20 July 2018 ( Lagos ) 

Nigeria requires up to US$300m for new national carrier: Nigeria’s new national airline will require initial capital of between US$150m and US$300m, and the government is seeking a strategic partner to operate the carrier, the government stated in a document. The government plans to launch the airline this December. (Source: Reuters)

Veto Buhari on budget timeframe bill, group urges NASS: The Centre for Social Justice has called on the National Assembly to exercise its powers by recalling the bill on the amendment of Sections 81 and 121 of the 1999 Constitution, which stipulate the timeframe for annual budgets.(Source: Punch)              

Unpaid tax: ‘NDDC premises’ picketing not political’: The Rivers State Internal Revenue Service has said that the picketing of the head office of the Niger Delta Development Commission was not political, but an effort towards ensuring that the agency pays its withholding tax. (Source: Punch)          

Empty containers flood Lagos ports, worsen traffic situation: Lagos ports are practically swimming in empty containers and the terminals have little or no space to take in new delivery. (Source: Punch)          

Nigerian Stock Exchange to List FGN N10.69bn Green Bond:  The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) will today list the FGN N10.69 billion Green Bond on the Exchange, as part of efforts to make Nigeria one of the favored investment destinations in Africa. (Source: Thisday)          

FRC Reduces ‘Cooling Off’ Period for Executives: The Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC) has reduced the ‘cooling off’ period for executives in regulatory entities, public and private companies from 10 years, to three years, when transiting from a board role to another. (Source: Thisday)          

Customs Intercepts Export Bound N48m Unprocessed Wood in Apapa: The comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Strike Force has once again intercepted unprocessed woods worth over N48million in Apapa. (Source: Thisday)          

Equities continue slide with N101b loss: Nigerian equities continued on the downside yesterday as investors lost N101 billion to capital depreciation. Benchmark indices at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) declined by an average of 0.76 per cent, depressing further the negative average year-to-date return to -4.64 per cent. (Source: The Nation)          

Wema Bank to issue N20b debt: Wema Bank plans to issue N20 billion of debt in August to boost its capital adequacy. (Source: The Nation)          

NEPC, Malaysian group partner: The Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC) and the Nigeria, Malaysia Business Council (NMBC)  is partnering with the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) to boost  trade and investment for the benefits of the two countries. (Source: The Nation)          

Workers borrow to feed as FAAC deadlock lingers: Many workers are said to have resorted to borrowing from relatives to cater for their daily needs due to the delay in salary payments by their employers in many states as a result of the deadlock in sharing of the monthly federation revenue for the month of June. (Source: Daily Trust)          

Buhari appoint new heads of 3 agencies: President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of three Directors-General/Chief Executive Officers (DG/CEOs) of three federal agencies under the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development. (Source: Daily Trust)          

FAAC overpaid states N10bn in bailout funds — Auditor-General: The Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) paid N10bn (US$27.7m) in excess to states while sharing bailout funds in 2016, according to the annual report of the Auditor-General of the federation. This was revealed following audit scrutiny of the documents. (Source: Vanguard)

Naira down to N361.91/$:  Data from FMDQ showed that the indicative exchange rate for the window rose to N361.91 per dollar yesterday from N361.69 per dollar on Wednesday, indicating 22 kobo depreciation of the naira. (Source: Vanguard)

Major fish importers embark on backward integration: Major fish importers in the country have heeded the Federal Government’s directive to engage in backward integration of fishing through commercial aquaculture and production of fish for export, the Deputy Director of Fisheries, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Pwaspo Emmanuel, has said. (Source: Punch)          

Reporting for EasyKobo on Friday, 20 July 2018 in Lagos, Nigeria