (Interscope), new at No. 6, while Britpop era band Shed Seven return to ...
Tones And I’s ‘Dance Monkey’ Shimmies to 2 Billion Plays on Spotify
Indeed, just two tracks have accumulated more streams on the platform, Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” (at 2.7 billion) and Post Malone’s “Rockstar” featuring 21 Savage (2.079 billion), both of which were released in 2017. Ever since Tones unleashed “Dance Monkey” in May 2019, she’s been smashing records left and right. The single went on the rule the U.K. chart for 11 weeks, a record for a solo female artist, and led the ARIA Singles Chart for 24 non-consecutive weeks, a streak unchallenged by any other artist. “Dance Monkey” also went top 5 in the U.S., she became the inaugural leader on Billboard’s Alternative Songwriters list and Tones went to No. 1 on the Hot 100 Songwriters’ Chart. All told, it reached No. 1 in more than 30 countries and it’s the most “Shazamed̶...
