The Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Abhay Thakur, has pledged his country’s readiness to provide the needed support to Nigerian seafarers in its drive to further deepen the India-Nigeria relations and economic ties. Thakur made the pledge at the Mission to Seafarers Lagos Symposium, titled, ‘Maritime industry and development of Nigeria – Connecting with our heritage’, where he was represented by the Head of Chancery at the commission, Rachit Rawat. He said India would support seafarers in the areas of training, facility support and other logistics as a major maritime player in the global economy. Chairman, MTS Lagos, Adebayo Sarumi,…
Author: Temitope Nlewemchi
The Federal Government has announced its readiness to receive and process applications for the granting of plant variety protection rights to agric investors. The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Sabo Nanono, and the Director-General, National Agricultural Seeds Council, Olusegun Ojo, announced that this was part of moves by the government to implement the Plant Variety Protection Act 2021. They spoke on the occasion of the unveiling of the PVP Act 2021, which was organised by the NASC and the Nigerian Economic Summit Group in Abuja. In his address at the event, Ojo said in implementing the recently assented Act,…
The Central Bank of Nigeria has said it sees the country’s inflation rate dropping to single digit next year, with the full implementation of its recent policies designed to boost different sectors of the economy. The Director of Monetary Policy Department, CBN, Dr Hassan Mahmud, said this on Friday at the virtual mid-year economic review and outlook 2021, which was organised by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria’s Centre for Financial Studies and B. Adedipe Associates. The country’s inflation rate fell slightly from 17.93 per cent in May to 17.75 per cent in June, according to the National Bureau…
Company income tax (CIT) realised in the second quarter (Q2) stood at N1.46 billion, up from N0.39 billion realised the same period last year. This translates to a 273 per cent increase, which suggests a much-improved company performance compared with last year. Unlike the last quarter, the economy was locked down in Q2 last year the global community battled to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to data sourced from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the amount realised from the sector in Q2 was also 157 per cent higher quarter-on-quarter (QoQ). About 633 million was realised from…
…Investors’ wealth rises by N163b in three trading days The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has received financing from the African Development Bank (AFDB) to strengthen its regulatory capacity, especially in the areas of investor protection and minimising systemic risk. The grant from the AfDB Group/Capital Markets Development Trust Fund is to finance risk-based supervision framework implementation and capacity development project. According to the SEC, the principal objectives of the project are to provide technical assistance and capacity building on selected areas of the commission’s operations, support implementation of risk-based supervision framework, improve the securities markets regulatory environment and broadening…
Despite the gender gap and social challenges, entrepreneurial women across the world and in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) are leading the way in tapping into the power of the digital economy to succeed and grow. In new research by Mastercard, women-owned small and medium enterprises (SMEs) believe there are huge benefits of a cash-free economy to their businesses. According to the inaugural Mastercard MEA SME Confidence Index, 81 per cent of the region’s women entrepreneurs have a digital presence for their businesses, compared to 68 per cent of their male counterparts. In terms of the digital footprint of…
As Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) in Nigeria moves to divest its assets in Nigeria, especially joint venture licenses and interests in 19 Oil Mining Leases, a global research body yesterday, put the estimated value of the assets at $2.3 billion. While the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylvia had said the government was engaging with the Royal Dutch Shell Plc to continue onshore oil and gas business in Nigeria, Shell has been gradually reducing investment in Nigeria amidst disputes and a harsh operating environment. Earlier in the week, Shell had agreed to pay about N46 billion as…
Redeveloped National Theatre ready next year The Bankers’ Committee, yesterday, warned against abuse of the new foreign exchange (FX) sale, saying individuals who circumvent the process would be handed over to the law enforcement agents. Briefing the media on the outcome of its meeting, the bankers promised to support the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for the smooth implementation of the new FX sale. The apex bank recently stopped the funding of FX to bureau de change (BDCs) and mandated deposit money banks (DMBS) to take a full change of FX to personal and business travel allowance (PTA/BTA) users. Speaking…
As prevailing economic challenges undermine investments and disposable incomes, local manufacturers have expressed concerns about the loss of investments to neighbouring African countries. The Senior Partner, Delloite Nigeria, Mr. Bernard Orji, during the 50th yearly meeting of the MAN, Apapa Branch in Lagos, stated that the prevailing challenges in the operating environment are undermining the growth of the real sector. According to him, the high level of insecurity in the country is a major bottleneck hindering the growth of the sector, pointing out that insecurity would persist as long as the country keeps recording high unemployment levels. “The insecurity has…
The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has stated that the Nigerian Gas Transportation Network Code (NGTNC) introduced last year to guide open access transportation of natural gas, has already attracted investment proposals of over $500 million. According to the Director, DPR, Sarki Auwalu, so far, the Department has received investment proposals for power generation, ammonia for fertilizer, domestic LNG, methanol, virtual gas pipeline systems, new gas hubs and the establishment of Nigeria gas trading exchange. Through its Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme (NGFCP), the DPR noted that plans are ongoing to reduce gas flaring from the current single digits of…
The Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has reiterated the need for Nigeria to diversify its economy from crude oil, noting that the nation can earn $20bn yearly from the cultivation and production of oil palm. Obaseki, who spoke to journalists in Benin City, said the decline in prices of crude oil and the COVID -19 pandemic, highlight the importance and urgency to diversify the country’s economy creating an alternative source of revenue. The governor said his government is investing in the agricultural sector to boost the state’s economy, tackle food insecurity and create wealth for Edo citizens. He said: “The…
Financial analysts at EFG Hermes Holdings have said the reason behind Nigeria’s falling reserves is still not straightforward considering limited transparency of reserves and balance of payments numbers. Indeed, the analysts highlighted four main factors that dictate the disappointing movement of reserves. In its latest report, titled ‘More pressure on NGN; adjustment edging closer’, EFG Hermes Holdings noted that Nigeria has been exporting less oil in the past year given its commitment to OPEC+ production cuts. The report stated that crude oil export volumes are down by 20 per cent on average in the year to June, reducing the upside…
Heavy reliance on importation and weak Naira-to-Dollar exchange rate have been blamed for the spike in aviation fuel, currently pegged at N315/litre. Fuel marketers, yesterday, said besides the local charges and fees that are fixed, fluctuations in the global price of crude oil and the exchange rate would continue to affect the price of fuel, until there is a renewed effort to refine the product locally. Findings showed that the essential commodity lately sold for N315 per litre at airports in Northern parts of the country and above N220 in the South. The rate is an upward review from N215…
A new study by researchers at Imperial College London has found that fully vaccinated people have their risk of infection from the COVID-19 Delta variant reduced by 50 to 60 per cent. The study emphasised the need for people who have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to go for their second dose, noting that it would protect them against the highly transmissible Delta variant. The study also reconfirmed the link between COVID-19 infections and hospitalisations which has begun to wane. It stated that the Delta variant is causing a rise in cases of hospitalisation. According to the…
The Gombe State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Habu Dahiru, says the state has intensified COVID-19 surveillance at the Gombe NYSC camp and in the various local government areas. According to the commissioner, the surveillance started after 25 corps members tested positive for COVID-19 at the Gombe NYSC camp. He said, “We are conducting more surveillance at the NYSC camp. We are also conducting surveillance across the Local Government Areas as we are getting more cases in the town. Speaking in an interview, Dahiru, who also doubles as Gombe Incident Manager, noted that the state reached out to other states, where…
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control says cholera has so far killed 816 people in Nigeria in 2021. The agency in its latest report also said 22 states and the Federal Capital Territory have reported suspected cholera cases in 2021. According to the NCDC, as of August 1, 2021, a total of 31,425 suspected cases including 816 deaths have been reported from Benue state, Delta state, Zamfara state, Gombe state, Bayelsa state, Kogi state, Sokoto state, Bauchi state, Kano state. Other affected states are Kaduna, Plateau, Kebbi, Cross River, Niger, Nasarawa, Jigawa, Yobe, Kwara, Enugu, Adamawa, Katsina, Borno and the…
Kaduna State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Amina Mohammed-Baloni, says more than 130,000 residents of the state have been tested for COVID-19. Mohammed-Baloni disclosed this on Monday while delivering a lecture at Kaduna State University, Kaduna. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the event was the 2021 Annual Faculty Day Lecture of the Faculty of Public Health and Community Medicine of the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria. NAN also reports that the lecture was entitled: ‘Exploring the Impact of COVID-19 on Communities and the Mitigation Efforts.’ According to the commissioner, 9,100 people have tested positive for the virus in…
A survey by Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) estimates the number of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the country, which Taiwo Oyedele, tax lead at PwC Nigeria, said could reduce the unemployment rate by more than half if there is a new policy that would enable them to employ engage one additional employee. Such policies, the Managing Director of Wema Bank Plc, Ademola Adebise, does not necessarily have to be restricted to funding, saying, “I have seen many MSMEs with access to funds struggle as a result of the absence of skills to manage…
The reduction in employment shrinks disposable incomes and consumption. A falling consumption further swells inventories, leading to additional cuts in variable costs, including labour – a decision that frequently renders many people unemployed. When this cyclical process continues uninterrupted as it has become in Nigeria, poverty and social tensions increase. And when a society becomes unsafe, existing businesses also get hit and start rounds of layoff, which further threatens the economic prosperity of the country and complicates the job outlook. The socio-economic disaster of a downtrend economy justifies the rising stimulus culture, among modern economies. Unfortunately, Nigeria currently nestles in-between…
The Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) has initiated the second edition of its insurance textbooks for both secondary school and college students. The move, according to the institute, is to promote insurance education and sensitisation to the next generation. The second edition of the textbooks is an improvement on the first edition in terms of quality, design, and contents. The Lagos State ministry of education had earlier approved the institute’s secondary school textbooks as recommended textbooks for insurance in all secondary schools across the state. The President/Chairman of CIIN, Muftau Oyegunle, at the unveiling in Lagos, said all tertiary…