Nigeria Inflation Rises to 15.7%…What Next?

By Bliss Okperan The exchange rate instability in the country is already giving small business owners sleepless nights and it threatens their investments. This concern was raised recently by the National Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Association of Small-Scale Industrialists, Mr Segun Kuti-George. He emphasised that business owners would have to increase their prices because of the unavoidable consequence of the current exchange rate crisis in Nigeria. According to him, if consumers are unable to meet up with the increase in the cost of goods and services, businesses would be forced to shut down their operations, which would, in turn,

By Adedapo Adesanya  Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) has secured a $300 million loan from the Export-Import Bank of China (CEXIM) to drive increased trade finance and investment across the African continent, fostering economic growth and development. The infrastructure solutions provider on the continent announced the successful signing of the landmark agreement on the sidelines of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) Annual meetings in Egypt. The 3-year credit facility is a significant development in AFC’s long-standing relationship with CEXIM. The two institutions have collaborated since 2018, with AFC receiving $400 million in bilateral loans from CEXIM to date. According to

By Adedapo Adesanya The confirmation of the new Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Yemi Cardoso, and four deputies, generated mixed reactions in the foreign exchange (forex) market on Tuesday. Business Post reports that while it did magic in the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window, it could not replicate this in the Peer-to-Peer (P2P) and the black market segments. After his confirmation on Tuesday, the new CBN governor said the immediate plan to stabilise the Naira would be for the apex bank to settle some financial obligations and make “transparent rules”. “Number one is what I will term an operational

By Adedapo Adesanya The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a widower, Mr Ariyibi Ahmed Olaseinde and a divorcee, Mrs Akanbi Silifat Tunrayo, for attempting to export 14.4 kilograms of cocaine concealed in lace and ankara fabrics through the lesser hajj (pilgrimage) in Saudi Arabia. The duo were arrested by operatives of the drug agency at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Ikeja Lagos. Mr Ariyibi was intercepted on Thursday, April 20, at the screening point of MMIA Terminal 2 during outward clearance of Qatar Airways passengers travelling from Lagos via Doha to Medina, Saudi Arabia. When his

In a bid to strengthen Nigeria’s agriculture sector, Olam Agri, a leading agribusiness in food, feed and fibre, has partnered with Nanyang Technological University, a leading global research college in Singapore. The agribusiness sponsored the recently-concluded Singapore Business Case Competition X African Challenge 2023, organised by the institution to craft innovative, sustainable strategies targeted at raising the resilience level of the local food value chain. The Singapore Business Case Competition is an innovative competition that is centred on Africa. It featured 34 teams comprising 135 undergraduates from over 11 universities which made presentations on climate-smart strategies to Olam Agri with

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A partnership aimed to put Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) through a series of financial planning sessions has been entered into between Stanbic IBTC Holdings and the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF). The sessions, tagged Managing Your Finances, will benefit small business owners in the state as it will enhance their knowledge in the areas of wealth creation, and improved business management and financial management skills. This is part of the regular financial planning sessions Stanbic IBTC, a member of Standard Bank Group, put in place to support individuals, entrepreneurs and business managers in personal and

By Dipo Olowookere There is every possibility that Wema Bank Plc will offer a cash reward to its shareholders in the current financial year ending next month. This is according to analysts at Meristem Research and the dividend payment is likely to be 7 kobo, Business Post gathered from a report released by the brokerage company. For the first time in 14 years, Wema Bank paid its shareholders a dividend and this was in 2019 for the 2018 accounting year. The amount paid was 3 kobo, though very insignificant, investors were happy that it was a sign of better things

By Modupe Gbadeyanka An initiative to reward religious leaders who mobilize up to 50 members of their religious organization for pilgrimage with one slot each has been introduced by the Lagos State government. Announcing this yesterday was the Commissioner for Home Affairs, Dr Abdul-Hakeem Abdul-Lateef, while addressing newsmen at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre, the Secretariat in Alausa, Ikeja. He explained that the partnership with religious leaders on slots for mobilization of their members was not a negation of the No-pilgrimage Sponsorship of the state government but a modern trend in marketing designed to reward business partners. Mr Abdul-Lateef said

By Dipo Olowookere An association called AFRUIBANA was last Wednesday, July 19, 2017, launched in Brussels, the capital of Belgium, during a visit by Cameroon Trade Minister, Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana, to European institutions. AFRUIBANA is an association of fruit producers and exporters from Cameroon, the Ivory Coast and Ghana. It is also a group established under Cameroonian law and gathers several representatives of producers and exporters from different sub-Saharan countries, notably Assobacam, the Cameroon banana industry association, and OBAMCI, an Ivory Coast organisation of producers and exporters of bananas, pineapples, mangoes and other fruits. As representative of the African,

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, has approved the appointment of three new Permanent Secretaries in the Public Service. According to a statement issued today by the Acting Head of Service, Mrs Folasade Adesoye, the newly appointed Permanent Secretaries include Engr. Temidayo Erinle who will now oversee the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure; Mrs Adetutu Abiola Liadi for the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation and Mrs Atinuke Muynat Onayiga, Primary Healthcare Board. While wishing the new Permanent Secretaries successful tenures, the statement noted that the appointments are with immediate effect.

By Modupe Gbadeyanka On Friday, May 3, 2019, some executives of Nigeria’s largest car auction service provider, Cars45, paid a courtesy visit to the zonal headquarters of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in Lagos. The company’s top shots were led to the customs’ office by the Vice President of Cars45 in charge of Trading, Mr Mohammed Iyamu. During the visit, the Zonal Coordinator of the NCS Zone ‘A’, Assistant Comptroller-General Katherine Ekekezie assured the guest of their full corporation.