FAAC Disburses N647.4b to FG, States, LGs in March 2018

By Adedapo Adesanya The President of the Dangote Group, the owners of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals plant, Mr Aliko Dangote, has said that following the purchase of 1 million barrels of Agbami crude grade from Shell International Trading and Shipping Company Limited (STASCO), it will be looking to ramp up its production in coming months. The 650,000 barrels per day capacity refinery is not expected to hit full capacity until 2025, but with a gradual ramping, it is expected that it will begin with begin producing up to 370,000 barrels per day of diesel and jet fuel. “We

By Dipo Olowookere The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said Nigeria’s revenue–to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio of about 9 per cent was too low to trigger the economic growth projected by President Bola Tinubu in his Renewed Hope Agenda. Addressing journalists at its last press briefing for 2023 on Thursday, the global lender said the administration of Mr Tinubu must boost the government’s revenue to have funds to achieve his goals. On May 29, 2023, Mr Tinubu took over from Mr Muhammadu Buhari, promising to jump-start the economy and work tirelessly to address food security, end hunger, eradicate poverty, create

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 Nigerian crude output fell by 30,000 barrels per day to 1.43 million barrels per day in November, according to data from an S&P Global Commodity Insight. This was lower than the 1.46 million barrels produced in October by Africa’s largest oil producer and 312,000 barrels per day short of its 1.742 million barrels per day target in 2023. Angola, Africa’s second-largest oil producer, saw output drop 20,000 barrels per day to 1.13 million barrels per day, according to the survey, compared with its quota of 1.46 million barrels per day. The drops impacted the wider output of

By Dipo Olowookere The sum of N250.1 billion was mopped up from the financial system on Friday by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), though less than the nearly N1 trillion inflows during the session. Business Post reports that the mopping up was done by the apex bank via the sale of its liquidity management tool via the Open Market Operations (OMO). It had offered N150 billion worth of the instrument for sale, but it eventually allotted N250.5 billion to subscribers. The bills were auctioned by the central bank in three maturities; N20 billion worth of the 88-day bill, N30

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Governor of Borno State, Mr Babagana Zulum, has expressed frustration over the absence of banking services in most of the local government areas of the state. According to him, two of the 27 councils of the state, Maiduguri and Biu, have banking services, noting that insecurity in the state had forced many financial institutions to flee. Speaking on Wednesday in Maiduguri, the state capital, at an extraordinary stakeholders meeting, the Governor said this issue has made it very difficult for residents of these communities to exchange their old Naira notes with the new ones, prompting him

By Aduragbemi Omiyale If urgent steps are not taken, Nigeria’s telecommunications industry, believed to be worth about $75.6 billion, could be at risk because of the widening skills gap. This was the submission of a renowned telecoms policy enthusiast, Mr Omobayo Azeez, at the just-concluded second edition of the Nigerian Telecommunications Indigenous Content Expo (NTICE 2023) organised in Lagos by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). In his keynote address on Bridging Skills Gap to Accelerate the Indigenous Telecoms Development, Mr Azeez argued that the rising skills gap in the country was becoming a challenge to the sector. He posited that

By Adedapo Adesanya Oil dipped on Thursday, extending losses on expectations that the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) might not deepen output cuts next year after the producer group postponed its policy meeting. Brent crude futures were down 68 cents or 0.8 per cent to quote at $81.28 a barrel, and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures slid by 75 cents or 1 per cent to settle at $76.35 per barrel. Trading activity was muted because of the US Thanksgiving public holiday, but the preceding development was able to tell on the market.

By Dipo Olowookere Heritage Bank Limited’s commitment to the development and growth of the creative industry has been recognised by the Federal Government. Dubbed as Nigeria’s Most Innovative Banking Service Provider, Heritage Bank said it supports the sector because it was concerned on how to find a framework to provide funding for players in the industry. At a two-day Creative Nigeria Summit held in Lagos recently with the theme: Financing the Film, Television and Music Industries; which was co-sponsored by the lender, Minister of Information and Culture, Mr Lai Mohammed, said it was a nice thing to have the bank

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Federal Government is set to establish an Oil and Gas Equipment Machinery Development Institute in 2018 in Yenegoa, Bayelsa State. This information was revealed by the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, when he was received by the Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Rear Admiral John Jonah, during his tour to the South-South zone of the country. Part of the reasons for the establishment of the oil and gas development institute Dr Onu said is “the strong belief that Bayelsa State has made important contributions in the oil and gas sector in the economy.” “The

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) has commended the accomplishments of Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mr Udom Emmanuel, in the area of education, describing him as a champion of education. Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Abdalla Uba Adamu, stated this at the weekend during a brief ceremony for the relocation of the NOUN study centre to its permanent site in Uyo, the state capital. The ultra-moden site was donated recently to NOUN by the state government in order to boost the activities of the institution in the state, especially in the area of enrolment of the

By Aduragbemi Omiyale Some parents in Nigeria were recently lectured on some basic safety tools and features available on the Facebook platform to help keep children safe online. The event was hosted by Facebook in collaboration with Cybersafe Foundation, a leading non-governmental organisation in the information security ecosystem in Nigeria. The virtual seminar was designed to gather insights on the kind of online safety tips parents need; determine how they would like to receive these tips and equip them with digital skills needed to navigate the digital world. Providing parents with these basic digital literacy skills while on their parenting