We’ll teach PDP a bitter lesson if it changes convention venue, says Gov Wike

Nyesom Wike, governor of Rivers state, says there might be consequences if the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) moves its national convention out of Port Harcourt.The national working committee (NWC) of the party had fixed the convention slated for October 6 for Port Harcourt but some of the presidential aspirants kicked against it.While receiving Ibrahim Dankwambo, governor of Gombe state and one of the presidential aspirants, on Wednesday, Wike...

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President Buhari May Not Win 2019 Election, US Intelligence Agency Predicts

A United States-based analysis firm Teneo Intelligence has predicted that Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari could lose the 2019 election if the opposition People’s Demo cratic Party (PDP) is united.The company’s vice president, Malte Liewerscheidt, who also covers political risks in West Africa, while analysing the outcome of the recent Osun state gubernatorial election said it was a bad signal for the ruling party and signals its waning popularity.“There...

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Ghana Shut Down 400 Nigerian Businesses

More than 400 businesses owned by Nigerians have been closed by authorities in Ghana, sparking a protest by owners who have issued a week ultimatum within which to resolve the surrounding the maltreatment of Nigerian business community in Ghana.The National Association of Nigerian Traders (NANTS) have written a petition to President Muhammadu Buhari and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on the issue.The association gave a one-week...

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Nigeria Holds Benchmark Lending Rate At 14 Percent Again

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) kept its benchmark interest rate at 14 percent on Tuesday, Governor Godwin Emefiele said, in a split decision that reflected the bank’s need to contend with both sluggish growth and accelerating inflation.Emefiele said three of the 10 members of the monetary policy committee who met voted to tighten by 25 basis points. The rate has been at a record high 14 percent since July 2016, and analysts polled by Reuters...

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Nigeria's central bank to reverse fines on Stanbic IBTC, others -Parent firm

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) may review a decision to penalise Stanbic IBTC on an allegation that the lender help MTN Nigeria illegally transfer foreign exchange outside the country, South Africa's Standard Bank, the parent company of the local unit said on Tuesday. Stanbic IBTC Bank is one of four banks that the CBN slammed 5.65 billion naira fine on last month after investigations revealed that they helped MTN illegally repatriate $8.1...

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Nigerians With Dual Citizenship Will No Longer Pay Levy At Airports -FG

President Muhammadu Buhari has directed Immigration Service at points of entry into the country to stop the payment of fines y Nigerians holding dual citizenship at the nation’s International Airports with immediate effect.In a statement issued by the Ministry of Interior by the Permanent Secretary, Mohammed Umar, the directive was in line with government resolve to make movement easy for Nigerians with dual citizenship to come into their...

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CBN Revokes Skye Bank licence, Floats New Polaris Bank As Replacement

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has revoked the banking licence of ailing Skye Bank and transferred all its assets and liabilities to a bridge bank, named Polaris Bank, the regulatory bank governor said on Friday. Godwin Emefiele, CBN governor said at a briefing in Lagos on Friday that Nigeria's 'bad bank' Assets Managment Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) should commence the process to sell the new bank to interested investors. The country's...

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Italian Judge Jails Two In Nigerian Oil Graft Case

An Italian judge sentenced two defendants in a Nigerian corruption case to jail on Thursday in the first ruling on one of the oil industry’s biggest graft scandals. Nigerian Emeka Obi and Italian Gianluca Di Nardo were found guilty of international corruption and each given four-year jail sentences, three sources with knowledge of the ruling said. Lawyers for Obi and Di Nardo declined to comment. The long-running case revolves around the 2011...

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Nigeria's Central Bank Says Reviewing Information To Resolve $8.1 Bln MTN Illegal FX Transfer

The Central Bank Of Nigeria (CBN) On Wednesday said it is reviewing information provided by MTN and four banks accused of helping the South African telecoms company to illegally repatriate $8.1 billion, with a view to reaching an equitable resolution.Nigeria, which accounts for a third of MTN’s annual core profit, is MTN’s biggest market but has proved to be problematic in recent years during which there have been multiple allegations of infractions.The...

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Nigeria Cabinets Suspend National Airline Project

Nigeria Federal Executive Council (FEC), comprising of ministers, the President and his vice has put on hold the plan to relaunch its national airline, a junior aviation minister announced on Wednesday.The government had planned to launch the prestige project in December to make good on a promise by President Muhammadu Buhari when he ran for president in 2015. He will seek re-election in February.“I regret to announce that the Federal Executive...

