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…
Author: Temitope Nlewemchi
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…
This is coming as Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc won an award, having been ranked as the leading company with significant strides in institutionalising large-scale food fortification best practices. The pledge was made at the 4th yearly CEO Forum of Food Processing & Nutrition Leadership themed ‘Ensuring Improved Health and Nutrition Through Cross-Sectoral Leadership’ organised collaboratively by TechnoServe; Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF) and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in Lagos. President of Dangote Group and Chairman of the ADF, Aliko Dangote, who chaired the meeting, said food fortification is a health issue that members of the Forum are committed to complying…
The Lagos State Police Command has disclosed the arrest and arraignment of the prime suspect who gave out kegs of petrol as souvenirs during a party held at Havilah Events Centre, Victoria Island on March 4, 2022. This is coming about 10 days after the Lagos State Government ordered an investigation into the incident after its viral video trended on various social media platforms. This disclosure is contained in a statement issued by the command and signed by the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Lagos State Command, CSP Adekunle Ajisebutu, on Tuesday. Ajisebutu in his statement said that the prime…
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has served wide ranging orders on Google LLC (Play Store) and Apple Inc. (App Store) to enforce withdrawal of certain money lending applications from their stores. This was made public by the agency in a statement issued by Babatunde Irukera, it’s Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer. According to the statement, the duo Tech firms are expected to withdraw certain lending app firms where evidence has established inappropriate conduct or use of the application in violation of the rights of consumers. It stated, “The Commission has entered and served wide ranging orders on Google…
The Federal Government has established that the total number of Nigerians evacuated from Ukraine is now at 1,531, as the FG puts more efforts to evacuate more Nigerians. This was disclosed by the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) in a statement on Tuesday morning. The Diaspora Commission brought back students from Romania via a Turkish Airline flight. NIDCOM announced a new batch of evacuation that landed in Nigeria on the 14th of March 2022 from Romania It stated, “Federal Government received another 31 Returnees from Ukraine through Romania aboard Turkish Airlines, which landed at about 06:30a.m at the Nnamdi Azikwe…
The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), has warned that Nigerian manufacturers are set to face issues with production of goods as the cost of diesel hits N730 per liter. This was disclosed in a statement by Mr Lanre Popoola, Chairman, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Oyo, Osun, Ekiti and Ondo on Sunday, according to the News Agency of Nigeria. He also urged for the government’s intervention through palliatives to enable manufacturers to handle the costs. Popoola said, the current costs of diesel has made it difficult to ensure production at this time, as diesel has gone up to N720 and…
The Russian invasion of Ukraine seems to have turned as reports have it that the Russian government has requested that the Chinese government for military support to continue its invasion. This was made known in a report by Financial Times which cited interviews with U.S Government officials on Sunday. This also comes as the scale of the invasion takes a toll on Russia, as it lost military equipment in a war that has entered its 3rd week. The White House did not comment, meanwhile, the report also stated that Liu Pengyu, the Chinese embassy spokesperson in Washington, said he was unaware…
Former Senate President, Bukola Saraki has challenged the Federal Government’s plans to spend on Petrol subsidy based on 70 million liters a day consumption, stating that Nigeria’s fuel consumption cannot be more than 35 million liters a day, and hinted that Nigeria could be subsidizing fuel for neighboring West African states. This comes as President Muhammadu Buhari transmitted the 2022 Appropriation Act (Amendment) bill to the National Assembly last month, where the FG earmarked the sum of N2.557 trillion for fuel subsidy following the suspension of the implementation of the policy by the federal government. He stated that he has seen the…
The Federal Government of Nigeria established that commercial activities at the Lekki Deep Seaport are to commence in September, citing that the port will contribute $360 billion to Nigeria’s GDP. This was disclosed by the Transport Minister, Rotimi Amaechi in a statement on Sunday, after inspecting the project. The Minister assured that the port is automated, emphasising that it would be something close to the DP wall in Dubai. The Minister said that he is impressed with the progress of work, adding that commercial activities would commence in September. He said, “Inspecting the Lekki Deep Seaport today, there’s huge improvement compared to the…
The heads of UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) have pleaded with Russia to stop the attacks on Ukraine’s healthcare facilities. This was made known in a joint statement by UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell, UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem, and WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus Since Russia invaded Ukraine, 31 attacks on health care have been documented by the World Health Organization. These incidents have killed and injured civilians, as well as destroyed facilities and ambulances, disrupting access to essential health services. The heads of UNICEF, the WHO and UNFPA called for…
The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has requested for the halt of the planned imposition of excise duties on manufacturers. This was made known by Dr. Muda Yusuf, CEO of CPPE in a document titled, “CPPE calls for suspension of planned imposition of excise duties on manufacturers” Yusuf claimed that the Finance Minister, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, warned earlier this year that excise duty would be levied on a variety of manufactured commodities in the country soon. He, however, argued that manufacturers are already facing extremely difficult times as a result of growing energy costs, rising operational expenditures,…
The Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) board of Directors of has hired Dr Tinuade Sanda, as the Deputy Managing Director of the company. This was made known in a statement issued and signed by the company’s General Manager, Corporate Communications, Godwin Idemudia, on Monday. According to the statement, Sanda, who was the Chief Accounting Officer prior to her appointment – a position she had occupied since 2013 – was appointed to assist in leading the company toward its vision of becoming the leading and customer-centric electricity distribution company in Africa as the board and the management are confident in her…
The Federal Government has stayed on its ground that it has met all of the demands of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) as the union has extended its warning strike by another 2 months. This was made known by the Minister of State for Education, Mr Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, while reacting to the declaration of the rollover of the strike by the lecturers’ union during an interview with journalists at the end of the commemoration of the 2022 Commonwealth Celebration in Abuja on Monday. According to NAN, Nwajiuba, who insisted that the federal government had met all of the…
Google parent Alphabet on Tuesday quarterly profit tripled, as money poured in from ads on its search engine and YouTube video platform. “There was a rising tide of online activity in many parts of the world, and we’re proud that our services helped so many consumers and businesses,” Alphabet chief executive Sundar Pichai said of the quarter. The internet titan reported that profit nearly tripled from last year to $18.5 billion on revenue that rose sharply to $61.9 billion. Google is among the tech companies that saw use soar as the pandemic accelerated a trend toward working, shopping, socializing and…