Buhari Signs University of Petroleum Resources Bill into Law

By Dipo Olowookere The House of Representatives Committee on Customs and Excise chaired by Mr Leke Abejide, has promised to ensure that all customs duties and levies collected by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) are accounted for and remitted to the nation’s purse. He gave this assurance during the inaugural meeting of the panel on Wednesday in Abuja, using the occasion to roll out the seven-point agenda of his group. The lawmaker, who contested in the recently-concluded governorship election in Kogi State under the African Democratic Party (ADC), listed the key focus of the team as oversight of the Nigeria

By Adedapo Adesanya African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has announced that the third Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2023) held in Cairo from November 9-15 witnessed the conclusion of business deals and transactions valued at $43.8 billion. The lender said in the final tallies released in Cairo, the organisers of the continental event said that the amount represented the value of 426 deals concluded in 21 sectors covering 52 countries. At a press conference to announce the results, Mrs Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President (Intra-African Trade Bank) at Afreximbank, also announced that 130 countries participated in the trade fair, which attracted 1,939 exhibitors

By Adedapo Adesanya  The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disclosed that the total value of the country’s merchandise trade experienced an increase of 1 per cent to $7.8 billion in August 2023 from the $7.72 billion that was quoted in July. This was disclosed by the apex bank in its latest monthly economic publication, where it disclosed that despite the rise month-on-month, Nigeria’s merchandise trade value in the period was almost 20 per cent lower compared to the value in August 2022 due to a significant decrease in import trade value. The total merchandise trade comprised an export trade

By Adedapo Adesanya The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 1.6 per cent appreciation on Friday, December 8, as investors gained about N19.12 billion to push the valuation of the unlisted bourse to N1.202 trillion from the N1.182 trillion it closed in the preceding session. This achievement was influenced by the gains recorded by the trio of Aradel Holdings Plc, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc. Data showed that Aradel Holdings Plc improved its value by N30 to settle at N900.00 per unit compared with the previous day’s N870.00 per unit, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria

By Adedapo Adesanya The value of the local currency to its American counterpart hovered around N358/$1 at the various locations of the Bureaux De Change (BDCs) segment of the foreign exchange market on Monday, February 17, 2020. For example in Lagos, the Naira depreciated against the dollar by 20 kobo to close at N358.20/$1 in contrast to N358/$1 it traded last Friday, while it appreciated by N3 against the Pound to close at N472/£1 from N475/£1 and gained N1 against the Euro to trade at N393/€1 compared with its previous N394/€1. At the Kano BDC market, the Nigerian Naira remained

By Adedapo Adesanya The oil market will be waiting for the next decision concerning plans to boost production as the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (OPEC+) meets on Wednesday, August 3 following the expiry of the two-year deal. This will come weeks after US President Joe Biden, to no avail, tried to persuade Saudi Arabia to boost production during a controversial visit to the kingdom. The White House has been pressing the oil cartel to step up production to tame prices that have surged since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February but the group, which is led

By Dipo Olowookere As part of efforts to deepen financial inclusion in the rural areas in the country, Unity Bank Plc has developed a special savings account for farmers. Called the NIRSAL Farmers Savings Account, it is aimed to strongly drive the lender’s strategic business focus on rural economy. NIRSAL is the acronym of Nigerian Incentive Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending and it was borne out of the efforts of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to increase the disbursement of the Anchor Borrower funds to more farmers at the grassroots level. Speaking on the new product, the

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora Affairs, Mrs Tolulope Akande-Sadipe, will return to the lower chamber of the National Assembly next year. She has won the ticket of the All Progressive Congress (APC) for another term of years after she defeated four other aspirants at a keenly contested primary held on Friday, May 27, 2022. At the event held at Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN), Ibadan, Oyo State, the lawmaker outclassed Prince Ayodeji Abass-Aleshinloye, Sumbo Olugbemi, Kehinde Olaosebikan and Adegboyega Rasheed to clinch the ticket to represent Oluyole Federal Constituency at the

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Intending pilgrims in Oyo State have been asked to make an initial deposit for the 2023 Hajj fare on or before Monday, March 20, 2023. This request was made by the Muslim Wing of the Oyo State Pilgrims’ Welfare Board in a statement made available to the media on Friday. In the statement released in Ibadan, the Chairman of the board, Professor Sayed Malik, stated that the initial payment required from the intending pilgrims is N2.6 million. “Recall that the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) recently allocated 1441 seats to Oyo State for the 2023 Hajj

By Adedapo Adesanya Coca-Cola has announced that Ms Luisa Ortega would become president of the company’s Africa operating unit, overseeing markets across the continent. She currently serves as president of the company’s central zone in Latin America, which includes Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador, Central America and the Caribbean. She replaces Mr Bruno Pietracci, who has been named president of Coca-Cola’s Latin America operating unit. Both changes take effect February 1, 2023, meaning Ms Ortega will relocate to Johannesburg in 2023. Both Ms Ortega and Mr Pietracci will report to Mr Henrique Braun, who will become President of International Development for

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Barely a week after a 3-storey building collapsed in Lagos, killing some school children, another building has collapsed in the metropolis. The latest property to cave in happened not too far away from the scene of last Wednesday unfortunate incident. Last Wednesday’s collapsed building occurred on Massey Street, Ita Faaji, Lagos Island, while Monday’s incident took place on 5, Egerton Square, Oke Arin, Lagos Island. According to reports, many residents of the property were trapped in the rubbles, while efforts are being made to rescue them alive. It was gathered that the affected house was one of

By Dipo Olowookere World’s largest food and beverage company, Nestlé, has launched an ambitious Gender Balance Acceleration Plan called From Aspiration to Action as part of its activities to highlight International Women’s Day 2019. The firm says it believes that a gender balanced workforce makes business sense as it helps to boost innovation and performance, which as a result, better serves the needs of its consumers. Nestlé’s Global CEO Mark Schneider announced the company’s acceleration plan to make gender balance a priority, based on three pillars: bold leadership, an empowering culture and a set of enabling practices.  In the Central