April Deadline for Lagos-Ibadan Rail Project Shaky—Amaechi

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Lagos State House of Assembly is considering regulating the multiple dues collected by transport unions in the metropolis to ease the burden on commuters, who are forced to pay higher by drivers. This was one of the issues addressed at the plenary on Tuesday by the state legislators. Another matter discussed by the lawmakers was the activities of some officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) in the state. On Monday, it was reported that a driver, who was allegedly being chased by officials of the traffic control agency, crushed to death two workers

By Adedapo Adesanya  The Ogun State Government has disclosed that the construction of bus stations for the take-off of the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Mass Transit scheme along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway axis will commence soon, with core stations to be sited within the Mowe, Ibafo, Arepo, and Berger axis of the ever-busy expressway. This was disclosed by the state’s Commissioner for Transportation, Mr Olugbenga Dairo, on Thursday as a guest on a radio programme in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. According to him, the construction will commence in earnest, as necessary implementation frameworks have been put in place, even as

By Bliss Okperan Users of ride-hailing mobile applications like Uber, Bolt, LagRide and others may have to submit their National Identification Number (NIN) for registration before using the services if the demands of the Amalgamated Union of App-based Transporters of Nigeria are granted by the federal government. The group has asked the government to force the ride-hailing companies to capture the NIN of passengers before ordering a ride. The drivers made this request because of the incessant killing of their colleagues by hoodlums across the country. In a statement made available to journalists, the ride-hailing drivers said if this demand

By Adedapo Adesanya Transactions closed on Wednesday October 23, 2019 at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment of the foreign exchange (forex) market with the Naira making a non-impacting movement against the US Dollar. Business Post reports that the local currency saw a one kobo decline yesterday as the Naira traded at N362.12/$1 against the US Dollar at the Investors window. The Naira had previously traded at N362.11/$1 on Tuesday at the same window. However, there was a significant increase in the value of transactions recorded at the market during the midweek session. Trades worth $196.32 million were transacted yesterday

By Dipo Olowookere The 2017 Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Diamond Bank Plc will take place on Tuesday, June 12, 2018, the company has confirmed. In a notice to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Thursday, the lender said the event will hold at the Ibom Hotel & Golf Resort, Nwaniba Road, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State by 10am. At the meeting, shareholders will discuss the firm’s 2017 financial statements, which fell short of expectations. However, the shareholders will have no business considering approval of cash dividend payment for the period ended December 2017. This is because Diamond Bank’s board of

By Adedapo Adesanya Revenues from financial technology (fintech) companies could grow by 800 per cent to reach $30 billion by 2025, consultancy firm McKinsey & Company has revealed. As the fastest-growing start-up industry on the continent, African fintech raised over $1,3 billion in 2021 alone; the success of fintech companies is being fuelled by several trends, including increasing smartphone ownership, declining internet costs,  expanded network coverage, and a young, fast-growing, and rapidly urbanizing population. African fintech has a significant impact on day-to-day life on the continent, and with its current upward trend, it can be perfectly poised to rapidly advance

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A branch of Sterling Bank Plc in Enugu State has been sealed by officials of the Enugu State Inland Revenue Service. The tax agency accused the financial institution of not remitting the necessary taxes to the state government as required by law. It was gathered that the bank was specifically sealed on Tuesday over alleged non-remittance of withholding tax on interest deduction due to the Enugu State government for the period of 2015 and 2016. Sterling Bank was accused of owing N72 million. The bank was sealed after the Enugu State Board of Internal Revenue reportedly obtained

By Dipo Olowookere The value of shares transacted this week by investors on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) depreciated by N31.98 billion compared with last week. A total turnover of 2.182 billion shares worth N22.795 billion in 17,019 deals were traded this week in contrast to a total of 2.804 billion shares valued at N54.776 billion that exchanged hands last week in 17,792 deals. The Financial Services Industry (measured by volume) led the activity chart with 1.755 billion shares valued at N11.571 billion traded in 8,730 deals; thus contributing 80.44% and 50.76% to the total equity turnover

The Nigerian government has placed orders for the massive importation of kerosene into the country, Punch reports. This is in a bid to check the arbitrary increase in the pump price of the product, oil marketers explained. According to them, the government has also ordered huge importation of Automated Gas Oil, popularly known as diesel. They further stated that with the increase in the supply of the United States dollars by the Central Bank of Nigeria, the price of Premium Motor Spirit, otherwise called petrol, will not be hiked as earlier anticipated. Last week, oil marketers had told The PUNCH

By Jerome-Mario Utomi At a glance, President Muhammadu Buhari comments during his 2021 New Year message to Nigerians on Friday, January 1, 2021, that; “this administration would continue to focus on delivering key strategic priorities under our SEA (Security, Economy and Anti-Corruption) agenda,” without any shadow of the doubt portrays his led federal government as a government that understands the experts believe by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, that the efficiency of the government sector does not only affect the performance of the public sector-it affects that of the whole country, including the private sector. When the public sector

The African Continental Free Trade Area agreement (AfCFTA) came into force on May 30, 2019. In April 2019, Gambia ratified the agreement, bringing the total number of African Union (AU) member state ratifications to 22, the minimum threshold for AfCFTA’s implementation. In the last month, the required number of endorsements was received by the AU and the agreement is now in force. According to Virusha Subban, Partner specialising in Customs and Trade at Baker McKenzie in Johannesburg “AfCFTA aims to eliminate tariffs on intra-African trade, reduce unemployment, increase infrastructure development and create a more competitive, yet sustainable environment for cross-border