Nigeria approves €15.21m Euro counterpart funding for Siemens power deal
| | |

Nigeria approves €15.21m Euro counterpart funding for Siemens power deal

Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council has approved the payment of €15.21m Euro (offshore) and N1.7bn (onshore) counterpart funding for its power deal with German energy company, Siemens AG. The deal was a result of a meeting between Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari and German Chancellor, Angela Merkel in 2018, which culminated in the signing of a letter of…

Courier service fees put millions of Nigeria’s SMES at risk
| | |

Courier service fees put millions of Nigeria’s SMES at risk

Nigerians are up in arms on social media criticising a new government policy which would see small and medium scale businesses which use courier services paying $645 to obtain a licence and $258 for renewal According to the Nigeria Postal Service which oversees this new revenue drive, international courier and logistics services are expected to…

Nigeria’s electronic bill payments hits $1.1bn
| | |

Nigeria’s electronic bill payments hits $1.1bn

Nigeria’s electronic bill payments reached $1.1bn between January and May 2020, more than double the amount for the same period in 2019. According to the latest Nigerian Interbank Settlement Scheme, this signifies an 86 per cent increase from the $615.4m payment of utility bills and other subscriptions recorded the previous year. A marked decline of…

Embattled AfDB President, Adesina declared innocent
| | | |

Embattled AfDB President, Adesina declared innocent

An investigative panel looking into allegations of ethical infractions against the President of the African Development Bank, Akinwunmi Adesina has declared him innocent. An ethics committee report following an earlier investigation had exonerated him of all 16 allegations levelled against him, an outcome the US which is the second largest shareholder of the bank rejected….

Preserving Economic Progress in the Face of COVID-19
| | | |

Preserving Economic Progress in the Face of COVID-19

South Sudan, set to capitalize on renewed peace, has pegged 2020 as a year of stability and economic growth, underpinned by the country’s revived oil and gas sector Amid COVID-19, South Sudan shows the world it is open for business and committed to economic prosperity and inclusive growth; South Sudan hosted a webinar organized by…

African Development Fund approves $31.6 million loan for COVID-19 response
| | | |

African Development Fund approves $31.6 million loan for COVID-19 response

The objective of the operation is to support Uganda’s efforts to contain the human cost of COVID-19, mitigate its social and economic impact, and support economic recovery The Board of Directors of the African Development Fund today approved a $31.6 million COVID-19 Crisis Response Support Program (CRSP) to Uganda to support the government’s response to…

COVID-19: Hospitals embracing Tele-medicine to keep their business going as patients stay away.
| | | | | | | | |

COVID-19: Hospitals embracing Tele-medicine to keep their business going as patients stay away.

With the rise in COVID-19 cases in Nigeria, hospitals are embracing telemedicine to keep their business going as patients stay away from their facilities due to risks associated with contacts. There has been a rise in remote consultation while tech companies in the country are rising the challenge of plugging the gap with telemedicine services.

Domestic flights re-opened in Nigeria with hike in flight costs
| | | | | | | | |

Domestic flights re-opened in Nigeria with hike in flight costs

Domestic flights re-opened in Nigeria and despite hike in flight costs, flyers trooped out to travel to different destinations across the country after over three months of flight and inter-station travel restrictions.

Nigeria’s first artisanal gold sold to government for $3.2m
| | | |

Nigeria’s first artisanal gold sold to government for $3.2m

The first ever artisanally mined and processed gold in Nigeria has been sold to the Central Bank of Nigeria for $3.2m. The government said the gold would now be added to the country’s reserve. The bar of gold weighing 12.5kg was said to have been refined according to LBMA standards. It was presented at the…

West Africa accounts for over 90 percent of global maritime kidnappings – Report
| | | |

West Africa accounts for over 90 percent of global maritime kidnappings – Report

The West African coast is increasingly becoming a dangerous route for commercial shipping as a report has shown that the area accounts for over 90 per cent of global maritime kidnappings. 77 seafarers were kidnapped for ransom between January and June 2020, majority of them in the Gulf of Guinea off West Africa. According to…

Nigeria made $206bn from oil in five years – OPEC
| | | |

Nigeria made $206bn from oil in five years – OPEC

Nigeria made $206.06bn from crude oil in the last five years, newly released figures from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries has shown. According to the 2020 Annual Statistical Bulletin of the body, as Africa’s largest oil producer, Nigeria’s revenue from crude oil was fifth after Saudi Arabia ($202.37bn), Iraq ($80.03bn), Kuwait ($52.43bn) and the…

Business owners angry over closure of Africa’s second-longest bridge
| | | |

Business owners angry over closure of Africa’s second-longest bridge

Business owners, workers and residents of Lagos are jittery as the government has announced that Third Mainland Bridge, the business bridge in Nigeria and the second longest in Africa would close for six months. The Nigerian government announced that one lane of the 11,800m bridge would be closed for three months followed by the other…

Nigeria’s aviation authority suspends 14 aircraft charter operators
| | | |

Nigeria’s aviation authority suspends 14 aircraft charter operators

As Nigeria reopened its aviation sector on Wednesday after lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority has suspended 14 aircrafts used in private in the country for violating some aviation regulations. The NCAA listed the aircrafts affected as Hawker 800XP: N838BB; Hawker 800XP: N552ME; Hawker800XP: N749WW; Hawker800XP: ZS-EXG; CL604-D-ANGB; CL604-T7-NMN; CL601-N580KR,…

Nigerians fume as government sets $2.5bn stamp duty target
| | |

Nigerians fume as government sets $2.5bn stamp duty target

Nigeria’s leading banks, Access, has been trending on social media platforms, but not in a positive way. Customers of the bank across Nigeria were up in arms, at least verbally, calling out what they described as “theft” of their bank savings in the name of stamp duty.https://twitter.com/p_mystic/status/1277157739052126208?s=20 Even though Access Bank was not the only…

Passengers to bear brunt of COVID-19 impact on aviation industry
| | | | |

Passengers to bear brunt of COVID-19 impact on aviation industry

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the aviation industry globally has been enormous, with job cuts, bankruptcy and revenue losses hanging over each operator in the aviation value chain like a malevolent spectre. In Nigeria, the impact has been equally hard-hitting. The Africa Regional Director of the International Air Transport Association, Funke Adeyemi, said the…