The United States, on Monday, established that it remained one of the largest foreign investors in Nigeria as leading American brands to expand their investment portfolio, providing job opportunities and supporting economic diversification objectives. U.S. Consul General Claire Pierangelo welcomed Kimberly Clark’s $100m diaper manufacturing facility in Ikorodu, Lagos. The facility has the capacity to create over 1,000 direct and 5,000 indirect jobs with potential to scale over the next 3-5 years of operation. Delivering remarks at the commissioning of the facility, the U.S. Consul General Claire Pierangelo, noted that Nigeria is a critical market for American companies and improving…
Author: Temitope N.
The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprises (CPPE) has established that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has serious repercussion for the Nigerian economy, especially if it becomes protracted. According to CPPE Chief Executive Officer, Dr Muda Yusuf, the conflict may cause a major setback to the bilateral ties between Nigeria and the United States because of the torrent of sanctions against Russia. There have been concerns over the continued spending on idle assets as data from yearly appropriation bill from the Budget Office showed that the Federal Government allocated N20.4bn to Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited from 2016 to 2021…
In the midst of the destruction of beer bottles in some parts of the country, Nigeria’s brewery sector generated $526 million in taxes to the government in 2019, with trends showing additional revenue due to imposed excise duty on the sector. Another increase to N35 per litre was implemented in June 2019. With another adjustment imminent, operators are already concerned about their survival, especially as inflation continues to take a chunk of individuals’ real incomes, limiting household spending. Industry sources estimate the new excise on alcoholic beverages to hover around N50 per litre, representing over 40 per cent increase. At…
The Independent Investigation Panel on EndSARS has made an order directing the NDLEA to produce suspended police deputy commissioner, Abba Kyari before it on March 22. The panel made the order following the statement of a witness who said Mr Kyari had promised to get back to him on the missing suspects. The whereabouts of the missing persons have remained unknown following their arrest in 2019 by the Kyari-led unit which made their family members to petition the panel. At the resumed sitting, James Idachaba, counsel to the Police informed the panel that since Kyari was no longer in police…
The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), in partnership with the Mobile Telephone Network (MTN) has disclosed that they will be offering free SIM cards with free airtime to evacuated returnees. According to them, courtesy of the partnership, each returnee will get a free SIM card loaded with N5,000 airtime to allow them to reach their family members. The returnees will also get an additional N19,500 talk time and 1.5GB of data. Recall MTN had given its subscribers 30 mins of free international calls and 50 free SMS to call Ukraine which will be valid till March 31, 2022. In a statement by…
The Russian Government has estabished a plan to ban the operations of Instagram in the country. This was made known in a news report by Russian state media agency Ria Nu on Friday afternoon after Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office opened a criminal case against Meta. It was also revealed that the Russian government plans to label Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, an extremist organization. According to the report, “Prosecutor General’s Office asks the court to recognize Meta as an extremist organization and ban its activities in Russia.” “The Prosecutor General’s Office asks the court to recognize Meta as…
Ukraine risks disease spread if health labs pathogens are not destroyed to stop potential spills in the case of attacks on public health laboratories, the World Health Organisation has advised. The risk will not be applicable to only Ukraine but also surrounding European countries should such pathogens find themselves in the open. According to biosecurity experts, Russia’s movement of troops into Ukraine and bombardment of its cities have raised the risk of an escape of disease-causing pathogens, should any of those facilities be damaged. Speaking to Reuters, the WHO expressed that the agency has collaborated with the Ukrainian public health…
Nigeria’s improvements in reducing piracy attacks on its Gulf of Guinea waters by 77% has been seen in the removal of Nigeria from the piracy list by the International Maritime Bureau. This was disclosed by Vice Admiral AZ Gambo, Chief of Naval Staff in a statement posted by the Federal Government. This also comes after the Director-General of NIMASA, Dr Bashir Jamoh, echoed similar claims on Nigeria’s removal from the piracy list. While highlighting the significance of Nigeria exiting the piracy list said, “It is heartwarming to note the significant decline in piracy attacks by 77% on Nigerian waters as reflected in…
The Nigerian National Action Committee on the African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA, has disclosed that its strategic objective is to capture 10% of Africa’s imports by 2035, thereby doubling Nigeria’s export in the process. This was disclosed by Franca Achimugu, Coordinator Oil and Gas Workstream, Secretariat of the National Action Committee on the AfCFTA at the Implementation Plan Adoption meeting with the Oil and Gas Workstream which was held at the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Headquarters, Abuja, Nigeria on Thursday. She added that Nigeria’s mission is to become the preferred provider of value-added services to Africa. Introducing the agreement and what…
The President/Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has explained why the Federal Government should place a ban on the exportation of maize. Africa’s richest man said that the ban has become necessary in order to ensure food security in the country in the face of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, which poses serious challenges for global food supply. This was made known by Dangote while speaking at the 4th Annual Nigerian Food Processors and Nutrition Leadership Forum on Thursday in Lagos. The forum was organised by the Aliko Dangote Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates…
