Wednesday, January 13, 2021
Lawan Guarantees Passage of Petroleum Industry Bill
President of the Senate, Dr Ahmad Lawan, yesterday committed the National Assembly to an expeditious passage of the long-delayed Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB). Lawan, at a programme in Abuja to mark his 62nd birthday, assured Nigerians that the passage of the PIB will form the priority of the National Assembly when it resumes plenary on January 26. Read more
Peugeot Forecasts Nigeria Importing N3tn Used Vehicles, Motorcycles in 2021
The Chairman of Peugeot Automobile Nigeria (PAN) and former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ahmed Wadada Aliyu, yesterday forecasted that Nigeria will import used cars and motorcycles worth N3 trillion in 2021. Read more
Nigerian stocks struggled for direction on Tuesday as investors adopted a guarded approach ahead of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s interest rate decision this week. After claiming the title as the world’s best-performing stock market in 2020, equity bulls in Nigeria seem to be missing with the NSE All-Share Index down only 0.36 per cent year-to-date. Read more
AfDB to Mobilise $6.5bn for Great Green Wall Initiative
The Sahel region’s Great Green Wall Initiative received a major boost from the African Development Bank (AfDB) on Monday. During a forum hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, the Bank pledged to assist in mobilising up to $6.5 billion over five years, to advance the landmark initiative. Read more
FG spent N6.46tn on debt servicing, personnel in 2020 – Minister
The Federal Government spent a total of N6.46tn on debt servicing and workers in 2020, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, has said. She also disclosed that the government released a total of N1.8tn for capital projects within the year. She noted that out of this, up to N118.37bn was released for COVID-19 capital expenditure. Read more
Oil rises above $56 on tight supply expectations
The international oil benchmark, Brent crude, rose above $56 per barrel on Tuesday, buoyed by Saudi Arabia’s plans to limit supply, offsetting worries that rising coronavirus cases globally would curtail fuel demand. While the sustained increase in oil price means a potential boost to Nigeria’s crude oil export revenue, it will further push up the landing costs of petroleum products being imported into the country. Read more
Govt forecloses petrol, electricity subsidies
The Federal Government is not subsiding Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol and has no plan to do so, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, said on Tuesday. She also stated that the government did not make any provision for electricity subsidy in 2021 and would not subsidise power. Read more
What will Nigeria be exporting under AfCFTA?
After many years of negotiations, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) came into effect at the beginning of this year. While the trade deal appears to have inherent benefits for the continent, the readiness of many African governments remains in doubt. Indeed, African leaders have come to the realisation they have to build infrastructure, improve port processes and generally facilitate seamless transit of goods for AfCFTA to work too. With its oil-dominated economy, there are questions about Nigeria’s competitiveness and readiness for trade. Read more
Dangote Cement, 26 others lift NSE capitalisation by N76 billion
A spike in the share price of Dangote Cement (DANGCEM), and 26 others, yesterday, lifted the market capitalisation of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) by N76 billion. Tuesday’s decline in heavyweight stocks such as; Guaranty Trust Bank, BUA, and MTNN dragged the ASI to the negative region at mid-day. However, a late spike in the share price of DANGCEM (+222bps), coupled with gains in Ardova and Unilever returned the market to a positive territory at the end of transactions yesterday. Read more
2021 budget: Prepare for more pain, FG tells Nigerians
Nigerians have been told to prepare for more pain this fiscal year, as the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning Minister Mrs. Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, and the Director-General, Budget Office of the Federation, Mr. Ben Akubueze, presented the breakdown for the 2021 N13.588 trillion Federal Government’s Budget. Read more