Author: damazah@gmail.com

Kayode Tokede   The market capitalisation of First Holdco Plc, Zenith Bank Plc and 10 others listed banks on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX)  as of August 2026 crossed N28 trillion mark to N28.4 trillion from N16.12 trillion in December 2025.  The N12.3 trillion or 56.8per cent Year till Date (YtD) growth is on the backdrop of  impressive corporate earnings that led to surge investors demand.   The N28.4 trillion banking sector market capitalisation is about 18.03 per cent of the overall N157.74 trillion NGX market capitalisation as of August 31, 2026.   The growth in the NGX Banking Index was driven by stock…

Thanks to their ability to provide a smooth ride and quiet powertrain with ease, electric vehicles are a true shoo-in for the high-end luxury automotive segment. Rolls-Royce has the Spectre, Cadillac’s Celestiq is taking bespoke to a whole new level, and Mercedes has given the EQS the full Maybach treatment. From Volkswagen Auto Group, Bentley is just about to debut its 2027 Torcal, a spacious SUV that shares a platform with the electrified Porsche Cayenne.I recently got a quick ride in a heavily camouflaged preproduction Torcal as a way to experience it before its official debut toward the end of…

Many Nigerians were shocked when news broke out that the Plateau State Governor, Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang, raised the alarm on the activities of a group allegedly operating as Hisbah in parts of Jos North Local Government Area (LGA).  The group was alleged to be conducting activities in the name of Hisbah, and engaging in intimidation, harassment, extortion and imposing unauthorised rules on residents, and introducing rules that were not approved by the government Hisbah refers to a religious and moral enforcement system found in several northern Nigerian states. It is based on the Islamic principle of encouraging what is considered…

I approach national security and intelligence operations with deliberate caution. Revealing successes too early can compromise ongoing missions; failures narrated without context can sound like conspiracy theories. Allegations against individuals working at the sensitive intersection of intelligence, non-kinetic security strategy, and politics can inflict irreversible reputational damage — even when entirely fabricated. That caution explains my initial reluctance to write on the recent viral video purporting to show “high profile bandit kingpins” on a visit to the residence of Senator Shehu Umar Buba of Bauchi South. But the scale of the circulation, and the pattern behind it, now demand public…

Threat of punishment ruins Palace’s big dayKirsty Howat’s 60-second cameo deep into injury time could ruin what was a memorable day for Crystal Palace on their return to the top flight. An impressive 1-0 victory over Everton was celebrated emphatically by Jo Potter and her players but that joy would have been replaced by concern and frustration not long after. On Sunday evening WSL Football revealed that there had been a breach of the rules – the Eagles used four different substitute windows rather than the regulated three – which had not been picked up by either the coaching staff…

Ooh, sequel friend! A new Inbetweeners movie is officially in the works, Netflix has confirmed. The original cast of Simon Bird, James Buckley, Blake Harrison and Joe Thomas will reprise their roles for the feature film, with production starting on Monday.The Inbetweeners 3 will follow on the story of their characters, Will McKenzie, Jay Cartwright, Neil Sutherland and Simon Cooper.They originally starred in three seasons of the popular coming-of-age sitcom, which aired on E4 between 2008 and 2010.It followed their trials and misadventures as suburban teenagers at the fictional Rudge Park Comprehensive as they navigated school life and friendship.The show…

Tyson Fury says Anthony Joshua is ‘weak-minded’ and cannot make up his mind about the date and venue of their fight.Published On 7 Sep 20267 Sep 2026Tyson Fury claims Anthony Joshua is backing out of their much-anticipated all-British heavyweight boxing showdown and has challenged Oleksandr Usyk to a trilogy fight, throwing the planned Fury-Joshua clash into doubt.In an expletive-laden video posted on Instagram on Sunday, Fury, 38, claimed Joshua was pulling out of the fight.Fury and Joshua have been locked in talks over a long-awaited meeting, but the “Gypsy King” is impatient with the lack of confirmation, calling his rival…

For Nigerian tennis, Wimbledon was supposed to be a breakthrough moment. Oluwaseun Peter Ogunsakin, popularly known as The Shark, is ensuring it is only the beginning. Barely two months after making history at Wimbledon, the Nigerian has followed up by qualifying for the US Open Junior Championships main draw, firmly establishing himself on the biggest stages of junior tennis. At Wimbledon, Ogunsakin became the first Nigerian in decades to compete at the tournament and the first Nigerian in more than a decade to feature in a Grand Slam main draw. Having never played on grass before and with less than…

…Africa’s richest man’s fortune rises 27% this year as investors prepare for refinery’s N2.2trn share offering Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, added $1 billion to his fortune on Monday, taking his net worth to $32.5 billion as investors weighed the September 14 opening of the long-awaited initial public offering of his refinery. His wealth had increased by $3.3 million on Friday before rising by a further $1 billion on Monday, according to Forbes’ real-time billionaire tracker. The latest increase lifted Dangote’s wealth by 3.3 percent from $31.5 billion on Friday to $32.5 billion as of 10:30 a.m. Monday, taking his…

Sunday Aborisade writes that the charge by the Chairman/Editor-in-Chief of THISDAY Newspapers and AriseNews Group, Nduka Obaigbena, to political gladiators last Thursday exposes the country’s enduring campaign culture of personality, propaganda and smear, and raises questions about what the contestants, the media and the regulators must henceforth, do differently. As Nigeria inches towards another general election in 2027, the country is once again confronted with an old but increasingly dangerous question: will political parties compete on the strength of their ideas, or will the contest degenerate into another bruising battle of personalities, accusations, propaganda and smear campaigns? That question assumed…