The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite, has called on state Governments to create an enabling environment for investment to thrive. Adegbite said that the chief security officers of their various states, it is the duty of the governors to create a safe environment in terms of security and ensure that investors are not exploited. The minister stated this in a statement signed by Mrs Idowu Jokpeyibo, on behalf of the Head of Press and Public Relations Unit, after receiving the Katsina State Governor, Aminu Bello Masari, who paid the minister a courtesy visit. He called on State…
Author: Temitope N.
The United Nations Children’s Fund has condemned the deaths of three children in Borno, north-east Nigeria, who were reportedly killed by unexploded remnants of war. In a press statement made available by its Communications Officer, Folashade Adebayo stated that the avoidable deaths of the children – as young as 12 years – who were playing on Mblu Bridge in Ngala, is yet another sad reminder that children remain direct and indirect targets of the protracted conflict wracking north-east Nigeria. “While three children have sadly lost their lives, three others are in critical conditions while two other children sustained mild injuries.…
The Federal Government has commenced the implementation of new rates for vehicle number plates and driving licence across the country. According to the Joint Tax Board, Nigerians will now pay N18,750 for standard private and commercial number plates against the old rate of N12,500. Fancy number plate which was N80,000 is now N200,000; motorcycle number plate is N5,000 from N3,000 while articulated number plates (three plates) attract N30,000 from N20,000. For these rates, the minimum increase is 50 per cent. Out of series number plate has also been revised to N50,000 from N40,000 while government fancy number plate is N20,000…
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,…
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…