Oil Drops as Omicron-induced Restrictions Hurt Demand

By Adedapo Adesanya Equinor and Chappal Energies have entered into an agreement for the sale of Equinor Nigeria Energy Company (ENEC), which holds a 53.85 per cent ownership in oil and gas lease OML 128, including the unitized 20.21 per cent stake in the Agbami oil field, operated by Chevron. Speaking on the deal, Equinor’s senior vice president for Africa Operations, Ms Nina Koch, said Nigeria has been an important part of Equinor’s international portfolio over the past 30 years, noting that, “This transaction realizes value and is in line with Equinor’s strategy to optimize its international oil and gas

In furtherance of my sacred duties and obligations as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, it is my honour to be here today to present my administration’s 2024 Budget Proposal to this Joint Session of the 10th National Assembly. This moment is especially profound and significant to me because it is my first annual budgetary presentation to the National Assembly. Distinguished Senators and Honourable Members of the National Assembly, I commend your swift consideration and passage of the 2023 Supplementary Appropriation Bills and the 2024-2026 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper. Your prompt action underscores your devotion

By Aduragbemi Omiyale President Bola Tinubu has said the 2024 budget presented to the joint session of the National Assembly on Wednesday was designed to achieve macroeconomic stability, a better investment environment, greater access to social security, poverty reduction and enhanced human capital development. According to him, if these goals are achieved, the standard of living of Nigerians will improve and the citizens will enjoy the dividends of democracy. While presenting the 2024 Appropriation Bills to the parliament yesterday, the President said this was why he christened the budget proposal as the Budget of Renewed Hope. Mr Tinubu told the

By Adedapo Adesanya The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has the potential to increase Africa’s export by $560 billion, mostly in the manufacturing sector. This was the view of Mr Wamkele Mene, the Secretary-General of AfCFTA at the Africa Special Day hosted by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) at the ongoing Lagos International Trade Fair (LITF) in Lagos. He said that the manufacturing sector was exactly what Africa needed for transformative production capacity to take place, noting that intra-Africa exports are projected to increase by 81 per cent, while the AfCFTA may generate combined business spending

By Jerome-Mario Chijioke Utomi Dear Mr President, I trust this letter finds you well. It remains a familiar narrative that the Saturday, February 25, presidential election organized by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) affirmed you as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Further eliciting congratulations on your success is the awareness that all the litigations/and related concerns arising from the electoral exercise have been resolved in your favour. In line with this victory, you are presently faced with the task of delivering Nigeria and Nigerians from the snare of dangerous political and socio-economic challenges. As part of

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A Lagos-based confectionery firm known as Infusion Cakes & Café recently hosted ex-housemates of the reality TV show, Big Brother Nigeria (BBNaija), in a meet and greet session at its office in the Lekki area of the metropolis. Infusion Cakes & Cafe is a modern bakery and cafe where customers can get a combination of international and locally made cakes, coffee, pastries and desserts for refreshment, weddings and special occasions like birthdays and anniversaries, among others. Highlight of the event was a competition for the decoration of cakes and the participants included the reigning Miss Nigeria, Miss

By Dipo Olowookere A local credit rating agency, Global Credit Ratings (GCR), has described the liquidity position of an indigenous energy firm, Forte Oil Plc, as “relatively weak.” In a statement issued by the rating company, the short term rating of Forte Oil was downgraded to A2(NG), with the outlook accorded as stable. GCR explained that the weak liquidity as well as the company’s low debt service coverage and significant budget underperformance contributed to the one-notch downgrade of the short-term rating. However, a long term national scale ratings were assigned to Forte Oil at A-(NG), with its issue rating of

By Dipo Olowookere In order to make premium phone brands available to Nigerians at cheaper rates and without issues, a leading dealer of used phones in Nigeria, Aweskim Technology, has entered into partnership deals with Apple and Slot, the leading mobile retail giant in the country. While Aweskim Technology sealed a deal with Apple as its official retail partner for used phones, it inked a pact with Slot as its official trade-in partner. Aweskim Technology recently commenced the trade in and buy back scheme, which allows customers trade in old phones for a new device at any Slot store. Managing

By Investors Hub The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a higher opening on Monday, with stocks likely to regain ground following the pullback seen last week. The upward momentum on Wall Street comes as optimism about the economic outlook has overshadowed concerns about global trade tensions. Trading activity may be somewhat subdued, however, as traders look ahead to the release of key economic data in the coming days. Stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading session on Friday before ending the day modestly lower. With the drop on the day, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 extended

Modupe Gbadeyanka Leading telecommunications firm in the country, MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, has commenced its aggressive campaign to promote its new financial services company, which was recently granted operational licence by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Business Post had reported that the apex bank had given MTN Nigeria, through its subsidiary, Y’ello Digital Financial Services (YDFS), to operate financial transactions and after this, it launched the MoMo services in the country, which had been operational outside Nigeria, where MTN has presence. To promote its MoMo mobile money transfer operations, MTN Nigeria went to some markets in Lagos and Port

By Dipo Olowookere Managing Director of Sokoto Investment Company, Mr Aliyu Bala Sokoto, has lost his life in a fatal motor accident. Mr Sokoto died along the Gusau-Sokoto federal highway at about 7am on Saturday. The late 41-year-old former employee of First Bank Nigeria Limited was appointed in August 2016 as the MD of Sokoto Investment Company by the state Governor, Mr Aminu Tambuwal. Spokesman of Mr Tambuwal, Mr Imam Imam, who confirmed the death of Mr Sokoto, described the deceased as someone who has a “deep knowledge of the investment and finance sector.” “Here was a young man who