• 2020 fiscal deficit stands at N6.6tr as debt hits N33.1tr • ‘FX rate may hit N700/$ before next year’ • Political industry (2023) to add more pressure, says Opeoluwa • Naira can’t be stable without market transparency, says ex-CBN director • Reps urges halt in free fall of naira value to dollar, other currencies Except extraordinary measures are taken to salvage the naira, experts have warned that economy could reach the cliff sooner than expected. The warning comes as structural challenges, coupled with transient measures ranging from insecurity, mono foreign earnings, insatiable borrowings, declining foreign investment inflows, rising…
Author: Temitope N.
Naira depreciated further against the U.S. dollar at the official market, also known as the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window on Tuesday, data posted on the FMDQ Security Exchange where forex is officially traded showed. The domestic currency remained stable at the black market. Data from the I& E window showed that the naira closed at N411.50, a 0.11 per cent decline from N411.07 it traded on Monday. Naira experienced an intraday low of N421.96 and a high of N400.00 at the Nafex window, before closing at N411.50 on Tuesday. This occurred as foreign exchange supply…
The Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) has reaffirmed its commitment to environmental sustainability, pledging to entrench positive practices in its operations and among its stakeholders. In his message to the staff to commemorate the 2021 World Environment Day, the DBN Managing Director, Tony Okpanachi, highlighted some of the various challenges that the environment is facing, adding that DBN will continue to prioritise and focus on issues of sustainability essentially aimed at addressing some of the challenges. He noted: “The World Environment Day is a day set aside by the United Nations to raise awareness on and take action…
Bitcoin is to become legal tender in El Salvador, the country’s president said, making it the first nation to adopt a cryptocurrency for everyday use. Lawmakers in the Central American nation’s Congress passed a bill late Tuesday that will eventually allow the famously volatile digital currency to be used for many aspects of daily life, from property purchases to tax contributions. “The #BitcoinLaw has just been approved by a qualified majority” in the legislative assembly, President Nayib Bukele tweeted after the vote late Tuesday. “History!” the president added. The 39-year-old leader said a majority of 62 out…
The House of Representatives has asked the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to halt the downward spiral in the value of the naira against the dollar. The lawmakers reached the decision on Wednesday after debating a motion of matter of urgent public importance moved by Bamidele Salam (PDP, Osun) during plenary. PREMIUM TIMES had reported the depreciation of the Naira against the Dollar at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window. Data from the I& E window showed that the naira closed at N411.50, a 0.11 per cent decline from N411.07 it traded on Monday. The Naira experienced an…
In order to improve electricity supply around Ibeju-Lekki area in Lagos and Agbara Industrial area in Ogun State, the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) and Eko Electricity Distribution Company Plc (Eko Disco), have signed a bilateral agreement for the sale of up to 300MW of power from NDPHC’s power plants to customers in these areas within Eko Disco’s franchise areas. The Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who hosted the signing of the agreement for these projects at Lagos House, commended the initiative by NDPHC and Eko Disco, and stated that “he will monitor the implementation of the agreement.”…
Mr Bala Wunti, Group General Manager, National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) says Nigeria has earned over one million euros from sale of carbon credits through its partnership with TotalEnergies. Wunti disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja, while speaking with newsmen on the sidelines of the ongoing 2021 Nigeria International Petroleum Summit (NIPS). Newsmen report that a carbon credit is a permit that allows the company that holds it to emit a certain amount of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases. “It is through our partnership with Total that we are able to market our credit position and…
Nigeria is in talks with four West African countries to sell unused Electricity to them through a planned $570 million Northcore Power Transmission Line. The acting Managing Director of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and Chairman, Executive Board of the West African Power Pool (WAPP), Engr. Sule Ahmed Abdulaziz, stated this on Wednesday during the WAPP meeting on the Northcore project in Abuja. Newsmen report that about 2,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity is said to be unutilised daily across the Generation Companies (GenCos) in Nigeria and could be exported. “The power we will be selling is the power that…
Taking its drive for maritime capacity building to the younger generation, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency visited Premier Academy School, Lugbe in Abuja to mark this year’s Children’s Day. The Agency donated educational materials to the school as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility. The Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, reiterated NIMASA’s commitment to capacity building in the maritime industry, saying secondary schools in the country are a good place to begin the awareness. Jamoh encouraged the students, especially those in the sciences, to show interest in maritime by choosing maritime related careers, especially given the…
The Nigerian Navy (NN) has launched a new Landing Ship Tank (LST) at Damen Shipyard, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. The construction of the ship began about two years ago and when commissioned will replace the first set of LSTs of the NN, NNS AMBE and NNS OFIOM that have been decommissioned. The new LST has a complement of 32 crew and 250 embarked persons and a length of 100.08m which is powered by two Caterpillar/Cat 3516 C-rating engines and four Caterpillar C-18 generators. In a statement by the spokesperson for the Nigerian Navy, Suleman Dahun, the Navy said the introduction…
Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has directed all domestic airlines to serve only pre-packaged catering products (meals, snacks) in sealed containers to their passengers during disembarkation. NCAA also warned that these pre-packaged meals must not be consumed onboard and that non-compliance of the directive shall attract appropriate sanctions. In a letter titled “Public Health Guidelines for Companies Providing In-Flight Catering Services to Airlines Operating Domestic Flights,” addressed to airline operators and catering service providers, NCAA stated that, “Domestic airlines shall serve pre-packed catering products (Meals, snacks etc) in sealed containers to their passengers during disembarkation.” According to NCAA, no catering…
First City Monument Bank (FCMB), has re-assured that it will continue to champion, execute and support initiatives that would enhance the ecosystem, as well as tackle some of the adverse effects of climate change and other challenges facing the environment. According to the Bank, this is in recognition of the fact that a cleaner and more sustainable environment is key to building a better world for present and future generations. FCMB gave the assurance in a statement to commemorate this year’s World Environment Day (WED), which held on June 5, 2021 under the theme, “Ecosystem Restoration”. The annual WED is…
El Salvador’s President, Nayib Bukele, is proposing a Bill to adopt Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as legal tender in his country. “Next week, I will send to Congress a Bill that makes Bitcoin legal money,” Bukele said on Saturday in a video message to the Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami, Florida. The 39-year-old President, who has maintained approval ratings above 90 percent and made Twitter his preferred way of communicating, characterised it as an idea that could help El Salvador move forward. The move would make the Central American nation the first in the world to formally accept the cryptocurrency…
Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will grow by about $3 billion, if the country can reduce its imports. The governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, who, at the weekend, advocated for import substitution, noted that the importation of petroleum products alone makes up about 25 per cent of annual imports aside from other products that are high import. According to the latest trade figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the country recorded a trade deficit of N3.94 trillion in the first quarter (Q1) of 2021. Nigeria’s total merchandise trade, in the NBS report,…
Nigeria has been named the richest African country by Gross Domestic Product (GDP), surpassing South Africa and Egypt with a GDP figure of N514.05 billion in the World Population Review’s 2021 Richest African Countries Ratings. According to the World Population Review, Nigeria is not just Africa’s richest country but also its most populous with a head count of over 211 million. It noted that the country’s humongous population had been a major contributor to the large GDP. The World Population Review listed Nigeria as a middle-income, mixed economy and emerging market with growing financial, service, communications and technology sectors. Following…
To mark the World Environment Day, the United States consulate under the aegis of the acting US Consul General, Brandon Hudspeth, on Saturday participated in a tree planting initiative with students of St. Savior’s School, Ebute Metta, Lagos. Some of the attendees at the event were General Manager, the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency, Dr. Dolapo Fasawe; Assistant Director, Lagos State Ministry of Environment, Folasade Adeyoju; and other environmental groups. The event was organised by members of the Young Africa Leaders Initiative under the auspices of the Mandela Washington Fellowship Alumni Association with the support of a public diplomacy grant…
The Federal Government has said it will grow Nigeria’s power generation to 11,000 megawatts by next year as measures to actualise this are well on course. The country’s power generation currently hovers around 4,000MW and 5,000MW. In March, the Transmission Company of Nigeria announced a peak power generation of 5,801.6MW, which was transmitted to power distribution companies across the country. In response to enquiries by our correspondent on what the government was doing to grow the country’s power supply, officials of the Federal Ministry of Power said the ministry was currently implementing recommendations contained in the Siemens deal. They said…
Leadway Assurance Company Limited says it has partnered with the Association of Parents of Private School Students to launch an education insurance policy plan, tagged ‘Group Education Protection Plan’. In said this in a statement on Sunday titled ‘Leadway Assurance partners parents association for bespoke education plan’. The statement said the education plan was launched at a Children’s Day event in Port Harcourt. It stated that it was designed to help parents protect their children’s future from possible socio-economic disruption in schooling due to unplanned or unforeseen events, such as the death of a parent or guardian, life-threatening critical illness,…
The Director-General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Dr Bashir Jamoh, has said that the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), would launch the Deep Blue Project worth $195m on June 10, 2021. Jamoh, revealed this in a statement on Friday adding that the event would combine both the commemoration and the launching of the project. He said, “All is set as we begin the countdown to the commemoration and official launch of assets of the Integrated National Maritime Surveillance and Security Infrastructure Deep Blue. “Come Thursday 10th of June, Nigeria will make the boldest statement ever to secure our…
The Lagos State Government said it has prepared development guide plans for nine excised villages in the state. They communities are Apa, Onikanga, Suberu-Oje, Ketu Ijanikin, Awoyaya, Eleputu, Orimedu, Sangotedo and Langbasa. The Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr. Idris Salako, disclosed this at a stakeholders’ meeting. He said the nine excised villages were located in different Local Government Areas including Badagry, Alimosho, Ojo, Ibeju-Lekki and Eti-Osa. In attendance were Chairman, House Committee on Physical Planning and Urban Development, Hon. Nureni Akinsanya; Special Adviser to the Governor on Urban Development, Ganiyu Ayuba; Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Abiola…