African Energy Chamber, Afreximbank Sign MoU to Boost Private Sector Investments

By Adedapo Adesanya The President of the Dangote Group, the owners of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals plant, Mr Aliko Dangote, has said that following the purchase of 1 million barrels of Agbami crude grade from Shell International Trading and Shipping Company Limited (STASCO), it will be looking to ramp up its production in coming months. The 650,000 barrels per day capacity refinery is not expected to hit full capacity until 2025, but with a gradual ramping, it is expected that it will begin with begin producing up to 370,000 barrels per day of diesel and jet fuel. “We

By Adedapo Adesanya Nigerian crude output fell by 30,000 barrels per day to 1.43 million barrels per day in November, according to data from an S&P Global Commodity Insight. This was lower than the 1.46 million barrels produced in October by Africa’s largest oil producer and 312,000 barrels per day short of its 1.742 million barrels per day target in 2023. Angola, Africa’s second-largest oil producer, saw output drop 20,000 barrels per day to 1.13 million barrels per day, according to the survey, compared with its quota of 1.46 million barrels per day. The drops impacted the wider output of

By Precious Olisa The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) have expressed their disappointment over the increasing exit of multinationals from the Nigerian market. The two organisations reacted to the planned exit of Procter & Gamble (P&G) from the country over economic headwinds. P&G announced its intention to close down its manufacturing operations in Nigeria and adopt an import-only business model due to the foreign exchange (FX) crisis in the country. This is coming some weeks after GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Sanofi, Unilever Nigeria, Equinor and others have also indicated their interest in quitting

By Adedapo Adesanya The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has urged the federal government to pay marketers their bridging claims to enable them to begin to lift petroleum products from the depots. This was disclosed by the Public Relations Officer of the association, Mr Yakubu Suleiman, in Abuja on Tuesday over assertions that the FG owes its members N500 billion as bridging claims also known as transportation claims. Mr Suleiman also urged the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) to convert the special allocation of products meant for cargo to IPMAN in order to quickly address the current shortage

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The board of Multiverse Mining and Exploration Plc has announced the appointment of Messrs Olukayode Aina & Co as its new external auditors. Messrs Olukayode Aina & Co is a firm of Chartered Accountants which was founded in 1991 and has since played a key role in offering Accounting and Auditing services to the general public since its formation. The appointment of this company followed the ineligibility of the former external auditors of Multiverse Mining and Exploration, Messrs Sola Oyetayo & Co, for another period, having worked for the mining firm for 10 years. According to a

By Adedapo Adesanya An Equinix company, MainOne, a leading provider of wholesale connectivity and data centre services in West Africa, will host the 7th edition of its flagship event, Nerds Unite, on Thursday, June 23, 2022. The highly engaging annual event themed The Power of Global Interconnection will feature a keynote address on Interconnection and the power of the global Equinix Platform to connect African Businesses and Global/Local Service providers to be delivered by Vice President, Growth and Emerging Markets, Equinix, Mrs Judith Gardiner. The conference will also feature two-panel sessions on the topics Unlocking Growth through An Interconnected Global

By Ashemiriogwa Emmanuel The immediate past director-general (DG) of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce Industry (LCCI), Mr Muda Yusuf, has blamed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for the low influx of foreign investors into the country, especially through foreign direct investments (FDIs). According to the economic expert, the policies of the apex bank as regards the foreign exchange (FX) cannot attract investors into the country. Mr Yusuf, while speaking last week on Fact File, a programme anchored by Mr Tayo Somide on RayPower FM, said no investor will want to bring in forex at N410 when it trades at

By Dipo Olowookere Data about Nigeria’s rising debt and inflation had a minor impact on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Friday, as late bargain-hunting lifted the bourse by 0.09 per cent at the close of business. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said yesterday that inflation rose by 25.80 per cent in August from 24.08 per cent in July, just as the Debt Management Office (DMO) revealed that the country’s debt rose by 75.3 per cent to N87.38trn in the second quarter of this year. Investors shrugged off these concerns, including news that Brent sold at $94 per barrel,

By Dipo Olowookere The elevation of Ms Ebikaboere Seimodei to the position of Director of Operations has been announced by Transcorp Hilton Abuja, the flagship property of Transcorp Hotels Plc. This has made Ms Seimodei the first Nigerian to occupy the position. Before her latest promotion, Ms Seimodei was the hotel’s Operations Manager and with her promotion, she will lead the operations team of the 670-room hotel to deliver consistent service. A graduate of Sociology from the University of Jos, the new Director has been on various Hilton leadership programmes. She was also certified as a Kaizen Manager by the

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The fitness campaign of a leading domestic payment cards and tokens brand, Verve, VerveLife, will get bigger this year as a leading global sportswear giant, adidas, has expressed its intention to be part of it. Six years ago, Verve started the initiative. It has grown to be one of the biggest fitness festivals on the African continent, attracting several participants. For VerveLife 6.0, adidas is coming to use the programme to grow its brand presence in Nigeria, according to the Commercial Director Africa at adidas, Mr Brett Burgess. “We are excited by our partnership with VerveLife as

By Adedapo Adesanya The Governor of Ekiti State, Mr Kayode Fayemi, has called for more investments into the arts and culture sector of the country. This charge was given by the state governor at the opening session of the 34th National Festival of Arts and Culture (NAFEST). Declaring open the cultural fiesta themed Celebrating National Unity in Diversity,  the Ekiti State Governor, who is also the Chairman, Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), described the annual cultural celebration as a vital tool for integration, unity, economic prosperity and political stability of the country. He maintained that the current economic and political state