Naira Falls to N420/$1 at Black Market

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 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 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 A milk-producing company, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria, helped the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange return to the green territory by 0.54 per cent on Wednesday, November 29. The firm improved its value by N3.50 in the midweek session to settle at N73.50 per share compared with the previous day’s closing price of N70.00 per share. It suppressed the 10 Kobo decline posted by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which ended lower at N17.00 per unit versus Tuesday’s value of N17.10 per unit. Consequently, the market capitalisation of the alternative stock exchange went up by N6.28 billion to

By Adedapo Adesanya Africa’s Business Heroes (ABH) Prize Competition, a philanthropic initiative sponsored by the Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Philanthropy, has extended its deadline for entries to May 17, 2023. In a statement on Thursday, the organisers said the extension had been made in response to the strong level of interest from entrepreneurs across the continent. ABH aims to identify, support and inspire the next generation of African entrepreneurs who are making a difference in their local communities by working to solve the most pressing problems and building a more sustainable and inclusive economy for the future. The new

By Adedapo Adesanya The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says a visually challenged citizen of the Niger Republic and two nationals of Pakistan have been arrested for cocaine trafficking in Nigeria. While the Pakistanis were apprehended at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos, the Nigerien was nabbed in Katsina State. In a statement on Sunday, NDLEA spokesman, Mr Femi Babafemi, identified the Pakistanis as Asif Muhammed, 45 and Hussain Naveed, 57, saying they were nabbed with eight kilograms of cocaine concealed in a public address system while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to Lahore, Pakistan via

By Dipo Olowookere Suspected kidnappers of Lagos State Model College in Igbonla, Epe, have been apprehended by operatives of Lagos Command of the Nigerian Police. It was gathered that three suspects were arrested by the police in connection with the abduction some days ago. According to the Special Intelligence Response Team (IRT) of the Inspector- General of Police, Mr Ibrahim Idris, the suspected kidnappers were caught on Tuesday in Benin City, the capital of Edo State. Leader of the team, ACP Abba Kyari, claimed that the apprehended suspected militants confessed to have participated in the kidnapping of prominent personalities in

By Adedapo Adesanya The Bank of Industry (BoI) has approved a series of funds for small and medium scale entrepreneurs and another set for two domestic investors in Kebbi State, Nigeria. This disclosure was made by the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Bank, Mr Olukayode Pitan, on Monday during a courtesy visit to the State House, Birnin-Kebbi, where the delegation was received by Governor Abubakar Bagudu. Speaking on the loans, Mr Pitan said, “My bank has approved various projects worth N3.9 billion and N2.8 billion to finance small and medium scale entrepreneurs, as well as N1.5

By Investors Hub European stocks have moved mostly higher on Monday to extend gains from the previous session, with hopes for a U.S.-China trade deal as well as positive manufacturing data from China supporting sentiment. The pound is treading water against the euro and dollar as regional data proved to be a mixed bag and investors brace for another parliament vote on a series of Brexit options amid indications the prime minister may be willing to call a general election. While the German DAX Index has jumped by 1.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.?s FTSE 100

By Nneka Okumazie The advances of humanity and continuous possibility splatter knowledge of the capability of smartness, but, maybe not really. Yes, there are lots of problems in the past that have become almost nothing. There are also new ways to handle or think about situations common in human experience. But, at any time, in terms of present problems, there is often a lot of confusion or almost total ignorance – privately or otherwise. There are bad options that people just often say, there is no better idea. There are major problems that the solution is nothing but a new

By Timi Olubiyi, PhD The current economic situation of many Nigerians, be they unemployed, employed or small business operators is, to say the least, perplexing and confusing. Inflation continues to worsen the cost of living of the populace, eroding the purchasing power of citizenries with no succour in sight. Even though inflation is a concept that affects all of us, most importantly, high inflation is hostile to even the economy. With persistent inflation, businesses and households will continue to perform poorly, and we will continue to pay more for the same goods and services. The consequence and impact of inflation