Naira Depreciates to N474 Per Dollar at Black Market

By Adedapo Adesanya Crude oil prices fell on Thursday members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) agreed to voluntary output cuts for the first quarter of next year, falling short of market expectations. As a result, Brent crude futures lost 27 cents or 0.3 per cent to close at $82.83 per barrel, and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures went down by $1.90 or 2.4 per cent to $75.96 a barrel. On a monthly basis, Brent fell by 5.2 per cent while WTI was down by 6.2 per cent. Saudi Arabia, Russia

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 Adedapo Adesanya  Angola, one of Africa’s top crude oil producers and a key member of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), has officially rejected the proposed production quota for the year 2024 and may even exit the group. This was signalled by Mr Diamantino Pedro Azevedo, Angola’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, confirming the nation’s decision and indicating a divergence from OPEC’s suggested allocations for both member and non-member countries. The announcement was made during the 26th OPEC+ Meeting on Thursday, where the organisation proposed 1.11 million barrels of crude oil per day production quota for

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Business owners in Lagos have been assured of more incentives by the state governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who added that this is part of his administration’s commitment to reforms aimed at improving the ease of doing business and enhancing investment opportunities. Speaking at the commissioning of the newly-built wet hair production factory of Godrej Nigeria Limited, the Governor said his government would continue to pursue actions that would eliminate red tapes and regulatory impediments hindering the growth of businesses in the state, thereby demonstrating his willingness for continued collaboration with the private sector to improve the livelihood

By Adedapo Adesanya   Only three of the 36 states of the federation can finance their recurrent expenditure without depending on the monthly allocation from the federal government, a report from Nigeria’s civic tech organization, BudgIT, has said. This report published under the title State of States 2019, showed that only Lagos, Rivers, and Akwa-Ibom States can finance themselves without the disbursement from the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC). The report, released in Abuja on Wednesday, confirmed that if the allocation from the federal government were to be affected by any event such as fluctuations in oil prices, many states

By Adedapo Adesanya As the COVID-19 pandemic, conflict and climate-related crises drive acute levels of hunger higher, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization is seeking $1.1 billion in 2021 to save the lives and livelihoods of some of the world’s most food-insecure people. In 2021, FAO is aiming to reach more than 48.9 million people who rely on agriculture for their survival and livelihoods through interventions by boosting local food production and nutrition, while strengthening the capacity and resilience of communities to prepare for and cope with crises, as well as providing post-disaster livelihoods support to help people resume

By Adedapo Adesanya The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has revealed that the outstanding N1.3 trillion debt owed to it by the federal government won’t affect its payment of dividends to the government’s purse. In June this year, the state oil company revealed that it was expecting a refund of about N1.3 trillion from the Federation Account as debt by the federal government. It disclosed this when the inter-agency committee constituted by President Bola Tinubu was set to commence sitting to resolve the lingering debt row. The federal government had accused the NNPC Limited of indebtedness to the tune

By Investors Hub European stocks have fallen on Thursday, as renewed concerns that Chinese growth is slowing and Brexit fears overshadowed signs of progress in NAFTA talks. The U.S. is considering imposing tariffs on another $200 billion worth of Chinese goods as early as next months, and the response from China may have significant consequences for the global economy and currencies. While the U.K.?s FTSE 100 Index has fallen by 0.6 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index are both down by 0.5 percent. The euro remained firm against the dollar despite a measure of Euro

By Adedapo Adesanya The Senate has approved a $40 per barrel oil benchmark for the 2021 budget as it passed the 2021-2023 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP). The passage of the document followed the consideration of a harmonised report of the Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Representatives. In his presentation, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Olamilekan Solomon Adeola, explained that the conference report of the Senate and House of Representatives was a harmonised position of both chambers upon examination of the differences contained in the 2021-2023 MTEF/FSP document. According

By Modupe Gbadeyanka In order to stimulate the economy and ease access to banking services for more people, Polaris Bank has entered into a strategic partnership with the Niger State Government by ensuring participants in the supply value chain of the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP) can open bank accounts with less hassle. According to the Managing Director of Polaris Bank, Mr Tokunbo Abiru, the decision to partner with the state government aligns with federal government’s commitment to ensure more children have access to education especially those from the less privileged (underprivileged) and most vulnerable segments of society. While

By Dipo Olowookere A $500 million credit insurance deal has been signed between the African Development Bank (AfDB) and African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI). This transaction is expected to have an important demonstration effect to encourage similar institutions to invest more on the continent in the future. While ATI will be the direct insurer facing the African Development Bank, the transaction involves the participation of a number of Lloyd’s & Company private reinsurers who will share the risk on African financial institutions. This vehicle will enable many insurance companies operating outside Africa to participate in the financing of development in

By Kester Kenn Klomegah The Southern African Development Community (SADC) held the 41st Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government in Lilongwe, Malawi from 17 to 18 August 2021 with a limited number of participants. The modest symbolism associated with the gathering was to observe strictly the COVID-19 protocols. The summit held under the theme Bolstering Productive Capacities in the Face of COVID-19 Pandemic for Inclusive, Sustainable, Economic and Industrial Transformation was preceded by a Council of Ministers meeting held in a hybrid format whereby a limited number of delegates attended physically, while others participated through virtual platforms. The