90% of Nigeria’s Tax Revenue Come From Non-Oil Sector—FIRS

By Adedapo Adesanya The House of Representatives has pledged to stop international oil companies (IOCs) operating in the Niger Delta from divestment of their offshore assets without being accountable to the environment. The Chairman of the House of Reps Committee on Host Communities, Mr Dumnamene Dekor, said this during a technical session on the implementation of the Host Communities Development Trusts (HCDT), organised by Spaces for Change (S4C) with support from Ford Foundation. Mr Dekor raised the alarm that since the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act in 2021, host communities have not experienced any positive change, rather have remained

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira started the first trading session in the last month of 2023 on a negative note after it depreciated against the Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), which is the official FX window, by 11.4 per cent or N94.87 on Friday, December 1, closing at N927.19/$1, in contrast to Thursday’s exchange rate of N832.32/$1. The December rush for forex contributed to the weakening of the domestic currency in the spot market yesterday, as the supply of foreign currency could not meet what customers needed. Data showed that the value of FX transactions recorded

By Adedapo Adesanya The return of the bears was averted at the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Thursday by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which helped the alternative bourse close marginally higher by 0.03 per cent. This slight growth increased the value of the OTC exchange by N380 million, closing relatively flat at N1.165 trillion, as the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) increased by 0.27 points to end the day at 859.58 points compared with the previous day’s 859.31 points. During the trading day, the value of CSCS Plc went up by 8 Kobo to settle at N17.08

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira put up a weak performance against the United States Dollar across the various segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Thursday. November 30, 2023, the last trading session of the month. In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) window, which is the official market, the Nigerian currency lost 0.1 per cent or 85 Kobo against the greenback during the session to settle at N832.32/$1 compared with the preceding day’s value of N831.47/$1. A slight strain in the supply of forex into the spot market was partly responsible for the weakening of the local

By Emmanuel Nwachukwu The outbreak of the novel COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the world economy negatively and has led to significant shifts in customer needs and behaviour as well as reconfiguration business operating models. The resultant socio-economic reality has created unprecedented challenges for sellers, thus making businesses explore new territories to maintain relevance and grow sales, with digital tools and e-commerce platforms proving crucial in achieving these objectives. An Adobe report released mid-July revealed that the pandemic has massively accelerated the growth of e-commerce, as data showed total online spending in May hit $82.5 billion, up 77% year-on-year. The report

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The management of Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) has introduced a new code of ethics for its member with the aim to reduce or possibly eliminate financial corruption from the profession. Addressing journalists this week in Lagos, President of ICAN, Mr Isma’ila Zakari, explained that the ethical standard applies to all categories of professional accountants, including auditors and others in the public and private practices, including those in the not-for-profit organisations. He noted that it would make practitioners exhibit high level of professionalism, as well as boost government’s war against corruption. The International Ethics Standard

By Adedapo Adesanya In a collaborative effort to augment the efforts of the government against the COVID-19 pandemic, top communication service provider, MTN Nigeria, has pledged to support to both federal and state governments with communication systems, analytical response, and risk profiling. This was disclosed in a press statement issued, sent to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) by the company and sighted by Business Post. The service provider also added that it was going to donate N500 million worth of airtime, data, and analytics, through the Nigerian Governor’s Forum (NGF) in support to state governments to facilitate communication during travel

By Chinwendu Obienyi Nigerian businesses can be successful and better managed if there is a cost-effective way of handling transactions, reducing purchasing risk through increasing social interaction and personalization of the shopping experience via chat commerce. This was the view of the Chief Commercial Officer, Clickatell, Hannes Van Rensburg who spoke to newsmen in Lagos recently. Describing Nigeria as a laboratory of ideas, Van Rensburg noted that Clickatell understands emerging markets and is coming to revolutionise the narrative on chat commerce while adding that the company has the right connections that will enable companies engage in chat transactions. He added

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Worried by the incessant attacks in Imo State, especially the burning of the country home of the President of the Ohaneze Ndigbo, Mr George Obiozor, over the weekend, President Muhammadu Buhari has summoned the Governor of Imo State, Mr Hope Uzodinma, to Abuja. The President, at the time of filing this report, is having a meeting with Mr Uzodinma, over the security situation in his state. Mr Buhari has also directed the Minister of Power, Mr Abubakar Aliyu, and his Chief Economic Adviser, Prof Doyin Salami, to be at the Presidential Villa for a crucial meeting. A

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State on Thursday signed seven bills passed by the state’s House of Assembly into law. The seven bills the governor assented to were the Amended Land Use Charge Bill, the Electricity Power Sector Reform Law, the School of Nursing Bill, the Cooperative College Bill, the Cancer Research Institute Bill, the Amended Customary Court Bill and the Yoruba Language Preservation bill. According to Mr Ambode, the most significant of bills he signed into law today is the Electricity Power Sector Reform Law, which he explained gives legal backing to the Embedded Power Programme.

Forex trading in Malaysia has been legal and regulated by the central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), since 2012. While Malaysia’s growing economy attracts financial companies, traders need to beware of scammers who target beginners seeking quick profits. Traders Union (TU) experts provide a Forex scammer list for Malaysia and discuss types of Forex scams. Blacklist of Forex scam brokers in Malaysia BNM, the country’s financial regulator, maintains a list of nearly 400 companies involved in Forex trading scams in Malaysia. These companies are regularly updated as they engage in fraudulent activities, such as using manipulated software, blocking withdrawals, and

By Adedapo Adesanya The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has reduced the life ban of former Nigerian national team coach, Samson Siasia, for a match-fixing affair to five years. The court ruled that the life ban, imposed by the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) in April 2019 after Mr Siaisia was found guilty of agreeing to join a match-fixing ring in 2010, was “disproportionate”. The CAS ruling upheld the guilty verdict but reduced the length of the ban and set aside the additional fine of 50,000 Swiss francs ($54,000). In a statement, the Court ruled that “The panel