10 July 2018 ( Lagos )
FG, states grow external debt by 114% under Buhari: The Federal Government and the 36 states of the federation as well as the Federal Capital Territory grew the country’s external loan commitments from $10.32bn in June 2015 to $22.07bn in March 2018, investigation has shown. (Source: Punch)
Inflation rate faces risks, say Emefiele, others: The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Godwin Emefiele, has said the nation may see a reversal of the decline in inflation rate if the risks threatening favourable macroeconomic conditions are not addressed. (Source: Punch)
Power: NNPC starts seven gas projects to generate 15,000MW: The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation announced that it had commenced a technical framing workshop and subsequent project signing ceremony of the seven critical gas development projects to deliver about 3.4 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day to bridge the medium-term supply gap by 2020. (Source: Punch)
End estimated billing, enforce metering, FG orders NERC: The Federal Government has ordered the Nigerian Electricity Regularly Commission to enforce the contract mandating power distribution companies to provide meters to customers and eliminate estimated electricity bills in the power sector. (Source: Punch)
Labour, MAN, distillers reject 500% excise duty increase: Stakeholders in the manufacturing sector on Monday opposed the 500 per cent increase in excise duty being proposed by the Federal Government. (Source: Punch)
All-Share Index Rises 0.06 as Equities Market Opens on Positive Note: The equities market started the week on positive note yesterday, as the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index rose 0.07 per cent to close at 37, 647.93 compared with the bearish performance last week. (Source: Thisday)
Survey: Households Favour Lower Interest Rate: A survey conducted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has shown that 37.2 per cent of the respondents indicated that it would be best for the Nigerian economy if interest rate is reduced. The CBN stated this in its “Inflation Attitudes Survey Report,” for the second quarter (Q2) 2018. (Source: Thisday)
Ecobank Nigeria MD, Kie, Quits Ecobank Group: Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, the parent company of Ecobank Group on Monday announced that Mr. Charles Kie has formerly indicated his intention to leave the group and consequently his role as Managing Director of Ecobank Nigeria Plc. (Source:Thisday)
NUPENG Tasks NCDMB on Labour Laws: The Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has charged the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) to examine the nature of employment contracts oil servicing companies foisted on its members and ensure that the implementation of the Nigerian Content Act conforms with labour issues. (Source: Thisday)
FG to drive economic devpt with Executive Order No 5: The Federal Government is repositioning Nigeria’s economic development to be technology driven for global competitiveness through the Presidential Executive Order No.5. (Source: Vanguard)
Turnover in I&E rises 24% to $29.7bn in H1’18: THE volume of dollars traded in the Investors and Exporters, I&E, window rose by 24.2 percent to $29.7 billion in the first half of the year, H1’18, from $23.9 billion traded in 2017. (Source: Vanguard)
MTN cries foul as NLC pickets firm: Global System for Mobile Communication, GSM giant, MTN, Monday, berated Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, for picketing its corporate head office in Lagos and other operational offices across the country over alleged refusal to allow its employees join union freely, among others. (Source: Vanguard)
NNPC’s gas arm posts N6.11bn profit: Nigerian Gas Processing and Transportation Company (NGPTC), a subsidiary of the NNPC recorded a profit after tax of N6.11 billion in its first year of operation under the new structure which has seen the company refocused solely on gas transportation. (Source:DailyTrust)
Dangote, Katsina sign N500m investment pacts: The Group President/CE, Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has signed an agreement with Katsina State government for reviving and upgrading the moribund Songhai project in Dutsinma town, under a 10-year lease agreement. (Source:DailyTrust)
Oil production in June drops to 1.89b/d – FG: Nigeria’s crude oil and condensate production has remained far lower than projected in the 2018 budget for the last two months, data released by the country’s petroleum ministry has shown. (Source:DailyTrust)
Nigerian opposition says to pick joint candidate for 2019 election: Nigeria’s main opposition parties have agreed in a memorandum on Monday to form an alliance to field a joint candidate to challenge President Muhammadu Buhari in next year’s presidential election. The ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) splinter group, known as the Reformed-All Progressives Congress (R-APC), the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and 37 other political parties are in the new alliance hoping to defeat the APC. (Source: Reuters)
Power distribution firms owe NBET N859bn: The indebtedness of power distribution companies to the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company (NBET) has risen to N859bn (US$2.4bn). As a result, the NBET has accumulated a total debt of N325.784bn (US$902.4m), which is meant for the payment of power produced by electricity generation companies and supplied to the DisCos. (Source: Punch)
Firms’ confidence in economy grows to 64.9 points — CBN report: The CBN Business Expectations Survey (BES) for July 2018 has shown that the confidence of private sector operators on the macro economy stood at 64.9 index points in July 2018, representing a growth of 30.2% compared to 34.7 index points recorded in June. (Source: Vanguard)
NAICOM to launch NIIDP: National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), on Monday said it has concluded plans to launch the Nigerian Insurance Industry Development Plan (NIIDP), a blueprint for the insurance industry which has financial inclusion as one of its major components. (Source: The Nation)
Reporting for EasyKobo on Tuesday, 10 July 2018 in Lagos, Nigeria