Naira Trades N710/$1 at P2P, $702/$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 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 The Naira put up a weak performance against the United States Dollar across the various segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Thursday. November 30, 2023, the last trading session of the month. In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) window, which is the official market, the Nigerian currency lost 0.1 per cent or 85 Kobo against the greenback during the session to settle at N832.32/$1 compared with the preceding day’s value of N831.47/$1. A slight strain in the supply of forex into the spot market was partly responsible for the weakening of the local

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 In a bid to create a quality sport-broadcasting experience for Nigerians, leading media firms, Nigeria Info and Wazobia Max, under the auspices of AIM Group, have been awarded the broadcast rights from the official UEFA-licensed owner in Nigeria, Media Business Solutions (MBS), to freely air the UEFA Euro 2020 tournament across the country. The competition would be broadcast across Wazobia FM, Arewa Radio, Cool FM Kano, and Wazobia Max both in English and selected local languages, including Pidgin English, Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba, in order to cater for the sporting needs of a wide spectrum of Nigerians.

By Dipo Olowookere Two United Nations human rights experts have called on the government of Cameroon to exercise restraint and begin dialogue, amid rising attacks on peaceful protesters. Special Rapporteurs Maina Kiai and Rita Izsak-Ndiaye said they were deeply concerned about the worsening violence in the north-west and south-west, which has included the use of force against English-speaking demonstrators protesting against the growing appointment of French-speaking civil servants in their regions. Most of the protests have been led by regional bar associations and teachers’ unions. English speakers have long complained that they face discrimination and marginalization, and are excluded from

By Nneka Okumazie There are some people alive now that their happiness is dead. That happiness maybe tied to some factors, or could just be the ability to cheer up. There are people who just hate this body. They want to get out of it. They can’t seem to carry it or find a way to draw any strength to support it. There are people that a part of them is dead, but they can’t identify. For some, they believe their hope is dead. It is likely that before effecting suicide, something else dies, or has since died, so they

It is no doubt that the micro, small and medium scale enterprises (MSMEs) form an integral part of the Nigerian economy and any nation that wants to progress must pay special attention to this sector. Last Thursday, Keystone Bank Limited partnered with the Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) to launch an annual SME Support Centre. The event was mainly to introduce business consultancy services to boost businesses of entrepreneurs particularly in Lagos State and Nigeria in general. The free clinic was to ensure that MSMEs get the necessary support through mentorship to stay afloat despite the various challenges,

By Investors Hub Asian stocks ended mixed on Thursday as investors kept an eye on political developments in Italy and looked ahead to the beginning of trade talks between China and the U.S. later in the day. China?s Shanghai Composite Index dropped 15.33 points or 0.5 percent to 3,154.24, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 168.05 points or 0.5 percent to 30,942.15. Meanwhile, Japanese shares closed higher as a rally by technology and financial stocks helped investors shrug off weak machinery orders data. The total value of core machine orders in Japan dropped 3.9 percent in March, the Cabinet

By Adedapo Adesanya The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the introduction of 14-day paternity leave for public servants in the new Public Service Rules (PSR). This was disclosed by Mrs Folashade Yemi-Esan, Head of Service of the Federation (HoSF) after yesterday’s FEC meeting presided by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. She said that the annual leave would henceforth be calculated based on working days instead of calendar days. Mrs Yemi-Esan said that the Annual Performance Evaluation Review (APER) and Promotions had been replaced with a new Performance Management System. “We presented a memo on the

By Dipo Olowookere The board of Omoluabi Mortgage Bank Plc has announced a change to its composition with the appointment of few individuals, though subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). In a statement signed by the company secretary, Olabisi Fayombo, it was disclosed that the organisation has a new Managing Director and he is Mr Adewole Adekunle. Others appointed to the board were Mr Yemi Adefisan as a non-executive director, Mrs Feyintola Ibidunni Olatunde-Agbeja as an independent director, Mr Olufemi Adesina as a non-executive director, and Mr Oyewole Olowu as an executive director. The new

By Adedapo Adesanya A member of the ninth Senate, Mr George Sekibo, has stated that Nigerians are not paying enough taxes compared with their counterparts in other countries, stressing that this has made government to always want to borrow more funds to provide for the needs of citizens. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmaker representing Rivers East Senatorial District at the National Assembly, while contributing to the Finance Bill passed by the Senate on Thursday at the plenary, said there was need to generate more money internally. Senator Sekibo said, “It is good to raise the funds by ourselves than