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Tuesday, 23 July 2024 04:32

Debt servicing consumed 74 percent of FG’s revenue in Q1 2024

In Q1 2024, debt servicing consumed about 74% of Nigeria’s federal revenue, amounting to N1.31 trillion out of the N1.76 trillion retained revenue. This financial strain highlights the government’s ongoing challenges in managing debt, despite a reduction in fiscal deficit and overall expenditures. Alarmingly, the high debt service costs overshadow spending on essential sectors like personnel and capital expenditures, signalling a need for urgent economic reforms to sustain growth and development. Debt service costs have consumed about 74% of the federal government’s retained revenue in the first quarter of 2024. This is according to the latest quarterly statistical bulletin from…

Tuesday, 23 July 2024 04:29

Renowned journalist Azu Ishiekwene to host book reading in Abuja

Celebrated journalist and author Azu Ishiekwene is set to host a reading of his latest book, Writing for Media and Monetising It, on Wednesday, July 24. The event will take place at Rovingheights Bookstore in Area 11, Garki, Abuja, starting at 5 pm. Moderated by Maupe Ogun-Yusuf, a top anchor at Channels TV, the reading promises to be an engaging session. Ishiekwene's book, which explores how content creators and journalists can better monetize their work, has garnered extensive praise since its public launch on June 26. It is currently available for purchase in several locations in Abuja and Lagos. The…

Monday, 22 July 2024 04:42

FG orders fresh test of Dangote Refinery’s diesel

The Federal Government, through the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, is expecting fresh reports to confirm the real sulphur content of the diesel produced by the Dangote refinery as the company debunked claims of inferior fuel production. The NMDPRA spokesman, George Ene-Ita, in an interview with our correspondent, said the agency had done its job and would not engage in a media fight with anybody over the claims made by the NMDPRA Chief Executive, Farouk Ahmed, that Dangote’s diesel has more sulphur content than imported one. According to Ene-Ita, the authority has about 15 engineers and scientists embedded…

Sunday, 21 July 2024 04:50

Dangote counters FG, says refinery’s products better than imported ones

Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, has refuted claims that petroleum products from his refinery are substandard. Dangote rejected the allegations on Saturday when members of the house of representatives visited the refinery in Lagos. Tajudeen Abbas, speaker of the house of representative and Benjamin Kalu, the deputy, led the delegation. On July 18, Farouk Ahmed, chief executive officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), said local refineries, including the Dangote refinery, were producing inferior products compared to imports. In his defense during the visit on Saturday, Dangote said diesel bought from two filling stations and that…

Saturday, 20 July 2024 04:42

FG imposes $220m fine on Meta - owner of Facebook and WhatsApp - for data privacy violations

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has concluded an investigation into Meta Platforms, Inc. and WhatsApp LLC, collectively referred to as Meta Parties, finding them guilty of multiple and repeated violations of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) 2018 and Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) 2019. As a result, the Commission has issued a Final Order imposing a $220 million penalty on the Meta Parties. The investigation, which began in May 2021, was conducted jointly by the FCCPC and the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC). Over a span of 38 months, the investigation scrutinized Meta Parties'…

Saturday, 20 July 2024 04:40

Unclaimed bank balances, funds in dormant accounts to be deposited with CBN henceforth

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed banks and other financial institutions to deposit unclaimed balances and funds in dormant accounts to the apex bank accounts. CBN also issued regulatory guidelines for account owners and beneficial owners to recover their funds dormant for up to 10 years. The apex bank outlined the regulations in a document on Friday titled ‘Guidelines on Management of Dormant Account, Accounts, Unclaimed Balances and Other Financial Assets In Banks And Other Financial Institutions in Nigeria’. A dormant account is a bank account that has remained inactive for at least one year. The apex bank…

Friday, 19 July 2024 05:01

Tinubu, Labour agree on N70,000 minimum wage

President Bola Tinubu has approved N70,000 as the new minimum wage for workers in the country. Tinubu announced the minimum wage during a meeting with leaders of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) at the presidential villa on Thursday. Joe Ajaero, NLC president and Festus Osifo, president of the TUC, were at the meeting. Speaking with State House correspondents at the end of the meeting, Nkiru Onyejeocha, minister of state for labour, said Tinubu and the labour leaders agreed that the time limit for the review of the minimum wage should be reduced to three years.…

