Chido Obi-Martin on Saturday finally confirmed his move from Arsenal to Manchester United.


The 16-year-old took to his social media to post images of him signing a contract.

He also posted a picture of him wearing a Red Devils shirt from when he was much younger to confirm his long-term affinity with his new club.


Obi-Martin opted to leave Arsenal in the summer after scoring 28 goals in the U-18 Premier League.

Although Gunners boss, Mikel Arteta, fought hard to keep the striker, he ultimately decided to join United.

Obi-Martin said: “Very happy to sign with this amazing club. Time to focus and achieve all my dreams. Thanks to everyone who has helped me get this far.”

NOVA Bank has reaffirmed its commitment to the well-being and interests of high-net-worth individuals by sponsoring the 27th Nigeria Cup Golf Tournament.

Hosted at the prestigious Ikoyi Golf Club 1938, the annual tournament for 2024 took place from, September 21st, to Saturday, September 28th, 2024.

The Nigeria Cup Golf Tournament, organized by the Ikoyi Golf Community Nigeria Association (IGCNA), showcased the remarkable talent of golfers and the sport’s capacity to foster connections across board.

This year, Mr, Tayo Babalakin emerged as the Nigeria Cup 2024 Champion, clinching the title with a stunning 85 gross with Handicap (HCP)19 =66 net. This victory etched Tayo Babalakin’s name in the history books as the 27th champion of this celebrated tournament.

As a former merchant bank serving high-net-worth clients, NOVA Bank has long valued golf as a recreation sport for business executives to network and relieve stress. The Bank’s transition to a national commercial bank has not diminished this commitment but has instead deepened its relationship with the golfing community, as reflected in its ongoing partnership with the Nigeria Cup.

L-R: Esther Adino, Group Head, Retail and Digital Banking, NOVA Bank; Chinwe Iloghalu, Executive Director, Institutional and Commercial Banking; Tayo Babalakin, The Nigeria Cup 2024 Champion; Ede Osemwengie, Chairman, Nova MBL Asset Management, and Dr. David Isiavwe, Executive Director, Operations and IT, at the event.

Mr. Phillips Oduoza, Chairman of NOVA Bank and an avid golfer, highlighted the importance of the partnership in a speech presented by Mrs. Esther Adino, on his behalf.

“As a long-term partner of the Nigeria Cup and the Ikoyi Club Golf Section, this annual event is always a delight for us at NOVA. It provides a unique opportunity to engage with our esteemed customers and the broader community while celebrating the beautiful game of golf. For over four years, NOVA Bank has been a proud supporter of this tournament, a sponsorship that aligns with our dedication to fostering wealth creation and enhancing the well-being of our customers. Golf plays an essential role in that mission, allowing us to connect with our HNI clients in a meaningful and engaging environment. We consider ourselves long-term sponsors of this tournament, and we are pleased to deepen our partnership with Ikoyi Golf Club. We look forward to exploring new opportunities for collaboration to elevate this esteemed club further.”

Reiterating NOVA’s involvement, Mrs. Chinwe Iloghalu, Executive Director of Institutional and Commercial Banking at NOVA Bank, added, “Our support of the Nigeria Cup reflects our commitment to offering our high-net-worth clients and C-suite executives an atmosphere of relaxation, well-being, and healthy competition.

As a commercial bank, we continue to develop tailored products for SMEs and retail clients, including our groundbreaking NOVA Phygital mobile banking, which redefines personal banking experiences.

The NOVA Phygital platform is designed to provide seamless financial solutions, ensuring our clients can manage their wealth effortlessly while enjoying the lifestyle they deserve. We remain dedicated not only to supporting our corporate customers’ businesses but also to helping them stay fit, relaxed, and focused. Golf is the perfect avenue to achieve this balance.”

