Indonesian Firm to Build Refinery in Akwa Ibom

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 Aduragbemi Omiyale President Bola Tinubu has said the 2024 budget presented to the joint session of the National Assembly on Wednesday was designed to achieve macroeconomic stability, a better investment environment, greater access to social security, poverty reduction and enhanced human capital development. According to him, if these goals are achieved, the standard of living of Nigerians will improve and the citizens will enjoy the dividends of democracy. While presenting the 2024 Appropriation Bills to the parliament yesterday, the President said this was why he christened the budget proposal as the Budget of Renewed Hope. Mr Tinubu told the

By Adedapo Adesanya The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange fell into the danger zone on Tuesday, November 28, as it recorded a 1.14 per cent loss after the price of three securities on the platform closed lower. This chopped off N13.33 billion from the NASD OTC securities exchange at the close of transactions, going down to N1.158 trillion from the N1.171 trillion it ended in the previous session. Business Post reports that the effort of a price gainer yesterday could not save the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) from declining by 9.84 points to 854.67 points from the 864.51 points

By Adedapo Adesanya The Supreme Court has ordered that the old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes should continue to co-exist with the new banknotes beyond the earlier December 31, 2023, deadline. The apex court ruled on Wednesday that both old and new notes should continue to remain legal tender until the federal government puts a process in place for its replacement or redesign after due consultation with relevant stakeholders. The seven-man panel led by Justice Inyang Okoro gave the ruling following an application by the central government asking the court to grant an extension of time for old naira notes

By Jerome-Mario Utomi The recent commissioning of a multi-billion naira Teachers’ Professional Development Centre by the Delta State Government at Owa Alero/Owa Oyibu in Ika Northeast Local Government Area of the state, a centre where, according to the state government, teachers in the state will be trained on efficiency in presentation/course evaluation and record-keeping strategies, is a welcome development. There are reasons that support this affirmation. Apart from the fact that education is the bedrock of development coupled with the fact that presently, the most valuable skill any nation can sell to the globe is knowledge, the single most important

By Dipo Olowookere The local bourse kicked off trading on Monday on a negative note as bears maintain firm grip on the stock market. It was observed that the release of first quarter earnings by some companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has still refused to push investors to add more shares into their portfolios. At the close of transactions today, the Lagos stock exchange went down by 0.13 percent as the year-to-date return dipped to 6.59 percent. The market capitalisation depreciated by N18.4 billion to settle at N14.725 trillion, while the All-Share Index (ASI) went down by

By Investors Hub Asian stocks rose on Monday as strong U.S. jobs data helped investors shrug off renewed concerns over an escalating U.S.-China trade dispute. U.S. jobs increased more than expected in June but slowing wage growth helped reduce the probability of another Fed rate hike for September. China’s Shanghai Composite Index spiked 68.28 points or 2.5 percent to 2,815.51 after the U.S. punitive tariffs on Chinese goods kicked in and Beijing retaliated with equivalent measures. The yuan also rebounded ahead of trade data due later this week. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rallied 372.88 points or 1.3 percent to

By Investors Hub Asian stocks rose on Friday as reports of progress in U.S.-China trade talks as well as stronger than expected economic data from the U.S. helped ease global growth worries. China’s Shanghai Composite Index jumped 36.37 points or 1.4 percent to 2,596.01 ahead of China’s fourth-quarter GDP data due on Monday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index surged up 335.18 points or 1.3 percent to 27,090.81. Japanese shares closed higher as the yen weakened on improved risk appetite after a report the U.S. could lift trade tariffs on China. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index rallied 263.80 points or 1.3 percent to

By Modupe Gbadeyanka After several demands, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has finally reduced the rate it sells Dollar to operators of Bureau De Change (BDC) in the country. This information was confirmed by President of Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), Mr Aminu Gwadabe. Mr Gwadabe led a delegation of his group to a meeting with officials of the apex bank on Monday to discuss why the Dollar rate should be reduced for them. At the end of the meeting, sent a message to his members confirming that the rate has now been lowered to

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Minister of Labour and Employment, Mr Chris Nwabueze Ngige, has expressed sadness over the sudden death of the General Secretary of the Radio, Television and Theatre Arts Workers Union (RATTAWU), Comrade Henry Odugala. Expressing utter disbelief at his sudden demise, Mr Ngige said that labour has lost one of its leaders whose insistence on social dialogue as a way to industrial harmony was exemplary. “This is a huge loss to labour and the nation, and his immense contributions to the struggle for better working conditions for journalists will be greatly missed,” he added. “The issue of improved

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The 2019 edition of the Rugby Africa Silver Cup earlier scheduled to take place in Lagos has been cancelled by the organisers. A statement from the Nigeria Rugby Football Federation (NRFF) at the weekend explained that the cancellation became imminent following Kwese Sports premature termination of sponsorship contract leaving Rugby Africa without adequate funding for the year 2019. President of the Rugby Africa, Mr Khaled Babbou, has already notified unions on the decision of Rugby Africa executives to cancel this year’s Silver Cup. According to the NRFF, the competition was due to hold at the Lagos Polo

By Adedapo Adesanya Sterling Bank Plc, Nigeria’s leading commercial bank, in collaboration with Clickatell, announced a unique and very personalised banking experience for existing customers and prospective account holders through the popular messaging app, WhatsApp. The bank noted that it is rolling out the innovation in collaboration with Clickatell, a global leader in mobile communications and chat commerce. This means customers can now initiate bank transfers, and airtime and bill payments, check balance and BVN enquiries, as well as statement generation directly on WhatsApp with the aid of Kiki, a new personalised financial assistant. The financial assistant also connects customers directly