Oil Climbs Further as Global Demand Impact of Omicron Eases

By Adedapo Adesanya  President Bola Tinubu has written to the House of Representatives seeking the approval for an $8.6 billion and €100 million external borrowing plan for critical infrastructure in areas such as power, roads, water, railway, and health. The President also forwarded the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Supplementary Budget to the lower chamber for consideration. Meanwhile, the President will present the 2024 budget to the National Assembly on Wednesday. This was after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved a 2024 budget of N27.5 trillion. The approval followed the review of the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) earlier passed by the

By Adedapo Adesanya President Bola Tinubu is targeting to grow Nigeria’s economy by 3.76 per cent next year and moderate the country’s inflation to 21.4 per cent. Speaking at his first budget speech to lawmakers on Wednesday, President Tinubu also projected higher oil production and tax collection, noting that this will boost government revenues and cut down on reliance on borrowing to finance budget deficits. Nigeria plans on spending N27.5 billion in the 2024 fiscal year, with priorities on security, infrastructure and easing the high cost-of-living crisis. The country will borrow around N9 trillion and N18.5 billion generated from internally

By Adedapo Adesanya The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Mr Dele Alake, has assured foreign investors of low production costs as they consider investing in the country’s mining sector. Speaking at the Mines and Money Conference in London, Mr Alake said President Bola Tinubu has embarked on reforms to boost investment by streamlining procedures and reducing hurdles to attract foreign investors. “The country’s geological bounty encompasses over 44 distinct mineral types, found in exploitable quantities across more than 500 locations,” the Minister said, according to a statement by his aide, Mr Kehinde Bamigbetan. “Recently, recognizing the evolving global landscape and

By Adedapo Adesanya The House of Representatives has pledged to stop international oil companies (IOCs) operating in the Niger Delta from divestment of their offshore assets without being accountable to the environment. The Chairman of the House of Reps Committee on Host Communities, Mr Dumnamene Dekor, said this during a technical session on the implementation of the Host Communities Development Trusts (HCDT), organised by Spaces for Change (S4C) with support from Ford Foundation. Mr Dekor raised the alarm that since the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act in 2021, host communities have not experienced any positive change, rather have remained

By Adedapo Adesanya The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has said increased levels of water stress and hazards like withering droughts and devastating floods are hitting African communities, economies, and ecosystems hard. In a report titled The State of the Climate in Africa 2021, the organisation revealed that rainfall patterns are disrupted, glaciers are disappearing, and key lakes are shrinking. This is occasioned by rising water demand, combined with limited and unpredictable supplies, which threatens to aggravate conflict and displacement. The WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said – “The worsening crisis and looming famine in the drought-stricken Horn of Africa shows how

By Adedapo Adesanya FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc lifted the NASD Over-the-Course (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.95 per cent on Thursday, December 8 after its share price rose by N4.75 to sell at N72.50 per unit, in contrast to the previous day’s N67.75 per unit. This suppressed the 7 Kobo loss recorded by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc during the session, closing at N13.43 per share versus Wednesday’s closing rate of N13.50 per share. As a result of this, the total value of the OTC stock market grew by N8.92 billion to wrap the day at N944.71 billion compared with

Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mr Mudashiru Obasa, has called on Nigerians to continue to pray for peaceful and successful general elections in the country this year. In his New Year message to Nigerians, Mr Obasa urged Nigerians not to relent in praying for the government to conduct a free and fair poll. In a statement signed on Monday by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Musbau Rasak, the Lagos Speaker saluted Nigerians for their resourcefulness, courage, prayers and support, which he said have been vital to the successes so far recorded by the All Progressives Congress (APC)

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A vital step has been taken to improve cattle health management in the dairy sector in Kano State and enhance the milk production level in the state. Recently, the dairy business of Olam Food Ingredients, Outspan Nigeria Limited, partnered with some stakeholders in the sector like the Kano Dairy and Livestock Husbandry Cooperative Union (KADALCU) with over 70,000 smallholder dairy farmers to vaccinate 1,500 dairy cattle against foot and mouth disease in Dawakin Tofa local government area of Kano State. Considering the deadly nature of the foot and mouth disease and its economic implication on dairy farmers

By Dipo Olowookere One of the leading conglomerates in Nigeria, BUA Group, has contracted the services of a Turkish company to build its newest flour milling plant in Nigeria. A statement from the Nigerian firm said Milleral of Turkey is expected to deliver the project with a total milling capacity of 2,400tons per day (3 x 800tpd) next year. Upon completion, this new plant will position BUA as one of the leading players in the flour milling business in West Africa. BUA Foods is the agribusiness and foods processing division of BUA Group with diverse investments in the agricultural value

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The government of Djibouti and a company known as DP World are arguing over a ruling by the London Court of International Arbitration on the cancellation of the Doraleh Container Terminal contract between both parties. The court had ruled in favour of the firm, but the government of Djibouti released a statement on Friday that it “does not recognise the international rule of law.” According to the statement issued by the government, the deal was terminated in the interest of the country. Business Post reports that on February 22, 2018, Djibouti terminated the concession for the Doraleh

By Dipo Olowookere Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Mr Michael Adeyemo, has died. The number three citizen of Oyo State died of heart attack on Friday at the Jericho hospital in Ibadan, the state capital. Preliminary reports disclosed that before his death, Mr Adeyemo was full of life, but complained about a sharp pain. He was reportedly taken to the hospital for medical assistant before giving up the ghost. Fourty-seven year-old Micheal Adeyemo was born at Adeyemo Family of Alaarun compound, Lanlate, Ibarapa East Local Government Area of Oyo State. He is the first child of the

By Aduragbemi Omiyale To create a formidable pension funds administration (PFA) business in Nigeria, Access Holdings Plc has merged its subsidiary, First Guarantee Pension Limited (FGPL), with Sigma Pensions Limited. The marriage between the two PFAs was made possible after Access Holdings acquired an indirect equity stake in Sigma. Recall that in October, the company announced that it was buying a stake in Sigma to revolutionise the PFA sector. On Thursday, a court approved the merger between the firm and FGPL, giving room for the organisations to become one and offer innovative products to customers. A notice signed by the