Investors Buy Dollar at N386 at I&E Window Friday

By Adedapo Adesanya The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Mr Dele Alake, has assured foreign investors of low production costs as they consider investing in the country’s mining sector. Speaking at the Mines and Money Conference in London, Mr Alake said President Bola Tinubu has embarked on reforms to boost investment by streamlining procedures and reducing hurdles to attract foreign investors. “The country’s geological bounty encompasses over 44 distinct mineral types, found in exploitable quantities across more than 500 locations,” the Minister said, according to a statement by his aide, Mr Kehinde Bamigbetan. “Recently, recognizing the evolving global landscape and

By Adedapo Adesanya The prices of oil benchmarks jumped by 2 per cent on Tuesday on the fresh possibility that the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) will extend or deepen supply cuts. Data showed that Brent crude futures gained $1.70 or 2.1 per cent to close at $81.68 a barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude increased by $1.55 or 2.1 per cent to $76.41 per barrel after a drop in Kazakh oil output and a weaker US Dollar. OPEC+ is due to hold an online ministerial meeting on Thursday to discuss 2024

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 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 Tonye Princewill Being one of the few privileged to be in the room when the decision was taken, one would have expected me to speak a little sooner. After all, I have been known to shoot from the hip, speak my mind plus my thoughts on the decision were pretty clear, right from the moment it was made. I confess that I had played out a series of scenarios in my head before hand and to each one, an appropriate set of responses was measured out and kept waiting. But I thought it wise to let the likely political

By Dipo Olowookere Mrs Olabisi Adekola has been asked to occupy the vacant position left by the Managing Director/CEO of African Alliance Insurance Plc, Mrs Funmi Omo, in an acting capacity. Mrs Omo left the company after 30 years of meritorious service and in order not to create a vacuum, the board of the insurance firm asked Mrs Adekola to take charge effective September 1, 2020. By this appointment, Mrs Adekola becomes the latest in the elite line of home-grown Managing Directors the 60-year old company has produced, further reinforcing the widely held notion that the company is a breeding

By Dipo Olowookere In line with its commitment to youth empowerment and talent development in Nigeria, Nigerian Breweries Plc is sponsoring the Lagos International Poetry Festival. The five-day festival, the third in the series, opened on Wednesday, November 1, 2017 at the Freedom Park, Lagos with poets from across the world in attendance. Corporate Affairs Adviser of Nigerian Breweries Plc, Mr Kufre Ekanem, said the sponsorship is a strand in the fabric of the company’s philosophy of “Winning with Nigeria.” “We recognise that the arts play an important role in strengthening the cultural values of our society and we believe

**Begs FG to Stop Importation of Milk By Dipo Olowookere President of Dangote Group, Mr Aliko Dangote, has appealed to federal government to stop the importation of dairy product like milk just like with cement by coming up with what he called “draconian policy.” The Africa’s richest man gave this suggestion in an interview with the Financial Times of London, where he was quoted as saying “Nigeria has always had a lack of visionary leadership.” Mr Dangote, whose Dangote Cement controls over 65 percent share of the market in Nigeria, decried the fact that Nigeria still imports a lot of

By Adedapo Adesanya President Muhammadu Buhari has promised to facilitate a free, fair and transparent electoral process in next year’s general elections. This was disclosed by Mr Buhari on Sunday morning during his 2022 Democracy Day speech. He noted that this will be done to honour the memory of the acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993, presidential election, the late MKO Abiola. In a televised broadcast, the President called on political parties, candidates and the electorate not to see the elections as a do-or-die affair, adding that democracy is about the will of the majority. “There must be winners

By Adedapo Adesanya The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2023 to three scientists — Moungi G. Bawendi, Louis E. Brus, and Alexei I. Ekimov for the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots. According to the announcement on Wednesday, the Nobel Laureates in Chemistry 2023 have succeeded in producing particles so small that their properties are determined by quantum phenomena. The particles, which are called quantum dots, are now of great importance in nanotechnology. “Quantum dots have many fascinating and unusual properties. Importantly, they have different colours depending on their size,” says

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Stakeholders in the agriculture sector in Nigeria are already gearing up for the 2017 edition of AgorFood Expo, which is scheduled to take place from July 13 to 15 at the Landmark Centre in Lekki, Lagos. The event is one which steers the Nigerian food, agriculture and agriculture technologies’ economy. The Nigeria AgroFood Expo brings together manufacturers of food and agriculture technologies from different countries to Nigeria. While exhibitors meet their potential buyers, visitors can find wide range of products according to their demands and needs. The event has been adjudged as the meeting point for industry

**Seeks Urgent Revitalisation of Ajaokuta, ALSCON By Dipo Olowookere National Council on Mining and Mineral Resources Development (NCMMRD) has appealed to the Federal Government to urgently complete the revitalisation of the Ajaokuta Steel Company Ltd and Aluminium Smelting Company of Nigeria (ALSCON), as well as revive several moribund steel plants scattered across the country in a bid to grow the country’s steel sector and promote private sector participation in Steel development. The council made this appeal in a communiqué issued at the end of its three-day maiden meeting held in Abuja between September 12 and 14. NCMMRD also urged government