FG Reaffirms Pledge to Return Refugees to Nigeria

By Adedapo Adesanya A Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja, has adjourned an alleged procurement fraud case involving ex-Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, to January 18 and 19, 2024, for continuation of trial. Mr Emefiele is standing trial on a six-count amended charge on alleged procurement of vehicles to the tune of N1.6 billion. He had pleaded not guilty to the charges. He was granted bail on November 17, 2023, to the tune of N300 million, and two sureties and remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre, pending when he meets his bail conditions. However,

By Dipo Olowookere President Bola Tinubu has arrived at the National Assembly to present the 2024 Appropriation Bill to the federal lawmakers. The President got to the parliament at about a few minutes past 11 am on Wednesday, November 29, 2023, and was accompanied by the Vice President, Mr Kashim Shettima; his Chief of Staff, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila; the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Abdullahi Gandoje; and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr George Akume; among others. He is expected to present the 2024 budget of N27.5 trillion to a joint

By Adedapo Adesanya  The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has announced a collaboration with Allied Climate Partners (ACP) that will help create a pipeline of viable climate investments in emerging markets including Southeast Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and Central America, and India. ACP’s new platform is backed by philanthropic capital and designed to mobilize investment in climate-related projects in emerging economies to create significant environmental, economic, and social impact. In a statement seen by Business Post, the parties said the collaboration with IFC will provide advisory and structuring support, technical assistance, and sustainability and impact-management support as needed to help bring

By Adedapo Adesanya The Lagos State Government has signed two deals bordering on waste management at the ongoing 28th session of the Conference of Parties (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. According to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, waste conversion initiatives, which the state pitched at the global climate summit, have attracted significant interest from investors. These are the Advanced Garbage Collection and Waste-to-Energy project and the building of a new sewage treatment plant. Mr Sanwo-Olu confirmed the deals on Sunday at an event held at Nigeria Pavilion, where he also presented Phase Two of the Lagos State Climate Adaptation and Resilience

By Investors Hub Asian stocks turned in a mixed performance on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates, as widely expected but indicated it is ready to hold off on further rate cuts for now. Investors also digested news that Chile has canceled the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit scheduled to be held in Santiago in mid-November, citing violent protests across the country. U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping were due to meet at the summit to discuss and possibly sign phase one of a U.S.-China trade deal. Chinese shares fell after the release of weak

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Negative sentiments still persisted on the trading floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) today amid tension in the South Eastern part of the country caused by the deployment of troops to the region for the Operation Python Dance II exercise by the Nigerian Army. The army started the exercise last Friday to clampdown on members of the Indigenous People Of Biafra (IPOB) led by their leader, Mr Nnamdi Kanu, who want to break away from the country. The military intervention has however received mixed reactions. But at the resumption of transactions on the floor of the

By Dipo Olowookere An Amazon company, Payfort, has been registered and licenced in Saudi Arabia to operate as ‘Payments Solutions’ firm. It is the first license of its kind to be issued to a payment services operator and has further strengthened the company’s aggressive growth and expansion plans in the country. “PAYFORT’s new company registration as a foreign investor in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a sign of our long-term commitment to the market and comes as a result of our efforts to support the rapid growth in the country’s online sectors,” said Omar Soudodi, Managing Director of PAYFORT.

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The total debt profile of Nigeria increased by 2.98 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter basis to N42.84 trillion in June 2022 from N41.60 trillion in March 2022. A statement issued by the Debt Management Office (DMO) disclosed that the total public debt stock of N42.84 trillion comprises the funds borrowed by the federal government, the 36 state governments and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). In Dollar terms, the money owed by Nigeria stood at $103.31 billion as at June 30, 2022, in contrast to $100.07 billion as at March 31, 2022. These debts were incurred by the

By Olukayode Kolawole Starting a business in Nigeria, like many other countries, usually comes with many road bumps. It is not just enough to have a brilliant idea that can be built into a mega business; more is required than just a good thought process. More often than not, entrepreneurs would always believe that raising enough capital to run a business is the most important factor. After all, we all at a time attended that Economics class where we were taught that money is the most important element to drive a business to success. At Jumia Travel, we believe there

By Dipo Olowookere Weak investor sentiment plunged the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited into the danger zone by 0.25 per cent on Monday. It was the first loss recorded by Nigeria’s stock exchange in seven trading sessions. Profit-taking dominated the bourse during the session as investors sold off some shares that had gained weight in the past week. Business Post observed that equities in the industrial goods and banking sectors influenced the decline suffered by the market yesterday, upturning the gains posted by the others. The insurance counter gained 1.43 per cent, the energy space rose by 0.09 per cent, and

By Adedapo Adesanya The World Bank alongside the European Union, China, the United Kingdom and the United States have pledged immediate humanitarian relief worth over €252 million ($297.08 million) to Lebanon. Last Tuesday, the capital city of Beirut was rocked by two huge explosions that have claimed more than 200 and injured 6,000 others. The aid pledged followed a United Nations-backed virtual conference hosted by French President, Mr Emmanuel Macron. The donors thereafter issued a joint statement, pledging solidarity with and support for the Lebanese people. “The participants agreed that their assistance should be timely, sufficient and consistent with the

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has announced the list of successful bidders for the 2017/2018 crude oil term contract. In a statement issued on Tuesday by the agency’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr Ndu Ughamadu, it was disclosed that 39 bidders made the list. Mr Ughamadu also noted that out of the successful bidders, 18 are Nigerian companies, while 11 are international traders. He further said five foreign refineries made the list, three National Oil Companies (NOCs) and two NNPC trading arms. A total of 224 bids were submitted by companies seeking to