Oil Prices Drop on Economic Worries, Stronger US Dollar

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 A milk-producing company, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria, helped the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange return to the green territory by 0.54 per cent on Wednesday, November 29. The firm improved its value by N3.50 in the midweek session to settle at N73.50 per share compared with the previous day’s closing price of N70.00 per share. It suppressed the 10 Kobo decline posted by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which ended lower at N17.00 per unit versus Tuesday’s value of N17.10 per unit. Consequently, the market capitalisation of the alternative stock exchange went up by N6.28 billion to

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 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

Dipo Olowookere The Special Assistant to Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State on Political Matters, Mr Augustine Pelemo, the has been sacked with immediate effect. The Governor’s aide, who works from office of the Deputy Governor in Akure, the state capital, was directed to leave the position for posting a birthday message on Facebook, a popular social media platform. Mr Pelemo had on Sunday wished wife of the Deputy Governor, Mrs Ajewole Agboola Ajayi, a happy birthday, but what got him into trouble was addressing the woman as the Acting First Lady of Ondo State. Barely 24 hours after the

By Modupe Gbadeyanka One of Nigeria’s long-standing and most respected financial institutions, Union Bank Plc yesterday announced its unaudited results for the nine months ended September 30, 2017. However, the lender suffered a profit loss during the period, posting N12.4 billion profit after tax in the period under review compared with N13 billion in the same period of last year. Also, its profit before tax went down by 2 percent to N13 billion from N13.3 billion a year ago, while the net Income is appreciated by 7 percent and the operating expenses increased by 10 percent. In addition, the interest

By Aduragbemi Omiyale One of the largest retailers in Southern Africa, Pepkor Group, has entered into an agreement with Google Cloud to allow its subsidiary, Pepkor IT, to transform its in-house logistical processes, enabling it to help more households across Africa access value-for-money products. Pepkor IT processes generate massive volumes of data every day as a result of its consumer base of more than 28 million in-store customers and a footprint of 5,400 retail stores. For a retailer that operates at such a scale, a deep understanding of the data Pepkor IT generates is critical for it to deliver great

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Mr Godwin Emefiele will likely remain in office as the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for another five-year term, Business Post has reliably gathered. President Muhammadu Buhari has already nominated the Delta State-born former Group Managing Director of Zenith Bank Plc for the position and according to the CBN Act, the CBN Governor must be confirmed by the Senate before his appointment can take effect. Information available to us indicated that on Wednesday, President Buhari signed a letter indicating his intention to renew the appointment of Mr Emefiele as CBN Governor for another five years.

By Dipo Olowookere The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) surprisingly sold treasury bills on Monday at the secondary market via an Open Market Operations (OMO). During the exercise, the apex bank mopped up N54.62 billion from the financial system with sales recorded only in the 192-day and 353-day tenors, while the 87-day received no subscription despite the bank offering N20 billion worth of the note. Business Post reports that the exercise was undersubscribed and of the N100 billion worth of the 353-day paper offered to investors yesterday, subscriptions valued at N43.06 billion were received, while the CBN eventually sold N40.56

By Investors Hub The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a higher opening on Thursday, with stocks likely to extend the strong upward move seen over the course of the previous session. Early buying interest is likely to be generated in reaction to news that the U.S. and China plan to hold high level trade talks in early October. A statement from China?s Commerce Ministry said both sides agreed to the new round of talks during a phone call between Chinese Vice Premier and chief trade negotiator Liu He and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven

By Dipo Olowookere The release of N722.3 million for the forensic audit of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has been applauded by a group known as Citizens Quest for Truth Initiative. National President of the Citizens Quest for Truth Initiative, Christie O. Ndukwe, in a statement, said this singular move has shown that President Muhammadu Buhari was determined to probe the allegations of fraud in the commission. Ndukwe said the approval of the fund for the exercise was “sequel to the obvious deliberate attempt by the National Assembly to frustrate the forensic audit, simply by delaying the release of

The Nigeria Electricity Liability Management Ltd (NELM) and the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) have been directed to pay the sum of N21.8 million to a former employee of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), Mr Olufemi Bamidele. The Presiding Judge of the Benin Division of the National Industrial Court, Justice Adunola Adewemimo, in his ruling, said the two organisations must pay the amount within 30 days. Justice Adewemino said awarded N1.794 million to the former staff of the collapsed national electricity firm as cost of his medical bills in special damages, while the N20 million was awarded