News and analysis of global and local business trends, markets, and industry developments.
Cape Town, South Africa — Nigeria and Venezuela have announced plans to collaborate on investment opportunities in the mining sector, reinforcing their commitment to economic diversification and sustainable resource development. The agreement was reached following high-level discussions between a Venezuelan delegation led by Deputy Minister of Mining, Alejandro Martinez, and Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals…
Bori, Rivers State — A crucial meeting aimed at discussing the potential resumption of oil exploration in Ogoniland ended in disarray on Saturday, sparking tension and frustration among attendees. The gathering, held at the Peace and Freedom Centre in Bori, Khana Local Government Area, was organized following President Bola Tinubu’s directive for Ogoni leaders to…
Cape Town, South Africa — Nigeria is set to launch a strategic roadmap aimed at developing a critical minerals value chain, paving the way for local solar power production and reducing reliance on imports. The initiative, funded by the Global Council for Critical Minerals under the Solid Minerals Development Ministry, seeks to optimize the extraction…
Lagos, Nigeria — Dangote Petroleum Refinery has reached a major milestone, successfully exporting two cargoes of jet fuel to Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil producer and a leading global oil and gas entity. Saudi Aramco, the official national oil company of Saudi Arabia, is a state-owned corporation and a dominant force in the petroleum…
Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria — The Federal Government has unveiled plans to set up a Pilot Soil Assessment Laboratory in Ekiti State to enhance agricultural productivity and support farmers. This was disclosed by the Ekiti State Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Mr. Ebenezer Boluwade, in a statement issued in Ado-Ekiti. He noted that the facility would…
Abuja, Nigeria — The naira continued its upward trend in the parallel market as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) extended foreign exchange sales to Bureau de Change (BDC) operators. From closing at N1,620 per dollar last week, the naira appreciated to N1,610/$ on Monday. The CBN had earlier set January 31, 2025, as the…
Abuja, Nigeria — The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has suspended its planned nationwide protest against the recent 50% increase in telecommunications tariffs. The decision followed a meeting with government officials at the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation on Monday night. A statement issued by the office’s Director of Information and…
Lagos, Nigeria — Dangote Petroleum Refinery has announced a reduction in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, from N950 to N890 per litre, effective February 1, 2025. In a statement released by Anthony Chiejina, Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer of Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), the price adjustment was described…
Abuja, Nigeria — The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reaffirmed its commitment to empowering young Nigerians by closing financial access gaps, fostering innovation, and promoting their active involvement in economic policy development. CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, made this pledge during a youth engagement workshop themed “The Youths are Here”, held in Abuja on Friday….
Abuja, Nigeria— President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has confirmed the appointment of Abba Abubakar Aliyu as the substantive Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA). The appointment, announced by Presidential Spokesman Bayo Onanuga, took effect on January 23, 2025, for an initial tenure of four years. Aliyu, who has been serving as Acting Managing Director…
Abuja, Nigeria — The Police Service Commission (PSC) has directed the immediate retirement of senior police officers who have served for more than 35 years or have exceeded 60 years of age. This directive was made during the Commission’s first extraordinary meeting of 2025, chaired by DIG Hashimu Argungu (retd). The meeting had notable attendees,…
Kogi State, Nigeria — The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and its partners have officially launched the construction of five mini-Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plants in Ajaokuta, Kogi State. The groundbreaking ceremony marked the commencement of work on NNPC Prime LNG, NGML/Gasnexus LNG, BUA LNG, Highland LNG, and LNG Arete. These projects are part…
Abuja, Nigeria — The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has linked the decline in telecom revenue for 2024 to the inability to auction 5G spectrum licenses. This disclosure was made by Yakubu Gontor, NCC’s Director of Financial Services, and Aminu Maida, the Commission’s Chief Executive Officer and Executive Vice Chairman, during the 2025 budget defence session…
Abuja, Nigeria — The naira maintained its upward momentum on the parallel market while depreciating on the official exchange platform amid ongoing forex reforms by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). By the close of trading on Tuesday, the naira appreciated by N10, closing at N1,640 per dollar on the parallel market, compared to N1,650…
Solid Minerals to Transform Nigeria’s Mining Industry —Minister Abuja, Nigeria— The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, has assured Nigerians that the newly established Nigeria Solid Minerals Corporation will serve as a catalyst for sustainable growth and revolutionize the nation’s mining sector. During a meeting with British Deputy High Commissioner Jonny Baxter,…
