The Federal Government asserts it needs approximately N3.2 trillion to subsidize electricity in 2024 should the current tariff hike be reversed. Mr. Sanusi Garba, Chairman of the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), disclosed this during a stakeholders’ meeting convened by the House of Representatives committee on Power in Abuja on Thursday. Garba emphasized that the investments in the sector were insufficient to ensure consistent power supply nationwide. He further warned that without addressing foreign exchange fluctuations and gas payment issues, the sector would face collapse. Prior to the tariff review, Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) were only required to pay 10…
Author: Temitope N.
The average retail price to refill a 5kg cylinder of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) rose by 42.97%, from N4,610.48 in March 2023 to N6,591.62 in March 2024, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Comparatively, the price saw a monthly increase of 7.10% from N6,154.50 in February 2024. A state-level analysis shows that Kano had the highest average price at N7,609.00, followed by Ogun with N7,363.64, and Akwa Ibom at N7,162.50. In contrast, the lowest price was in Adamawa where the price was N5,312.50, with Taraba and Zamfara following at N5,375.00 and N5,550.00, respectively. Regionally, the South-South had…
The United States of America (USA) and Nigeria are set to discuss digital economy, emerging technology, and the development and implementation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in a bid to find common grounds for partnerships. The Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy, Mr Arthur Brown, disclosed this during the closing ceremony of a four-day Workshop on National Artificial Intelligence Strategy in Abuja. Brown said in less than two weeks, high-level U.S. government officials would be in Abuja for a conference under the auspices of the U.S.-Nigeria Bi-National Commission. Programs and policies Providing further details on the upcoming meeting, the…
The Federal Government through the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, has launched Nigeria’s first Multilingual Large Language Model (LLM) as the country pushes forward to take a leadership position in Artificial Intelligence (AI) development in Africa. The Communications Minister, Dr. Bosun Tijani, who announced this on Friday said the launch of the LLM was one of the outcomes of the 4-day AI workshop held in Abuja between Monday and Thursday those weeks. According to him, the AI tool was launched through a partnership between a Nigerian AI company, Awarritech, a global tech company, DataDotOrg, the National Information Technology…
Kenyans living and working abroad sent home a total of $1.2 billion in the first three months of the year. This marks an 18.8% increase from the total amount remitted in the first quarter of 2023. According to the East African, Data from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) showed that Kenyans living abroad remitted in descending order $412.4 million (Ksh53.8 billion) back home in January followed by $407.8 million (Ksh53.2 billion) in March and $385.9 million (KshSh50.3 billion) for February. The total amount remitted by Kenyans living and working abroad in the first quarter of 2024 represents a $190.5 million…
The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee has mandated the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) to reconcile the N45 billion unremitted operating surplus from 2007 to 2021 within 21 days. During a public hearing on government revenue leakages in Abuja, the Chairman of the committee, Hon. Bamidele Salam issued the ultimatum. He emphasized that according to the law, the FRC is mandated to ensure responsible behaviour from all agencies and government corporations listed in its enabling Act concerning remittances and revenue management. He stated, “I don’t know why SEC is more comfortable with the Accountant General…
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says Nigeria’s inflation rate will drop to 26.3% in 2024, noting that the country’s economy will equally grow by 3.3% this year. In its revised Global Economic Outlook for 2024 released on Tuesday, the Bretton Woods institution left the growth prospects for Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) in 2024 unchanged from its previous outlook earlier in the year as the downward forecast in Angola was offset by an upgrade in Nigeria’s growth prospects. The report noted that Nigeria’s economy would grow by 3.0% in 2025, representing a 0.1% decline from the Fund’s projection for January 2024. Furthermore,…
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Yemi Cardoso has addressed concerns over the declining external reserves, maintaining that the decline is not because the apex bank is defending naira. Cardoso, further clarified that the decreasing foreign exchange (FX) reserves were primarily due to debt repayments and other standard financial obligations, rather than efforts to defend the naira. . He also stated that there were no future intentions to defend the currency with the external reserves, as it was counterintuitive since the apex bank was already implementing a willing buyer, willing seller policy. “The shift you see in our reserves…
The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) is set to receive a $700 million loan from Citibank, which is to be funded by the UK Export Finance (UKEF). The fund is meant to revamp the Apapa and Tincan Island ports in Lagos State. The Managing Director of NPA, Mohammed Bello-Koko, announced this development on his official X (formerly Twitter) account on Wednesday, stating that he had signed the Mandate Letter and Term Sheet for the loan. He noted that the funds would be used to rehabilitate the quay wall for landside operations and enhance other infrastructure, deepening the draft to 16.5 meters…
Comptroller of Customs Area Commander at Tincan Island Ports (TCIP), Dera Nnadi, has reported that the command generated N303.9 billion in revenue during the first quarter of 2024. This figure represents a 139% increase compared to the same period in 2023, amounting to a N177 billion rise. The announcement was made in a statement issued on Wednesday in Lagos, which was signed by NN Okwara, Public Relations Officer of TCIP. He noted that the command collected N100.3 billion in revenue in February 2024, marking a 141.8% increase from the N41.5 billion generated in February 2023. For March 2024, revenue collection…
