Economy

Some residents of Okeho town, Kajola Local Government Area of Oyo State, have been accused of stealing huge sums of money they allegedly recovered from armed robbers who attacked the community’s First Bank branch on July 29, PREMIUM TIMES reports. Corroborating the allegation, the traditional ruler of the town, Onjo of Okeho, Rafiu Mustapha, told the paper that investigations were ... Read More »

…Says Resolution Will Immediately Unlock about $510million of Gas Revenue BY ONYEKA AJUMOBI ONOCHIE In its bid to meet the target of revving up production to 3million barrels per day and unlock gas revenues to the tune of about $225 million in the short term and $510million in the long run for the Federation,  the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) ... Read More »

BY ONYEKA AJUMOBI ONOCHIE Village Heads and members of Water Users Association in Jigawa and Kano States have commended President Muhammadu Buhari for facilitating the resuscitation of their water projects over 17 years after they were abandoned by previous governments. They particularly lauded the Minister of Water Resources, Engr. Suleiman Adamu, who, they said, was a willing tool in the ... Read More »

BY ONYEKA AJUMOBI ONOCHIE The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has recorded an encouraging 43 per cent drop in cases of willful damage of its oil pipeline infrastructure by suspected oil thieves in May, 2020. The corporation, in a release by its Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Dr. Kennie Obateru, explained that details of the report contained in ... Read More »

BY ONYEKA AJUMOBI ONOCHIE The Abuja Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Tuesday, August 4, re-arraigned former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Mohamed Bello Adoke and Aliyu Abubakar before Justice I.E. Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on a 14-count amended charge of money laundering to the tune of over ... Read More »

BY ONYEKA AJUMOBI ONOCHIE The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has secured the final forfeiture of N827, 679,098.32 (Eight Hundred and Twenty-Seven Million, Six Hundred and Seventy-Nine Thousand, Ninety-Eight Naira, Thirty-Two Kobo) from Flank Power Resources Limited and GMFD Ventures Limited, both of which are  firms  linked to  contractors with the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.  Matthew Edevbie is ... Read More »

The All Progressives Congress (APC), UK chapter, says it has received favourable response from the British Government to prosecute former petroleum minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke and other Nigerians suspected of fraud, bribery and corruption offences, living in the United Kingdom. According to a statement signed by Mr Jacob Ogunseye, the APC UK Publicity Secretary, issued on Tuesday in Abuja, the assurance ... Read More »

BY ONYEKA AJUMOBI ONOCHIE The amazing impact of taxation to Nigeria’s economy cannot be over emphasized, especially in the face of the ongoing global Covid-19 pandemic which has thrown up new ways of doing things, Executive Chairman, FIRS, Mr. Muhammad Nami, has stressed. Mr. Nami noted this today, in Abuja, while fielding questions during a live appearance on the popular ... Read More »

BY ONYEKA AJUMOBI ONOCHIE Nigeria’s external debt profile is getting set to skyrocket from $27.67bn, as at March this year, to $34.1bn, with the World Bank’s imminent approval of fresh $1.5bn this month when the global bank’s Executive Board may meet to approve half of the country’s $3bn loan application, August 6. This comes against the backdrop of the amount ... Read More »

BY SHEHU MUSA, Dutse. About 15,000 farmers in Jigawa State are to benefit from Federal Government Cotton Production Program of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the state Chairman Jigawa Chapter of the National Association of Cotton Farmers, Alh. Lawal Musa Kazaure has revealed. Last year about 40,000 farmers were registered for the program out of which 30,000 scaled through and ... Read More »

…To sue blackmailers and purveyors of falsehood By Demola Abimboye The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, has categorically denied that its officials stole and sold 48 million barrels of crude oil worth about $2.5billion. The allegation was made earlier in the week by some online news papers. In a release signed by Chief Afe Babalola of Afe Babalola & Co, ... Read More »

…Felicitate with Nigerians on Eid-el Kabir celebration The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has extended the deadline for filing of returns in some tax categories by one week. Mr Abdullahi Ismaila Ahmad, Director, Communications and Liaison Department of the service, made this known in a statement in Abuja today. Ahmad said the gesture was in the spirit of the festivities ... Read More »

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) said it is working on a stamp duty palliative package for tenants in view of the current economic realities occasioned by COVID-19. Mr Abdullahi Ahmad, Director, Communications and Liaison Department of the service made this known in a statement in Abuja. Ahmad said the FIRS Executive Chairman, Mr. Muhammad Nami, hinted that stamp duty ... Read More »

The Federal Executive Council, FEC, yesterday approved the payment of €15.21m (N6,940,081,465.20) offshore and N1.71bn onshore as part of Nigeria’s counterpart funding for the power deal with Siemens AG, signed by the Nigerian and German governments in 2019. The total amount approved is N8,648,081,465.2. This was one of the decisions taken at the virtual FEC meeting presided over by President ... Read More »

…signs revised 2020 budget …Govt to adopt alternative project funding approach Oyo State Governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde, today explained that his administration’s determination to fix the huge infrastructure deficit in the state and get the state on the right track for economic growth was behind the move to secure loans that target key infrastructure. He added that the problem with ... Read More »

Abdulrasheed Maina, ex-chairman, Pension Reformed Task Team, PRTT, has been released from Kuje Correctional Centre nine months after his detention, the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, reports. Maina, who was arraigned before Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on October 25, 2019, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) alongside his son, Faisal, and firm, Common ... Read More »

BY SHEHU MUSA, Dutse Governor Muhammadu Badaru Abubakar of Jigawa State has assented to 2020 revised budget with a pledge to stick to budgetary financial discipline, and implementation in line with policies of budgetary policies. The revised budget from N153.920b was reduced to N124.357 a drop of about N28.5billion or 19 per cent drop in the size of the budget. ... Read More »

By Joe Adedeji, Ilorin Civic groups and communities in Kwara State will henceforth be monitoring government projects to ensure good quality of works done before payments. The governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq at the weekend proposed the development which he tagged ‘social audit’. He said the civic groups and communities monitoring these projects thereafter issue independent reports that would form the basis ... Read More »

In a move that underscores his absolute confidence in the innovative skills, talents and industry of the Nigerian youth, President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday led the Federal Executive Council to approve the establishment of the Nigeria Youth Investment Fund, NYIF, to the tune of N75 billion for 3 years. The Nigeria Youth Investment Fund (NYIF) is for innovative ideas, skills ... Read More »

…as he launches IITA-backed STEP programme …pledges to replicate scheme in all zones of Oyo The Oyo State governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde, on Thursday, declared that his administration has set up the state for a massive turnaround in agribusiness, adding that the state was ready to absorb anyone who is ready to invest in large scale agriculture practices and agribusiness. ... Read More »