With a growing population, rising energy demand, geopolitical tension across the world, the African Refiners and Distributors Association (ARDA) has stressed the need for Nigeria and other African countries to prioritise energy security. Recall that the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine has rattled the energy market with crude and natural gas prices hitting record highs. Expressing concerns at the 2022 ARDA Week in Cape Town, South Africa, stakeholders, which include most of the players in Africa’s downstream value chain, noted that the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict has significant implications for African economies, especially as it relates to trade, financial flows,…
Author: Temitope Nlewemchi
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has urged deposit money banks to establish a service level agreement with other service providers to reduce financial technology-related challenges faced by customers. According to NAN, the call was made by the Executive Vice Chairman of FCCPC, Mr Babatunde Irukera, on Tuesday in Abuja, where he said the Commission was currently insisting on the agreement. Irukera frowned at the practice of banks literally leaving everything to customers to establish when something goes wrong. He said, ”I personally have a problem with banks literally leaving everything to customers to establish when something goes…
Ghana has officially passed the electronic transfer levy (e-levy) bill which has been a subject of controversy in the last few months in the country. The parliament passed the bill at a 1.5% tax levy (down from 1.75%) on the electronic transfer of money across various platforms after a walkout by the minority group who did not want the bill passed in the House. The bill will become operational after it is assented to by the president. According to Ken Ofori-Atta, the Finance Minister, the new electronic transaction tax will help the country raise millions of dollars in revenue as…
President Muhammadu Buhari had a sit-down meeting with Security Chiefs on Tuesday and gave them new directives. This was disclosed by the State House via it’s Twitter handle, shortly after the meeting with the Chief of Defense Staff, Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Air Force Staff and Inspector General of Police among others. According to the State House, the President had called for the meeting after the terrorist attack on the Abuja-Kaduna train. Here are the directives The immediate conclusion of all processes for implementation of the Integrated Security Surveillance & Monitoring(ISSM) Solution for the Abuja-Kaduna Rail Line Extension of the…
The Nigerian government has disclosed its plans to beef up security in its railway infrastructure, revealing that it will implement an integrated surveillance system in the Abuja-Kaduna, Lagos-Ibadan and Warri-Itakpe railway systems. This was disclosed by the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed in an interview with the Nigerian Television Authority on Wednesday morning. This comes as the Kaduna State government had announced that 8 people have been declared dead so far from the attacks with multiple others missing. The minister expressed sincere condolences to the families of the bereaved and prayed for quick recovery for those who were injured and quick release for those…
Nigerians are still in disarray following the attack of the Abuja-Kaduna train by terrorists on Monday night which recorded 8 deaths and scores of passengers injured, with many others still unaccounted for. The tragic incident which has brought to the fore, the alarming state of insecurity across the country, is coming barely 2 days after the deadly terrorist attack on the Kaduna International Airport on Saturday, March 26, 2022, which had a security guard attached to the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), shot dead. This has elicited reactions from different interest groups and individuals, with the main opposition party, the…
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the sum of N1.06billion for the supply of eye-scanning lie detectors and digital night vision goggles for the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). This is part of the federal government’s effort aimed at technological improvement and effectiveness in its fight against illicit drugs as well as enhancing the capacity of officials of the agency to stop drug trafficking, sale and consumption. This was disclosed by the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, while briefing State House correspondents on the outcome of the meeting of the council, chaired by…
The Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN), the Federal Ministry of Environment and the British High Commission, Abuja have jointly launched an updated version of the Nigeria Energy Calculator 2050 (NECAL 2050), a bespoke energy and emissions model to assist Nigeria in achieving its climate goals. Present version of the NECAL 2050 Calculator – a tool that allows users to trial different options for reducing emissions at a faster rate and to build a pathway that meets long-term emission targets to 2050. The facility is designed to help industries and the energy sector to set their greenhouse gas emission reduction targets,…
Eni, through its Nigerian subsidiaries, Nigerian Agip Exploration (NAE) and Agip Energy & Natural Resources (AENR), and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) have commissioned 11 water schemes in Borno and Yobe States, Northeast Nigeria. The integrated water schemes comprise of boreholes, solar power systems, treatment facilities and fetching points to provide water for domestic consumption and irrigation purposes. The FAO Country Representative in Nigeria and to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Fred Kafeero, while stressing the importance of the eleven facilities as they were handed over to the authorities of Borno…
Nigeria has indicated interest to seek re-election into the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Council during the forthcoming Plenipotentiary Conferences. NCC’s Executive Vice Chairman (EVC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, disclosed this at the ongoing session of the ITU Council taking place at the ITU Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Danbatta said Nigeria being re-elected would help the country to continue to collaborate with and support ITU’s development agenda, ensure effective and efficient implementation of ITU Resolutions, implement inclusive programmes to foster universal use of ICT across all divides and provide a focused and strategic partnership. The ITU is governed by the Plenipotentiary Conference…
