Petrol Price to Remain Unchanged in May—NNPC Assures

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Business owners in Lagos have been assured of more incentives by the state governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who added that this is part of his administration’s commitment to reforms aimed at improving the ease of doing business and enhancing investment opportunities. Speaking at the commissioning of the newly-built wet hair production factory of Godrej Nigeria Limited, the Governor said his government would continue to pursue actions that would eliminate red tapes and regulatory impediments hindering the growth of businesses in the state, thereby demonstrating his willingness for continued collaboration with the private sector to improve the livelihood

By Adedapo Adesanya The boards of insurance companies operating in the country have been charged by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) to embrace the measures put in place to tackle the challenges of unpaid claims. The Commissioner for Insurance, Mr Sunday Thomas, expressed worry over the number of outstanding claims in the sector despite efforts by the regulator to address the issue. Mr Thomas, who is also the chief executive of NAICOM, said the organisation, in collaboration with members of the Insurers’ Committee, has taken decisions and incepted measures designed to tame the menace of unpaid claims. Speaking at the

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira appreciated against the US Dollar in the Nigeria Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) and the unregulated Peer-to-Peer (P2P) and the parallel market segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Wednesday, November 29 as President Bola Tinubu reiterated his administration’s promise to meet its obligations. Speaking during the presentation of his administration’s N27.50 trillion 2024 budget proposal to the joint session of the 10th National Assembly on Wednesday, Mr Tinubu said, “Despite the challenges, we continue to meet our obligations.” In the official NAFEM segment of the market, the value of the local currency went

By Adedapo Adesanya The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) on Thursday asked Nigeria to produce about 1.5 million barrels of crude oil per day in 2024, lower than the 1.78 million barrels per day benchmark it proposed in the 2024 Appropriation Bill presented to the National Assembly on Wednesday for passage. The output ceiling was around 1.8 million barrels per day before it was cut down to 1.5 million barrels yesterday at the group’s virtual meeting, a huge blow to Nigeria’s revenue target for the fiscal year. OPEC had tasked three consultancies – IHS, Rystad

By Adedapo Adesanya The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has confirmed that the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) will be used throughout the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament set to commence next month in Cameroon. This will be the first time that the technology will be used for the entire duration of the regional football tournament as it was first introduced during the 2019 edition of the AFCON in Egypt, at the knockout stages of the competition to the final. There was also a plan for the system to be used in the 2019 CAF Champions League final between

By Adedapo Adesanya According to the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), in the last nine months of the year, Nigerians carried out financial transactions worth N6.05 trillion via the Point of Sales (PoS) machines, which is almost the same amount recorded in the full year 2021, which stood at N6.4 trillion. In its latest report for September, NIBSS said transactions on the various PoS terminals climbed to N735.6 billion, adding that the volume of transactions via PoS went up by 14 per cent year-on-year to 100.4 million in September 2022. These transactions, according to NIBSS’ statistics, were carried out over

By Dipo Olowookere No fewer than 24 employees of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) have been dismissed from the traffic control agency in the past two years. The affected workers were fired over cases bordering on corruption, abuse of office, extortion, impropriety and other misconduct. Chief Executive Officer of LASTMA, Mr Christian Olakpe, in an interview in Lagos, also said at least 10 personnel of the agency have also been lost to death in the period under review, while some others have suffered injuries with some resulting in amputation in the course of carrying out their duties. According

By Adedapo Adesanya The federal government has set the wheels in motion for the decongestion of Lagos seaports by moving some cargoes to the Onitsha River Port. This was disclosed by the Managing Director, National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Mr George Moghalu, during a press briefing at the end of all heads of maritime agencies monthly meeting hosted by NIWA at its headquarters in Lokoja, Kogi State, at the weekend. If it becomes operational, cargoes destined for the Eastern part of the country and the North-Eastern part will be evacuated to Onitsha River Port from where it will be moved

By Ahmed Rahma Ghana’s first citizen, Mr Nano Akufo-Addo and his wife, Mrs Rebecca Akufo, have received the COVID-19 vaccine, signifying the beginning of the vaccination in the country. According to reports, the duo got vaccinated at the 37 Military Hospital in Accra, Ghana on  Monday, March 1, 2021. Before taking the shot, President said, “I decided to take it [the vaccine] publicly to clear all doubts and urge everyone to also accept the vaccine.” A section of the Ghanaian community has expressed fears that the vaccine may rather kill them or cause them to fall ill.But President Akufo-Addo said

By Olukayode Kolawole In most gatherings of experts in the travel & hospitality industry, tourism as a tool in diversifying the Nigerian economy has received the most attention and provoked lots of intellectual comments. This is not surprising at all considering the huge potential that this particular sector possesses. In most developed and developing countries, tourism has enriched the economies of these countries thus becoming one of the major sources of income and a pillar of commerce. The decision to grow tourism into a consistent and sustainable means of income by these countries and to make it appealing to inbound

By Adedapo Adesanya Central Securities Clearing Systems (CSCS) Plc helped the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange maintain its positive momentum for the third straight day with a 0.41 per cent gain on Wednesday, October 11. This increased the value of the second-tier bourse by N4.59 billion to N1.111 trillion from the N1.107 trillion it quoted at the previous session, as the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) went up by 3.38 points to end the day at 819.87 points compared with the preceding day’s 816.49 points. CSCS Plc, the sole gainer, moved its price higher by 94 Kobo to close at

By Adedapo Adesanya There was a marginal fall of 0.02 per cent at the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Wednesday, with UBN Property Plc influencing the downfall of the bourse. The property investment company extended the bearish run of the unlisted securities exchange after its value went down by 3 Kobo to close at 98 Kobo per unit compared with the previous N1.01 per unit. Consequently, the market capitalisation of the bourse fell by N170 million to close the day at N942.59 billion, in contrast to Tuesday’s value of N942.76 billion, while the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI) depreciated