Buhari Finally Signs Long-Awaited Petroleum Industry Bill into Law

By Dipo Olowookere The positive momentum witnessed at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited continued on Monday with a 0.17 per cent leap at the close of business. Buying pressure, particularly in a few blue-chip equities, kept the bulls at Customs Street during the trading session, though the consumer goods space succumbed to profit-taking by 0.99 per cent. But hope was kept alive by the gains reported by the other key sectors of the market, with the banking counter growing by 1.71 per cent, and the industrial goods index appreciating by 0.01 per cent, while the insurance and energy sectors remained

By Dipo Olowookere The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited retreated by 0.44 per cent on Tuesday due to selling pressure on some bellwether equities during the session. Shares of Dangote Cement, GTCO, Zenith Bank, Access Holdings, Oando, Lafarge Africa and others experienced a pullback yesterday as a result of profit-taking activities by traders. As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) receded by 312.76 points to 71,041.05 points from 71,353.81 points and the market capitalisation moderated by N165 billion to N38.875 trillion from N39.040 trillion. The level of activity at the market waned on the second trading session of the week, as

By Adedapo Adesanya The Nigerian Naira weakened further by 8.3 per cent or N67.28 on the American Dollar at the Nigeria Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Tuesday, as investors intensified their demand for the greenback ahead of the festive season rush. Amid a squeeze in the supply of the foreign currency to the market, the value of the local currency closed at N881.88/$1 yesterday compared with the preceding session’s N814.60/$1. Though the supply of FX into the official market improved by 17.9 per cent or $18.00 million to $118.06 million from $100.06 million quoted on Monday, it was not

By Adedapo Adesanya  President Bola Tinubu has written to the House of Representatives seeking the approval for an $8.6 billion and €100 million external borrowing plan for critical infrastructure in areas such as power, roads, water, railway, and health. The President also forwarded the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Supplementary Budget to the lower chamber for consideration. Meanwhile, the President will present the 2024 budget to the National Assembly on Wednesday. This was after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved a 2024 budget of N27.5 trillion. The approval followed the review of the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) earlier passed by the

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Students who want to test their Mathematics prowess can begin to register for the QuickLearning Mathematics Contest (QLMC) Nigeria. The organisers said intending participants have till Sunday, July 4, 2021, to enter the competition and entry into the competition is absolutely free with over N3 million cash prizes will be won. QLMC Nigeria is open to JSS3 students attending full-time secondary education in both public and private schools in Nigeria and registration for the competition, which are in two stages: Stage One is the Qualifying Online Examination and Stage Two the TV Quiz Show, is going online

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Federal Government has called on states and Local Governments authorities to invest in the healthcare delivery system in the country. Minister of Health, Prof Isaac Adewole, made the call while declaring open the 2nd Annual Primary Healthcare Service Lecture recently in Abuja. The 2nd Primary Healthcare Annual Lecture was organized by the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) for stakeholders in the health sector to discuss sustainable financing of Primary Healthcare Centres. The Minister who was represented by Director Public Health in the Ministry, Dr Evelyn Ngige, expressed happiness that the lecture was one of the strategies

By Modupe Gbadeyanka One of the top lenders in Nigeria, Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) Plc, has expressed its deepest regrets over disruption of its services on Wednesday, which left some of its numerous customers unhappy. In a notice to customers on Thursday, which was obtained by Business Post, the financial institution said it has now resolved the issues. The bank admitted that yesterday, it failed in its promise to always give the best to its customers, but quickly apologised for this. “Dear Customer, “We sincerely apologise for every inconvenience you experienced due to the service disruption on our banking channels

Adejoju Ajagunna is the Head of Customer Service at Jumia Nigeria. In this interview, she spoke extensively on the challenges of working in the COVID-19 era, balancing the roles as a career woman and mother, and the equal opportunity for career growth at the e-commerce company. Excerpts: What does International Women’s Day mean to you? It means inspiration where I am inspired to dare and to do more. A day where every female gender irrespective of our profession or status is recognized globally, a day where it is important to celebrate the success and growth of every woman, one who

By Dipo Olowookere The chief executive of Stanbic IBTC Insurance Brokers Limited, Mr Anselem Igbo, has said that the insurance penetration in Nigeria was currently at an all-time low. Mr Igbo expressed this view when he addressed newsmen at a media parley held virtually on Monday, June 29, 2020, in Lagos. The event was to commemorate the World Insurance Awareness Day and the discussions centred around Insurance being a necessity: Securing the future, protecting what’s important. The insurance brokerage expert noted that the low penetration has a huge negative effect on the businesses and the economy as well as individuals.

By Bliss Okperan The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has announced that it has discarded the use of the paper and pencil test model and has adopted the Computer-Based Test (CBT) for the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE). In a statement obtained on Monday by Business Post, it was disclosed that this system will become effective from February 2024. In the statement signed by the acting Head of the Public Affairs Unit at WAEC, Ms Moyosola Adesina, the examination body said it adopted this mode to meet up with the latest global system. “In line with global best practices, the

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The board of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), the parent company of Ecobank, has successfully raised $200 syndicated credit facility. According to a notice to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Monday, leading independent pan-African banking group disclosed that the exercise was oversubscribed by $68.5 million. Ecobank said in the notice that with with the fresh loan facility, it has now increased Deutsche Bank’s mandate as arranger from $150 million to $200 million. “Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), the Lomé-based parent company of the Ecobank Group, announces today the successful close of a $200 million syndicated loan facility. “The

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira was stable against the US Dollar at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) and the parallel market segments of the foreign exchange market on Wednesday, March 17. At the I&E window, the local currency was sold at the same rate it was traded against the greenback on Tuesday at N409.75/$1 despite a significant increase in the day’s turnover. According to data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange, transactions at the window increased yesterday by 359.4 per cent as trades valued at $148.54 million were executed in contrast to $32.33 million recorded at the preceding session. At the