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Why Coca-Cola May Add a Cannabis Component to Drinks

Marijuana isn’t just about getting high. Everyone from Coca-Cola Co. to pharmaceutical companies is looking to tap possible therapeutic uses of CBD, a cannabinoid found in marijuana. It’s a substance that’s capturing more attention as use of its source plant grows.1. What is CBD?Cannabidiol, or CBD, is a component of the marijuana plant. Unlike another marijuana compound, tetrahydrocannabinol, also known as THC, CBD doesn’t make you high or intoxicated.2....

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Nigeria's New Finance Minister, Ahmed Takes Over ministry

Nigeria's Acting Finance Minister, Zainab Ahmed has assumed duty 72 hours after President Muhammadu Buhari appointed her to oversee the ministry following the resignation of Kemi Adeosun on Friday.Ahmed, until her appointment was the junior Minister in charge of Budget and National Planning ministry.Adeosun had resigned on Friday following the outcome of an investigation into the allegation against her over the falsification of the certificate...

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Adeosun says trusted associates put her in NYSC trouble

Kemi Adeosun, the finance minister until today, in her letter of resignation to President Muhammadu Buhari responded for the first time officially to the allegation of forging the NYSC exemption certificate, by expressing profound shock. In the letter dated today, the British-born Nigerian said she did not relocate to Nigeria until she was 34 years old, four years older than the 30-year limit for participation by corps members. She blamed those she...

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Nigeria's inflation rate rises for first time in a year and a half

Nigeria’s inflation rate rose in August over the previous year for the first time in a year and a half, driven by food prices, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Friday.The slight jump, from 11.14 percent in July to 11.23 percent in August, curtails an 18-month run of falling rates from a peak of 18.72 percent in January 2017, as President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration battled to keep inflation under control.Food prices rose 13.16...

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U.S. Is Worried Over Nigeria-China Currency Swaps Deal

The United States is concerned that increased currency swap agreements between China and African nations will reduce visibility into financial transactions and will make it harder to prevent money laundering, a senior U.S. sanctions official said on Thursday.Marshall Billingslea, the U.S. Treasury Department’s assistant secretary for terrorist financing, told a congressional hearing that while there was greater interest in using the yuan, most...

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Single currency: Nigeria, Ghana, others fail to meet criteria

The inability of some countries within the West African Monetary Zone to meet up with the macroeconomic convergence criteria is currently threatening the take-off of the single currency regime for the sub-region.The development was confirmed on Thursday during the 37th meeting of the Committee of Governors of Central Banks of the West Africa Monetary Zone, which held at the headquarters of the Central Bank of Nigeria in Abuja.The ECOWAS authority...

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How the iPhone Xs Max Compares to Samsung’s Galaxy Note 9

Apple Inc. introduced the world to its largest-ever smartphone Wednesday, the iPhone Xs Max. With a 6.5-inch screen, it dwarfs the 3.5-inch display on the original iPhone that Steve Jobs unveiled to the world in 2007. It’s also one of the biggest and most costly phones to hit the market, with prices starting at $1,099. Onlookers will be forgiven for seeing the Max as a response to the popular Galaxy Note series made by Samsung Electronics Co. The...

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MTN says $10.1 bln Nigeria demand makes local listing challenging

MTN Nigeria has said its proposed listing on the local bourse is “pretty challenging and awkward” due to the huge burden of about $10.1 billion being demanded from the telecoms firm by the West African country's government. The group’s chief financial officer Ralph Mupita said on Wednesday preparation of the company’s initial public offering (IPO) prospectus is far advanced. “We are not sitting here saying the listing is off. The listing is to remain on track,” he told CNBC Africa television. “It makes the IPO that we had planned pretty challenging...

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Nigeria Cocoa Main Crop Harvest Threatened by Flood, Disease

Nigeria’s cocoa harvest is threatened by floods and an outbreak of fungal disease as heavy rains fall in the West African country’s main growing regions, the cocoa association said.“It has been raining heavily and nonstop, almost daily since late July,” Sayina Riman, president of the Cocoa Association of Nigeria, said by phone from the southeastern cocoa-trading hub of Ikom, where he runs a 112-hectare (276-acre) farm. “Just as flooding is threatening...

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Ivorian cocoa farmers fear black pod disease amid heavy rainfall

Above average rainfall across Ivory Coast’s cocoa growing regions last week could impact the health of the October-to-March main crop, farmers have said, just days before harvests are expected to begin.Farmers said they were satisfied with the number of pods on trees, but worried too much rain would trigger black pod disease by preventing the first cocoa beans from fully drying.“Many farmers will start harvesting next week. There are concerns over...

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MTN Says Africa Is Not Ready For Super Fast 5G Network

Africa is not ready for next-generation 5G network but would likely be ready to embrace the super-fast technology in about five years from now, MTN’s chief executive of said on Tuesday.5G networks, now in the final testing stage, will rely on denser arrays of small antennas and the cloud to offer data speeds up to 50 or 100 times faster than current 4G networks and serve as critical infrastructure for a range of industries.“This is the technology...

