Author: damazah@gmail.com

Sunbeth Global Concepts Limited has received investment grade national scale credit ratings from two SEC-regulated African credit rating agencies, Agusto & Co. and Intelligence Africa, reinforcing confidence in the company’s financial strength, operational performance and long-term growth strategy.Agusto & Co., Nigeria’s foremost indigenous credit rating agency, regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, assigned Sunbeth an A2 Short-term and Bbb long-term rating. In a separate first-time assessment dated 9 July 2026, Intelligence Africa assigned Sunbeth a BBB+.NG national scale long-term issuer credit rating and an A2 Short-term rating; with a Stable Outlook. According to the agency, the rating reflects Sunbeth’s…

Vanessa Obioha For over two decades, Akinmade Akinrinmade has worked across various industries where decisions have real consequences. From government and healthcare to telecommunications, higher education and startups, he has helped organisations rethink how they solve problems, design products and embrace technology. His career has taken him from Nigeria to Canada, where he has led digital transformation projects for organisations across North America while maintaining a growing interest in Africa’s technology ecosystem. Along the way, one belief has remained constant: technology is only as useful as the problem it is designed to solve. At a time when African startups are…

Bello Abdullahi, the elder brother of abducted chairman of Bungudu Local Government in Zamfara State, Nura Abdullahi, has died from gunshot wounds sustained during a bandit attack. ​On 25 July, bandits raided the chairman’s residence in Bungudu town, abducting him along with two other residents. ​The deceased, a former treasurer in the State Ministry of Finance, was among the residents who rushed to the chairman’s house to assist during the attack. He sustained critical gunshot injuries during the raid. ​Jamilu Bungudu, a media aide to Abdulmalik Zubairu, the federal lawmaker representing the Bungudu/Maru Constituency, confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES that Mr…

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja  Despite meeting its Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Nigeria fell significantly below its budget crude oil production target in the first half of 2026, leaving the country with an estimated output deficit of 38.4 million barrels and a potential gross revenue gap of about $2.49 billion. A THISDAY analysis of data released by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) during the period indicated that total liquids production, comprising crude oil and condensates, averaged 1.626 million barrels per day (bpd) between January and June, compared with the budget benchmark of 1.84 million bpd. The figures…

On a sunny July day in Riga, Latvia, a Nato convoy drives down a street lined with kebab shops and a pharmacy. At a downtown intersection, there is the sound of an explosion and the lead tank bursts into flame.These are real streets in Riga – Lāčplēša iela and the downtown corridor of Tērbatas iela. The kebab shops and the pharmacy are on them. The pedestrians who flee after the tank explodes and huddle at a distance are modelled after the population of Riga: some old, some young, some friendly to Nato, others less so.But the entire thing is a…

When Professor Joash Amupitan arrived in Osun State last week, it was not for a routine inspection. Rather, he came carrying a question that has followed him since he was sworn in as INEC Chairman: can a man appointed by a sitting president remain genuinely neutral when that president’s party is on the ballot? Amupitan was appointed by President Bola Tinubu, a fact his critics have never allowed him to forget. For them, the appointment itself is the first line of a story that ends in compromised elections. He has spent his tenure pushing back against that narrative, and the…

The privately owned reserve is working closely with conservationists in upland areas, such as the Yorkshire Dales, where the curlew population is healthier.Eggs were removed from nests in vulnerable locations, such as near footpaths or in fields that would be cut for grass before the chicks were ready.They were then transported to Elmley for hatching.Curlews like to return to their place of birth to nest and so conservationists hope the birds will choose the Sheppey reserve as the place to raise their young in the wild.This is year four of the project and so far more than 100 birds have…

The PIL had been the third tier of NIFL since 2016 and is now set to be replaced by the Conference League, which will be run by NAFL.As a result, NIFL will only control the top two leagues of Northern Irish football and has now expanded the Championship from 12 to 16 teams.The top four teams from last season’s PIL – Moy­ola Park, Stra­bane Ath­letic, Rath­fri­land and Newry City – were promoted to the Championship.But the 10 teams who finished between fifth and bottom of last year’s PIL- Dollingstown, Ballymacash Rangers, Portstewart, Oxford Sunnyside, Dergview, Ballyclare Comrades, Knockbreda, Coagh United,…

Spotify‘s Premium customers grew to 300 million in the second quarter of 2026, after the music streamer gained 7 million paying subscribers, exceeding its previous guidance. Total monthly active users, including those on the free, ad-supported tier, stood at 777 million as of the end of Q2. That slightly undershot previous guidance of 778 million, which the company attributed to ongoing “product optimizations” in the quarter. For Q2, the company reported revenue of €4.78 billion, up 14% and in line with its forecast. Operating income came in at €655 million and gross margin hit an all-time high of 33.4% (above…

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt Nigerian-born technology leader, Obiageli Obii Okafor, has made history by becoming the first African woman to win the prestigious Women in Telecoms Champion award at the Comms Council UK Awards 2026, a landmark recognition for outstanding contributions to the United Kingdom’s telecommunications industry. The award celebrates women driving innovation, leadership, and lasting impact across the UK’s telecoms sector, and marks another milestone in Okafor’s remarkable journey from Nigeria to the global technology stage. A Senior Product Manager at 8×8, Okafor also founded PMHelp, a non-profit organisation that has empowered more than 52,000 professionals across over 70…