National Wheat Farmers Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria (NWFPMAN), has flagged off the harvest 2021/2022 dry season wheat farming programme sponsored by the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Anchor Borrowers’ Programme. The Federal Government had in 2021 released over N5billion worth of input for about 10,000 wheat farmers in Bauchi and some selected states to boost production. The CBN provided input such as foreign seeds from Mexico, water pump, fertilizer and others for farmers to cultivate a hectare of wheat. While flagging off the harvest in Alkaleri local council of Bauchi yesterday, the National Vice President of the Association, Ahmed…
Author: Temitope N.
A recent news by the UNCTAD has estimated that Africa loses $88.6 billion annually due to Illicit Financial Flow (IFF) with Nigeria contributing 30%. This, according to Mboho Eno, Deputy Director, Accountability, Centre for Journalism Innovations and Development (CJID), is a major concern and needs to be addressed by all stakeholders, especially the media. To curb the menace, the experts highlighted several ways and methods that can be used at a one-day training organised by CJID and Torch Light Group for investigative journalists. Illicit financial flows involve money laundering, bribery by international companies, tax evasion, falsification of business transactions, corruption among…
The Nigerian Government has disclosed that it has plans to attract 1.3 million Chinese tourists annually to Nigeria through the signing of two MoUs. This was disclosed in a statement by the Ministry of Information and Culture after the minister, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, received the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Chui Jian Chun, who was on a courtesy visit to the minister’s office. He stated that the FG seeks the activation of the MoUs to tap into the Chinese tourism markets. He also urged China to facilitate a $500 million loan for the digitization of NTA. The statement said Lai Mohammed called…
The Lagos State Government has mandatory issued a stop-work order on a petrol station being constructed illegally at No.1 Robinson Gbagi/Benson Anoruo Street, Ajao Estate, Isolo. This is part of the ongoing enforcement exercise being carried out by the government to rid the state of illegal and non-conforming structures. This was made known by the Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr. Idris Salako, who said the move to stop further construction on the site was important to forestall a disaster. Salako said, ‘’The facility is being erected without any approval or stage-by-stage inspection by the Lagos State…
The newly sworn-in governor of Anambra State, Charles Soludo, has disclosed the suspension of all revenue collections in the state for a period of one month. Soludo, who was a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), also banned the payment of cash to Anambra State Government in motor parks, roads and any other place across the state. This was made known by Soludo, while making his address after he was sworn in with his Deputy, Dr Onyekachukwu Ibezim, by the Chief Judge of Anambra State, Justice Onochie Anyachebelu, on Thursday, March 17, 2022. The governor during the…
In its bid to encourage and boost digital payments adoption and financial inclusion in the country, the Central Bank of Nigeria has granted a Payment Solution Service Provider (PSSP) license to Cellulant Nigeria Limited. With this development, Banks, online merchants, payment processors, retailers, governments agencies and consumers can now connect to Cellulant’s payment infrastructure to meet their electronic payment needs. This approval makes Cellulant Nigeria, one of the PSSP companies that make up the underlying e-Payment infrastructure in Nigeria. Mr. Bolaji Akinboro, Cellulant Corporation’s Co-founder and the CEO of Cellulant Nigeria believes that the future of Africa’s payment landscape is digital.…
Africa’s global bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, and leading Pan-African Payments Company Cellulant have announced a partnership that will extend payment services for merchants and consumers across 19 key African countries in which UBA operates. These countries include Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Côte d’Ivoire, Zambia, Tanzania, Uganda, Republic of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Guinea, Liberia, Mozambique, Sierra Leone and Senegal. This network represents one of the primary tools in bringing together Africa’s fragmented payments ecosystem, ensuring Cellulant’s Payment Gateway, Tingg, is available to a vast number of merchants and consumers in…
Doubts in Europe have pushed up energy prices, and Nigeria may be forced to deal with high food inflation and inflated prices for diesel and other unsubsidized energy imports for a while. Specifically, Russia is a significant supplier of energy products, thus western sanctions imposed on Russia in response to its onslaught on Ukraine are impacting the availability of supplies. Consequently spreading the adverse effects of the ongoing war to other countries such as Nigeria. From a European perspective, due to low inventory and the relatively high dependence on Russia for energy needs, the sanctions on Russian oil imports (including…
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) says it is putting structures in place in terms of upgrading and deploying the National Production Monitoring System (NPMS) facility towards curbing crude oil theft in Nigeria. Chief Executive, NUPRC, Gbenga Komolafe, spoke recently in Abuja on efforts by the commission to address the menace of crude oil theft. He said the deployment of NPMS, which is an electronic system that is used to monitor oil and gas production in Nigeria, was being carried out in collaboration with other relevant agencies. According to him, this ensures accurate and reliable reporting of crude oil…
The Oak Holdings, a hybrid financial institution group, has launched into the Nigerian financial industry Oak Homes, The Oak Capital, the Oak Digital Bank and The Oak Asset Management to provide services to different clients in the financial services industry. Speaking at the launching ceremony in Lagos over the weekend, Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the group, Olukayode Olusanya, said the company’s multi-asset strategy combines different types of assets, including equities, fixed income securities, private/mutual funds, indexing, money market instruments among others to create a more nimble, broadly diversified portfolio for its proprietary investment objectives. Olusanya explained that…
