The Federal Ministry of Education has launched a free e-learning website (inspire.education.gov.ng) for all levels of education to facilitate and improve easy learning access. According to NAN, Adamu Adamu, the Minister of Education, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Sonny Echono, at the inauguration in Abuja said the decision was occasioned by the advent of COVID-19 which disrupted learning for two years. He also mentioned that the website would accommodate two million Nigerians at a time Adamu explained that the website, initiated by the ministry had two basic features; Inspire for students and Ignite for teachers, which will allow both learners…
Author: Temitope Nlewemchi
The Federal Government has officially commenced a $73 million intervention fund for sugar irrigation, in a bid to boost Nigeria’s Sugar backward integration programme. This was signed on Tuesday between the FG and operators of the Sugar backward integration programme, according to the News Agency of Nigeria. The event was chaired by Nigeria’s Trade Minister, Niyi Adebayo, at the Presidential Villa, as he emphasized that the project involves irrigation infrastructure on 10,000 hectares of sugar plantations located in six sites. Mr Adebayo said, “The intervention is the setting up of a 73 million-dollar-intervention fund for irrigation, for operators of the…
Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari is expected to travel to Turkey for the 3rd Turkey-Africa Partnership Summit, hosted by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of the Republic of Turkey. This was disclosed by the office of a President in a statement on Thursday by his Malam Garba Shehu, the President’s media aide, according to the News Agency of Nigeria. The event would be held in Istanbul and themed, ‘‘Enhanced Partnership for Common Development and Prosperity,’’ will be reviewing the cooperation between African countries and Turkey since the last summit in 2014. A press statement issued by the Presidency concerning the matter reads,…
The Nigerian Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) has established that some sections of the proposed Custom Service reform bill may cripple the rollout and operations of Free Trade Zones in Nigeria. This was made known on Thursday in a statement by Mr Martins Odeh, Head, Corporate Communications, NEPZA. NEPZA warned that giving the Customs Service the operational powers to make regulation in Free Trade Zones, would not be beneficial to Nigeria’s special economic zones. NEPZA in its submission at the ongoing public hearing on the Custom reform bill in the House of Representatives stated that Free Zones are designated to…
The Federal Government through the Federal Executive Council approved and confirmed Nigeria’s internet technology bill known as the Startup Bill, which would be transmitted to the National Assembly for passage into law. This was mentioned by the Minister of Communications and Digital economy, Isa Pantami, on Wednesday after the FEC meeting presided over by the President, according to NAN. He stated that the bill will encourage young entrepreneurs in the country who have skills and want to do business in the telecommunications sector. He said the bill will also replace the National Digital Innovation Entrepreneurship and Startup Policy. Mr…
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, has hinted that the federal government might introduce new tariffs and levies in 2022 as the economy moves on the path of recovery. This was disclosed by Ahmed while addressing stakeholders at a public hearing on the 2021 Finance Bill organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Finance on Monday in Abuja. According to NAN, Ahmed pointed out that a number of reforms and amendments had been recommended in the draft 2021 Finance amendment bill saying that more will be introduced in the middle of 2022. Ahmed said that…
Nigeria mineral production in the mining and quarrying sector rose bu 17.95% amounting to 64.3 million tons in 2020 from 54.5 million tons in 2019. The Top three states with the biggest share of production in 2020 were Kogi (12.5 million tons), Ogun (12.1 million tons), and Cross River (8.9 million tons. Borno, on the other hand, had the lowest total of 5,060 tons. The report reads “The Mining and Quarrying sector is crucial to growth in Nigeria considering the potential to export mineral resources to the rest of the world and the drive for diversification. Essentially, Nigeria is said…
The apex bank is views expanding the use cases of the Central Bank digital currency (CBDC), increasing its adoption and making it more relevant to the payment ecosystem. The pilot phase was unveiled with limited use cases, with a focus on person-to-person (P2P) and person-to-business (P2B) transactions. But Jimoh, who was represented by Chai Gang, said the next phase of the project would see the use cases expanded to make eNaira more scalable and relevant to all socio-economic strata. He disclosed CBN was also looking at onboarding Nigerians without smartphones and leveraging unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) to reach “the…
The Managing Director of Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Bello Hassan, has established that the Corporation has paid a cumulative of N101.76 billion to over 535, 815 insured depositors of liquidated banks. Hassan, who was represented by the Zonal Director, Shehu Usman, at the NDIC special day at the 42nd Kano International Trade Fair, said part of the organisation’s assignment was to protect depositors’ money. He said a total sum of N101. 666 billion had been paid as liquidation dividends to 1, 955 creditors and shareholders of 18 liquidated banks. “The Corporation declared full payment of insured and uninsured sums…
Poor government policies, lack of incentives for non-oil export and high exchange rate, among others have been highlighted as factors currently deteriorating the production of locally manufactured products for export sector in the country. NBS This is coming as the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), revealed that the nation recorded a deficit trade balance of about N3,023.50 billion in the third quarter of 2021 as the value of imports continued to outweigh exports. The Group Chairman, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria Export Promotion Group (MANEG), Ene Dafinone, who disclosed this while speaking on its activities in the country, said the goods…
The Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) has established that there are enough locally processed rice to meet domestic demand during this Yuletide season. This is as the association has pointed out that smugglers of foreign rice were having a field day due to the growing demands for their products at the detriment of local rice. According to NAN, this was made known by the National Deputy President of RIFAN, Mr Segun Atho, during an interview on Friday in Lagos. Atho, during the interview, blamed the marketers of foreign rice for allegedly sabotaging the growth of the sector as well…
The Corporate Affairs Commission has disclosed that the use of common seal by companies is no longer mandatory but rather optional. This is part of the legislation under the new Companies and Allied Matters Act CAMA 2020. According to a statement signed by CAC’s Head of Media, Mr Rasheed Mahe, this was made known by the Registrar-General of CAC, Alhaji Garba Abubakar, on Thursday in Abuja, after decalring open a one-day Customer’s Stakeholders Forum. Abubakar, who was represented by Mr Abdulhakeem Mohammed, CAC’s Director Compliance, enumerated a series of reform initiatives embarked upon by the commission, pursuant to CAMA, 2020.…
The Central Bank of Nigeria has decided to give over N5 billion to aid farmers during the dry season in Bauchi State in the cultivation of wheat. This was established by the CBN Comptroller, Bauchi branch, Saladu Idris, at the Secretariat of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) According to the apex bank, dry season farming is a rather simple process. However, the CBN has noticed that many of Nigeria’s flour mills have gone out of business and that overall output has slowed. According to Saladu Idris, the CBN has taken initiatives to reach out to farmers through groups, ensuring…
An Abuja division of the federal high court has threatened to freeze Adamawa State Government’s accounts over its refusal to pay back N84 million debt it borrowed from the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) six years ago. While AMCON is the plaintiff/claimant, the Governor of Adamawa State, the attorney general of the state, the Commissioner of Health, the permanent secretary of the ministry of health and the ministry of health are the 1st to 5th defendants respectively. Justice Inyang Ekwo gave the state government a one-month ultimatum to settle with AMCON or risk the court granting AMCON’s request seeking…
The Central Bank of Nigeria has established that farmers who fail to pay back loans gotten from the Anchor Borrowers’ Program will be arrested and locked up until they pay back the loans. This disclosure was made by the CBN Comptroller, Bauchi Branch, Saladu Idris, while speaking at the Secretariat of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ). The CBN official stated that even though a lot of farmers have remained, the loan defaulters were particularly amongst the rice farmers. Mr. Idris bemoaned the fact that some rice farmers who were part of the Anchor Borrowers Scheme had defaulted on their…
Muhammad Nami, the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service(FIRS) has beckoned for a comprehensive aggregation of revenues generated at the national and sub-national levels in Nigeria. He said this on Monday at a symposium themed: “Taxation and challenges of external shocks; Lessons and policy options for Nigeria” which was organised by the FIRS in collaboration with Usman Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS). According to the News Agency of Nigeria, Mr Nami said the theme of the symposium is very timely and relevant as it puts into consideration policy options for addressing current and future challenges such as Covid-19. He…
The Nigerian Investment Promotional Council is to collaborate with the Israeli embassy to seek and explore all viable options that can attract, improve and position the country as a destination of choice for investors. This disclosure was made by the Acting Executive Secretary, NIPC, Mr. Emeka Offor, in a statement issued on Monday and seen by Nairametrics. He reiterated the Commission’s commitment in seeking and exploring all viable options that can attract, grow and position the country as an investment destination of choice to investors. He said, “Nigeria has the most startups in Africa and a dominant force in the…
The World Bank has established that Nigeria is not fully benefitting from the current oil boom. This was made known in the November 2021 edition of its Nigeria Development Update tagged, “Time for Business Unusual.” According to the World Bank, the Nigerian government’s fiscal position typically improves when oil prices rise, but this will not be the case in 2021. The report established that in contrast with past periods of high oil prices, two factors are preventing the government from fully benefitting from the current boom. They include, firstly, a drop in oil production and secondly, increasing cost of PMS…
Flutterwave, Africa’s leading payment technology company, has unveiled the launch of its new e-commerce service; Flutterwave Market – an extension of its Flutterwave Store service – that will bring together a collection of merchant stores in one place. Flutterwave Market brings e-commerce closer to the merchants and customers of a business. The new Flutterwave Market is designed to assist businesses in reaching new customers and as a result, increase sales and revenue. Customers will not only be able to purchase from several Flutterwave Store merchants, but they will also be able to buy a variety of products from across different…
Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey has affirmed that he will step down from his executive position. This disclosure has since sent Twitter’s shares soaring by more than 11%. Dorsey is also the CEO of Square, his digital payment startup. Elliott Management, a Twitter shareholder, had planned to replace Dorsey as CEO in 2020 before reaching an agreement with the company’s management. Paul Singer, the founder of Elliott Management and a billionaire investor, had questioned whether Dorsey could oversee both public companies, pushing on him to step down as CEO of one of them. Jack Dorsey said, “I’ve decided to leave Twitter…