Oil and Gas Sector Accounts for 20% of Africa’s GDP—Atampugre

By Adedapo Adesanya  The Vice President, Mr Kashim Shettima, has departed Abuja for Johannesburg, South Africa, to represent President Bola Tinubu at the 15th BRICS Summit of Heads of State and Government. BRICS, an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, is a group of five major emerging and developing economies. In a statement released on Monday by Mr Olusola Abiola, the Director of Information in the Office of the Vice President, it was stated that the VP would be joining other business and political leaders across the world at the summit scheduled for the Sandton Convention Centre,

By Adedapo Adesanya The prices of food globally dropped to 121.4 points in August, 2.1 per cent lower than the 123.5 points from July, reversing the rebound registered last month and pushing the index as much as 38.3 points (24.0 per cent) below its peak reached in March 2022. This is according to the latest figure by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) on Friday, which showed that the drop reflected declines in the price indices for dairy products, vegetable oils, meat and cereals, while the sugar price index increased moderately. The FAO Cereal Price Index averaged 125.0 points in

By Adedapo Adesanya A new insight has shown that 20 out of 54 African countries have restricted internet access amid elections since 2015. According to Surfshark’s Internet Shutdown Tracker, over the last eight years, 30 countries and territories in the world have restricted the internet amid elections, affecting 2.3 billion people globally. It found that out of these countries, 20 of them were on the African continent, including the most recent in Zimbabwe and Gabon; both countries held elections in August and restricted internet access. The survey found that out of the 20 countries that have restricted internet during elections since

By Dipo Olowookere President Muhammadu Buhari has assured Nigerians that the present economic downturn would soon be over. Mr Buhari gave this assurance on Friday while announcing the release of N522 billion to state governments. The money, according to the President, was to cushion the harsh effects on the economy. He called for more support from the citizens, encouraging them not to give up at this moment when the storm was already over. The President said he and his team were working round the clock to reflate the economy, promising that very soon, Nigerians would see positive outcomes. “As I

By Investors Hub Asian stocks closed mostly higher on Friday as geopolitical tensions eased and investors breathed a sigh of relief that U.S. trade tariffs were less severe than originally feared. Geopolitical tensions eased after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un offered to halt nuclear and missile tests and expressed his desire to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump. Separately, the White House slapped import tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent for aluminum but exempted Canada and Mexico and offered the possibility of excluding other allies, backtracking from an earlier “no-exceptions” stance. China’s Shanghai Composite index climbed

By Nneka Okumazie It doesn’t seem to make any sense to argue against the theory of evolution in the face of overwhelming evidence, according to certain atheists – and their relatives. They believe in the conclusiveness of natural selection, over time, disregarding the creation – in the scriptures. This resistance of the scriptures against creation, for them, works differently in people. Many resist the Lord because He’s not giving them what they want, or allowing them to do what they like. Though resistance of the Lord varies, including faith resistant, refusal to pray, listen, want or desire anything about the

By Adedapo Adesanya The Nigerian Naira recorded a better performance against the United States Dollar at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment of the foreign exchange (forex) market on Wednesday, April 6. This was because the local currency appreciated by 0.08 per cent or 33 kobo to close at N416.50/$1 compared with the preceding session’s N416.83/$1. The indigenous currency regained its strength at the spot market yesterday on the back of improved FX supply to the market window, which enabled end-users to have their requests met by the dealers, which were mostly financial institutions. At the spot market, it was

By Adedapo Adesanya President Muhammadu Buhari is seeking an 800 per cent increase in the provision for petrol subsidy for 2022 from N442 billion to N4 trillion. This was contained in a letter written to the House of Representatives for a review of the 2022 fiscal framework. The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Femi Gbajamila, read the letter titled Submission of the Revised 2022 Fiscal Framework during plenary on Thursday. Mr Buhari in the letter dated April 5 cited the rising market price of crude oil heightened by the Russian-Ukraine war as the reason for the hike in

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Total transactions on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in February 2017 depreciated by 22.25 percent from N95.32 billion recorded in January 2017 to N74.11 billion, latest data released by the local bourse revealed. In the Foreign Portfolio Investment Report for February 2017, it was disclosed that domestic investors outperformed foreign investors by 6.78 percent. The domestic transactions decreased by 22.88 percent from N51.31 billion recorded in January 2017 to N39.57 billion in February 2017, while foreign transactions also decreased by 21.52 percent from N44.01 billion to N34.54 billion within the same period. Similarly, the

By Investors Hub The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a lower opening on Tuesday, with stocks likely to give back ground on the heels of recent strength. Profit taking may contribute to initial weakness on Wall Street following the strong upward move shown by stocks last week. The advance seen last Friday lifted the Dow and the Nasdaq to their best closing levels in three months and the S&P 500 reached a two-month closing high. Uncertainty about the potential for a trade deal between the U.S. and China may also weigh on the markets as the next round

By Modupe Gbadeyanka There were heavy transactions around shares of UACN-Property Development Company (UPDC), Zenith Bank and LASACO Assurance on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) last week. Business Post reports that one of the reasons for the activities in UPDC was the transfer of stocks held in the company by UAC Nigeria to Custodian Investment, which is taking control of the real estate company going forward. Also, the interim dividend proposed by the board of Zenith Bank lured investors to trade the lender’s securities. During the five-day trading week, UPDC, Zenith Bank and LASACO Assurance accounted for