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Ex-President Obasanjo Calls For Decriminalisation Of Drugs in W/Africa

West African governments should overhaul their drug laws to decriminalise personal use and prioritise treatment as a response to rising substance abuse in the region, former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo said on Tuesday.In an interview before he was due to present a model drug law to regional officials in Senegal, Obasanjo urged authorities to channel resources into fighting large-scale trafficking, which he said was undermining regional...

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Nigeria Records 6.57 bln Naira Foreign Trade In Q2 – NBS

Nigeria value of foreign trade dips nine percent to 6.57 billion in the second quarter of the year against the figure recorded in the first three months of the year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The nation's statistics bureau disclosed this in its “Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics” (Q2 2018) report released on Thursday in Abuja. Value of foreign trade stood at 7.21 billion naira in the first quarter and represents a 14.56...

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Moody's Rating May Downgrade MTN Group Over Nigeria's Woes

Moody's Rating Agency may downgrade South African telecoms giants MTN after the mobile phone operator was slammed with $10.1 billion by Nigerian government this week, the rating agency has said.Moody's said the mobile firm is under review for a possible credit rating downgrade as a result of itts woes in Nigerian. “MTN’s ratings have been placed on review for downgrade to reflect the uncertainty around the potential implications of the recent CBN...

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Nigeria Cenbank debits Standard Chartered, Citibank 3.6 bln naira fines for illegally transfer funds for MTN

The Central Bank Of Nigeria (CBN) has debited Standard Chartered Bank 2.4 billion naira and 1.2 billion naira from Citigroup after it fined the lenders for helping South Africa’s telecoms firm MTN to transfer funds abroad, two sources told Reuters on Thursday. The central bank normally debits the account of banks when it imposes a fine or to implement aspects of its monetary policies such as cash reserve requirements.Standard Chartered,...

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AfDB Says No Debt Crisis In Africa

Amidst concerns over growing debt burden by African countries, with China being accused of encouraging the continent to ramp up huge borrowing, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina, weigh in, saying no debt crisis in African countries.He spoke on the sidelines of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Beijing Summit.Western nations accused China of hoodwinking poor African nations into debt overload.“Let me...

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Support Group Buys 45 mln Naira Nomination Form For President Buhari

The Consolidation Ambassadors Network (NCAN), a pro-Muhammadu Buhari, group on Wednesday obtained the presidential election nomination forms on behalf of the president who is currently in China for FOCAC.The group paid the mandatory 45 million naira for the expression of interest and the nomination form.The sum of 40 million naira is the form and the 5 million naira for the expression of interest.The cheque was received by the Chairman of the All...

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Africa's farmers need political support more than 'seeds, weather and soil'

African nations will struggle to grow their economies and combat poverty unless they tie high-level political will to government action to help farmers, agricultural experts said in Rwanda on Wednesday.Successfully using agriculture to push broader economic growth - as many nations in Asia have done - shows political support is “more important than seeds, weather and soil”, they added.“There is no economy in the world that has grown without its...

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Ghana Seeks To Attract Foreign Investment, signs Assembly Plant deal with China's Sinotruck

Ghana signed a memorandum of understanding with Chinese heavy-duty truck maker Sinotruck International on Wednesday for an assembly plant, the West African nation said.The proposed Sinotruck plant in Ghana will initially have the capacity to assemble around 1,500 trucks per year for sale in West Africa, the presidency said in a statement.Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo, currently on his first visit to China since assuming office in January last...

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MTN Nigeria faces more woes as government seeks to recover $2 bln outstanding tax debt

MTN Nigeria, the local unit of South Africa's telecommunication giants said on Tuesday it has been slammed with a $2 billion tax by the government of Africa's top economy. The announcement of the tax bill comes few days after the telecoms firm was directed to return $8.1 billion illegally transferred out of the country to its home country. Nigeria is the company's most lucrative in term of returns on investment but has increasingly become problematic market since it was first slapped with a fine of $1.7 billion for violating directive to disconnect...

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Herders’ terrorism: Buhari at it again- Punch Editorial

President Muhammadu Buhari demonstrated his cluelessness afresh on Sunday when he blamed herders’ act of horrific violence on the shrinking Lake Chad and alleged biased media reports. His narrow narrative seeks vainly to explain away the campaign of terror and mayhem by bandits on the displacement of herdsmen from the lake area and hang the seeming helplessness of his administration in curbing the rampage on the mass media. This is ghastly.It is inconceivable that Buhari will attribute the rash of herders’ killings across the country to mere fallout...

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