Nigeria – The Nigerian stock market closed last week on a positive note, driven by high demand for MTN Nigeria shares following the Nigeria Communications Commission, NCC’s approval of a 50.0% tariff hike for telecommunication services and also Transcorp Power, which recorded impressive earnings in its 2024 financial results. Analysts noted that the market…
Sokoto, Nigeria — The Sokoto State Government has commenced the payment of the new national minimum wage of N70,000 to workers across the state, fulfilling a key campaign promise by Governor Ahmed Aliyu. The implementation, which begins today, Monday, January 27, extends to state civil servants, local government employees, and Local Government Education Authority (LGEA)…
Abuja, Nigeria — President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is set to travel to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on Sunday, January 26, 2025, to participate in the Africa Heads of State Energy Summit taking place from January 27 to 28, 2025. The summit, organized by the Tanzanian government in partnership with the African Development Bank Group and…
Lagos, Nigeria — The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Dr. Olayemi Cardoso, has committed to addressing the widespread buying and selling of Naira notes, a practice he describes as a significant threat to Nigeria’s financial ecosystem. Speaking at the inaugural Stakeholders’ Conference of the Committee of Heads of Banks Operations (CHBO) in Lagos, themed…
Abuja, Nigeria — The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has called on the federal government to increase the tax exemption threshold from the current ₦800,000 per annum, as proposed in the Tax Reforms bill, to ₦2,500,000 per annum. In a statement released by the President of TUC, Comrade Festus Osifo, the Union emphasized that…
Abuja, Nigeria — The National Association of Telecoms Subscribers (NATCOMS) has firmly opposed the Nigerian Communications Commission’s (NCC) decision to approve a 50% tariff hike for telecom operators. The approval was announced on Monday following requests by the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) and the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON)…
Abuja, Nigeria — The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reports that Nigeria’s headline inflation rate climbed to 34.80% in December 2024, up from 34.60% in November. According to a report released by the NBS on Wednesday, the 0.20% rise was largely driven by increased demand for goods and services during the festive season. On a…
Abuja, Nigeria — The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has issued a directive to telecommunications operators to deactivate the USSD codes of nine financial institutions over unpaid debts. The commission, in a statement released Tuesday by its Director of Public Affairs, Reuben Muoka, instructed that the disconnection must take effect by January 27, 2025, if the…
MTN, Nigeria – The Nigerian stock market recorded a robust performance in yesterday’s session, driven by a sustained surge in MTNN (+10.0%), which propelled the benchmark All Share Index (ASI) to climb 1.3 per cent, closing at 105,530.74 points. This bullish sentiment pushed year-to-date (YTD) returns to +2.5 per cent, as market capitalisation soared by…
Abuja, Nigeria — Former presidential aide, Dr. Doyin Okupe, has tendered a public apology to the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, over previous criticisms of his leadership in the oil and gas sector. The apology coincides with recent developments in the petroleum industry, including the resumption…
Lagos, Nigeria–The National Tomato Growers, Processors, and Marketers Association of Nigeria is seeking the intervention of the Federal Government to reduce post-harvest losses of the produce. In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos on Monday, the Chairman of NATPAN, Kaduna state chapter, Mr Rabiu Zuntu made this call. Zuntu added that…
CBN – The Naira yesterday depreciated to N1,665 per dollar in the parallel market from N1,660 per dollar last weekend. But the Naira appreciated to N1,534.56 per dollar in the official foreign exchange market. https://youtu.be/N-LGDjN2qOg?si=nf_xX51KR3u0ANlt Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, showed that the exchange rate for Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market…
Nigeria – Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO) has announced the successful completion of the first tranche of its equity capital raise programme, following the completion of the capital verification exercise conducted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the approval of the basis of allotment of the Offer by the Securities and…
Lagos, Nigeria — The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) has officially delisted the entire issued share capital of Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc from its Daily Official List, effective December 30, 2024. This was confirmed in the NGX weekly market report, which explained that the delisting followed the approval of an application by Flour Mills for the…
Lagos, Nigeria — The number of Point of Sale (PoS) terminals deployed across Nigeria has surged to 3.04 million, marking significant growth in the country’s electronic payment system. This data was disclosed by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) in its latest report on electronic payment trends. According to the report, the deployment of PoS…
Abuja, Nigeria — The naira recorded its second consecutive marginal gain against the dollar on Friday, reflecting easing pressure in Nigeria’s foreign exchange (FX) market. Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that the dollar traded at N1,537 in the official FX market, slightly lower than N1,538 recorded on Thursday, the first trading…
