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…
Author: Temitope N.
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…
The Russian-Ukrainian clash may continue to have bad effect on the equities sector of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) as the market extended its bearish trend, causing market capitalisation to dip further by N58 billion. Specifically, at the close of trading yesterday, the All-Share Index (ASI) declined by 108.26 per cent, representing a decrease of 0.23 per cent, to close at 47,154.35 points. Similarly, the overall market capitalisation value lost N58 billion to close at N25.414 trillion. The market’s negative performance was driven by price depreciation in large and medium capitalised stocks which are; Nestle Nigeria, Conoil, Nigerian Breweries, Flour…
Google.org which is a philanthropic arm of Google is committing $1 million in charitable funding to support programmes helping women entrepreneurs to grow their businesses, as part of a series of new initiatives aimed at supporting women-owned businesses. The announcement was made yesterday. Head Brand and Reputation, Africa – Google, Mojolaoluwa Aderemi-Makinde, said research shows that 58 per cent of small and medium-sized business (SMB) entrepreneurs in Africa are women, “despite this, women-run businesses show, on average, 34 per cent lower profits than those run by their male counterparts. They are also less likely to receive funding and investment.…
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) says it has given a one-month window to taxpayers who have outstanding foreign currency tax liabilities to settle such liabilities in Naira. The window according to FIRS takes effect from March 1, 2022, to March, 31st 2022. In a public notice released by the Service and signed by the Executive Chairman, Muhammad Nami, the FIRS stated that it had received requests and enquiries from taxpayers on challenges being encountered in sourcing for foreign currencies to offset their outstanding tax liabilities. “In view of the number of requests, enquiries and the challenges encountered by the…
The Nigeria Agribusiness Group (NABG) has adviced the Federal Government to relocate the Anchor Borrowers’ programmes from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture. Chairman, Administrative Board of the group, Kabir Ibrahim, who mentioned this in Abuja yesterday, explained that while the initiative has been helpful, there are gaps that have been left unfilled. Ibrahim, who faulted the credibility of the beneficiaries of the programme, alleged that a large percentage of farmers are not benefitting from the programme. He said: “We urge the CBN to reappraise the anchor borrower scheme. To make the programme more…
Acting Managing Director, Abuja Enterprise Agency (AEA), Shehu Abdulkadir has recognized entrepreneurship as the only dependable and reliable means for fostering social inclusion and improving the economic well-being of Nigerians. Abdukadir who stated this Tuesday in Abuja during the launch of the AEA Fashion Hub in celebration of the International Women’s Day, disclosed that the agency is partnering with all stakeholders in the entrepreneurial ecosystem to deepen the impacts of various programmes and initiatives designed to support entrepreneurs to succeed According to him, the AEA has initiated strategies to create more opportunities for women to achieve their full potential by…
Dangote Sugar Plc has disclosed that the group’s production volume increased by 9.2 percent to 811,962 tonnes at the end of the financial year ended December 31, 2021, in contrast to 743,858 tonnes, in the corresponding period of 2020. The firm achieved the volume on the strength of improved operational efficiency despite the adverse impact of the perennial Apapa traffic gridlock situation. The company, however, recorded a gross profit of N50.21 billion and profit after taxation of N22.05 billion. The reported group’s revenue of N276.50 billion for the full year represents an increase of 28.8 per cent over N214.30 billion…
Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), has established that it is focused on helping boost power generation and supply in the country through greater investment in the power sector. Managing Director of NNPC, Mallam Mele Kolo Kyari, who disclosed this when he led the top management team of the company on a courtesy visit to the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) in Abuja at the weekend, said the company had the requisite expertise and experience to be an active participant in the power sector in Nigeria, hence it has expressed interest to participate in the acquisition of the power plants…
The World Trade Organisation has warned that the conflict between Russia-Ukraine will have intense trade implications on agriculture and energy prices. This was made known by the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation and former Nigerian Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. She added that the WTO is deeply concerned about the continued violence in Ukraine. Okonjo-Iweala said, “At the WTO, we have watched this tragedy in Ukraine unfold with disbelief and the hope that it would have been peacefully resolved. “However, this is now the 7th day and we are deeply saddened by the continued suffering and loss of life.” She…
Lamin Barrow, the Director-General, Nigeria Country Department of the African Development Bank (AfDB) has established that the bank signed $544 million in loan financing for five operations in Nigeria in 2021. Mr Barrow made this known on Thursday in Abuja at the opening of the 2022 Country Portfolio Performance Review (CPPR) workshop. He said the bank and other co-financing partners’ portfolios in Nigeria increased by $2.031 billion between 2019 and 2021. Mr Barrow said the bank leveraged its resources by mobilising co-financing from other development partners to the tune of about $1 billion. He said in 2020, a $288.5 million…