Good News for Nigeria as OPEC Sees Strong Oil Demand Recovery in 2021

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira appreciated against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Friday, November 27 as expectations of renewed confidence that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) would offer stability to the market. Before the market closed, there were indications that the CBN Governor, Mr Olayemi Cardoso, would share his plans for the Nigerian economy at a dinner for bankers in Lagos and this boosted a fresh hope, considering he had not offered a direction prior then. In the official market, the domestic currency gained N161.44 or 16.9 per cent against the Dollar

By Adedapo Adesanya The duo of Aradel Holdings Plc and 11 Plc landed the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange in the green territory by 0.84 per cent on Monday, November 27. The two energy stocks overpowered losses posted by two other securities admitted to the alternative stock exchange, leaving the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) closing higher by 7.22 points to 864.51 basis points from 857/29 points, as the market capitalisation of the exchange increased by N9.78 billion to N1.171 trillion from N1.162 trillion. Aradel Holdings Plc saw its share price continue to soar as it rose by N28.80 to

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited is planning to grow its revenue to N4.5 trillion as it plans to end the importation of premium motor spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, by December 2024. The chief executive of the company, Mr Mele Kyari, while speaking on Thursday, said the nation would not need to rely on fuel from outside the country because its refineries would have been fully operational. Nigeria is currently revamping its four refineries to make the product available to residents of the country as it officially stopped the payment of subsidy on petrol

By Adedapo Adesanya  Nigeria’s economy, measured through its gross domestic product (GDP), witnessed a 2.54 per cent growth in the third quarter (Q3) of the year 2023. In a report published on Friday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the 2.54 per cent year-on-year growth in real terms in the third quarter of 2023 is higher than the 2.25 per cent recorded in the third quarter of 2022 and higher than the second quarter 2023 growth of 2.51 per cent. The bureau further said that the performance of the GDP in the third quarter of 2023 was driven mainly by

By Adedapo Adesanya Crude oil prices traded higher on Friday, recouping much of the losses from a day earlier blamed on the strength in the Dollar as the market expects slower growth in output from the United States. The international benchmark, Brent crude futures, gained 43 cents or 0.59 per cent to trade at $73.51 per barrel, while the US benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures, went up by 0.85 per cent or 60 cents to sell at $71.64 per barrel. The bullish trend pushed crude prices to a fourth straight week of gains. This happened as the Organisation

By Dipo Olowookere Leading telecommunications company in the country, MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, will hold its Annual General Meeting (AGM) this week. The firm will organise the shareholders’ gathering precisely on Friday, May 15, 2020, at the Rooftop Event Hall of MTN Plaza at Falomo, Ikoyi, Lagos by 11am. However, as a result of the present global health situation, which prohibits gatherings of over 20 persons at a time, the AGM will take place via proxy. The meeting, it was gathered, will give investors the opportunity to approve the financial statements of the firm for the year ended December 31,

By Dipo Olowookere Fastest growing and innovative telecommunication company, Etisalat Nigeria, has announced the names of the three shortlisted authors for the 2016 edition of its pan-African flagship literary prize, the Etisalat Prize for Literature. Head of judges of this year’s edition, Helon Habila, disclosed that “in addition to originality of voice and literary excellence, our purpose was to also select a work that portrays an African sensibility.” The three shortlisted books are: Jacqui L’Ange (South Africa) The Seed Thief (Umuzi Publishers, South Africa); Jowhor Ile (Nigeria) And After Many Days (Kachifo Limited, Nigeria); and Julie Iromuanya (Nigeria) Mr &

By Ahmed Rahma Over 100 farm landowners in Kumbotso local government area of Kano State will share the sum of N42.5 million for forfeiting their lands to the federal government for the proposed 10kw Solar Project. Already, the money has been released for disbursement to the beneficiaries by the Kano State government. According to the Managing Director of Kano State Investment and Properties Company Ltd, Dr Jibrilla Muhammad, the compensation was to assist the farmers to get the reward for their sacrifices. Speaking at the commencement of the payment at the palace of the District Head of Kumbotso, Mr Ahmad

By Adedapo Adesanya The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed in the negative territory following a marginal 0.02 per cent drop on Wednesday, March 10. The defeat came on the back of loss recorded by Central Securities Clearing Systems (CSCS) Plc as the company’s stock went down by 13 kobo or 0.7 per cent to close at N18.39 per unit compared with N18.50 per unit it closed at the previous session. As a result of this, the NASD unlisted securities index (NSI) moved downwards by 0.14 points to 733.30 points from 733.44 points, while the market capitalisation slipped by N120

By Dipo Olowookere The immediate past Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HoCSF), Mrs Winnifred Oyo-Ita, on Monday, March 23, 2020, pleaded not guilty to the 18-count charge levelled against her by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Mrs Oyo-Ita and eight other accused persons were brought before Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja today by the EFCC on charges bordering on fraud and money laundering to the tune of N570 million. They were accused of obtaining estacodes and Duty Travel Allowance (DTA) for journeys either not undertaken or not in existence.

By Modupe Gbadeyanka At least 40 million women-owned or women-managed businesses in the country will benefit from the Ellevate initiative of Ecobank Nigeria launched on Wednesday. Ellevate is a gender-based proposition for women-owned businesses to reduce gender inequality in entrepreneurship and aid equal representation for women in the formal business sector. Speaking at the unveiling of the scheme, the Managing Director of Ecobank Nigeria, Mr Patrick Akinwuntan, explained that the Ellevate product is part of Ecobank’s Group objective as the leading pan-African financial institution to drive financial integration and contribute to the economic development of the continent by deepening engagement

By Dipo Olowookere A former director in the Ministry of Finance, Mr Emmanuel Ayodele, has reportedly died after he slumped at a club in Abuja, where he had allegedly gone to unwind. It was gathered that immediately Mr Ayodele, a retiree, went to the ground, he was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead by the doctor. According to Northern City News, the 65-year-old man had gone to meet his friends at Amity Club in the Garki area of Abuja. He reportedly showed no signs of illness before the incident, which was why it was a huge shock