Nigeria, Brazil Partner to Boost Agriculture, Create Jobs

By Adedapo Adesanya The trio of Newrest Asl Plc, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, and Acorn Petroleum Plc made the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange appreciate by 0.14 per cent on Friday, December 1. The three gainers pressed down the 8 Kobo loss reported by UBN Property Plc, which closed the trading session at N1.52 per unit compared with the preceding day’s value of N1.60 per unit. During the trading day, Newrest Plc gained N1.46 to close at N16.10 per share compared with Thursday’s closing price of N14.64 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc moved up by 60 Kobo to end the

By Dipo Olowookere In one week, investors bought and sold 2.543 billion shares worth N38.644 billion in 36,138 deals on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited. In the preceding trading week, a total of 2.425 billion shares valued at N22.665 billion were transacted by investors in 33,230 deals. It was observed that financial stocks led the activity chart as usual with 1.721 billion units worth N18.281 billion in 17,151 deals, contributing 67.68 per cent and 47.30 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively. Conglomerates equities trailed with 200.584 million units valued at N1.546 billion in

By Adedapo Adesanya Oil slumped by more than 2 per cent on Friday as traders showed scepticism about the depth of supply cuts by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) as well as concerns about sluggish global manufacturing activity. Brent crude went down by $1.98 or 2.45 per cent to close at $78.88 a barrel as the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude dropped $1.89 or 2.49 per cent to sell for $74.07 a barrel. For the week, Brent posted a decline of about 2.1 per cent, while WTI lost more than 1.9 per cent.

By Adedapo Adesanya The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has revealed that a $1 billion facility would be used to provide insurance to more than 40 million farmers across the continent against severe impacts of climate change. Initially unveiled at the Africa Climate Summit held in Nairobi in September, the Africa Climate Risk Insurance Facility for Adaptation (ACRIFA) brings together governments, development agencies, the insurance sector and the private sector, said the president of the bank, Mr Akinwumi Adesina, while speaking during a side event at COP28 in Dubai. He said ACRIFA aims to mobilise $1 billion of concessionary financing,

By Adedapo Adesanya The Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mr Mohammed Bello Koko, has threatened to delist truckers involved in the illegal stripping of containers along the port access road, stressing that the agency will deal decisively with perpetrators of the unwholesome practice. This is the act of removing cargo from a sealed container. It is also commonly known as the devanning, unstuffing, or unloading of the container. Typically, full container load (FCL) shipments are devanned at the destination warehouse. The NPA boss, over the weekend in Lagos, stated this when he paid an unscheduled visit to

By Modupe Gbadeyanka As part of its determined efforts to touch the lives of Nigerians positively the President Muhammadu Buhari administration has started the payment of N5,000 monthly stipends to the poorest and the most vulnerable in the country through the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) of its Social Investment Programmes, SIP. Under the CCT, one million Nigerians would receive N5000 monthly payments as a form of social safety net for the poorest and most vulnerable as budgeted for in the 2016 Budget. In the first batch that commenced last week, nine states would be covered, and many of the beneficiaries

Drought in Kenya By Dipo Olowookere In response to the ongoing drought which has hit several parts of Kenya for the last one-year, the European Union is providing an additional €23 million to contain the worst impacts of drought among the most affected communities. In addition to meeting the most urgent needs of the most affected people, the initiative will also contribute to strengthening the capacity of counties and local communities to respond to and prepare for disasters aiming to prevent future loss of assets. The additional funding will be managed by the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) over the

By Dipo Olowookere The education sector in Oyo State is about to get a major facelift with the commencement of the implementation of 217 projects across the state. Already, a meeting has been held with contractors for the construction of 58 blocks of classrooms, 10 perimeter fences; drilling of 44 boreholes, procurement of 3 lots of sports equipment/facilities, the supply of furniture and renovation of 62 blocks of classrooms. The projects are to be supervised by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and the Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board (OyoSUBEB). Last week, the agencies read the riot act to

By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh The South African Institute of International Affairs, a Johannesburg-based foreign policy think tank, has released a special report on Russia-Africa relations. According to the report, Russia has signed military-technical agreements with over 20 African countries and has secured lucrative mining and nuclear energy contracts on the continent. Russia views Africa as an increasingly important vector of its post-Western foreign policy. Its support for authoritarian regimes in Africa is readily noticeable, and its soft power has drastically eroded. As suspicions arise that Russia’s growing assertiveness in Africa is a driver of instability, its approach to governance encourages

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A total of N685.3 billion was generated as revenue by Dangote Cement Plc in the first nine months of 2018. This information was revealed in the financial statements of the firm released today to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). In the third quarter earnings analysed by Business Post, this amount was 13.54 percent higher than what was raked in the same period of last year, N603.6 billion. Dangote Cement is the most capitalised company trading its shares on the local bourse. In the results, the cement maker said its gross profit stood at N397.6 billion versus N343.7

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Makers of carbonated (soft) drinks in Nigeria may begin to pay excise duty to the federal government just like their counterpart in the alcohol business. The Nigerian government said it was irrational for those in the beer, spirit and tobacco industry to pay tax, while those in the soft drink business do not. In the past, makers of carbonated drinks paid excise duty to the government until the interim national government (ING) of Mr Ernest Shonekan abolished it in 1993. But the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Mr Hameed Ali, wants this policy reversed, stating

By Adedapo Adesanya Access Bank PLC has joined the long list of companies warning Nigerians to be wary of fraudulent activities that has been on a steady rise due to the COVID-19 lockdown. The leading retail bank explained that since the pandemic necessitated Nigerians in some states to stay indoors, it observed a worrying increase in reports of fraudsters targeting unsuspecting customers. This development has become even more worrisome, especially as these people not only disguise themselves as bank representatives, but also use the palliatives from the government as bait to collect customers BVNs and other key banking details. According