NMDPRA Urges Stakeholders to Fast-Track PIA Implementation

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited is planning to grow its revenue to N4.5 trillion as it plans to end the importation of premium motor spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, by December 2024. The chief executive of the company, Mr Mele Kyari, while speaking on Thursday, said the nation would not need to rely on fuel from outside the country because its refineries would have been fully operational. Nigeria is currently revamping its four refineries to make the product available to residents of the country as it officially stopped the payment of subsidy on petrol

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira depreciated in the opening session of the week in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Monday, November 27 against the Dollar by N19.71 or 2.5 per cent as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Olayemi Cardoso, said the lender was committed to clearing a backlog of foreign exchange (forex). “We have initiated the payment of unsettled forward foreign exchange obligations, and these payments will continue until all obligations are cleared,” he told bankers last Friday during a dinner speech in Lagos. However, his assurance could not ease the pressure

By Adedapo Adesanya Brent crude benchmark dipped below $80 a barrel on Monday, precisely losing 60 cents of 0.7 per cent to trade at $79.98 a barrel as investors await this week’s meeting of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies (OPEC+). The group is anticipated to maintain its ceiling on crude oil production by member countries into 2024. This affected the oil market, with the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures declining yesterday by 68 cents or 0.9 per cent to trade at $74.86 per barrel. Last week, the 23-man OPEC+ postponed its Sunday ministerial meeting

By Bliss Okperan, Adedapo Adesanya  The cost of cooking a pot of jollof rice, one of the most consumed foods daily in Nigeria, has surged by 37.4 per cent, according to research carried out by Business Post. Using market data and the most recent food price watch by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), major food items in making the delicacy, including rice, groundnut oil, tomatoes, and onions, among others have recorded a massive increase within the past year, making it hard for the average Nigerian to survive. According to NBS, 1 kilogram of Rice cost N757.06 in 2023 as

By Lere Ojedokun The outbreak of novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) and national response to it clearly exposed our ill preparedness for its possible spread to Nigeria. Response and management of the crisis also showed our poor strategy to emergency handling as a nation. Several months after the outbreak of the virus in faraway China’s town of Wuhan was reported, and its fast spread to other towns and cities across the Asian country and countries in other continents, it is obvious that Nigeria waited too long to initiate strategy and action plans to prevent and mitigate the pandemic. Perhaps, until the World

By Adedapo Adesanya One of the leading property investment company, Afriland Properties Plc, is looking to expand its properties portfolio by tapping into the federal government’s infrastructural development plan ahead of 2020. This was disclosed by Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the company, Ms Uzo Oshogwe, at the first NASD Investors’ Call Forum, where market stakeholders were assured a better 2020 financial year. Speaking on the plans of the company, she said, “We are going to venture into infrastructure development because we know the government has already approved a lot of funding for it.” Ms Oshogwe further added that with

By Adedapo Adesanya  The management of Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC) has condemned the attack on operatives of the agency by some persons on Friday while carrying out enforcement on street traders. The attack occurred along Queens Drive in Ikoyi and this left three operational trucks damaged and some officials of the corps injured, with one presently in critical condition at the hospital. According to LAGESC, the exercise, which was part of the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s mandate to clear the state of all environmental nuisance and infractions, was led by Deputy Corps Marshals, Mr Ganiu Kazeem and Mr Adeleke

By Aduragbemi Omiyale A strategic initiative aimed to revamp banking practice in Nigeria has been introduced by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN). The new plan with the acronym A-TEAM means Accelerated Development; Technology and Digital Enhancement; Engagement for Growth; Accountability and Transparent Leadership and Membership Drive for Value. As part of efforts for its successful implementation, the CIBN is seeking collaborations with financial institutions in the country. Recently, the President/Chairman of Council, CIBN, Mr Bayo Olugbemi, visited Ecobank Nigeria and he said the A-TEAM initiative will benefit stakeholders in the banking sector. He applauded Ecobank’s consistent support

Leading provider of technology solutions for the global insurance industry, Beyontec, has achieved the significant 50-customers milestone and has set the acceleration of its growth trajectory with focus on new markets and the introduction of new products. The company continues to enlarge its global footprint with leading-edge digital solutions that focuses on improving the process efficiencies and customer retention across markets and multiple insurance business lines. In the last one decade since inception, Beyontec has rapidly improved its global presence by establishing itself in the USA before making inroads into the GCC and Pan-African markets. Today, it works with many

By Dipo Olowookere At least one person has been confirmed dead when a building caved in on Thursday afternoon in Ilasamaja area of Lagos State. Reports say no fewer than 15 persons have been pulled out from the rumble by different agencies carrying out rescue operations at the scene. Eyewitnesses say the 3-storey building still under construction collapsed at about 2.57pm today. It was learnt that the property, located on Abimbola Street in Ilasa, was earlier marked for demolition by state government officials, but works allegedly resumed at the site later on. As at Thursday night, rescue operations were still

By Dipo Olowookere Francophone West Africa leads in intra-regional trade with trade hotspots around Dakar, Abidjan, Cotonou and Lomé, analysis by Ecobank Research has revealed in its new website, AfricaFICC. The research team has updated Ecobank’s flagship Africa Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities Guidebook (FICC) and made it available as an online resource at https://Ecobank.com/AfricaFICC. The website provides key facts for businesses and investors on the economies of Sub-Saharan Africa and the key sectors of activity. The first regional section of the website to go live is Francophone West Africa, one of the most diverse regions of Sub-Saharan Africa. Stretching

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A company named Citygate Global Investment Limited has taken United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc to court over what it called ‘illegal deductions’ from its account with the bank. In a suit, FHC/L/CS/407/2017, filed before Justice Oluremi Oguntoyinbo of a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, the plaintiff urged the court to mandate UBA to pay N3.45 billion to it for the illegal and excess charges, general damages, and litigation cost. Citygate Global Investment Limited also wants the judge to give an order compelling the bank to publish an apology in five national newspapers for the said