FG Seeks Collaboration on Agro-Investment Security

By Adedapo Adesanya The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Olayemi Cardoso, has admitted that the country recorded a revenue drop of $1.4 billion between 2015 and 2019 after imposing foreign exchange (FX) restrictions for import of 43 items over eight years. The apex bank governor made this known on Friday while delivering his keynote address at the 58th Annual Dinner of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) in Lagos. The apex bank head, during the preparation of his monetary policy thrust, cited available data saying, “Studies have shown that during the period when the

By Adedapo Adesanya Brent crude benchmark dipped below $80 a barrel on Monday, precisely losing 60 cents of 0.7 per cent to trade at $79.98 a barrel as investors await this week’s meeting of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies (OPEC+). The group is anticipated to maintain its ceiling on crude oil production by member countries into 2024. This affected the oil market, with the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures declining yesterday by 68 cents or 0.9 per cent to trade at $74.86 per barrel. Last week, the 23-man OPEC+ postponed its Sunday ministerial meeting

By Adedapo Adesanya The federal government has set plans in motion to raise $200 million from philanthropic individuals and organisations as part of efforts to create jobs and support Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria. Nigeria is home to over 36.9 million MSMEs, comprising 96.7 per cent of all businesses in Nigeria. According to data, 67 per cent of these businesses are youth-owned. MSMEs contribute over 45 per cent to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), with 98.8 per cent of them in the micro cadre. They account for nearly 90 per cent of the jobs in the

By Adedapo Adesanya The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) has arraigned three persons before Justice J.K. Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt on two count charges bordering on conspiracy and illegal dealing in petroleum products without an appropriate licence. The suspects, Enemo Okoria, Ebhofage Brown and Francis Dapagamo, were arraigned along with a tugboat DP28 and a firm, Diesel Power Nigeria Limited. According to EFCC, the accused persons were arrested along the Onne waterways on April 20, 2018, by operatives of the Nigerian Navy Ship, NNS Pathfinder while transshipping 261,000 litres of suspected illegally refined automotive

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Over 5000 citizens of Abia State are expected to be employed at a palm production firm called Palm Estate located at Ohambele in Ukwa East Local Government Area of the state, Business Post has learnt. The state government recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a private investor in palm production, S-ATM Nigeria Limited. Speaking at the signing ceremony, Commissioner of Agriculture in the state, Mr Uzo Azubuike, said the deal was part of efforts and resolve of the Governor, Mr Okezie Ikpeazu, to expand and increase the wealth of Abia State. He said the palm

By Adedapo Adesanya FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, for the second consecutive session, dragged the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange down by 0.23 per cent on Wednesday, October 5. This happened as the milk-producing company recorded a N1.15 loss to close the midweek session at N73.85 per unit compared with the previous day’s rate of N75.00 per unit. Consequently, the market capitalisation of the OTC bourse went down by N2.25 billion to wrap the day at N960.50 billion, in contrast to Tuesday’s N962.75 billion. Equally, the NASD unlisted securities index (NSI) recorded a drop of 1.71 points to wrap the session

By Dipo Olowookere The Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) set up recently by President Muhammadu Buhari has warned him that if tough economic decisions are not quickly taken, Nigeria may be forced to devalue the local currency, Naira, which the present administration is strongly against. Some days ago, there were fears and speculations that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) may eventually succumb to exchange rate realignment, but the apex bank announced that such was not underway, threatening to deal ruthlessly with those pushing the exchange rate up at the various market segments via hoarding. The Naira had risen to

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The United States said it will support Sokoto government’s efforts to modernise agricultural processes and implements so as to enhance productivity and ensure food security. US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Stuart Symington, gave the assurance when he paid a courtesy visit to Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal at the Sokoto Government House. He said policies put in place so far to improve the sector by the Sokoto government are encouraging and deserve support. The envoy said he was in Sokoto as part of his familiarisation visits to various parts of Nigeria. According to him, he has been impressed

By Adedapo Adesanya It was a very bad day for the Nigerian Naira at the official market and the black market on Friday as it further depreciated against the American Dollar. Though its value also weakened in the Peer-to-Peer (P2P) segment of the foreign exchange (FX) market during the session, it was marginal compared with the heavy beating it suffered in the two other forex windows. In the Investors and Exporters (I&E) category, the Naira lost N14.27 or 1.87 per cent against the US Dollar on the final trading session of the week to sell at N776.90/$1 compared with the

By Adedapo Adesanya As part of moves to deepen Nigeria’s revenue diversification process, the federal government is targeting sourcing for N5.09 billion to revive the garment and leather industries. The Director-General of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Mr Chidi Izuwah, made this known in Abuja. He stated that the amount, N5.089 billion, would be sourced by government from a partnership between the private and public sectors. According to Mr Izuwah, it would be made up of 80 percent debt and 20 percent equity with zero financial contribution by the federal government. He spoke at the presentation of the Full

One of the major players in the fixed income market in Nigeria, FBNQuest, has highlighted the need for investors to engage the services of professional and accredited fund managers to manage their investors. This is because the fixed income market is presently battling with a low yield environment and according to FBNQuest, the expertise of a fund manager can go a long way to make investors take the best of the situation. In this write-up, the company listed and explained why investors should use a fund manager in a declining fixed income yield space. Hunting for Yield The outbreak of