Economic

The Federal Government has commenced the allocation of affordable houses to Nigerians, an official has confirmed. Mr Martin Gyado, the Federal Controller of Housing in charge of Adamawa, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Yola. He said that President Bola Tinubu has improved the National Housing…

Prof. Garba Sharubutu, Executive Secretary, Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria, ARCN, says the council has recruited 1,650 scientists to boost food security in the country. Sharubutu disclosed this at a news conference on Friday in Abuja. He said the Federal Government had approved the recruitment with specific instructions to engage plant breeders to develop more…

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has said the Lagos Red Line rail would be unveiled in February. Sanwo-Olu said he has written to President Bola Tinubu regarding the unveiling of the rail line. He disclosed this at the Lagos West Senatorial District Town Hall Meeting held at the Balmoral Convention Centre, Sheraton, Ikeja. “Our…

Japan, one of the few developed countries to still impose capital punishment, on Thursday sentenced to death a man found guilty of carrying out an arson attack that killed 36 people at an anime studio in 2019. The sentence comes as a convicted murderer in the United States is scheduled to be executed this week…

The U.S. Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, says America is committed to lasting peace and security in Africa. He said this on Tuesday in Abuja after meeting with President Bola Tinubu during his visit to Nigeria as part of his tour of African nations. Blinken, however, said the initiatives of America would greatly depend on…

Nigerian businessman Femi Otedola explained why he is investing in Dangote Cement, saying it is part of his overall strategy to ensure long-term wealth preservation. Otedola stated this in a statement from his media office on Monday. The billionaire investor stressed that the move also underscores his confidence in the capacity of the company to…

The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has unveiled plans to introduce a user-friendly self-service application, enabling Nigerians in the Diaspora to enrol seamlessly for their National Identity Number (NIN). This initiative was disclosed during a strategic meeting at the office of Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/CEO of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), when Engr. Abisoye…

The Canadian government is considering prohibiting foreign students from bringing their family members to Canada, just like the policy the United Kingdom adopted and started implementing on January 1, 2024. Reports revealed that Canada has been considering a cap on the number of international students allowed to live in the North American country. According to…

Nigeria’s inflation rate reached the highest level in over 27 years in December, primarily driven by soaring food prices, intensifying the cost-of-living crisis and prompting increased expectations for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to raise interest rates. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported on Monday that consumer inflation marked its 12th consecutive monthly…

Brent crude price rose by 2.3 per cent to $79.18 per barrel on Friday amid tension in the Middle East. According to figures from oilprices.com, Brent was trading at $79.19 per barrel as of the earlier Friday hours. This is as West Texas Intermediate, WTI hovers around 73.73 per barrel on Friday. The development comes…

The Nigerian Exchange Limited bounced back after Wednesday’s losses as the All-Share Index appreciated by 0.66 per cent, 540.88 points, to close at 82,565.26 points on Thursday. Equities gained N314 billion as the market capitalization appreciated by 0.66 per cent to close at N45.199 trillion, up from yesterday’s N44.885 trillion. There was a 46.5 per…

Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited will complete the Port Harcourt Refining Company, PHRC, test run in January 2024. The spokesperson of NNPCL, Femi Soneye, disclosed this in an interview on Thursday. “Testing will conclude shortly, ensuring the refinery’s efficient operation. That phase will be completed this month,” he said. The refinery is currently undergoing revamping…

Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Sen. Lekan Balogun, Alli Okunmade II has backed the Jalaruru family of Opo-Yeosa in Ibadan North-West Local Government area of the state for suspending the family masquerade. Oba Balogun said this during the visit of the family’s Mogaji, Muftau Gbadegesin, Mogaji Jalaruru to him in his Alarere residence as contained in…

DETERMINED to ensure the conduct of a free and peaceful election in Osunenyi, the Mobilization Committee for the Osumenyi January 5, 2024 general election on behalf of the entire Osumenyi community and the youths of the community have invited all the candidates contesting for the election for a peace accord. Those invited were all the…

Niger State Government has entered into a service-level agreement with the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Niger State Chapter, for dry season farming in order to boost food security in the state. Also involved in the partnership is the Food Security Systems and Logistics Company Limited. The state governor, Muhammed Umar Bago, said the…

