Category: Finance - Page 11 - African News Today

FG Must Justify Fresh N3tn Vote, Others For Fuel Subsidy – Senate

31Jan

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

Finance, News, Nigeria

FG Must Justify Fresh N3tn Vote, Others For Fuel Subsidy – Senate

The Senate has said the Federal Government will have to justify the fresh demand for N3tn for the extension of the subsidy on petrol before it is approved by the National Assembly. The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Ajibola Basiru, made this known against the backdrop of the controversy surrounding the actual volume of petrol, which Nigeria consumed daily. The government is billed to present executive bills to the parliament to amend the 2022 Appropriation Act and the Petroleum Industry Act, as part of the move to extend the subsidy regime, following the protests that greeted its planned removal. Already, the House of Representatives, last week, resolved to investigate the correct daily consumption volume and the actual state of the nation’s four ref...

Central Bank Of Nigeria Slashes ATM Charges, Inter-bank Transfer Fees

29Jan

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

Finance, News, Nigeria

Central Bank Of Nigeria Slashes ATM Charges, Inter-bank Transfer Fees

The Central Bank of Nigeria has announced a downward review of charges for electronic banking transactions in its revised guidelines to charges by Banks, other Financial Institutions and Non-Bank Financial Institutions. Read Also: FG Probes Online Banks Over Breach Of Customers’ Data Privacy Punch reports that this was confirmed in a circular released on Friday by the apex bank’s Director, Financial Policy and Regulation Department, Chibuzor Efobi, titled, “RE: GUIDE TO CHARGES BY BANKS, OTHER FINANCIAL AND NON-BANK FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS.” The circular stated that the review was in response to “further evolution in the financial industry in the last few years.” Source: SaharaReporters

Aircraft Odili Govt Bought Abandoned In Germany, Repairs Cost €3m – Wike

26Jan

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

Finance, News, Nigeria

Aircraft Odili Govt Bought Abandoned In Germany, Repairs Cost €3m – Wike

The Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, has said the state government has through intelligence discovered one of the state-owned aircraft, Legacy 600, that was flown to and abandoned in Germany. He said efforts to repair and retrieve the aircraft had already gulped over €3m. Wike alleged that the aircraft was abandoned in the European country since 2012 by the previous administration of Governor Chibuike Amaechi. The governor had led a delegation of Rivers leaders to General Atomics Aerotec in Munich, Germany, where the aircraft had been abandoned for 10 years, according to a statement in Port Harcourt on Tuesday by his Special Assistant on Media, Kelvin Ebiri. Read Also: Probe Motive Behind Siege To Odili’s Residence, Wike Tells IG Addressing a meeting with the General M...

FG Probes Online Banks Over Breach Of Customers’ Data Privacy

25Jan

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

Finance, News, Nigeria

FG Probes Online Banks Over Breach Of Customers’ Data Privacy

The Federal Government has begun a probe of online banks over their alleged breaches of customers’ data privacy, it has been learnt. The Director-General, National Information Technology Development Agency, Kashifu Inuwa, who made this disclosure in Abuja on Monday, said the agency was working with the Nigeria Police Force and other relevant agencies to investigate several lending platforms, popularly called loan shark platforms. He said this while addressing journalists ahead of the National Privacy Week 2022. “We are working with relevant agencies to make sure we address that challenge because it is not only NITDA’s mandate that governs everything. When you talk about any financial services, it is the CBN. When you talk about general complaints, there is a commission for that. B...

NYSC DG Seeks FG Approval For Trust Fund

24Jan

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

Finance, News, Nigeria, Youths

NYSC DG Seeks FG Approval For Trust Fund

The Director-General of National Youth Service Corp, Major General Shuaibu Ibrahim, has appealed to the Federal Government to approve the establishment of the NYSC Trust Fund for the benefit of corps members. The Bill on the proposed Trust Fund has passed the second reading at the House of Representatives, Abuja. The DG, according to a statement issued by the NYSC Deputy Director (Press and Public Relations), Emeka Mgbemena, stated these in Abuja on Sunday while on a Live programme, ‘Journalists’ Hangout’ on TVC. He said the Trust Fund, if actualized, would help to reinvigorate the NYSC Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development programme. Read Also: Romantic Soldier, Corper Met Three Years Before NYSC Camp – Family Ibrahim said it would also empower more corps membe...

