Business
FG Boosts Skit Making Business With Digital Hub In Benin City
The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), has partnered with the Edo State Government, through Edo State Broadcasting Service (EBS), to create a digital hub to enhance broadcasting services, content development, skit making.
The Director-General of the NBC, Charles Ebuebu, made the revelation during a courtesy call on Governor Monday Okpebholo at the Government House, Benin City, on Wednesday.
On his part, Gov Okpebholo expressed delight at the NBC’s choice of partnering with the Edo State Government, he added that his administration would create an enabling environment to make a success of the partnership.
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He opined that the NBC decided to partner with his administration and use EBS as a platform after recognizing the very many achievements recorded in just a few months.
Gov Okpebholo said, “I want to welcome you to Edo State, and you have started well by choosing to partner with us in the state. Edo is a home of history and culture. We have everything here. Coming to partner with us shows you recognize what we are doing in Edo State.”
The NBC boss, Ebuebu, in his earlier remarks, described the visit as rewarding, because the discussions had touched on certain initiatives within the mandate of the Commission, including digital switch over.
“We have shared some of the ideas, and we commend you, Your Excellency, on your remarkable achievements in a few months in office. We are ready to partner the administration on some of the objectives to enable us bring up the standard of broadcasting in Edo State and empower the youths, using EBS as a platform.
“NBC will collaborate with your administration to develop the youths and harness their talents, using EBS as a viable platform. We have youths with so much content, but no platform to put the contents. We will partner with EBS to create that platform that the youths will explore to break even. The partnership will equally help EBS to grow.
“The visit is very promising, and NBC chose to partner with Edo State, which is the first amongst other states. We are partnering with his administration to see what we can do with the media on how to empower the youths to produce more contents and be able to give a platform where they can be visible in Nigeria. Also, all over the world and be able to monetize their contents.
“Our visit to the Governor is very rewarding. We have been able to touch on certain initiatives which we have the mandate to deploy all over the country, and that is a digital switch over. That is, we are digitalizing signals, clearer pictures, more content,” he stated.
The Managing Director of the EBS, Sulaiman Aledeh, commended the Gov Okpebholo-led administration for the developmental strides the EBS has received in the last few months of the current administration.
He noted that in less than 100 days in office, the Gov Okpebholo administration has been able to revive the EBS station in Ihievbe, Edo North, which has been down for over a decade.
On the partnership, Aledeh said, “I never saw this day coming where a regulator will come to partner with us. This has been made possible because of the road map given to us by his Excellency, Governor Monday Okpebholo.
“In less than 100 days in office, our office at Ihievbe has been activated by Governor Okpebholo, a station that has been down for over a decade. Our key focus with that station is to bring back Edo language and pigin to spice up our broadcasting.”
He noted that the partnership will yield better results, as Edo State has a lot of content creators and skit makers, among others.
Nokia has reported a net loss of €68 million for the first quarter of 2025, a sharp decline from the €438 million profit recorded during the same period last year.
The Finnish telecoms equipment maker attributed the downturn to global trade disruptions and recently imposed tariffs by the United States.
The company’s net sales dropped slightly to €4.4 billion, down by one percent year-on-year.
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Tariff-related challenges were highlighted by Nokia’s President and CEO, Justin Hotard, who acknowledged the broader economic pressures affecting the industry.
“We are not immune to the rapidly evolving global trade landscape,” Hotard stated. “However, based on early customer feedback, I believe our markets should prove to be relatively resilient.”
He also noted the potential short-term financial impact, saying, “Based on what we see today, we currently expect a EUR 20 to 30 million impact on our comparable operating profit in the second quarter from the current tariffs.”
Earlier this month, U.S. President Donald Trump introduced a 10 percent tariff on global imports, while pausing plans for steeper duties, including a proposed 20 percent levy on products from the European Union.
Despite the quarterly setback, Nokia expressed confidence in its growth prospects.
The company is looking to its Network Infrastructure, Cloud and Network Services, and Mobile Networks divisions to drive sales in the year ahead.
In a sign of continued momentum in the mobile segment, Nokia also announced on Thursday that it had extended its contract with T-Mobile US.
The company said it is continuing “to see positive signs of stabilization” in Mobile Networks.
The pull of market forces which moved the hands of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) to reduce the price of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) to N880 per litre in Lagos and N935 in Abuja appears to be a source of torture to independent markets.
Biztellers reports that the latest price review on Easter Monday saw NNPC retail outlets in Lagos drop from N925 to N880, while those in Abuja adjusted from N950 to N935.
The NNPC Ltd’s price reduction came barely a week after the Dangote Refinery lowered its ex-depot price from N865 to N835 per litre.
ALSO READ: BREAKING: Again, Dangote Cuts Petrol Price To N835 per Litre
In addition, the $20bn refinery also directed its partners like MRS, Heyden, and Ardova to sell a litre of petrol at the rate of N890 instead of N920 in Lagos, N900 in the South West, N910 in the South-South, and N920 in the North East.
Consumers can smile because with the reaction, the NNPC Ltd’s new price in Lagos is N10 lower than what the Dangote Refinery is selling at, which might lead to another reaction, as the price war between the two companies.
Though some NNPC Ltd’s retail outlets were observed selling at the old rate in Lagos, it was gathered that they were given the liberty to exhaust old stock before adjusting to the new prices.
Market sources are of the view that the current price war was ignited by the Federal Government’s implementation of the Naira-for-crude policy.
Gold soared to a record high of $3,500 an ounce on Tuesday, as mounting fears over a potential U.S. recession and escalating tensions between President Donald Trump and the Federal Reserve drove investors toward the traditional safe-haven asset.
The precious metal briefly touched an all-time high of $3,500.10 an ounce before retreating slightly to trade at $3,467.87.
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The rally marks the latest in a string of record-breaking gains for gold, fueled by a weakening U.S. dollar, sharp declines across global stock markets, and growing concerns over the health of the world economy.
Market sentiment took another hit this week after President Trump ramped up his trade war with China, slapping fresh tariffs on the world’s second-largest economy and intensifying fears of prolonged economic disruption.
Gold has surged more than 30 percent since the start of the year as investors seek refuge from mounting market volatility.
“The rally reflects ongoing recession fears in the U.S. economy and heightened political tensions, especially as President Donald Trump continues to attack Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell,” said Rania Gule, senior market analyst at trading group XS.com.
Concerns about the Fed’s independence were further stoked Monday, when Trump publicly lashed out at Powell on social media, branding him a “major loser” for not cutting interest rates — a move the president has repeatedly demanded.
The sharp criticism follows Trump’s recent suggestion that he might attempt to remove Powell from his post.
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