Author: Aishat Olalere

Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevweri, presented over ₦500 million grant to Deltans on Thursday as way to support their businesses. He disclosed that the initiative is a comprehensive support system that would empower 5,426 Deltans. Oborevweri said the beneficiaries comprising 1,600 petty traders, 1,826 artisans and 2000 female entrepreneurs across the state were empowered with amount ranging between ₦100,000 and ₦150,000. He said, “Your hard work, creativity and perseverance are the driving force behind the vibrancy and resilience of our local communities. As we recognize your invaluable contributions, I reaffirm the state government’s commitment and willingness to support your endeavours.…

$16.6bn worth of investment had been committed to Nigeria’s oil and gas sector since president Bola Ahmed Tinubu assumed office on May 29, 2023. On Monday, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri announced this in Abuja while providing update on achievements in the oil sector in the past one year. During an earlier meeting with the Chief Executive Officer, Schlumberger Limited, Olivier Le Peuch, Lokpobiri revealed that the Federal Government would soon seal a $20bn deal to boost oil and gas production in Nigeria. Speaking on what was being done to attract investments, the minister said,…

The foreign exchange inflows recorded in the first quarter of 2024 into Nigeria were about 136 per cent of the total inflows recorded in 2023. The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso said this at the Vanguard Economic Discourse themed ‘Reforms in The Era of Global Economic Uncertainties: Whither Nigeria’, which was held in Lagos on Thursday. The CBN governor, represented by the Director of Risk, CBN, Blaise Ijebor, said, “We remain committed to using all the orthodox monetary policy tools available to us to address inflation. We have also embarked on major reforms to liberalise the…

Benue State Government has declared its intention to offer all investors interested in investing in the state tax holidays. This, according to the government is in order to create a friendly business environment. The Managing Director of Benue Investment and Property Company Limited, Dr Raymond Asemakaha, said at a meeting on Wednesday that the decision was taken to revive and attract more investors to the state. Asemakaha called on the management of Nigerian Brewery in Makurdi to resume production at its plant located along Makurdi/ Gbako road within the next 90 days. Nigerian Brewery which took over a plant in…

The Federal Government spent ₦628.61bn as subsidy on electricity in 2023 as power distribution companies collected a total revenue of ₦1.08tn during the same period. This was obtained from the data of The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission on Wednesday. It was figured out from the power sector regulator which indicated that electricity subsidies continued to increase every quarter all through last year. Data shows that subsidy on first quarter of 2023 was ₦36.02bn, second was ₦135.23bn, third was ₦204.6bn and lastly the forth quarter of the year was ₦252.76bn. It was also observed that during the same period, power distribution…

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced the approval of 164.6 million U.S. dollars in funding for Rwanda to strengthen its economic resilience. The funding is against future climate shocks. The package includes 76.2 million dollars from the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) and 88.4 million dollars through the Standby Credit Facility, the IMF said in a statement. The IMF recommended that the Rwandan government adopt a carefully planned fiscal strategy to mitigate the impact of 2023 deadly floods, ensuring sustained economic stability and growth. “Going forward, the policy mix should prioritise macroeconomic and financial stability, fiscal sustainability, and the…

The Federal Operations Unit, FOU Zone D, of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Bauchi, has reaffirmed its commitment to stopping smuggling activities within its operational jurisdiction. This according to the agency is having a negative effect on the nation’s economy. The Customs Area Controller, CAC, of the Unit, Odaudu Salefu, said “With the selfless leadership shown by the Comptroller General, Wale Adeniyi, we at FOU zone D have decided to re-dedicate ourselves to duty and complement the efforts of the CGC. We are telling smugglers to stop smuggling, because we will not stop until they (smugglers) stop.” He noted that for…

In a circular issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria on Wednesday which was signed by the Director of the Financial Policy and Regulation Department, Haruna Mustafa, the apex bank mandated all existing Bureau De Change Operators to re-apply for new licenses in their preferred category. The CBN stated that those adjustment is to streamline BDC operations and enhance financial accessibility. However, BDC operators have rejected the new licensing guidelines, saying it is against best global practices. The apex bank noted that the BDCs were expected to adhere to corporate governance requirements and anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing, and counter-proliferation financing…

Emerging Africa said in a statement on Wednesday that the NEN bond was oversubscribed. The Emerging Africa Group has acted as a financial adviser and lead issuing house for the NEN Infrastructure Limited 10-years private bond. The bond facilitated the full repayment of the ₦36 billion Syndicated Bridge Finance provided jointly in 2023 by Emerging Africa Capital Limited, United Bank for Africa, Polaris Bank, and WEMA Bank. “The funds raised will be instrumental in driving numerous infrastructure projects in Bauchi State, addressing pressing needs within the State. Sponsored and guaranteed by the government of Bauchi State of Nigeria, this Issuance…

Data from Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission has shown that Nigeria produced 159,158,191 barrels of crude oil in the first four months of 2024. According to the NUPRC data, 44.2 million barrels of crude were produced in January, with an average daily production of 1.42 million barrels per day. In February, the country pumped 38.3 million barrels of oil at an average of 1.32mbpd. Similarly, 38.1 million barrels were produced in March, when the country’s daily output slumped to 1.23mbpd. It was gathered that the daily oil production rose marginally to 1.28mbp in April, while the monthly production was 38.4…