Russia To Revive Nigeria’s Ajaokuta Steel Plant

Russia may give a new lease of life to Nigeria’s biggest steel plant after decades of inactivity, the West African nation’s mines minister said. Construction of Ajaokuta Steel Co. began in 1979 with assistance from the then-Soviet Union, but the facility never started production and has sucked up $8 billion of public money. Repeated attempts to revive the flagship project by transferring it to private investors failed and the government terminated...

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MTN Nigeria Records Drop In Profit In spite Of increase Revenue in 9-month

MTN Nigeria Communications Plc has posted total revenue of N856.48 billion for nine months operations ended Sept. 30, compared with N764.46 billion recorded the previous year. According to the financial statement of the unaudited result posted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Wednesday, the local unit of South Africa's telecoms firm's revenue for the 9-month grew 12.03 percent in the period.Profit after tax, however, dropped 5.64 percent...

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PDP Chairman, Secondus Boosts 'Nigerians Voted PDP' Despite Supreme Court judgment

The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Uche Secondus has said that inspite of the Supreme Court judgment against the party presidential candidate, the whole world knows that Nigerians voted PDP and its candidate in the last election. Secondus, said in a statement on Wednesday that the final judgment comes from God almighty. “Nigerians know that you voted PDP, even APC knows that you rejected them on February 23, 2019.“International...

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NDIC To Build N5.72 Bln Offices In Abuja, Lagos Bauchi

Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) is to build a new headquarters' office in Abuja at a cost of N5.72 billion, according to the latest approval granted the corporation by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on Wednesday. The amount approved by the meeting presided over by the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is for construction and consultancy services.Zainab Ahmed, minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, who disclosed this...

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Profiles Of The 7 Supreme Court Justices Who Nailed Atiku's Ambition

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal filed by Nigeria’s main opposition People's Democratic Party (PDP) and it's presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar against the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari. The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad, who led six other members of the apex court’s panel, disclosed that he and members of the panel had read all the documents and exhibits filed in the case for two weeks and...

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South African Budget Signals Debt Trap Ahead

South Africa is heading for a debt trap as bailouts for the embattled state power utility drain the government’s coffers and anemic economic growth weighs on tax revenue. Finance Minister Tito Mboweni presented a rapidly deteriorating outlook in his medium-term budget policy statement on Wednesday, with gross government debt seen surging to 80.9 percent of gross domestic product in the 2028 fiscal year unless urgent action is taken. The trajectory...

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Supreme Court Dismisses Atiku’s Appeal Against Buhari’s Election, Says Lack Merit

The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, challenging the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari in the February 23, 2019 presidential election. The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad, who led six other members of the apex court’s panel, delivered a three-sentence judgement which put paid to the legal dispute over the poll.The CJN,...

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Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery To Start Operating In Early 2021

Nigeria’s Dangote Petrochemical Refinery, which is being built privately by Africa’s richest man, is scheduled to be at full capacity operations by the middle of 2021. The refinery in Lagos will be ready for commissioning at the beginning of 2021, with full capacity reached by the end of the first half of the year, Devakumar Edwin, a group executive director at Dangote Industries Ltd., said in an interview at a conference in Lagos.Nigeria is Africa’s...

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Nigeria To Raise N223 Bln Via Treasury Bills Sales

Nigeria will on Wednesday sell N223 billion worth of Treasury Bills at an ongoing auction at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) dealing room to raise cash to finance part of the country's budget deficit.The bank will be selling on behalf of the government N28 billion worth of the 91-day bills, N10.6 billion of the 182-day paper and N93.9 billion of the 1-year note, using Dutch Auction System.The bid is open to all class of onshore and offshore investors:...

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How Will The CBN’s OMO Restrictions Impact Markets?

Recently, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in a bid to cut borrowing cost and spur real sector investment barred non-banking financial institutions and public (save local banks and foreign investors) from participating in the primary and secondary OMO market. Notably, OMO bills are discretionary liquidity and FX management instrument of the CBN, different from FGN’s T-Bills which are for managing budgeted recurrent spending. In our view, with...