The Grassroots Engagement for Good Governance, GRENFGG, has urged President Bola Tinubu to redouble efforts toward people-oriented policies by focusing on welfare and innovative measures in alleviating poverty and economic hardships. The Convener of the group, Mr Adeolu Iwakun, stated this in the group’s New Year message to Nigerians on Monday in Akure. Iwakun said…

The United Kingdom through its Home Office has announced the commencement of the implementation of its visa dependants ban which prohibits Nigerian students and other foreigners from bringing family members. The announcement was made via X by the UK’s Home Office on Monday reiterating that only foreign students in postgraduate research or government-sponsored scholarship could…

The leadership of the Taraba State chapter of the Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents in Nigeria, AMMBAN, has called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and commercial banks to as a matter of urgency address the challenges of cash scarcity and fraud plaguing the nation. The association made the call in a…

The Naira depreciated by a whopping 49 per cent year-to-date as the currency of Africa’s largest economy ended 2023 on Friday at N907.11 per US Dollar. Data from the FMDQ, where the exchange rate trades officially, showed that the Naira appreciated slightly to N907.11 per US Dollar on Fridays from the N1,043/$1 it quoted on…

In this interview, Dr Phillips Nto, World Bank consultant, development economist and former Abia state commissioner for finance, spoke on the economy, insecurity and how to deepen Nigeria’s democracy among others. On 2024 budget and how to make it realisable Doing a little analysis on the N27.5 trillion budget, it could be seen that the…

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has promoted 5,196 members of its staff nationwide. The commission disclosed this in its daily bulletin issued by the Director of Publicity and Voter Education, Mrs Adenike Tadese, on Thursday in Abuja. Tadese said that the promotion came on the heels of the 2023 promotion examination and evaluation carried…

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has recovered N264.04 billion from borrowers under its development financing programmes in the first six months of 2023. According to the CBN’s Half-Year Economic Report for 2023, this was 27.4 per cent higher than the N207.33 billion recovered in the same period of the previous year. The apex bank…

The cost of servicing debt for railway projects exceeded the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC)’s revenue by 1,208.5 per cent in the first half of 2023, an analysis of debt service documents has shown. This is as the NRC said over 63,000 people have so far benefited from the free train ride declared by the federal…

The Director General of World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, has described 2023 as a year of achievements and “avoidable suffering.” Reflecting on 2023, which also marked the UN agency’s 75th anniversary, Ghebreyesus highlighted key achievements and set out objectives for the coming year. The WHO chief said the outing year saw significant milestones…

The Minister of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, has extolled the role of stakeholders in the Nigerian art and creative industries in building a peaceful and united nation. The minister gave the commendation in her Yuletides’ goodwill message to artists, performers, artisans, cultural workers and other stakeholders in the sector across the…

Sophia Ukoni, a Nigerian researcher, has been honoured with the 2024 Global Qualitative Researchers’ Award. This recognition was announced alongside Florian Growth, a Senior Research Consultant specialising in Consumer Research at Point Blank in Berlin. Sophia began her journey into market research over seven years ago at Kantar Nigeria, spending five formative years there before…

Israel pushed on Sunday with its military campaign to destroy Hamas over the October 7 attacks, as the focus of the deadly combat shifted to southern Gaza where most displaced Palestinians are trapped. US President Joe Biden stressed the “critical need” to protect civilians, in a call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who vowed Israel…

The Federal Government says the current naira scarcity nationwide is not an attempt to make Nigerians unable to access cash and suffer. Speaking at a press briefing on President Bola Tinubu’s administration’s achievements in Abuja on Thursday, Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, stated that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was working…

The Naira dropped against the US dollar at the foreign exchange markets on Friday as corporate businesses closed for the Christmas celebration in Nigeria. Official data from FMDQ showed that the Nigerian Naira weakened against the US Dollar by falling 2.71 per cent to N885.88/$1. Naira’s loss on Friday represented an N23.97 or 2.71 per…

Some residents of Ibadan have decried the hardship they have been facing over cash shortage, saying it may mar their Christmas celebrations. The residents, in separate interviews in Ibadan, lamented the difficulty they had been facing in accessing their money in the banks. An entrepreneur, Mr Niyi Olawuyi, said that the experience had been harrowing,…