FAAC Allocation for April 2022 Increases by 4.39% to N725.57bn

By Adedapo Adesanya The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has cautioned Nigerians to be wary of fake Naira notes currently in circulation, vowing to prosecute those engaged in the illicit acts. The apex bank in a release signed by Mrs Hakama Sidi Ali, the acting Director of Corporate Communications, said the counterfeit notes have been spread by some individuals for transactions in food markets and other places where commerce takes place across the country, noting that this is a punishable offence. “The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been drawn to the circulation of counterfeit banknotes, especially

By Adedapo Adesanya The federal government has exempted imported Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and its equipment from the payment of customs duty and value-added tax (VAT), a move expected to result in a drop in the cost of cooking gas in the country and bring much-needed succour to Nigerians. This was disclosed by the Minister of Finance, Mr Wale Edun, in a letter (dated November 28, 2023) to the Special Adviser to the President on Energy; the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS); and the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). Recall that in 2019, the federal

By Aduragbemi Omiyale Moody’s outlook on Nigeria has been upgraded from stable to positive after the federal government implemented a few economic reforms. In a statement on Friday, the rating agency said the decisions to remove the costly petrol subsidies, devaluation of the Naira and the unification of the foreign exchange (FX) market were good for the economy. When Mr Bola Tinubu assumed office in May 2023, he announced an end to the payment of subsidies on premium motor spirit (PMS). A month later, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced the unification of the forex market, while the Naira

By Adedapo Adesanya Nigeria’s manufacturing sector recorded N3.73 trillion in production in the second half of 2021, 58.1 per cent higher than the N2.36 trillion reported in the corresponding half of 2020. The president of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Mr Mansur Ahmed, disclosed at a presentation on Thursday that this growth is indicative of the development in the industry. He noted that the manufacturing production value increased by N0.07 trillion or 1.9 per cent when compared with the N3.66 trillion achieved in the first half of last year, while the total value of production for the year stood

By Adedapo Adesanya Ekiti State has opened its arms wide open to investors willing to invest in the state and its assets in order to enable the creation of jobs for youths in the state. This was made clear by the Governor of the state, Mr Kayode Fayemi, during his address at the Facts Behind the State Economy at the Nigerian Stock Exchange last Friday, He also disclosed that the state had cleared all its outstanding bonds listed on the stock exchange and was ready for more investments, noting that officials were available to answer questions on the investment opportunities

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira appreciated against the Dollar at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment of the Nigerian foreign exchange (forex) market on Monday by 0.25 per cent or N1.03 to settle at N417.30/$1 compared with the previous exchange rate of N418.33/$1. Equally, the local currency appreciated against the Pound Sterling at the spot market by N6.04 to N530.54/£1 from N536.58/£1 and also gained N2.98 against the Euro to close at N447.30/€1 in contrast to the previously quoted rate of N450.28/€1. However, the domestic currency depreciated against the greenback at the peer-to-peer (P2P) FX market segment by N1 or

By Dipo Olowookere The local equity market appreciated by 5.30 per cent last week, thanks to the gains printed by 53 stocks listed on the exchange. The performance of these stocks triggered the 1,429.54 points gained by the All-Share Index (ASI), closing at 28,415.31 points versus the previous week’s 26,985.77 points. In the same vein, it boosted the market capitalisation during the five-day trading week by N747 billion to N14.852 trillion from N14.105 trillion. Business Post reports that Eterna was the best-performing stock on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) last week, appreciating by 32.48 per cent to

By Adedapo Adesanya The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has directed all Retirement Savings Account (RSA) holders to visit their Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) to participate in the ongoing Data Recapture Exercise (DRE). This was part of the latest directive included in a statement made by the commission, which further stated that the exercise was for both active contributors and retirees whose data had not been recaptured. “The DRE is in compliance with the directive of the Federal Government that all data generating organisations should harmonise their databases with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC). “It is also consistent with the

By Adedapo Adesanya The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has announced a $3 million grant to provide a continental boost towards ensuring the sound health of Africans during the current wave of COVID-19 pandemic. Making the announcement in a statement, President of the Cairo-based agency, Mr Benedict Oramah, said that the grant was in response to a request by African Heads of State, through the African Union Chairperson, Mr Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa, for the mobilisation of resources to address the rampaging pandemic. According to him, a significant proportion of the grant would go to the COVID-19 Special Fund

By Adedapo Adesanya The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court of Justice in Abuja has restrained the federal government from imposing sanctions or harassing, intimidating, arresting or prosecuting Twitter. It also restricted the government from carrying out such actions against any other social media service provider, as well as media houses, pending the hearing and determination of a suit challenging the government’s suspension of Twitter operations in Nigeria. The court gave the restraining order following the suit filed by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and 176 concerned Nigerians. In the suit, the applicants argued that the

By Dipo Olowookere A very rich and influential kidnapper living in Lagos, Mr Chukwudi Dumeme Onuamadike fondly called Evans, has been paraded by police in Lagos. Evans, a native of Nnewi in Nnewi North Local Government Area of Anambra State, was shown to the media on Sunday afternoon by the Joint Special Forces led by the Intelligence Response Team, the Lagos State Police Command’s Anti-Kidnapping Unit and Technical and Intelligent Unit of the Force under the supervision of the Lagos Commissioner of Police, Mr Fatai Owoseni. The suspect is said to have carried out several high profile kidnapping operations in