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Government Sets Up Interim Committee To Run NDDC

Nigeria federal government has set up an interim management committee to run the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). This development was announced on Tuesday evening through a statement from the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, inaugurated the committee on Tuesday in Abuja.The mandate of the committee is to help create an “enabling environment” for the forensic audit of the NDDC...

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More Nigerians Shun ePayment Channels Over Stamp Duty Payment On Transactions

More Nigerians are now shunning transactions via Point of Sales (PoS) terminals; owing to the implementation of a ₦50 additional charge by merchants, as imposed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in collaboration with the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS). The CBN described the new service levy as Stamp Duty Charge. Investigations (by the Guardian) showed that customers now avoid ePayment platforms in preference for cash deals, thereby...

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Nigerian Customs Seize 32 Containers Of Expired Rice

Officers of the Nigeria Customs Service on Tuesday impounded 32 containers of expired rice imported through the Tincan Port, Apapa in Lagos The rice, which had expired since 2018, were imported from China and Thailand and were about to be smuggled into the Nigerian market.Hameed Ali, the Controller General of Customs, while inspecting one of the containers found some empty bags with new dates, apparently, to be used to rebag the expired rice.The...

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Court Adjourns MTN's $2 bln Tax Dispute Case With Nigeria For Hearing To Jan. 30-31

A Federal High Court in Lagos has set Jan. 30 and 31 for the hearing of a $2 billion tax dispute between MTN Nigeria Plc and the Nigerian government. Nigeria's attorney general has demanded the telecoms firm pay the tax bill relating to the import of equipment and payments to foreign suppliers from 2007 to 2017, but MTN argues the claim is without merit and that the attorney general exceeded his powers in making the request.On Tuesday, lawyers for...

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Nigeria Moves To Regulate Social Media

Against the backdrop of criticism of the government using the vehicle of social media, the government is working on how to inject sanity into social media which it said was currently out of control, Nigeria's minister of information has said. Lai Mohammed disclosed this at a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, saying no responsible government would sit back and allow such activities capable of setting the country on fire to continue unchecked.“It...

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Human Rights Activist Knocks President Buhari For Failure To Transmit Power To Osinbajo While On Leave

The failure of President Muhammadu Buhari to hand over reign of power to his deputy, Yemi Osinbajo while on his way to two weeks vacations has attracted criticism from a human rights activist. According to Inibehe Effiong, the president jetting out of the country without handing over to his Vice was the second of such this year.He said: “This President is lawless. Buhari has gotten away with murder. “In the spirit of the rule of law and due process,...

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Report Says One In Ten Men Has Problems Fathering A Child

* For most men suffering infertility from low sperm count, the damage was done while in the womb * Processes involved in forming reproductive organs can be disrupted in early months of pregnancy* This also significantly raises men’s risk of illnesses such as cancer in later lifeMen trying for fatherhood receive a wealth of lifestyle advice on how best to boost their fertility — wear loose-fitting underpants, avoid hot baths, get a good night’s...

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African Export-Import Bank Delays IPO Over Unfavorable Markets

African Export-Import Bank has postponed an Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange until equity markets improve. “Despite significant interest in the bank from investors, in light of unfavorable market conditions, it has decided to postpone the proposed initial public offering at this time,” the Cairo-based lender said in a statement Tuesday. “The bank will continue to monitor the markets to find the appropriate window to launch...

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Lagos-Ibadan Rail Line Opens For Test-Run, Free Rides In November

Nigeria will start test-run on its standard gauge rail line linking the commercial nerve center Lagos with the ancient city of Ibadan from the end of November with passengers to enjoy free ride, minister of transport Rotimi Amaechi has said. In a series of tweets on Monday, Amaechi stated that test-run and free rides would commence at the end of next month (November). “I just mandated our Chinese contractors on the Lagos-Ibadan rail line to ensure...

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AMCON Boss Wants Government To Covert Arik Airline To National Carrier

The Nigerian government should convert Arik Airline to a national carrier instead of dissipating energy to set up brand new airline from the scratch, chief executive officer of the country's 'bad bank' has counseled. Ahmed Lawan Kuru, CEO of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) noted that the government would be saving cost in the face of dwindling resources available to the country.  Kuru, who spoke on Monday while briefing the...

