Elon Musk, chief executive officer (CEO) of Tesla, an electric vehicle company, has reclaimed the world’s richest person title.

According to the latest Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the South African-born American billionaire overtook Jeff Bezos, Amazon CEO, to cross a threshold of over $400 billion — the first time ever.

The net worth of Musk rose to $447 billion on Thursday — over $190 billion more than Bezos, who has held the top spot since early this year, according to the Bloomberg index.

On December 11, Tesla shares closed at a record high, hitting $424.77.

Also, xAI, Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, more than doubled in value in November amid a new funding round, surging to $50 billion from a few months ago, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Musk, also the owner of X, the microblogging platform previously known as Twitter, is also Tesla’s largest individual shareholder.

The billionaire was an avid supporter of Trump during the campaigns leading up to the November 5 presidential election.

On November 13, Trump appointed Musk to lead a soon-to-be-established department of government efficiency (DOGE).

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reassured the public that both the old and redesigned naira notes will continue to serve as legal tender without any deadline.

In a statement on Friday, Hakama Sidi Ali, CBN’s acting director of corporate communications, addressed the ongoing misinformation concerning the validity of the old N1000, N500, and N200 banknotes currently in circulation.

Ali said the supreme court ruling of November 29, 2023, permits the concurrent use of all versions of the affected denominations indefinitely, dismissing any claims suggesting an expiration date.

“In line with the Bank’s previous clarifications and to offer further assurance, the CBN wishes to reiterate that the subsisting Supreme Court ruling granted on November 29, 2023, permits the concurrent circulation of all versions of the #1000, #500, and #200 denominations of the Naira indefinitely,” CBN said.

“For the avoidance of doubt, all versions of the naira, including the old and new designs of N1000, N500, and N200 denominations, as well as the commemorative and previous designs of the N100 denomination, remain valid and continue to be legal tender without any deadline.

“We, therefore, advise the public to disregard any claims that the old series of the aforementioned banknotes will cease to be legal tender on December 31, 2024.”

She urged Nigerians to continue accepting all naira banknotes for daily transactions and to handle them with care to ensure their longevity.

Ali also advised the public to adopt alternative payment channels such as electronic banking channels to reduce the reliance on physical cash.

Seplat Energy says it has completed the acquisition of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU) from ExxonMobil.

In a statement on Thursday, Seplat Energy described the transaction as transformative.

Seplat said it will more than double production and position the company to foster growth and profitability, whilst contributing significantly to Nigeria’s future prosperity.

“MPNU adds substantial reserves and production to Seplat Energy; 409 MMboe 2P reserves and 670 MMboe 2P + 2C reserves and resources as at 30 June 2024 and 6M 2024 average daily production of 71.4 kboepd,” Seplat said.

“As operator, Seplat’s immediate tasks are to ensure smooth transition of MPNU staff into Seplat, and on the operations, to swiftly target numerous opportunities that exist to organically grow production and further enhance the value of the assets for all stakeholders.”

Seplat said detailed guidance for the enlarged group in 2025 would be provided with Seplat’s full-year 2024 results, expected to be filed in February 2025.

‘READMISSION OF SHARES TO TRADING’

As regards the completion of the acquisition of MPNU, Seplat said the listing of its existing ordinary shares on the official list of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) of the United Kingdom is expected to be cancelled with effect from the close of trading later today.

Afterwards, Seplat said the shares would be readmitted to the equity shares (international commercial companies secondary listing) segment of the official list of the FCA and to trading on the main market for listed securities of the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

Seplat said the readmission is expected to occur at 8:00am on December 13.

“No new shares will be issued in connection with Re-admission,” the company said.

“The Company’s ordinary shares will continue to trade under the name Seplat Energy plc with the ticker symbol “SEPL” and ISIN NGSEPLAT0008.”

Commenting on the transaction, Udoma Udoma, chairman of Seplat Energy, commended President Bola Tinubu for supporting the transaction, appreciating the support and diligence of the various ministries and regulators for all the efforts to reach a successful conclusion.

“We are delighted to welcome the MPNU employees to Seplat Energy. We are excited to begin our journey in a new region of the country, and we look forward to replicating the positive impacts we have achieved within our communities in our current areas of operations,” he said.

“Seplat’s mission is to deliver value to all our stakeholders, and we treasure the good relationships we have developed with the Government, regulators, communities and our staff.”