Lagos State is set to host the country’s largest automotive parts show, as the West Africa Automotive Show (WAAS) will be held from May 17 to 19. More than 100 exhibitors from Nigeria and around the world are expected to showcase up-to-date developments and products in the auto parts and services sector to more than 3,000 visitors from West Africa. According to the organisers, the event will focus on local businesses and representation from more than 20 countries. These include India, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Thailand, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, the UAE, Poland, the United State of America, and Turkey. The…
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has established its objection to the introduction of e-valuator and e-invoicing for import and export businesses by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). CBN had, in a letter dated July 8, 2021, informed NCS that they were deploying a mechanism for verification of prices of goods before allocation of forex at the point of e-form M registration. The policy in summary seeks to benchmark the price of the imported and exported cargo. National Public Relations Officer, NCS, Timi Bomodi, said benchmarking of valuation as proposed by the CBN’s policy will negate the WTO’s Agreement on…
Experts have highlighted that inflation is the biggest enemy to investing as inflation reduces the value of money. Kalu Aja, personal finance expert and financial commentator stated this during Nairametrics’ quarterly Digital Investments for Gen Z Webinar themed, “How to invest with the world on edge”. According to him, taking a macroeconomic view is best when making financial decisions involving savings or investment. Mr Aja noted that inflation has the capacity to attack savings and make the purchasing power less valuable, otherwise the money is invested. He said, “Inflation is the biggest enemy to investing because it steals your money and you…
The Primero Transport Services Limited, operators of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in Lagos has connected the recent skeletal operations on its Ikorodu-TBS route to the high cost of diesel. The transport company, who pointed out that the skeletal operations would run for 3 days, however, said that they hope to resume full operations by Tuesday, March 29. This was contained in a statement issued by the Managing Director of Primero, Fola Tinubu, on Saturday in Lagos and can be seen on the firm’s official Twitter handle. Tinubu in the statement said that the transport firm is currently running at…
The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and other stakeholders are set to canvass a diversified market for Nigeria’s huge gas resources and woo investors into the upstream segment. Secretary-General of OPEC, Sanusi Barkindo; Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva and the Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Limited, Mele Kyari, is expected to lead other stakeholders in the sector to the Nigeria Energy Forum held alongside CERA Week in Houston, U.S. As global investors converge on the event, Managing Director of Energy and Corporate Africa, Sunny Oputa, who…
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), Temi Popoola, has described sound corporate governance as the foundation that creates transparency and establishes the trust required to keep the global financial system operational. He stated this during the launch of the Corporate Governance Triangle, an initiative of the Nigerian Bar Association Section on Business Law (NBA-SBL), Nigerian Exchange Limited and the Institute of Directors, Nigeria (IoD) in Lagos on Tuesday. Addressing participants at the event, Popoola, who was represented by Divisional Head, Capital Markets, Nigerian Exchange Limited, Jude Chiemeka, said the exchange recognised its role in fostering…
The Federal Government has warned that it would no longer condone any form of criminality on the nation’s oil and gas facilities and installations, saying that crude oil thieves, pipeline vandals and illegal refiners have their days numbered. In a statement by the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, NNPC Ltd, Garba Deen Muhammad, informed that the warning is from the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor and the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Gbenga Komolafe, during an on-the-spot assessment of some pipelines damaged by…
The Chief Executive Officer of FoodCo Nigeria, Ade Sun-Basorun, has called on operators within Nigeria’s formal retail sector to integrate digitisation into their operations to achieve scale and position the sector for optimised service delivery. Sun-Basorun, who spoke during a recent meeting with journalists, harped on the importance of using digital technology to improve efficiency and reduce operational costs. He stressed that digitisation was key to closing the deficit gap between the supply of modern retail and demand for the service among the country’s rapidly growing young, urban and sophisticated population. He said: “The global retail industry has been transformed…
World airlines have welcomed the increasing momentum towards re-opening of borders and relaxation of travel restrictions, as COVID-19 moves into the endemic phase. The airlines under the aegis of International Air Transport Association (IATA) said there is sufficient evidence to show that testing and quarantine are no longer scientific barriers against COVID-19 infection. An IATA survey of travel restrictions for the world’s top 50 air travel markets, comprising 88 per cent of international demand in 2019 as measured by revenue passenger kilometres, revealed the growing access available to vaccinated travellers. A total of 25 markets, representing 38 per cent of…
A new movie by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) may hold players in the power sector accountable to offer value for money. The two commissions, while signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Abuja, harped on the need for collaboration in ensuring that consumers are protected. Chairman of NERC, Sanusi Garba, said the new MoU marked the formal pact as the agencies have been in collaboration since the commissions were encountering patent-related reform and consumer protection. Decrying challenges in regulating the power sector and ensuring consumer protection, NERC added that…