Rising inflation and weak earnings have pushed 10 million Nigerians into poverty in 2023, according to the World Bank in its Macro Poverty Outlook for Nigeria: April 2024. Presenting a grim reality where nominal earnings have drastically lagged behind the surging inflation rates, rendering the economic growth of the country insufficient to improve living standards, the report noted: “Nominal earnings have not kept up with inflation, pushing another 10 million Nigerians into poverty in 2023.” Persistent Poverty Levels According to the World Bank’s statistics, poverty rates in Nigeria have escalated to concerning levels across various economic thresholds. The international poverty…
China has written off an undisclosed amount of Zimbabwe’s interest-free loans and pledged to help the country navigate its way out of its current debt crisis. But Zimbabwean activists warn of a permanent debt trap. According to the East African, Zimbabwe’s debt as of September 2023 stood at $17.7 billion, of which $12.7 billion was external and $5 billion domestic. Most of the country’s foreign debt was purchased from China as the country is currently ineligible to secure loans from multi-lateral creditors such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank after it defaulted on repayments. Since the exit…
A new report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has disclosed the state of child labour across Nigeria. The report indicates that over 24 million Nigerian children are involved in child labour, with 14.3 millions of these children engaged in hazardous work as of 2022. The northwest geopolitical zone bears the brunt of these figures, with the highest number of child labourers (6,407,102) and children in hazardous work (3,266,728). Yet, when it comes to the percentage prevalence of child labour, the southeast region emerges as the most affected, with nearly half of the children involved in child labour at…
The Managing Director of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), Aminu Umar Sadiq, has announced an investment of over $500 million in domestic infrastructure projects, affirming the Authority’s strategic focus on enhancing the country’s infrastructure and economic viability. This announcement was made at the public unveiling of NSIA’s 2023 financial results in Abuja on Thursday. During his presentation, Sadiq highlighted the pivotal role of the NSIA in bolstering the Nigerian economy, noting: “The NSIA’s impact on domestic investments has created real-time jobs and contributed to ease of doing business. Subsequently, by creating a more attractive investment environment, the NSIA is…
The Federal Government has set aside N16.1 billion monthly for the settlement of N1 trillion debts owed by state governments. The money, which is in the form of debt swap, will be paid over eight years to resolve the debts incurred by states from bailout facilities. This initiative represents a structured approach to mitigate states’ financial burdens, with payments corresponding to previous Federal Government withdrawals from the Excess Crude Account (ECA). This was according to the minutes of the January 2024 meeting of the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), which was later presented and adopted during the following month’s meeting at the Main Auditorium of the…
Nigeria is projected to slip to the fourth largest economy in Africa in 2024, behind South Africa, Egypt, and Algeria, according to IMF forecasts for April 2024. Nigeria which has held the title of “Africa’s largest economy” since the GDP rebasing in 2013 is projected to have a total GDP of $253 billion in 2024, primarily due to the devaluation of the Naira. According to IMF forecasts, South Africa will be Africa’s largest economy with a GDP of $373 billion, followed by Egypt with $348 billion, and Algeria with $267 billion. Recall that in 2023, it was projected that South Africa…
The federal government is looking towards a reduced interest rate to attract investments and grow the economy according to the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun. Speaking on the sidelines of the World Bank-IMF spring meeting holding in Washington D.C, United States, the Minister stated that the federal government hopes to increase its revenue base. He noted the revenue sources of the revenue the government was looking at increasing include oil revenues and taxes. Specifically, he mentioned that the government was looking at increasing taxes without raising the tax rate but ensuring effective administration…
The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has debunked reports that its agency is demanding companies to pay for their Tax Identification Number (TIN) in the country. In a circular signed by the management on Friday, the commission said it noticed flood of emails that did not emanate from them targeting directors of newly incorporated companies with requests for payment to acquire tax IDs. Accordingly, CAC said that Tax IDs are free according to the stipulations of Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), adding that companies can electronically generate the ID upon registration. “The attention of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has been…
The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) has established a strategic partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID-NIGERIA) to partner and strategically engage with Nigerian professionals in the US and establish a strategic think-tank which could benefit both the public and private sectors in Nigeria. In addition, USAID will support National Diaspora day and other key events. This was communicated by the Head of Media, Public Relations and Protocols Unit at NIDCOM, Gabriel Odu which was confirmed during a visit by a USAID delegation to the NiDCOM office in Abuja. NiDCOM learns that the focus is on engagements…
The United Nations has received over $600 million in financial pledges out of its $1billion target to boost humanitarian aid to Ethiopia as the East African country battles conflict, droughts, and floods. According to Reuters, the money was raised at a UN-hosted pledging event organized along with the governments of Ethiopia and the United Kingdom, held at the United Nations in Geneva, to raise funds and provide life-saving assistance to 15.5 million people and food for 10.4 million people. “The emergency has been building up through cycles of droughts and floods, and conflict,” the U.N. Humanitarian Office (OCHA) said. “El Nino (weather…