CBN Holds 268th MPC Meeting July 22

By Aduragbemi Omiyale President Bola Tinubu has said the 2024 budget presented to the joint session of the National Assembly on Wednesday was designed to achieve macroeconomic stability, a better investment environment, greater access to social security, poverty reduction and enhanced human capital development. According to him, if these goals are achieved, the standard of living of Nigerians will improve and the citizens will enjoy the dividends of democracy. While presenting the 2024 Appropriation Bills to the parliament yesterday, the President said this was why he christened the budget proposal as the Budget of Renewed Hope. Mr Tinubu told the

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira appreciated against the US Dollar in the Nigeria Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) and the unregulated Peer-to-Peer (P2P) and the parallel market segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Wednesday, November 29 as President Bola Tinubu reiterated his administration’s promise to meet its obligations. Speaking during the presentation of his administration’s N27.50 trillion 2024 budget proposal to the joint session of the 10th National Assembly on Wednesday, Mr Tinubu said, “Despite the challenges, we continue to meet our obligations.” In the official NAFEM segment of the market, the value of the local currency went

By Dipo Olowookere Local equities rebounded by 0.34 per cent on Wednesday on the back of buying pressure on a few energy stocks and others at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited. According to data from the bourse, the bullish stance was attained despite profit-taking activities in the banking space amid plans by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to recapitalise the industry, leaving the market breadth index negative. This was because the number of price losers was more than the price gainers at 39 and 19 apiece, indicating a weak investor sentiment. Business Post reports that the energy counter grew

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr Zacch Adedeji, has asked his counterpart in the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ola Olukoyede, to support his agency to achieve the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, who appointed both of them. Speaking during a courtesy visit to the headquarters of the anti-money laundering firm, Mr Adedeji said the EFCC has a role in ensuring that taxpayers’ funds are “judiciously utilised in line with the social contract with the people.” He assured that the FIRS would continue to strive to raise the revenue

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Embattled vocal Senator from Kogi State, Mr Dino Melaye, has been granted bail by the Kogi State High Court sitting in Lokoja. The lawmaker was moved to Kogi State by the police from Abuja, his base. At the sitting today, Justice Nasiru Ajanah granted the Senator a bail in the sum of N10 million with a surety in the like sum. Justice Ajanah granted the bail based on his health challenge.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo State has elected its candidate for the November 26, 2016 governorship election in the state. He is the immediate past Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice of Ondo State, Eyitayo Jegede (SAN). Mr Jegede emerged winner of the PDP primary held on Monday, August 22, 2016, at the International Cultural and Event Centre (The Dome), Akure, the state capital. He polled 760 votes to defeat the Deputy Governorship candidate of the PDP in the 2012 governorship election, Saka Lawal, who only managed to get 22 votes. Chairman of the PDP Primary Election Committee

By Dipo Olowookere Investors in search of new investment opportunities can consider the Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) market for value creation, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has suggested. The market value of ETFs in Nigeria reached N24.5 billion last year and there is the possibility for it to grow bigger because a year earlier, the capitalisation was 270 per cent lower. In 2020, the space witnessed significant increases in traded values and volumes (i.e., 218.0 per cent and 51,830.6 per cent respectively between 2019 and 2020). The factor responsible for the rise was the adoption of ETFs, new product issuances

By Ashemiriogwa Emmanuel The leading brewing company, Nigerian Breweries Plc, has launched a plastic recycling project tagged NB Recycles to promote community-led plastic recycling among staff as well as its host communities. The project, which was officially unveiled at the Nigerian Breweries Head Office Iganmu, Lagos, was described as part of the company’s sustainability agenda tagged Brew a Better World (BaBW). The initiative entails the setting up of various collection points in all nine brewery locations of Nigerian Breweries across the country as well as in respective host communities. The NB Recycles project is being implemented in liaison with Wecyclers,

By Adedapo Adesanya The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has raised its 2021 oil demand growth forecast in the hopes that the coronavirus impact wanes on the global economy. In the latest forecast contained in its monthly report, the cartel noted that demand will rise by 5.95 million barrels per day in 2021, or 6.6 per cent, up 70,000 barrels per day from last month. The raise in its forecast for growth in world oil demand this year is banking on hopes that the pandemic will subside, providing help for the group and its allies in their efforts

By Dipo Olowookere The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited extended its rally for the second trading session on Wednesday, closing 1.05 per cent higher on the back of bargain hunting by investors. The listing of BUA Foods on the exchange spurred buying interest, which, in turn, kept the bulls at the bourse for another day as the investor sentiment was better than the preceding session. Data showed that a total of 22 stocks ended on the gainers’ chart, while 17 equities were on the losers’ log at the close of transactions for the day. The duo of BUA Foods and Airtel

By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh With the current geopolitical developments and the new re-configuration processes seriously affecting the landscape of economic cooperation, the basic question many researchers and observers are monitoring is to understand why Russia, after the Soviet collapse, aspired to transform into a European country. These three decades, it was, in practical terms, the dream. Russia wanted to develop and extend Europe down to the Pacific. In official speeches, phrases appeared in the direction, such as “developing solid economic cooperation from Lisbon to Vladivostok” and transforming the entire vast region into European. On different occasions, Kremlin has held several