Recession: Sanusi Begs Buhari To Consult Experts

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Taxpayers, including organisations and individuals, who are yet to pay their outstanding taxes, will not pay penalties and interests if they make the payments on or before December 31, 2023. This tax default forgiveness was given by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), which explained that it created this window in “recognition of the challenges that many taxpayers have faced in settling their outstanding tax liabilities.” However, it stressed that if the full principal payment is not done before the deadline, defaulters would be forced to pay the outstanding tax liabilities. The Chairman of the FIRS, Mr

By Dipo Olowookere In one week, investors bought and sold 2.543 billion shares worth N38.644 billion in 36,138 deals on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited. In the preceding trading week, a total of 2.425 billion shares valued at N22.665 billion were transacted by investors in 33,230 deals. It was observed that financial stocks led the activity chart as usual with 1.721 billion units worth N18.281 billion in 17,151 deals, contributing 67.68 per cent and 47.30 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively. Conglomerates equities trailed with 200.584 million units valued at N1.546 billion in

By Adedapo Adesanya The Nigerian Naira opened the week stronger on the American Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Monday, December 4 as pressure eased amid continued foreign exchange (FX) liquidity squeeze in the market. In the official market, the Naira appreciated against the greenback by 9.6 per cent or N89.42 to settle at N837.77/$1 compared with last Friday’s closing price of N927.19/$1. Also, the Naira gained N172.53 against the Pound Sterling in the NAFEM segment of the market during the session to close at N1,031.57/£1 versus last Friday’s rate of N1,204.10/£1 and against the Euro,

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Strong inflationary pressures in November further negatively impacted companies in Nigeria, with new orders and output both falling as customers were either reluctant or unable to pay higher charges. Purchase prices rose at the fastest pace in almost two years amid exchange rate weakness and higher costs for fuel and materials. According to the latest Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) from Stanbic IBTC, business conditions remained under pressure, scoring 48.0 points last month compared with the 49.1 points it garnered in October 2023. Readings above 50.0 signal an improvement in business conditions, while readings below 50.0 show deterioration.

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A new project called Extraordinary Woman (EW) has been launched by KEA Enterprise. The platform was set up to inform, communicate with and educate women from different spheres of the society while also celebrating women doing extraordinary things in their little ways. At the unveiling on August 1, 2019, in Bodija, Ibadan, Oyo State, the Project Coordinator, Mrs Kemi Irinoye, explained that, “Extraordinary Woman was created for women. The women in Nigeria today are under immense pressure to measure up to many expectations. Being an extraordinary woman for me means being yourself without altering who you are

By Adeniyi Ogunfowoke The Small and Medium Scale Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) says that MSMEs currently represent 96% of the businesses in Nigeria and contributes 75% of the national employment. Of the 17.2 million MSMEs in Nigeria over 17 Million are micro-enterprises. Thus, the growth in this sector is directly correlated with the growth in the economy and in curbing unemployment in Nigeria. However, a number of challenges are inhibiting the potential of MSMEs in Nigeria. Prominent among these challenges are (a) Very low access to affordable finance (b) Poor access to Business Development Service (BDS), and (c)

**Cuts Carbon Emission by 1.67 tonnes By Dipo Olowookere In order to improve societies for humanity and advance sustainable development, the United Nations (UN) came up with some Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs), which countries, organisations and others were advised to key into. As a responsible corporate firm, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, a member of Standard Bank Group, came up with a strategy to achieve these goals. The company designed its sustainability strategy and anchored it on four pillars; building environmental resilience, expanding business model and innovation, enhancing social relationships, and strengthening leadership for sustainability governance. These sustainability pillars are aligned

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira appreciated against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Friday, October 27 as expectations heightened that a fresh windfall that will boost liquidity in the market is nearing. Reports emerged that the federal government has decided to convert about $7 billion of Nigeria’s dividends from the Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas (NLNG) to a loan to strengthen the troubled FX market. As per ThisDay, quoting a top official in the Nigerian government, the NLNG dividends at a value of about $7 billion from a consortium led by Standard Chartered Bank would

By Adedapo Adesanya The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange fell into the danger zone on Tuesday, November 28, as it recorded a 1.14 per cent loss after the price of three securities on the platform closed lower. This chopped off N13.33 billion from the NASD OTC securities exchange at the close of transactions, going down to N1.158 trillion from the N1.171 trillion it ended in the previous session. Business Post reports that the effort of a price gainer yesterday could not save the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) from declining by 9.84 points to 854.67 points from the 864.51 points

By Adedapo Adesanya The prices of food globally rose to their highest monthly rate since September 2011, led by oils, sugar and cereals, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). This was contained in the FAO Food Price Index report released on Thursday, as the index tracked the international prices of the most commonly traded food commodities. The FAO Food Price Index averaged 127.1 points in May 2021, 4.8 per cent higher than in April and as much as 39.7 per cent above the same period last year. According to the United Nations agency, “The May increase represented the

Many have hailed the appointment of Mr Frank Mba by the Police Serve Commission (PSC) as Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG). The appointment of the former 3-time Force Public Relations Officer was announced on Friday, June 16, 2023. A consummate, refined and vastly experienced cop with 31 years in service with the Nigeria Police Force, Mr Mba has transversed different departments of the force in strategic areas of investigations, operations, administration and public relations/communications. Commenting on the promotion, the spokesman of the Police Service Commission, Mr Ikechukwu Ani, explained that Mr Mba is the most senior police officer from the

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Minister of Labour and Employment, Mr Chris Ngige, has charged the new board of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) to abhor corruption as the era of looking at the agency was gone for good. Mr Ngige, while inaugurating the board on Tuesday in Abuja, said the new team must live down the past and lead a rewarding change in the fortunes of the NSITF. He also charged the members to work to reposition and revitalise the organisation to fulfil its mandate in accordance with the Act establishing it. The Minister also directed that procurement