Forum to Showcase Investment Opportunities Holds July 13

By Dipo Olowookere A 0.12 per cent appreciation was recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Friday, reversing the previous day’s losses triggered by profit-taking in the banking sector. Business Post reports that it was the same banking space that influenced the growth posted yesterday, rising by 1.60 per cent, supported by the consumer goods indices, which appreciated by 0.15 per cent. However, there were pockets of profit-taking during the last trading session of the week, with the insurance sector shedding 0.78 per cent, the industrial goods sector losing 0.65 per cent, and the energy counter declining by 0.57

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 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

**Says Minority Leadership Exclusion Democratic Tyranny By Modupe Gbadeyanka Founder of Ibile Peaceful Assembly, Honourable Saheed Mosadoluwa fondly called Saheed Ibile or Mr Ibile, has described the exclusion of the minority leadership in the Lagos State House of Assembly as undemocratic. Mr Ibile was reacting to an alleged recent statement credited to Chairman of the House Committee on Information, Strategy, Publicity and Security, Mr Tunde Braimoh, that the of offices of Minority Leader and Minority Whip in the Assembly were no longer necessary. The philanthropist described the alleged statement as “a troubling conundrum,” explaining that, “We are not saying majority

Modupe Gbadeyanka Members of the public have been urged to remain calm following recent reports of a strange illness in Kogi State. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Event Based Surveillance (EBS) system said it was looking into the issued already. A statement issued by the agency on Friday said its surveillance team has contacted the Kogi State Epidemiology teams and preliminary findings showed that some cases presented with symptoms that fits the case definition of Lassa fever. However, laboratory test came out negative for Lassa fever and tests are now being carried out for other viral diseases in

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The money app for Africans, Kuda, has defeated four other major African fintechs; TymeBank, Moniepoint, FairMoney and MNT-Halan, to clinch the 2023 Africa Fintech Summit (AFTS) Excellence in Digital Banking award. The honour was bestowed on the company by the Africa Fintech Summit (AFS) in Washington, D.C. on April 12 after it topped an open voting system. The founder and chief executive of Kuda, Mr Babs Ogundeyi, congratulated fellow nominees and expressed gratitude to everyone who voted for his firm to win the award. He also thanked the AFTS team for the recognition while assuring them that

By Dipo Olowookere The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has again defended its decision to stop the sale of foreign exchange (FX) to Bureaux De Change (BDC) operators on July 27, 2021, maintaining that it was the right step. The Director of Corporate Communications at the CBN, Mr Osita Nwanisobi, while addressing reporters on Monday in Abuja, said the apex bank took the action because it was not sustainable in the long run. “Such a practice was not sustainable in the long run, considering that many of the BDCs had since deviated from the purpose for which they were issued

Picture the world’s children in 2050. Where do they come from? The answer might surprise you. If today’s demographic trends continue, almost half of all people under 18—about 40%—will have been born and raised in Africa. As digital penetration increases, a growing number will be adept users of technology, and some will be part of a new generation of world-class innovators in Africa. Most of this population will grow up in cities, often in urban areas that doubled in size during their childhood. Regardless of where they live, many may be desperately affected by the consequences of climate change. Moreover,

By Dipo Olowookere The Managing Director of AIICO Insurance Plc, Mr Babatunde Fajemirokun, is acquiring more shares of the company from the stock exchange. In nearly a week, the man has purchased almost 2.3 million units of the insurance company’s equities at the market in two tranches. Business Post reports that this might be an indication that Mr Fajemirokun sees a huge value and potentials in the organisation, which has spurred his desire to invest more in the insurer. He has already coughed out about N2.025 million to execute the transactions. From the analysis done by Business Post, Mr Fajemirokun,

By Adedapo Adesanya The federal government, through the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), has announced that farmers would be supplied the newly released Pod Borer Resistant (PBR) Cowpea (beans) for the 2021 planting season. The Director-General of the agency, Mr Abdullahi Mustapha, disclosed this during the presentation of the Open Forum for Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB) Media Award prizes to the recipients. This follows the decision by the Varietal Release Committee, which approved the commercial release of the PBR cowpea which has been genetically modified for planting. The NABDA DG said a National Stewardship Committee has been inaugurated to monitor the

By Adedapo Adesanya The Zamfara State Government said over 700,000 people are currently displaced from their homes due to banditry and are now taking refuge in various Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps across the state. This alarm was raised by the state’s Commissioner for Information, Mr Ibrahim Dosara, who noted that each of the 14 local government areas of the state currently has emergency relief desk officers shouldering the responsibilities of assisting the IDPs in their respective councils. Mr Dosara further noted that the Humanitarian Ministry has established eight centres to take care of the hundreds of thousands that have