Nigeria Records Double-Digit Growth in Non-Oil Exports Earnings

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The Vice President, Mr Kashim Shettima, has said Nigeria is in dire need of foreign direct investment (FDI) more than ever before, tasking domestic and foreign investors to make Nigeria their investment hub because efforts are being made to formulate business-friendly policies. Mr Shettima, while speaking when he hosted the management of First Surat Group, as well as top management of MTN Nigeria at the presidential villa in Abuja, charged MTN Nigeria to facilitate and spearhead digital mobile money and digital education. He assured that President Bola Tinubu was willing to partner with various stakeholders in the

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira appreciated against the US Dollar in the Investors and Exporters (I&E), the Peer-to-Peer (P2P), and the black market arms of the foreign exchange (forex) market on Friday, September 29, as a turbulent third quarter ended. In the official segment, the local currency improved its value against the greenback by 2.6 per cent or N20.04 to close at N755.27/$1, in contrast to the preceding day’s N775.31/$1 amid a drop in the supply of FX into the system by 11.6 per cent or $16.73 million to $127.82 million from the $144.55 million published on Thursday. In the

By Adedapo Adesanya The value of the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange sharply declined by 3.86 per cent on Thursday, September 28, after the shares of VFD Group Plc were taken out of the platform. VFD Group, according to reports, is planning to trade its stocks on a larger platform, the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX). The delisting of the company’s equities brought down the market capitalisation of the NASD OTC exchange by N44 billion to settle at N1.102 trillion compared with the N1.146 trillion it finished on Tuesday, the last trading session. The market was closed on Wednesday as a

By Adedapo Adesanya The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.38 per cent on Friday, September 30, with N4.16 billion added to the value of the bourse, closing at N1.105 trillion compared with Thursday’s value of N1.101 trillion. The market witnessed the improvement a day after the shares of VFD Group were yanked off the trading platform, with the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI) closing higher by 3.06 points to settle at 815.65 basis points versus the previous day’s 812.59 basis points. There were three gainers led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which improved by N1.31 to close at

Chairman of Pinnacle Communications Limited, Mr Lucky Omoluwa, on Tuesday died at the National Hospital Abuja. The philanthropist and businessman, who has been the leading supplier of the multi bullion naira equipment for actualisation of the country’s digital switchover project, reportedly slumped and died today. He was reportedly taken to the hospital this morning after he slumped, but gave up the ghost thereafter. His demise has been described as a huge shock. Himself, his company and the former Director General of the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Mr Modibbo Kawu, have been facing corruption charges of about N2.5 billion over the

By Dipo Olowookere Mr Graham Potter has been announced as the new Head Coach of Chelsea Football Club of England after Mr Thomas Tuchel was shown the way out of the club on Wednesday. In a statement on its website on Thursday, the English football outfit said the former Manager of Brighton and Hove Albion FC “will take charge of the team immediately.” Chelsea, which has picked 10 points from the available 18 points in this season’s English Premier League, said it was attracted to Mr Potter’s “progressive football and innovative coaching,” handing him a 5-year contract to take the

By Dipo Olowookere President Muhammadu Buhari has warmly congratulated Nigeria’s team for an outstanding performance at the Paralympic games in Rio, Brazil. In a statement issued by his spokesman, Mr Garba Shehu, on Monday, President Buhari joined all sports-loving Nigerians in commending the athletes for doing the country proud by winning 12 medals and setting new records, which made them the top-performing African team at the 2016 games. Mr Buhari extoled the resilient spirit of the team who excelled in the face of adversity, applauding them further for their tenacity, focus and determination, which has brought glory to the country.

By Adedapo Adesanya The Ogun State Government has announced a statewide restriction of movement between 7 am and 4 pm on Saturday, July 24, 2021, to allow for the conduct of local government elections. The State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Abdulwaheed Odusile, said the restriction was at the instance of the Ogun State Independent Electoral Commission (OGSIEC), which is conducting the councilorship and chairmanship elections in all the 236 wards across the 20 local government areas in the state. However, during the period of the restriction, voters will be free to move to their polling centres within their

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A new Senior Manager in charge of External Relations has been announced by leading telecom firm in the country, MTN Nigeria. The new occupier of the position is Mr Funsho Aina, who will provide deep insight on strategy and drive targeted engagement with company’s critical stakeholders. He will provide support in the business’ strategic approach towards enhancing its corporate reputation, particularly as regards engaging and managing critical stakeholders. Before now, the journalist turned PR specialist had served as Public Relations Manager at MTN Nigeria, a firm he joined in January 2009. Based on his vast experience and

By Adedapo Adesanya  Crude oil settled lower on Wednesday as traders weighed concerns over a surge in COVID-19 cases in China, the world’s top oil importer. Brent crude futures fell by $1.07 or 1.3 per cent to settle at $83.26 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures lost 57 cents or 0.7 per cent to trade at $78.96 per barrel. China has said it will stop requiring inbound travellers to quarantine from January 8, a major step towards relaxing stringent curbs on its borders. However, Chinese hospitals have been under intense pressure due to a surge

By Dipo Olowookere Investors further gained N85 billion at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Thursday, following buy interests in some blue-chip equities at the market. During the session, the market capitalisation of the exchange expanded to N12.441 trillion from N12.356 trillion after the N85 billion growth. The positive performances of these bellwether stocks, which further lifted the market higher by 0.77 percent, increased the All-Share Index (ASI) by 183.48 points to 23,892.92 points from 23,709.44 points. Business Post reports that there were 18 price gainers and 14 price losers yesterday, with the advancers led by Nestle Nigeria, which added

By Adedapo Adesanya The Lagos State Government has launched the Lateef Jakande Leadership Academy, a leadership and mentorship programme. As part of activities commemorating Worker’s Day, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu announced that the state government was introducing the programme with the vision to develop tomorrow’s leaders today for public service and governance in Africa by equipping them with the requisite skills to influence the public service and instilling the ethics and values of purposeful leadership through direct mentoring and on-the-job training. The one-year non-partisan and meritocratic fellowship will offer first-hand experience in the process of governance at the state government level