The Coalition of Civil Society Groups (CCSG) has applauded numerous initiatives introduced by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, to stabilize the naira and reposition the country’s economy. Civil society organizations have also decried economic sabotage in the forex market, claiming that the economy is going through significant inflation due to an excessive gap between official bank exchange rates for the dollar and the naira. According to Vanguard, Messrs Etuk Bassey Williams and Abubakar Ibrahim, the coalition president and secretary, addressed journalists at a solidarity demonstration in Abuja in support of President Muhammadu Buhari and…
Author: Temitope N.
Nigeria exported agro-food items worth N165.27 billion in the second quarter of 2021, representing a 112% growth compared to N78.03 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2020. This is also the highest on record, according to data tracked from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The recent value also represents a 30% increase when compared to N127.18 billion worth of export recorded in the previous quarter (Q1 2021). Recall that Nairametrics had reported that Nigeria’s foreign trade increased by 89% year-on-year to N12.03 trillion in Q2 2021. The report had also highlighted that Nigeria continued with a foreign trade…
ReelFruit, which is a premium dried fruit firm well known for its high-quality healthy snacks, has raised a $3 million Series A investment. The funding was led by Alitheia IDF with a $2 million investment; other investors in this round include Samata Capital and Flying Doctor Healthcare Investment Company contributed. ReelFruit was advised by New Practice on the deal. ReelFruit will use the funds to expand its dried fruit production, develop new products, and grow exports by 10 times to 15 MT in the first year. As part of its expansion plans, ReelFruit will purchase a new plant in Ogun…
It is paramount for African nations to not depend solely on foreign countries for healthcare support, as the continent cannot outsource its health to other parts of the world. This was disclosed by the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina, at the 76th General Assembly of the United Nations. Adesina spoke at a virtual session, which featured the AfDB president, World Trade Organization Director-General, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and Global Infrastructure Partners’ vice-chairman and partner, Jim Yong Kim. In a statement published on the Bank’s website, it stated, “Global leaders, in a sideline event on health during the United…
The Federal Government has disclosed that the Five Generation (5G) network will be in operation Nigeria starting January 2022 and will help in the monitoring against vandalism of public assets. This is came a few weeks after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) signed and approved the national policy on 5G network for Nigeria’s digital economy with various benefits expected to gain from employing such network including increased connectivity. According to NAN, this was established by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, on Thursday in Maiduguri at a Town Hall Meeting organized by the Federal Ministry of Information…
All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) have established that they are planting more crops this year by applying the use of scientific weather prediction from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet). This was earlier mentioned by Alhaji Abdulrahman Yusuf, Vice Chairman, AFAN, on Thursday, during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Minna. He said “We are taking advantage of NiMet prediction that the rains will stop by November instead of October to plant more crops. Right now we are cultivating crops that will take 45 to 60 days to mature,’’ The farmers union chipped in that measures to…
The Federal Government of Nigeria has stated that houses under development in its numerous housing schemes would be allocated through online applications and on a first-come-first-serve basis. The was made known by the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, during an inspection of houses under the Federal Government housing project on Thursday. The Minister told the press that the process of giving out of houses would start through online applications by the beneficiaries. Fashola said and I quote, “The process is going to be on an online platform, the form will be online and pay online, fill them,…
Dr Vera Songwe who is the The Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa , has said that the African Continental Free Trade Area has the potential to increase Africa’s Gross Domestic Product by $1 trillion. She made the remarks at the ECA’s Regional Business Forum, which was themed, “Empowering women youths to drive Africa’s transformation agenda,” “AfCFTA stands to grow Africa’s GDP by an additional one trillion dollars to deliver on what is needed by first unlocking our borders then building value chains and making sure the African women all work together to create…
The Federal Government has sensitized and informed the general public to heightened security activities ahead of preparations to mark Nigeria’s 61st independence anniversary in a couple of days. The warning is coming as the country is faced with different security challenges from terrorists, kidnappers, bandits and even some separatist or self-determination groups. This information was contained in a statement released by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, today, in which he issued the security alert for the October 1st Independence Day celebration. Nigeria has been in the grip of various destructive forces which has led to the…
Helios Investment Partners has made it known that it has made sale of its investment in GB Foods Africa after almost 5 years of maintaining its shareholding in the enterprise. This was made known to the public in a press release published on the company’s official website on September 21, 2021. According to the press release, Helios Investment Partners completed the sale of its 49% stake in GB Foods Africa to its partner and co-shareholder, GB Foods SA. The statement read that the exit “demonstrated the strong buyer appetite for the kinds of market-leading companies we develop over the course…