Mr. George Etomi, Chairman of the 2024 Nigeria Cup Organizing Committee, commended NOVA Bank for their unwavering support. “NOVA Bank’s consistent sponsorship of the Nigeria Cup truly embodies the spirit of this club—harmony through recreation. Their partnership exemplifies the harmony and shared vision that has made them an integral part of our journey. We are thankful for NOVA’s dedication and look forward to more opportunities to create lasting impacts together.”

As NOVA Bank continues its growth trajectory, expanding its exceptional services to retail and SME markets, it remains committed to creating meaningful experiences for its high-net-worth clientele, while embracing a broader audience through innovation and customer-centered solutions. The partnership with the Nigeria Cup Golf Tournament reflects the values that define NOVA Bank—Uniqueness, Leadership, Teamwork, and Passion

Africa’s Global Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has released its audited financial results for the half year ended June 30, 2024, showing impressive performance across some key financial indicators.


The audited financials released to the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) on Monday, showed that the bank recorded double-digit growth in its gross earnings and operating incomes.



At the end of the first two quarters of the year, and despite the tough global macroeconomic climate in Nigeria as well as the geo-political environment challenges across major countries in Africa where the bank has subsidiaries, UBA recorded a 39.6 per cent increase in its gross earnings, which rose from N981.77 billion in 2023 to N1.371 trillion in June 2024.



Interest income also increased by 134.3 per cent to N1.003 trillion up from N428.2 billion recorded in June last year, while total assets went up by 37.2 per cent from N20.6 trillion in December 2023 to close at N28.3 trillion. Customer deposits, also leapt by 33.7 per cent in the same period to close at N23.2 trillion up from N17.3 trillion recorded at the end of 2023.



The results filed showed that profit before tax(PBT) which stood at N403 billion in June 2023, closed the half year at N402 billion, while profit after tax(PAT)dropped slightly from N378 billion to N316 billion in the year under consideration. However, the banks’ shareholders funds increased by 47 per cent from N2.03 trillion in December 2023, to N2.99 trillion.



In line with the bank’s culture of paying both interim and final cash dividend, the Board of Directors of UBA Plc has declared an interim dividend of N2.00 per share for every ordinary share of N0.50 each held by its shareholders, representing 300% increase compared to the N0.50 declared in the similar period of 2023.



UBA’s Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Oliver Alawuba, while commenting on the results underscored the bank’s commitment to consistently deliver value to its shareholders. He said, “UBA Group has continued to deliver strong double-digit growth in high quality and sustainable banking revenue streams, driven by a focused growth in balance sheet, transaction and digital banking businesses across geographies in line with our strategic goals.”



Continuing, the GMD said, “The Group’s performance has been buoyed by consistent strong growth in all core and sustainable banking income lines. Our intermediation business showed strong growth with net interest income expanding by 143% YoY to N675billion”.



On the plans for the rest of the year, Alawuba said, “As the Group intensifies its customer acquisition drive, we are making significant investments in technology, data analytics, product research and innovation to enhance our value proposition and customer experience.”



The Executive Director Finance & Risk, Ugo Nwaghodoh, expressed delight at the milestone achieved by the bank in driving operational efficiency, as reflected in cost-to-income ratio normalizing around the 50% range.



“Our cost optimization provides scope for further moderation, as we explore options towards a drastic reduction of our foreign currency denominated cost components, robotizing and automation of processes and application of artificial intelligence to our operations,” he stated.



He disclosed that the Group will focus on effectively managing the heightened credit, operational, cyber and information security risks, as it continues to conduct its business within the tenets of our moderate risk appetite in alignment with our sustainability goals.



“The Group has made significant progress and is on course to shore up its share capital to support its medium to long term aspirations, whilst aligning with the recent regulatory requirement in Nigeria and other jurisdictions. that we operate in,” Nwaghodoh further explained.



United Bank for Africa Plc is a leading Pan-African financial institution, offering banking services to more than thirty-five million customers, across 1,000 business offices and customer touch points in 20 African countries. With presence in New York, London, Paris and Dubai, UBA is connecting people and businesses across Africa through retail, commercial and corporate banking, innovative cross-border payments and remittances, trade finance and ancillary banking services