The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has kept its key oil market projections for 2022 unchanged, but it expects to adjust the forecasts in the coming weeks when there is more clarity on the impact of the conflict in Ukraine. “Given the latest developments, which are still only beginning to unfold, it is clear that uncertainty will dominate in the remaining months of 2022,” OPEC said in its latest Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR). “Uncertainty with regard to the scope and impact of the current geopolitical turmoil, restrictions and restructuring of production and trade flows, uncertainty as to what…
The Federal Government has said it sees massive revenue of about $1 billion from the sale of leather and leather products by 2025. Director-General, Nigerian Institute of Leather Science and Technology (NILEST), Prof. Mohammed Yakubu, disclosed this at the ongoing technology and innovation Expo 2022 on Wednesday, in Abuja. Noting that the leather sub-sector recorded over $800 million revenue for the country in 2009, Yakubu said the continuous export of leather was not in the best interest of the country. He appealed to the authorities concerned to enforce a total ban on export of leather. Yakubu said: “What we want…
The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group will today disclosed the outcome of $58 billion deal offers for 42 critical projects in Africa, including the proposed highway connecting Lagos to Abidjan through Cotonou, Lome and Accra as well as the Nigerian film academy. The deals were curated by AfDB and opened to investors since Tuesday at the ongoing three-day Africa Investment Forum (AIF) Virtual Boardroom sessions. President, African Development Bank Group, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, said the bankable projects would open up Africa to economic prosperity and make the continent great. Adesina described the sessions as a rare opportunity to “make deals”.…
The Federal Government has outlined measures it plans to implement to boost the volume of export in the country. This was made knownby Dr Jumoke Oduwole, the Special Adviser to the President on the Ease of Doing Business/PEBEC secretary, during a media briefing in Abuja. According to her, the government has put in place measures to eliminate multiple cargo examinations, encourage priority and free movement of designated export containers to boost the volume of export. She said, “A reform in the payment and verification process will boost Forex inflow from export if exporters have unfettered access to the foreign exchange…
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has as part of its wide-ranging orders against unlicensed and illegal online money lending banks, has instructed them to stop compounding interest and loan collection practices that are presently undergoing investigations. This is as Nigerians have reacted to its ongoing enforcement exercise across the country against these illegal online banks with their unfair practices with the shutting down of some of these firms. Irukera in the statement warned that violators of this order will be subjected to the full extent of the law including prosecution (without option of administrative regulatory resolution).
The Lagos State Government has disclosed that the Lekki Concession Company’s plan to return to official tolling after the Lekki Shooting incident is irreversible, stating that the company owes local and foreign investors, and needs to fulfil its debt obligations. This was made known by Gbenga Omotosho, Lagos State Commissioner for information, in an interview with Arise TV on Wednesday. He added that most people against the opening of the Lekki Toll Gate are people who do not even live in Nigeria. He stated that there has been no public resistance towards the reopening of the toll gate, citing the encouragements…
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has commenced the deployment of Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) solution with upgrade of emergency communication centres as operation centres increase. This development is in continuation with its vision and strategy to ensure promptness, effectiveness and efficiency in the handling of emergency call services through the Emergency Communication Centres (ECC). This disclosure is contained in a press statement issued by NCC’s Director for Public Affairs, Ikechukwu Adinde, on March 16, 2022, and can be seen on its website. Adinde said that this bolstering of the capacity of emergency response agencies is coming on the heels of…
Speaking on the network expansion and upgrade exercise, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Airtel Nigeria, Surendran Chemmenkotil, said Airtel is focused on ensuring that customers continue to enjoy the best experience on the network, while also noting that the company is committed to taking mobile broadband everywhere including the remotest rural location in the country. “Our commitment is to our customers and we are focused on ensuring that they continue to get the right and best experience on our network. This exercise is inspired by the fact that we want to serve our customers better and we also want…
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Richard Adeniyi Adebayo, has established that Nigeria received a cumulative investment of $20 billion from Free Trade Zones in 30 years. The Minister stated this at the commissioning of the new Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) facility and unveiling of NEPZA’s new special economic zone security unit in Lagos. According to him, despite the generous fiscal incentives associated with the Free Zone, the scheme remains a veritable source of economic development with the figures it generated in 2021 He said over N250 billion was generated in both Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)…
The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has begun a review of its Zero Oil Plan (ZOP) as part of the country’s aspiration to diversify its revenue sources. Other items on the review plan include the NEPC Corporate Strategy 2019-2013, which has become a tool for effective performance monitoring. The NEPC Executive Director, Dr. Ezra Yakusak in Abuja, disclosed this, yesterday. Declaring open a five-day retreat for NEPC top management and board members, Yakusak implored officers to fully participate in building a virile organisation for the benefit of all and the growth of the nation’s economy. While outlining the corporate goals…