Nigeria’s Oil Production Drops 100,000 bpd in August

By Adedapo Adesanya The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Olayemi Cardoso, has admitted that the country recorded a revenue drop of $1.4 billion between 2015 and 2019 after imposing foreign exchange (FX) restrictions for import of 43 items over eight years. The apex bank governor made this known on Friday while delivering his keynote address at the 58th Annual Dinner of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) in Lagos. The apex bank head, during the preparation of his monetary policy thrust, cited available data saying, “Studies have shown that during the period when the

By Adedapo Adesanya The duo of Aradel Holdings Plc and 11 Plc landed the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange in the green territory by 0.84 per cent on Monday, November 27. The two energy stocks overpowered losses posted by two other securities admitted to the alternative stock exchange, leaving the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) closing higher by 7.22 points to 864.51 basis points from 857/29 points, as the market capitalisation of the exchange increased by N9.78 billion to N1.171 trillion from N1.162 trillion. Aradel Holdings Plc saw its share price continue to soar as it rose by N28.80 to

By Adedapo Adesanya  Oil prices fell on Friday as the release of some hostages in Gaza reduced the geopolitical risk premium and indicated that the Israel-Hamas tensions may not have much effect on the oil market. Brent crude futures depreciated by 84 cents or 1 per cent at $80.58 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude dropped $1.56 or 2 per cent to close at $75.54. There was no settlement for WTI on Thursday owing to the US Thanksgiving holiday. Prices notched their first week of gains in over a month ahead of next week’s meeting of

By Adedapo Adesanya The federal government has set plans in motion to raise $200 million from philanthropic individuals and organisations as part of efforts to create jobs and support Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria. Nigeria is home to over 36.9 million MSMEs, comprising 96.7 per cent of all businesses in Nigeria. According to data, 67 per cent of these businesses are youth-owned. MSMEs contribute over 45 per cent to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), with 98.8 per cent of them in the micro cadre. They account for nearly 90 per cent of the jobs in the

By Adedapo Adesanya The Senate President, Mr Ahmad Lawan, has called for a speedy and amicable resolution to the incessant face-off between the federal government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). In a statement issued to mark this year’s Workers’ Day, the number three citizen of the country assured workers that the National Assembly will continue to partner with the organised labour to address issues relating to them. He disclosed that “Nigerian workers deserve our appreciation and respect for their contributions to the development of our country. “I also salute them for their patriotic cooperation with the government

By Dipo Olowookere A further loss was recorded on the trading floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Wednesday, closing 0.07 percent lower to stretch the year-to-date loss to 6.54 percent. The All-Share Index (ASI), which ended on Tuesday at 29,395.14 points, finished on Wednesday at 29,375.25 points, indicating a decline of 19.89 points. Similarly, the market capitalisation, which settled at N12.957 trillion in the previous session, lost N9 billion yesterday to end at N12.948 trillion. Business Post reports that during Wednesday’s trading day, there were a total of 23 price risers and 16 price decliners. The losers’ chart

By Dipo Olowookere A leading information communication technology (ICT) solution supplier in the Nigeria telecoms market, Huawei Technologies Company Nigeria Limited, said it has made a total investment of $76 million in the country. The Managing Director of Huawei Technologies Company Nigeria Limited, Mr Trevor Liu, made this known when he visited the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, last week in Abuja. He said apart from that, his company made procurements worth $630 million with a tax revenue of $103 million between 2016 and 2019. According to him, Huawei has created over 400 direct job

By Adedapo Adesanya As the world observes the International Youth Day, the African Development Bank (AfDB) has lauded youths that are using its AgriPitch competition to help transform the food system on the continent. According to the Abidjan-based bank, Africa is producing a growing number of young entrepreneurs who are adopting new ideas to bring more affordable, quality food from farm to fork. This was disclosed during a forum celebrating youths by the Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development, AfDB, Dr Beth Dunford, themed Transforming Food Systems: Youth Innovation for Human and Planetary Health, putting the spotlight on

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, has lambasted banking industry operators who claimed that the introduction of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) have stifled their operations. Mr Emefiele rather affirmed that TSA was one of the best and boldest decisions any administration in the country had so far taken. He made this disclosure while delivering a lecture at the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies in Kuru, Plateau State, at the weekend. According to him, the impression that the TSA was stifling banks was created to draw unnecessary sympathy and “it

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) group has been declared a terrorists’ organisation by the Defence Headquarters (DHQ). This declaration was made known on Friday in a statement issued by the This comes after the Nigerian Army kicked off the Operation Python Dance II in the South East, which led to clashes between the army and the IPOB members in Abia State. IPOB is seeking to leave Nigeria to form a new country called Biafra, but the Nigerian government is vehemently against this. Leader of IPOB, Mr Nnamdi Kanu, was only recently released by the court under

By Adedapo Adesanya In order to boost agricultural productivity in Nigeria in line with the President Muhammadu Buhari 9-point agenda, the National Varieties Release Committee (NVRC) has released 18 high-yielding crop varieties. The unveiling of these new crop varieties is expected to favour farmers in the country, who will now experience bountiful harvest going forward and in turn, make food cheaper. During the announcement, the Chairman of NVRC, Mr Oladosu Awoyemi, said the 18 crops were taken from the 25 submitted by researchers. While speaking during the 29th meeting at the National Centre for Genetic Resources and Biotechnology (NACGRAB) in

By Adedapo Adesanya The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has revealed that the currency in circulation further dropped to N982.09 billion in February 2022. This can be attributed to the Naira redesign policy of the apex bank, which was announced last October when total circulation was put at N3.29 trillion. These figures revealed that N2.3 trillion or 235 per cent of the cash was mopped up from circulation during the period under review. According to the CBN, the currency in circulation had moved from N3.16 trillion in November 2022 to N3.29 trillion in December 2022 but dropped heavily to N1.38