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Nigeria Plans To Lift 90 Million Out Of Poverty

Nigeria officially admitted that there are 90 million of its citizens living in poverty, but notified its intention to lift them out of their misery, according to the country's minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Developmenet Sadiya Farouq has said. Farouq said this while presenting the 2020 budget estimates N44.21 billion for the approval of the House Committee on Internally Displaced Persons and Refugees chaired by...

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New Minimum Wage Payment Depends On Capacity Of Each State~NGF

The Nigeria Governors’ Forum on Monday said the consequential increments in the implementation of the N30,000 Minimum Wage Law would depend on the capacity of each state government. The chairman of NGF and Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, stated this while briefing newsmen at the end of the meeting of the Forum in Abuja.Reading the meeting’s communique, Fayemi said the NGF made the resolution when it met and reviewed current progress in the...

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Nigeria’s Unemployment Situation Frightening —AfDB

The African Development Bank on Monday said the unemployment situation in Nigeria was ‘frightening’ and could become ‘catastrophic’ if decent jobs are not created for the country’s youth population. The AfDB made the observation at the regional presentation of a report entitled, ‘Creating decent jobs: Strategies, policies and instruments’, at its office in Abuja.The report, a compilation of policy recommendations from some of the world’s leading...

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Flood Aids 200 Inmates Escape From Kogi Prison

The early Monday morning downpour in Koton-Karfe, Kogi Local Government Area of Kogi State, has created an opportunity for the escape of about 200 prisoners from the Medium Federal Correctional Centre. This follows the collapse of parts of the building housing inmates.Several houses in the area were also submerged.A source at the correctional facility, however, told our correspondent that about 100 of the escapees have been rearrested.The source...

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Nigeria's Border Closure Has Help Create Jobs, Says CBN Governor

Nigeria's central bank governor, Godwin Emefiele on Monday said the closure of the country’s land borders with her neighbours has helped create “jobs.” “So when you asked, what is the benefit, the benefit of the border closure on the economy of Nigeria, I just used two products – poultry and rice,” Emefiele said in Abuja after meeting President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday. “The benefit is that it has helped to create jobs for our people, it has...

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Old iPhones, iPads Software Must Be Updated By Nov 2 Or Devices 'II Go Offline ~Apple Warns

People using an iPhone 5 need to update its software or their phone will stop working on Sunday.Apple has warned that from 12am on Sunday, November 3, iPhone 5 owners won't be able to connect to the internet unless they have iOS 10.3.4. Web browsing in Safari, emails, App Store, iCloud and maps will all go offline for people who don't keep their phone up to date.Those with the iPhone 4S and various older iterations of the iPad will also need to...

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Five Women Reveal Why They Cheat On Their Partners

Hundreds of women have taken to Reddit to reveal the real reasons they cheated on their partners.Some said they strayed because they felt ignored or stifled while others said they realised they preferred multiple lovers. A report by Sexual Health Australia revealed affairs were common, with data showing 60 percent of men and 45 percent of women having strayed outside their primary relationships.FEMAIL selected five stories which outlined the main...

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Fire Guts Portion of FIRS Abuja HQ

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) headquarters in Abuja was gutted by fire on Monday, officials of the service has confirmed. The inferno gutted a store attached to a canteen used by the agency’s staff members at the headquarters’ annex.Wahab Gbadamosi, a spokesperson for the revenue office said a “small fire outbreak by the store near the FIRS canteen, by Annex 1.”“Firemen who put out the fire are investigating the source of the fire,”...

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Concerns Over Lagos Planned N250 Bln Loans, Bond

The planned by the Lagos State government to raise N250 billion through loans and bonds has continued to generate controversy and concerns by many stakeholders in the commercial never of the country. The State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has announced the planned early in the month, saying the move was to reorder the 2019 budget and help the state to meet certain developmental projects. Sanwo-Olu said lack of sufficient revenue for the remaining...

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President Buhari To Spend 2-week In London On Private Visit

President Muhammadu Buhari will travel to London at the end of his trip to Saudi Arabia on Saturday. Femi Adesina, presidential spokesman, who disclosed this in a statement, said the president will spend two weeks in London on a private visit.”President Muhammadu Buhari leaves the country on Monday on an official trip to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to attend Economic Forum of the Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Riyadh,” he said.”On the sideline...

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