Perennial underpricing and poor rates in the ground handling sub-sector of aviation yearly is costing the entire industry a shortfall of $28.35 million or N11.6 billion ($1:N410). A rough estimate in revenue, according to industry benchmark on average handling rate on the continent, showed that the sub-sector is worth at least $56.7 million in turnover, as against the half it currently records yearly in Nigeria. Stakeholders and operators alike have described the shortfall as enormous, with severe implications for safe operations and sustainability. They, again, urged the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to intervene and institute a safety threshold-handling rate…
Author: Temitope N.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, says COVID-19 had helped to reduce the cost of crude oil production in the country. “We have reduced the cost of production successfully the issues of our local currency notwithstanding. “Recently, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) have launched programmes on cost reduction and it has impacted the sector “Both programmes have helped to bring down the cost of production, but what also helped us in reducing the cost of production is from a very unlikely quarter and that is COVID-19. “With COVID-19,…
The senate has ordered the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to go after companies that failed to pay their taxes in 2015. A report by the office of the auditor general of the federation (AuGF) said the FIRS lost up to N17.69 billion in 2015 to some companies whose addresses it claimed could no longer be traced. The senate ordered Muhammad Nami, the executive chairman of the FIRS, to go after the defaulters, recover and remit the revenue to the consolidated revenue fund (CRF) within 90 days. It added that all companies that failed to file their annual returns should…
The Federal Government’s total borrowing from the Central Bank of Nigeria through Ways and Means Advances has ballooned to N15.51tn, rising by 2,286 per cent in six years, data collated from the CBN have shown. The N15.51tn owed by the Federal Government to the central bank is not part of the country’s total public debt stock, which stood at N33.11tn as of March 2021, according to the Debt Management Office. The public debt stock comprises the debts of the Federal Government of Nigeria, the 36 state governments and the Federal Capital Territory. Ways and Means Advances is a loan facility…
The Federal High Court Abuja has frozen the bank accounts of some investment and trading platforms that Nigerians have been using to transact online. Justice Ahmed Mohammed made the order on Tuesday while delivering his ruling in an ex parte application filed by the Central Bank of Nigeria through its lawyer, Micheal Aondoakaa (SAN). Justice Mohammed stated that persons who were aggrieved by the order could approach the court for redress. The CBN told the court that the financial activities of the defendants were being probed for operating without obtaining licence as asset management companies and utilizing FX sourced from…
Following investors’ appetite for some high-capitalised stocks, the Nigerian stock market reversed previous losses to close on an upward note yesterday, as market capitalisation appreciated by N24 billion. Specifically, at the close of transactions yesterday, the market capitalisation of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) rose by N24 billion from N20.582 trillion recorded on Monday to N20.606 trillion. Similarly, the All-share index appreciated by 44.96 points or 0.1 per cent from 39,505.40 points to 39, 550.36 points. Analysts at Investdata Consulting Limited said: “We note that some stocks are trading within their buy ranges to become more attractive at this point…
The headline inflation slowed for the fourth consecutive month in July from a year-on-year (YoY) growth of 17.75 per cent reported in June to 17.38 per cent. This was contained in the consumer price index (CPI) released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) yesterday. The CPI measures the changes in prices of goods and services over time using a weighted average. July’s headline inflation rate is 0.37 percentage points lower than the rate reported in June, showing that the inflation rate increased at a slower speed. The month-on-month inflation rate stood at 0.93 per cent against 1.06 per cent…
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disclosed that it is working with the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) to bring to justice individuals who abuse the naira. The CBN warned those involved in such actions to desist as it was working closely with the NPF and others to enforce a provision of its activities, which prohibits “spraying of, dancing or matching on the naira”. Section 21(3) of the CBN Act 2007 (as amended) stipulates that “spraying of, dancing or matching on the…
The Regional Chief Operating Officer of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Eric Monchu Intong, has reiterated the bank’s commitment to the full implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area [AfCFTA] as it remains the guaranteed strategy for the continent to propel economic recovery. Intong, who is also the bank’s Chief Operating Officer, Anglophone West Africa, disclosed that given the commitment, Afreximbank recently launched a $1 billion adjustment facility as mandated by the African Union to enable States and the private sector to adapt to new trading environment established under the AfCFTA. He stated this yesterday, in his remarks at…
New Zealanders must brace for additional Covid-19 cases from an outbreak that has plunged the previously virus-free country into a snap lockdown, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern warned Wednesday after nine more positive tests. Ardern confirmed New Zealand was dealing with the highly transmissible Delta variant linked to the outbreak in Australia that authorities have so far been unable to contain. Ardern said the rapid rise, taking the total number of cases to 10, justified her decision to issue nationwide stay-at-home orders Tuesday when just one case had been identified. “It demonstrates, at this stage, Level 4 (hard lockdown) is the…