At Last, Lagos Blue Rail Begins Operations

By Adedapo Adesanya Five Nigerian transport startups have emerged from Seedstars and Lab of Tomorrow (LoT) 17, an innovative programme aimed at transforming Nigeria’s transport and e-commerce sectors. These are CargoLink, Efotainer, MonieMove, SHAPP, and Trade Tracka. These selected startups will bring fresh ideas for overhauling intercity and last-mile transport services for people and goods in Nigeria. In a statement seen by Business Post, LoT 17 focused on Nigeria, where the booming e-commerce and logistics sectors are poised for technological innovation. However, challenges remain, especially in terms of transportation quality and the sector’s largely informal nature. The programme, thus, targeted

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 Lagos State Government has announced that the first phase of the Blue Rail Line will commence operations on Monday, September 4. The Managing Director of the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), Mrs Abimbola Akinajo, made this known at the Marina Train Station on Wednesday. Mrs Akinajo also noted that the first train ride would kick off by 9 am with Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on board, along with other passengers, from Marina to Mile 2 Train Station. Mrs Akinajo explained that for the first four weeks, the rain will run only 12 trips with the locomotive

By Adedapo Adesanya After years of delays and extensions, the Lagos Blue Line Rail has begun commercial operations, with Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu taking the first ride this morning (September 4). The first phase of the rail line extends from Marina to Mile 2 with five stations located in Marina, National Theatre, Iganmu, Alaba, and Orile. Operations commenced from Marina to Mile 2 Train Station, with Mr Sanwo-Olu taking the first ride at about 09:45 am. He was joined by some select persons, including the Commissioner of Police for the state, Mr Idowu Owohunwa; the First Lady, Mrs Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu; the

By Adedapo Adesanya  The scarcity of Dollar at the foreign exchange (forex) market is gradually biting harder on customers, who have to battle hard to obtain the ‘precious’ currency for their transactions. At the Bureaux De Change (BDC) segment of the market on Thursday, the Naira further depreciated against the United States Dollar. According to data obtained by Business Post from the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) yesterday, the domestic currency lost N4 against the Dollar in Lagos to sell at N461/$1 compared with N457/$1 it sold on Wednesday. Then against the pound, the local currency

By Dipo Olowookere Founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, has returned to Nigeria barely 24 hours after he left the shores of the country for Kenya. Mr Zuckerberg was in Lagos, Nigeria on Wednesday, but left the next to Kenya to discuss ways to take ICT in the East African country to greater height. But on Friday, September 2, 2016, the Facebook owner returned to Nigeria, but this time, he went straight to Abuja. Mr Zuckerberg was received by President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The social media guru, during his visit, also met with

By Adedapo Adesanya The Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) has revealed plans to review its training structure for more effective and inclusive results. This was disclosed by the Executive Director of Administration of NSITF, Mrs Maureen Allagoa, in Abuja, noting that staff of the agency would be exposed to more impactful courses both offline and online. She said, “Our training structure has been reviewed to make it more effective, ensure that it is all-inclusive, need-based, and cost-effective. Continuous training using online modules on different courses will be introduced for all staff. “We will also engage in train-the-trainer programmes to

By Modupe Gbadeyanka About 1,020 owners of small businesses in domiciled in Ikoyi-Obalende Local Council Development Area Lagos State has received grants from the council at a ceremony held recently. Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Mr Obafemi Hamzat, who was present at the event, said the state government will continue to support small-scale business entrepreneurs by providing an enabling environment to grow their businesses in order to reduce poverty. The Deputy Governor noted that the initiative was to empower people at the grassroots to grow their various businesses and to make them self-dependent, maintaining that the amount of money some

By Dipo Olowookere The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Wednesday conducted a primary market auction (PMA) for the sale of treasury bills to investors, with the rates tampered with. At the exercise, the central bank offered for sale N90.94 billion worth of the debt instruments across three different maturities. Business Post reports that N1.80 billion worth of 91-day bill, N4.50 billion worth of 182-day bill and N84.64 billion worth of the 364-day bill were auctioned at the PMA. However, the bills were oversubscribed by about 195 percent, reflecting the confidence market participants have in the government’s debt instrument and

By Adedapo Adesanya The NASD Over the Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange was fortified with the necessary nutrients to have the energy for a smooth ride this week, thanks to a dairy company on the exchange, FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc. Business Post reports that on Monday, the unlisted securities market opened the week on the positive note by 0.37 per cent as a result of the performance of the maker of a popular milk product in Nigeria. As a result, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) appreciated by 2.75 points to finish at 738.59 points in contrast to 735.84 points it