Analysts Warn FG to Avert Imminent Debt Crisis in Nigeria

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 Oil slumped by more than 2 per cent on Friday as traders showed scepticism about the depth of supply cuts by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) as well as concerns about sluggish global manufacturing activity. Brent crude went down by $1.98 or 2.45 per cent to close at $78.88 a barrel as the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude dropped $1.89 or 2.49 per cent to sell for $74.07 a barrel. For the week, Brent posted a decline of about 2.1 per cent, while WTI lost more than 1.9 per cent.

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Business owners in Lagos have been assured of more incentives by the state governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who added that this is part of his administration’s commitment to reforms aimed at improving the ease of doing business and enhancing investment opportunities. Speaking at the commissioning of the newly-built wet hair production factory of Godrej Nigeria Limited, the Governor said his government would continue to pursue actions that would eliminate red tapes and regulatory impediments hindering the growth of businesses in the state, thereby demonstrating his willingness for continued collaboration with the private sector to improve the livelihood

By Adedapo Adesanya The trio of Newrest Asl Plc, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, and Acorn Petroleum Plc made the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange appreciate by 0.14 per cent on Friday, December 1. The three gainers pressed down the 8 Kobo loss reported by UBN Property Plc, which closed the trading session at N1.52 per unit compared with the preceding day’s value of N1.60 per unit. During the trading day, Newrest Plc gained N1.46 to close at N16.10 per share compared with Thursday’s closing price of N14.64 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc moved up by 60 Kobo to end the

Every day across Africa, people turn to Google products like Search, YouTube and Fitbit for insights about their health and wellbeing. But many may not know that we have also been researching how AI can help improve healthcare outcomes for people, and how AI can empower our partners to deliver better health services — from improving maternal health outcomes to building useful digital tools for healthcare workers. To mark the upcoming Africa HealthTech Summit in Kigali, Rwanda — an event that brings together a diverse group of digital health innovators and public health experts to share knowledge and ideas to

By Dipo Olowookere A passionate appeal has been made to religious organizations, traders, artisans, transport unions and others to partner with the Lagos State Government on its mass literacy programme tagged ‘Eko’nke’koo’ (Lagos is Learning). Making the call on behalf of the state government, Special Adviser to the Governor on Education, Mr Obafela Bank-Olemoh, implored residents of the state to take advantage of the new programme to acquire education and improve their businesses, stressing that the present administration was committed to the programme in order to eradicate illiteracy in the state. Speaking on Monday during a stakeholders’ meeting at his

By Ebitonye Akpodigha The African Development Bank (AfDB) has promised to give Nigeria over $1 billion as budget support to tackle recession. This pledge was made by President of AfDB, Mr Akinwunmi Adesina, during his visit to President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday at the State House in Abuja. Mr Adesina, who also revealed other packages for Nigeria, appreciated President Buhari for the support the country gave when he ran for AfDB presidency in 2015, thus making him the first Nigerian to occupy such position since the bank was established in 1964. He also lauded Mr Buhari for successes recorded in

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The urgent need for a robust public-private sector investment in national infrastructure development has been emphasised by the CEO of Absa Nigeria, Mr Sadiq Abu. According to Mr Abu, deeper private sector participation in infrastructure development in Nigeria will enable impactful national productivity and wider enterprise with a strong bearing on the overall Gross Domestic Product (GDP). “Private sector participation in national infrastructure development will offset the impact of the worsening government fiscal position on the nation’s growth agenda while catalyzing the local economy,” he said. The financial expert explained that, “The extensive network of Nigerian roads,

Modupe Gbadeyanka Customers on the network of Ikeja Electric Plc have been assured of continued quality services during the Easter holidays. Head of Corporate Communications at Ikeja Electric, Mr Felix Ofulue, while giving this assurance in a statement, said the company was determined to ensure subscribers enjoy hitch-free services during the period. He explained that measures have been put in place to ensure network stability and smooth operations during the Easter holidays. “In anticipation of customers’ expectations during the holiday, we have provided a maintenance process to monitor and patrol the network to ensure faults are cleared as and when

By Dipo Olowookere A total of 36 equities led by Japaul pushed the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited to a 0.70 per cent weekly loss last week, with the All-Share Index and the market capitalisation depreciating to 49,695.12 points and N26.805 trillion respectively. Similarly, all other indices finished lower with the exception of the insurance, NGX MERI Value, and the consumer goods indices, which appreciated by 1.04 per cent, 0.87 per cent and 0.72 per cent respectively, while the ASeM index closed flat. The share price of Japaul fell last week by 12.12 per cent to 29 Kobo, Honeywell Flour depleted

By Adedapo Adesanya Nigeria witnessed the biggest crude oil production decline among the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) members in October 2021. This occurred as the 13-producer group’s overall output rose above the previous month’s figures. Nigeria’s crude oil output was down by 70,000 barrels per day, following disruptions after recovery in September. The fall happened as a Royal Dutch Shell venture, the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC), declared force majeure on loadings of Bonny Light crude after a pipeline shut down. In total, OPEC pumped 27.5 million barrels per day in October, according to a

By Modupe Gbadeyanka One of the major airlines in Nigeria, Arik Air, has announced the resumption of flight operations after it resolved issues with unions in the aviation industry. In a statement released on Thursday night, the airline said flight operations to all routes resume Friday, March 24, 2017 (today). While it apologised to its “customers for the disruption of our operations” caused by the picketing of its services by the unions, Arik Air reassured its “customers of on time departure and great travel experience,” sating it looks forward to “welcoming them onboard our flights.” The airline said the impasse,