FCCPC to Sanction Trade Groups Hiking Food Prices

By Adedapo Adesanya  Oil prices rose by more than $1 a barrel on Wednesday as investors focused their attention on an upcoming OPEC+ output policy meeting and looked past a jump in crude stockpiles in the United States. Brent crude futures were up by $1.01 or 1.2 per cent to $82.69 per barrel, and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained $1.16 or 1.5 per cent to close at $77.57 a barrel. Prices were lifted by a media report that the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies such as Russia, known collectively as OPEC+, was considering

By Adedapo Adesanya Nigeria will accept and work with a production quota of 1.5 million barrels of crude oil per day in 2024 as the country aims to grow on the back of its oil resources, following a revision done by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, OPEC+. According to a statement issued by the Press and Public Relations unit of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Thursday’s meeting of the 23-man group addressed crucial aspects, including the completion of assessments by independent sources (IHS, Wood Mackenzie, and Rystad Energy) on the projected production levels for Angola,

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 Adedapo Adesanya The House of Representatives has pledged to stop international oil companies (IOCs) operating in the Niger Delta from divestment of their offshore assets without being accountable to the environment. The Chairman of the House of Reps Committee on Host Communities, Mr Dumnamene Dekor, said this during a technical session on the implementation of the Host Communities Development Trusts (HCDT), organised by Spaces for Change (S4C) with support from Ford Foundation. Mr Dekor raised the alarm that since the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act in 2021, host communities have not experienced any positive change, rather have remained

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mr Mudashiru Obasa, has expressed sadness over the death of Nigeria’s Ambassador to Spain, Mr Demola Seriki. The Lagos socialite and politician died on Thursday morning in Madrid, the Spanish capital. It was said that he breathed his last peacefully, surrounded by his family. Mr Obasa, in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Mr Eromosele Ebhomele, described the demise of Mr Seriki as painful, saying Nigeria has lost a patriot. The lawmaker said the sudden death of the former Minister of Defence was shocking beyond

By Sodeinde Temidayo David President Muhammadu Buhari has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to focus and continue to invest massively in food security in the country as a way to enhance agricultural productivity. This was revealed by the Nigerian leader on Thursday at the food system summit in New York, where he stated that national food security, nutrition knowledge dissemination, skills development and information management systems were paramount to his administration. The President said Nigeria had developed a food system focused development agenda that is based on healthy diets and affordable nutrition, noting that it would contribute to rebuilding the economy,

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Two federal permanent secretaries have been redeployed by the Federal Government in a bid to achieve better efficiency. According to a statement issued on Friday by Mr Haruna Imrana, the Director Communications, for the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Winifred Oyo-Ita, the redeployment was approved by the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo. It was disclosed in the statement that the affected persons are Dr Shehu Ahmed, who was moved from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to the Ministry of Environment; and Dr Bukar Hassan, who leaves the Ministry of Environment to

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has again adjourned hearing of the case between the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and MTN, a leading telecom company, to Tuesday, January 22, 2019. MTN is contesting the $8.1 billion the nation’s apex bank wants it (MTN) to transfer back to Nigeria. The central bank had fined four banks for the alleged illegal repatriation of the funds for MTN some years ago to South Africa, the parent country of the telecom firm. At the hearing of the matter on Wednesday, counsels of the CBN and MTN requested for an

By Dipo Olowookere Trading activities on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited were bullish on Wednesday, with a rebound of 0.54 per cent influenced by buying interests in banking, insurance and industrial goods stocks, offsetting the losses in the energy and consumer goods equities. The banking index appreciated by 4.21 per cent, the insurance space rose by 0.78 per cent, and the industrial goods sector improved by 0.36 per cent. However, the energy counter depreciated by 0.35 per cent, and the consumer goods sector went down by 0.24 per cent. At the close of transactions, the All-Share Index

By Aduragbemi Omiyale One of the many challenges fresh graduates from tertiary institutions face is finding a job and in some cases, this issue leads them into depression. But an author, Mr Jonah Solomon, seems to have the solution to this problem and he has compiled practical steps graduates can take to have a job and build a career. He gave the solution in his new book titled First Generation: A Fresh Graduate’s Perfect Guide to Starting a Career in Emerging Market. With graduate unemployment in the Emerging Market averaging 7.97 per cent, according to a recent MSCI report, and

By Adedapo Adesanya The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has lauded the decision of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to reform the downstream oil sector. The LCCI said the move by the national oil company will have positive impacts on the Nigerian oil and gas sector and by extension, the economy. In a statement signed by the Director General of the LCCI, Mr Muda Yusuf, the chamber said that the impact of the reform on the economy would be different now, considering the reality that the market is faced with. “It is vital to ensure that this

By Dipo Olowookere Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Mr Kayode Fayemi, has disclosed that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the purchase of 38 patrol vehicles for Mines Inspectorates across the country. Briefing newsmen on Wednesday of outcome of the FEC meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja, the Minister said the total amount earmarked for the vehicles is N327 million. He said the patrol vehicles are for the mines and steel inspectorate division aimed at checking illegal mining activities in the country. Mr Kayode explained that each of the 36 states in Nigeria and the