The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has responded to reports on the breakdown of a Lagos-Ibadan train which stopped due to lack of fuel on Thursday. In an interview with NAN, the managing director of NRC, Fidet Okhiria attributed the incident to a failure in fuel gauge. He said the gauge of the train had an issue and was not reading properly which made the driver take off without realizing the train did not have enough fuel for the journey. Mr Okhira noted that passengers were not stranded in the middle of anywhere as was largely circulated on social media. He…
The operators of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), Primero Transport Services (PTS) lost about N18 million on Tuesday alone when it suspended its operations across Lagos due to alleged fear of attack by commuters over the death of Miss Bamise Ayanwale. According to the source, PTS makes about N18 million daily from trips across the state and that was lost to the suspension of operations on Tuesday. She said, “Operations has to be suspended not to punish the commuters but to prevent our busses from being damaged by some people. The memory of the #EndSARS attack is still fresh and it is…
Throwback to some 20 years ago, you will probably discover that only a handful of women leading at the top executive positions in major companies across industries. However, things are changing as the old standard is giving way to new norms, and today, there are a number of women leading in top positions, co-founding businesses and occupying apex seats in companies. As the theme for this year’s International Women’s Day, ‘Break the bias’, women over time are beginning to prove that the female gender can achieve big dreams just like their counter gender without limitation. Highlighted are some notable women…
President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, yesterday, promised to go into an agreement with states, local governments and indigenous producers of Nutri-K’s Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) to guarantee adequate supply directly to primary healthcare centres that treat severe and acute malnutrition (SAM) on a sustainable basis. He stated this at the inauguration of a factory meant to produce the RUTF in Kano on Wednesday. Dangote recalled the idea as one of the visions of his late brother, which he also expressed happiness that it had come true and would be sustained. “I recall my late brother Sani telling me that…
Due to the result of the gains recorded by Presco Plc and 29 other stocks, the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) rebounded after five days of bearish trend yesterday, as market capitalisation increased by N71 billion. In summary, the All-Share Index (ASI) grew by 132.74 absolute points, representing an increase of 0.28 per cent to close at 47,287.09 points while the overall market capitalisation value gained N71 billion to close at N25.485 trillion. The market breadth was positive as 30 stocks advanced against 12 stocks that declined. Presco recorded the highest price gain of 10 per cent to close at N114.95,…
The Nigeria Economy Summit Group (NESG) Beckoned for sectoral reforms in manufacturing, trade, education, health, and ICT to champion industrialisation, improve the value chain and promote inclusive growth in Nigeria. NESG Chief Executive Officer, Laoye Jaiyeola, stated this yesterday, in Abuja, at a workshop by the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) and the NESG themed “Sectoral Development: Assessing the conditions that drive youth unemployment in key sectors of the Nigerian economy.” Represented by Research and Chief Economist, NESG, Dr Olusegun Omisakin, Jaiyeola said the body would continue to champion economic growth in Nigeria, explaining that the event was aimed at…
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has expressed its displeasure to the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) over its planned industrial action against International Oil Companies (IOCs). NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, in a letter to the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, dated March 3, 2022, recalled that at the last stakeholders’ meeting held on February 28, 2022, with the union, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and concerned stakeholders, an understanding was reached that the IOCs comply with the extant stevedoring regulations within the next two weeks. Wabba, however, noted that since the last meeting, the IOCs had refused to sign…
The United Arab Emirates on Thursday reaassured its commitment to OPEC+ alliance agreements, a day after an envoy said it would urge the oil cartel to boost output. “The UAE is committed to the OPEC+ agreement and its existing monthly production adjustment mechanism,” Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei wrote on Twitter. “The UAE believes in the value OPEC+ brings to the oil market,” he added. At last week’s OPEC+ meeting, the 13 members of the Saudi-led OPEC group and their 10 allies, including Russia, agreed to hold firm on plans to stick to existing output targets through April. A surge in…
The Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC) says that it is targeting one billion devices for the Five Generation (5G) network in the next two years. NCC Head of Fixed Network Converged Services, Babagana Digima, made this known at the ongoing AfricaNXT 2022 on Thursday in Lagos. Digima said that the 5G technology was meant to deliver higher data speeds, ultra-low latency, more reliability, massive network capacity, increased availability, and a more uniform user experience to more users. He said that the 5G technology would be faster and able to handle more connected devices than the existing 4G LTE network including smart…
Poor regulation, harsh economy and other perennial challenges bedeviling the capital market have constantly continued to hurt retail investors’ participation in equities 15 years after the global financial meltdown even as the market continues to lose an average of N2 billion to the segment’s apathy daily. The losses are calculated based on the sector’s contributions to daily market trading before the crisis and current percentage. Already, operators are worried that the drop in retail investors’ activities, which had constituted a large chunk of the total transactions, would further depress the equities market. This is because retail investors dominated the equities…