This is was brought to our knowledge through a press release from the Debt Management Office (DMO). “The Order book peaked at $12.2 billion, which enabled the Federal Government to raise $1 billion more than the $3 billion it initially announced,” they said. Bids were collected from Europe, America and Asia with collaboration from local investors. The government had set up a two-day call with investors last week and on Monday, with the DMO saying that the bond would be priced following the meetings. The notice set September. 28 for the bond settlement, which will be among the London and…
The former Managing Director, Ogun State Property Investment Corporation (OPIC), Babajide Odusolu, has described the allegation brought against him on financial unaccountability by the State’s House of Assembly as untrue. Me Odusolu made this known this at a press briefing in Lagos on Tuesday. He stated that the accounting processes, policies, and standards of the agency are predefined, and that there is no money missing, adding that a formal forensic audit will confirm and back up his claim. At the appearance before the committee, the DFA of OPIC explained OPIC’s accounting procedure to the committee. We fully demonstrated that such…
Mr Nasir El-Rufai who is the Governor of kaduna state has warned that if Nigeria does not look into proper investments in education, nutrition, health and security, the insecurity situation in the country will get out of hand. The Governor, representing the North West zone at the Human Capital Development Council meeting, complained about the increased rate of out-of-school children and poverty in the region, at a validation meeting for Nigeria’s Human Capital Development (HCD) Communications action plan at the State House Banquet Hall, Abuja on Tuesday. He said, “This is why I must pay compliments to the vice president…
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has boldly come out to declare a one-month sit-at-home protest in the eastern part of the country if its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, is not brought to court on October 21. The decision from IPOB follows information received by the group about an alleged plot by the Department of State Service (DSS) not to produce Kanu in court on October 21 as part of the plan to continue to incarcerate him. This disclosure is was made in a statement issued by the Media and Publicity Secretary of the secessionist group, Emma Powerful, on Wednesday in…
Jobberman which is identified as a job placement firm, has announced its commitment for Better Work initiative, as part of its longstanding partnership with the Mastercard Foundation. The employer-centred initiative is directed towards the radically bolster recruitment in Nigeria, with the eyed goal on driving female hires and providing integrated end-to-end support on the easy to use online jobs platform. According to the statement, the initiative, which will be targeted mainly at both large corporations and SMEs in Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Kaduna, will be able to capitalise on access to over 182,000 pre-vetted jobseekers between the age of…
JP Morgan publicly stated that Nigeria’s economy is expected to grow less than analysts estimate, projecting the economy to only grow by 1.5% this year. This was disclosed by JPMorgan Chase Bank NA analysts including Gbolahan Taiwo and Ayomide Mejabi in an email aired by Bloomberg on Wednesday afternoon. The report included JP Morgan saying that Nigeria’s economy is likely to expand by 1.5% in 2021. They mentioned that the “continued lack of foreign-exchange liquidity, underlying economic weakness, an soon to come third wave of Covid-19 infections and a slow rollout of vaccines will likely slow the recovery process.” JP…
The Lagos State Government has given out a stop-work-order as it commenced total enforcement and halting of operations against indiscriminate activities and unauthorized shoreline extensions along Lagos Waterfront. The action goes in line with serious concerns brought up by the state government over the illegal operations of developers in those specific areas which have resulted in imminent violation of the Physical Planning laws of the state. This was disclosed by the Lagos State Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure Development, Arc. Ahmed Kabiru Abdullahi, who said that the Ministry has issued Stop-Work-Order notices to illegal operators of reclamation and unapproved shoreline extension…
The Federal Government has announced that it is moving towards the recovery of £200 million of Nigeria’s assets stashed in the United States, as it embarks on a massive recovery of assets owned to the country. The movement is part of the federal government’s plan instituted at recovering public funds stashed in various foreign bank accounts across the globe. This was disclosed by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and the Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, while speaking on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Malami, during his interaction, spoke about Nigeria’s fight against…
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disbursed N41.06 billion to ten (10) DisCos, for the distribution and installation of 759,748 meters of electricity. This was disclosed in the “CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA COMMUNIQUÉ NO. 138 OF THE 281ST MONETARY POLICY COMMITTEE MEETING” which was held on Thursday, 16th and Friday, 17th, September 2021. The apex bank has always shown its commitment to support the Nigeria energy sector, promote the National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP) and the Federal Government’s Auto-Gas Conversion Programme. CBN said, “Under the National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP), N41.06 billion has been disbursed to ten (10) DisCos,…
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has dismissed calls for the resignation of its Governor, Godwin Emefiele, amid naira exchange rate concerns. Mr Osita Nwanisobi, Director of Corporate Communications, Central Bank of Nigeria, dismissed calls for the Governor of the CBN to resign on Monday evening in Abuja, according to The Nation. Some parties that may have been dissatisfied with the apex bank’s foreign currency strategy have demanded for Emefiele’s resignation. The CBN’s spokesman, on the other hand, has rejected it, insisting that the calls were based on selfish agenda fueled by greed.