President Tinubu says his administration will support businesses in the financial technology sector which provide payment infrastructure services for Nigerians and Africans.

The president said this when he received the leadership of Flutterwave and Alami Capital in Abuja on Saturday, Mr Bayo Onanuga, his spokesman, said in a statement.

Flutterwave, a Fintech company founded by young Nigerians and headquartered in Lagos, operates in the U.

S., Canada, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, South Africa, and 29 other African countries.

Mr Olugbenga Agboola, the Chief Executive Officer ; Mr Adeleke Adekoya, a co-founder as well as Oluwabankole Falade and Mitesh Popat represented Flutterwave at the meeting.

Ms Oluseun Olufemi-White, on the other hand represented Alami Capital as its Chief Executive Officer.

Mr Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, led the delegation to meet the president.

Dr Armstrong Takang, the Managing Director of Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) and Dr Inuwa Abdullahi, the Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency also attended the meeting.

Tinubu said Nigeria was genuinely open to business, and as president, he was determined to remove all obstacles to allow companies to thrive.

He commended Flutterwave’s commitment to building capacity in the digital economy sector, especially as was being made possible by energetic, young Nigerians.

Tinubu said he was honoured to be the president of a country with such a youthful and resourceful population.

He said the leadership Flutterwave was providing in the digital world was what Nigeria needed to grow its economy and make life easier for most of its population.

Edun,on his part, said Flutterwave had made significant progress since its establishment 10 years ago.

He said the company had created jobs and helped diversify the economy by providing innovative digital platforms and payment services in Nigeria and across Africa.

Agboola said the company had made it easy for Nigerians to pay for some global services with Naira and provided payment platforms for Nigerians in the Diaspora who were willing to send money to families and relatives in the country.

He said Flutterwave, valued at over $3 billion, was a Nigerian export and brand employing over 1,000 Nigerians.

The company, he said, was planning to be listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange and solicited the president’s support.

Dr Armstrong Takang, the Managing Director MOFI, said as Africa’s biggest economy, Nigeria must demonstrate its economic prowess by strategically positioning products and services by Nigerian companies such as Flutterwave, in the homes of all Africans.

According to him, Flutterwave spends millions of dollars monthly on hosting services

He said that the money, however, goes to other countries. (NAN)

Real Madrid easily beat Manchester City 3-1 with a Kylian Mbappe hat-trick on Wednesday in their Champions League playoff second leg.

The win at the Santiago Bernabeu earned Madrid a 6-3 aggregate victory and a place in the last 16.The 2024 champions will face either Bayer Leverkusen or city rivals Atletico Madrid, depending on Friday’s draw, as they seek a record-extending 16th title. It was the first time in City coach Pep Guardiola’s illustrious career that one of his teams in the Champions League had failed to reach the round of 16. “It was a perfect night,” Mbappe said.“It’s only logical that Real Madrid advance to the last 16 of the Champions League. We are very strong at home and it’s great to give joy to our fans.”After a breathtaking first leg packed with goals and individual brilliance from both sides at the Etihad Stadium, the return game was thoroughly one-sided.Real did not have to work too hard to subdue their sorry rivals who failed to manage a shot on target in the first half, looking a shadow of Guardiola’s dominant force from past years.Already 3-2 down from the first game, City’s task became even harder an hour before kick-off when they announced a starting 11 without leading striker Erling Haaland, who suffered a knee injury at the weekend.Real took full control of proceedings from the off and never looked under threat with the hapless visitors lucky not to lose by a larger margin.Mbappe opened the scoring with Real’s first attack in the fourth minute, taking advantage of another massive blunder by City’s defence when captain Ruben Dias missed his header and left the French forward free to lob over the onrushing Ederson.Things went from bad to worse for the English team after defender John Stones went down two minutes later with an injury, forcing Guardiola to bring Nathan Ake off the bench and burn a substitution early.Mbappe, Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo and Jude Bellingham toyed with City’s complacent defence, keeping the ball on the deck and creating several chances until Mbappe scored again in the 33rd minute with a close-range strike after a humiliating cutback that left defender Josko Gvardiol on the floor.Real came out just as strong after the break and Mbappe scored his third in the 61st minute with a left-footed strike from the edge of the box just inside Ederson’s right post.The hosts kept piling on the pressure and wasting chances, with Ederson making fine saves to deny Mbappe and Rodrygo, but towards the end they took their foot off the gas with a easy win in the bag.City did score a compensation goal at the death, Nico Gonzalez converting a rebound after Omar Marmoush’s free kick bounced off the crossbar, but it did little to tarnish a fantastic night for the Spaniards. (Reuters/NAN)

The Benue House of Assembly has suspended 13 members of the house from legislative duties due to dishonourable acts.

The suspension followed a motion moved by the Majority Leader, Mr Saater Tiseer, during plenary on Wednesday in Makurdi.

The majority leader stated that the assembly, like any other legislature, was a hallowed assembly of honourable personalities.

He said that 31 members of the house on Tuesday received a complaint from the office of the attorney-general of the state.

Tisseer said the complaint detailed allegations of gross misconduct, abuse of office, bribery and corruption and other sundry allegations against Justice Maurice Ikpambese, the Chief Judge (CJ) of the state.

He informed the house that after exhaustive deliberations, the house went into division.

“Thereafter, 23 out of the 31 members present voted in support of the recommendation to remove
Ikpambese as the Chief Judge of the state, while the next-in-line judicial officer should be sworn in as the acting Chief Judge of the state,” he said.

He said that after the house adopted resolutions on the matter, the 13 members, some of whom voted in support of the recommendations dissociated themselves from the legislative process.

According to him, the action of the 13 members contravened the Standing Order 9, Rule 58 (6) of the house.

The rule, he said, provided that it shall be out of order to attempt to reconsider any specific question upon which the house had concluded during the current session except upon a substantive motion for rescission.

He said that the actions of the members were not only dishonourable but also an afterthought and a deceptive posture capable of causing acrimony and casting aspersions on the house.

He listed the names of the suspended members to include Mr Douglas Akya (APC/Makurdi South), Mr Jonanthan Agbidye (APC/Katsina-Ala East),
Mrs Beckie Orpin (APC/Gboko East), Mr Simon Gabo (APC/Mata), and Mr William Ortyom (PDP/Agasha).

Others are Mr Emmanuel Onah (PDP/Oju I), Mr Elias Audu (APC/Gwer East), Mr Anyor Matu (APC/Kwande East), Mr Manger Manger (APC/Tarka), Mr Solomon Gyila (APC/Gwer West), Mr Samuel Agada (APC/Ogbadibo), Mr Abraham Jabi (APC/Buruku) and Mr Ezra Nyiyongo (APC/Ukum).

The seconder of the motion, Mr Peter Ipusu (APC/Katsina-Ala West), said that what their colleagues did was outright mischief because they attended and participated actively in the debate.

Ipusu added that they voted in favour of the recommendations that the CJ be removed and want to deny their active participation in the matter.

He suggested that the suspended members should refund the money given to them for a foreign trip by the Ministry of Finance, as they would not be travelling with them.

Meanwhile, Mr Alfred Berger (APC/Makurdi North) said that their colleagues have disparaged the Speaker, Mr Hyacinth Dajoh, and the house.

He said that before their suspension could be lifted, they should publicly declare that they participated in the legislative process.

Also, Mr Thomas Dugeri (APC/Kwande West), pleaded that the suspension be reduced to one month. (NAN)