Friday, 19 July 2024 05:00

Hardship: Reps to slash basic salary by 50 percent for 6 months

On Thursday, the House of Representatives pledged support for the federal government with N648 million for six months by cutting down their salaries by 50 percent. The move, according to them, is aimed at supporting food sufficiency in the country and also addressing the soaring prices of foodstuffs. The lawmakers also appealed to citizens to be patient with President Bola Tinubu in his efforts to tackle to current economic crisis bedevilling Nigeria. The Committee on Appropriation, Humanitarian Affairs, Finance and Budget was mandated by the House to ensure compliance. The decision came after the adoption of a motion moved on…

Friday, 19 July 2024 04:57

‘For every 5 psychiatric doctors trained in Nigeria, 3 leave to practise abroad’, union president laments

Taiwo Obindo, the president of the Association of Psychiatrists in Nigeria (APN), says more than 100 psychiatrists have left the country to practise abroad in one year. Obindo said the psychiatric profession is the worst hit by the brain drain syndrome ongoing in the Nigerian medical sector. He said for every five psychiatric doctors trained in Nigeria, three of them leave the country to practise abroad. He said healthcare institutions abroad are looking for individuals with psychiatric qualifications and are ready to offer them good and enticing remuneration. Obindo added that while Nigeria can train medical personnel, it cannot maintain,…

Thursday, 18 July 2024 04:55

FG asks senate’s approval to impose windfall tax on banks

The federal government is taking aim at lenders by introducing windfall tax on banks’ foreign currency revaluation gains, hoping to use the proceeds to part-finance its spending plans. President Bola Tinubu wrote to the Senate, asking it to back a legislation that will tax the bumper income derived by banks last year from the revaluation of their FC-denominated assets after a free fall in the value of the naira caused a surge in the value of such assets when converted into the local currency. “A proposed amendment to the Finance Act Amendment Bill 2023 is required to impose a one-time…

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Thursday, 18 July 2024 04:49

UI students protest electricity rationing, tuition hike

Students of the University of Ibadan, on Wednesday, staged a protest to express their grievances following the schedule of a 10-hour electricity supply on campus and a hike in tuition by the university management. It was gathered that the students were provoked by the announced 10-hour power supply, incessant tuition fees hikes, and introduction of what they termed “outrageous fees” by the authorities. The protest started in the late hours of Tuesday and continued on Wednesday with the students carrying placards at the front of the university gate. Our correspondent learnt that an internal memo addressed to the Chief Engineer…

Thursday, 18 July 2024 04:48

Petrol sold for as much as N855 per litre in some states in June, NBS reports

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says the average retail price of a litre of petrol increased to N750.17 in June — up from the N545.83 recorded in the same month last year. This signifies a 37.44 percent year-on-year increase, the NBS said in its report, tagged, ‘Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) Price Watch (June 2024)’, released on Wednesday. “Likewise, comparing the average price value with the previous month (.i.e. May 2024), the average retail price decreased by 2.53% from N769.62,” the report reads. On the state profile analysis, NBS said Benue had the highest average retail price for petrol at…

Wednesday, 17 July 2024 04:54

Ruto, ‘puppet to the IMF’, must go, Kenya protesters insist as deaths rise to 50

At least one person was killed in renewed anti-government protests across Kenya on Tuesday, a Reuters reporter said, as police clashed with demonstrators demanding that President William Ruto step down. Youth-led protests that broke out a month ago against proposed tax hikeshave continued even after Ruto withdrew the legislation and fired almost all of his cabinet. Activists say they want Ruto to resign and are calling for systemic changes to clean up corruption and address poor governance. At least 50 people have been killed in the protests to date, the government-funded Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) said on…

Wednesday, 17 July 2024 04:49

IMF downgrades Nigeria’s economic growth forecast for 2024

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reduced its forecast for Nigeria’s economic growth to 3.1 percent in 2024 — down from a 3.3 percent projected in April. The downgrade is 0.2 percentage points below the prior forecast. In its July 2024 World Economic Outlook released on Tuesday, IMF said a lower-than-expected activity in the first quarter (Q1) of the year impacted decisions for the downgrade. The IMF, however, retained a 3.0 percent forecast for Nigeria’s economic growth in 2025. NIGERIA AND SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Revealing further, IMF downgraded its forecast for sub-Saharan Africa economic growth in 2024 to 3.7 percent —…

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