Kogi Workers Give Government 14-day Ultimatum Over Minimum Wage

22Jan

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

Finance, Labour, News, Nigeria

Kogi Workers Give Government 14-day Ultimatum Over Minimum Wage

Organised labour in Kogi has issued a 14-day ultimatum to the state government to implement the N30,000 new minimum wage or face an indefinite strike action. Addressing journalists in Lokoja, the state capital, on Friday, shortly after the meeting of labour leaders, Kogi State Chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress, Onuh Edoka, lamented that the current administration in the state led by Governor Yahaya Bello had not added any value to workers since it came on board in 2016. The NLC chairman noted that the committee on a minimum wage set up on February 14, 2020 by Governor Bello had refused to submit its report for the implementation of the new minimum wage and its consequential adjustment of 23 per cent. Edoka added that the present administration had refused to cashback promotion arrea...

Abdulsalami, Workers Warn FG As NEC Decides Subsidy Removal June

21Jan

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

Finance, News, Nigeria, Petroleum

Abdulsalami, Workers Warn FG As NEC Decides Subsidy Removal June

The National Economic Council has said it will take a decision on petroleum subsidy removal in June when the six-month period for subsidy payment in the 2022 budget elapses. NEC comprising Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo and state governors among others, stated this at its first meeting for the year at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Thursday. The council stated this as a former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd.), and the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities strongly warned the Federal Government against removing the subsidy, saying it would worsen poverty in the country. The warning came amid conflicting reports on whether the Federal Government would fully deregulate the downstream sector by removing fuel subsidy in February or not. Although the ...

Osinbajo-led Economic Council Recommends Fuel Increase To N302 Per Litre By February

19Jan

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

Finance, News, Nigeria, Petroleum

Osinbajo-led Economic Council Recommends Fuel Increase To N302 Per Litre By February

The Nigerian government may increase the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, to N302 per litre in February 2022 as part of the recommendations of the National Economic Council (NEC). This is part of the government’s plan to completely deregulate the PMS prices, eliminating monthly subsidy payments with provisions to ensure fair competition in the market, TheCable reports. The NEC is headed by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo. Petrol price is currently between N162 and N165 per litre in Nigeria. The recommendations were suggested by the NEC ad-hoc committee interfacing with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on the appropriate pricing of PMS in Nigeria. The Governor of Kaduna state and head of the committee, Nasir El-Rufai presented the repor...

Nigeria Lost N10.72trillion To Twitter Ban — LCCI

15Jan

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

Communication, Finance, Information Technology, News, Nigeria

Nigeria Lost N10.72trillion To Twitter Ban — LCCI

The Nigerian economy lost N10.72trillion to the suspension of microblogging platform, Twitter, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry said. The figures were disclosed in a statement issued on Friday by Chinyere Almona, Director-General, LCCI. “In business terms, the cost of the seven-month shutdown of Twitter operations in Nigeria is estimated to be N10.72trillion ($26.1billion) according to Netblock’s Cost of Shutdown Tool,” Almona said. This is a huge loss to Nigeria as it represents about 63% of Nigeria's N17.1trillion budgeted for 2022. Recall that on June 4, the Nigeriag Government announced the suspension of Twitter after the social media platform deleted a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari. Read Also: Twitter Reacts To Lifting Of Ban In Nigeria After Over 200 Da...

Standard Chartered Bank To Shut Down Half Of Nigeria Branches

11Jan

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

Finance, News, Nigeria

Standard Chartered Bank To Shut Down Half Of Nigeria Branches

Standard Chartered Plc says it is closing about half of its Nigerian branches in a pivot to digital banking. The decision was reached following the finance industry coming under pressure from mobile money providers. The London-listed lender’s local unit has already started to shut some offices in December and will eventually operate only 13 branches in the country. According to a document seen by Bloomberg News, Standard Chartered is instead strengthening mobile banking and recruiting agents to reach new customers and handle cash deposits and withdrawals across Africa’s biggest economy, said the people, who asked not to be identified because they aren’t authorised to speak publicly. Read Also: Debt Servicing Gulps 76% Of Revenue A spokesperson for the bank declined to commen...