Lagos Targets 4% GDP Growth in 2019

By Adedapo Adesanya The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) on Thursday asked Nigeria to produce about 1.5 million barrels of crude oil per day in 2024, lower than the 1.78 million barrels per day benchmark it proposed in the 2024 Appropriation Bill presented to the National Assembly on Wednesday for passage. The output ceiling was around 1.8 million barrels per day before it was cut down to 1.5 million barrels yesterday at the group’s virtual meeting, a huge blow to Nigeria’s revenue target for the fiscal year. OPEC had tasked three consultancies – IHS, Rystad

By Dipo Olowookere Local equities rebounded by 0.34 per cent on Wednesday on the back of buying pressure on a few energy stocks and others at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited. According to data from the bourse, the bullish stance was attained despite profit-taking activities in the banking space amid plans by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to recapitalise the industry, leaving the market breadth index negative. This was because the number of price losers was more than the price gainers at 39 and 19 apiece, indicating a weak investor sentiment. Business Post reports that the energy counter grew

By Adedapo Adesanya A hybrid solar power solutions provider, Daystar Power, has signed an agreement with Nigerian Breweries to install and operate a 4.2MWp solar plant and 2MWh battery storage system that will help the firm reduce its high energy costs. The installation will be one of the largest solar and battery storage projects for an industrial manufacturer in Nigeria. The hybrid solar solution will generate 5,249 MWh of electricity – 42 per cent of its daytime power consumption – every year at Nigerian Breweries’ Lagos brewery. According to a statement, the integration of solar into the factory’s energy mix

By Adedapo Adesanya The return of the bears was averted at the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Thursday by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which helped the alternative bourse close marginally higher by 0.03 per cent. This slight growth increased the value of the OTC exchange by N380 million, closing relatively flat at N1.165 trillion, as the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) increased by 0.27 points to end the day at 859.58 points compared with the previous day’s 859.31 points. During the trading day, the value of CSCS Plc went up by 8 Kobo to settle at N17.08

By Adedapo Adesanya As fuel queues return to major cities in Nigeria, straining daily commute and activities, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has explained the reasons. In an interview with Channels Television, the Lagos Zonal Chairman of IPMAN, Mr Akin Akinrinade, stated that the rationale behind the fuel scarcity is a result of the operating environment which has become hostile to their businesses. Mr Akinrinade specifically stated that the petroleum marketers were not on strike as feared but have found it difficult to operate considering the dependence on diesel whose price has skyrocketed. “Members of Independent Petroleum

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Wema Bank Plc, Mr Segun Oloketuyi, has embarked on a terminal leave. The leave began on Sunday, July 1, 2018. After his terminal leave, the illustrious banker will proceed on retirement from the financial institution with effect from September 30 2018 following almost a decade at the helm of the bank. Mr Oloketuyi was named MD/CEO of Wema Bank Plc in June 2009, with the task of returning the Bank to profitability following the 2008 banking crisis which saw the collapse of many banks. At the time, Wema Bank had negative capital

By Adedapo Adesanya The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has said it is not against the Eni and Oando deal as earlier reported. Business Post had reported that the Managing Director of NNPC Exploration and Production Limited (NEPL), Mr Ali Zarah, a subsidiary of the state oil company, had said his agency was yet to confirm the authenticity of the agreement for the acquisition of Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited (NAOC) assets. “Our attention has been drawn to various reports circulating on different media platforms in relation to an alleged divestment of NAOC’s participating interest in OMLs 60, 61,

By Otori Emmanuel “Every business that wants to create global footprints must have a clear social media strategy” When we have a product or service to offer, we have crossed the first line and the second is to be able to find the channels to ensure that words about what we sell get across to the audience that has the money value. People usually use digital marketing and social media interchangeably; however, digital marketing is the broad variety of activities that are performed on the internet to ensure the promotion of goods to the audience on these platforms. Social media

We’ve all got big dreams. For you; it might be dancing in the O2 Arena, alongside one of the biggest artists in Nigeria. For someone else; it could be developing a great product that will get your startup the right funding, while for others it could just be making legitimate money, regardless of how much time is invested in the job. The tricky part of life is; for one to take a dream out of sleep-time, it takes WORK, in reality. And like the 10,000-hour rule says; the key to achieving true expertise in any skill is simply a matter

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in a circular dated Wednesday, April 5, 2017, released guidelines for the regulation of Non-Interest (Islamic) Microfinance Bank (NIMFBs) in the country. The circular, signed by the apex bank’s Director in charge of Financial Policy and Regulation Department, Mr Kelvin Amugo, categorised the NIMFB into unit, state and national licence with minimum paid-up capital of N20 million, N100 million and N2 billion respectively. He further stated that the minimum standard operating procedures, prudential ratios and other regulatory requirements that operators of NIMFBs are expected to comply with were specified in the

By Reuben Abati People tend to be alarmed when the Nigerian Presidency takes certain decisions. They don’t think the decision makes sense. Sometimes, they wonder if something has not gone wrong with the thinking process at that highest level of the country. I have heard people insist that there is some form of witchcraft at work in the country’s seat of government. I am ordinarily not a superstitious person, but working in the Villa, I eventually became convinced that there must be something supernatural about power and closeness to it. I’ll start with a personal testimony. I was given an

By Adedapo Adesanya FarmNow Nigeria, an agro-allied service poised to connect stakeholders and formulate tech-driven collaborative solutions along the agricultural value chain, has launched a new service called FarmNow Direct. The new offering is a one-stop farm store that brings the best mix of 100 per cent fresh agro-products, processed and unprocessed, perishable and non-perishable from the farms directly to consumers’ doorstep as freshly and as naturally as possible. The service, which is available nationwide, promotes sustainability and sufficiency by playing its part to reduce food loss and food waste through smart innovative ways. According to the company, this can