Author: Chief Editor

• U.S. throws $55b, G20 membership, business deals at Africa• China dismisses Biden’s $55b giveaway to Africa as ‘laughable’• Nigeria made little impact, modest gains at Summit• We surpassed our expectations, now have a blueprint to handover to next administration, says Shehu• Dabiri-Erewa: We should be forging partnerships not collecting handouts The just concluded United States-Africa Leaders Summit (USALS), which held in Washington DC, last week, is a catch up attempt, as America lags behind China in terms of engagement with Africa. The first US-Africa Leaders Summit in eight years with its advertised gains still cannot make up for or leapfrog America to…

• Apex bank silent on cost of redesigned notes, orders 500m pieces• House knocks CBN leadership for sidelining lawmakers• Coalition takes ‘Emefiele Must Go’ protest to Presidential Villa• Demands cancellation of ‘voodoo, abracadabra’ economics Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, has dismissed perceptions that the apex bank’s redesign of naira notes and withdrawal limits were politically motivated. Emefiele (represented by Deputy Governor Aishah Ahmad) noted this when he appeared before members of the House of Representatives, yesterday. He maintained that the decisions were taken based on verifiable data and research conducted by various monetary and fiscal departments of…

Senate fixes December 28 for passage of Appropriation Bill The renewed face-off between the executive arm of government and the National Assembly has constituted a cog in the wheel of the 2023 budget. The failure of the N819.5 billion Supplementary Budget Bill submitted by President Muhammadu Buhari, on Wednesday, to address earlier complaints by the lawmakers with regard to their Constituency projects heightened the face-off. Many lawmakers, who were aggrieved by “selective execution” of previous budgetary provisions for key infrastructural projects, disclosed that the fate of the 2023 budget was worsened by the refusal of the executive to provide for…

Nigeria has been selected by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to serve as a hub for food and grain storage for its member countries. The Director Federal Department of Agriculture, Abdullahi Abubaka, disclosed this yesterday in Abuja at the sidelines of the Islamic Organisation for Food Security (IOFS) Regional Training Workshop on ‘Strategic Planning and Policy Development in Food Security’. He said the OIC Secretariat would mobilise resources, food commodities and grains and store them in the various silos in Nigeria for onward distribution to countries in need of them. According to him, the selection is apt as the…

• Nigeria accounts for 67%, Ghana 10% of global output The Federal government has raised concern over the inability of the country to export yam despite accounting for 67 per cent of the global output.Of great concern to the government is the fact that Ghana, which produces a meager 10 per cent of the global output has its earning from export of yam grow from $18.48m in 2015 to $39.7m in 2021. The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), Ernest Umakihe, said if Ghana that produces only 10 per cent can achieve such feat, Nigeria can earn…

Long jumper, Ese Brume’s failure to attend the Delta 2022 National Sports Festival will not in any way affect her relationship with Delta State government, an official of the State Sports Commission has said. Brume, who was the poster girl for the 21st edition of the Games, did not show up at the Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba, throughout the duration of the competition, fuelling speculations that she shunned the festival because Delta State did not host her after Oregon 2022 World Championships, where she got a silver medal and the Commonwealth Games, where she won gold. Brume was earlier listed…

• CAF boss confirms Nigeria’s bid for AFCON hosting right Confederation of African Football (CAF) President, Patrice Motsepe, believes the continent can produce a FIFA World Cup finalist in 2026. U.S., Canada and Mexico will co-host the 2026 World Cup, which for the first time will feature 48 teams. And thrilled by Morocco’s performance at the just-concluded World Cup in Qatar, Motsepe told a press conference that the Atlas Lions have opened the door for Africa by reaching the semifinals this month, adding, “I am confident an African nation will go further at the next World Cup.” Motsepe said: “CAF’s…

Unveils $11m Quality Assurance Centre in Ogun The African Export and Import Bank (Afreximbank), yesterday, announced plans to invest up to $100 million for the establishment of quality assurance centres in Nigeria. Already, the bank has deployed $11 million for the completion of the first African Quality Assurance Centre in Ogun State. President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Afreximbank, Prof. Benedict Oramah, who spoke at the unveiling of the facility, yesterday, said the state-of-the-art facility would offer testing, certification, inspection and training services covering agricultural products. According to Oramah, the project will also support the transformation of…

Almost two decades after the project started, Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, yesterday, celebrated completion of infrastructure work on the first phase of the Lagos Blue Rail Mass Transit (LRMT). At exactly 1:31p.m., the governor formally stepped into the coach and took the first trip aboard the electric-powered rail infrastructure. The governor led his Deputy, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, members of the state cabinet, reporters and members of the public on a ride from the National Theatre Station to the iconic station in Marina. The trip took approximately 10 minutes. Sanwo-Olu said the…

• Foreign interests weigh in on Emefiele, DSS conflict• Pro-Emefiele protests hold in Abuja, Kaduna• Stop ‘illegal’ plot to remove CBN boss, say Arewa youths• CBN gov explains inability to appear before lawmakers in person• Don’t politicise security, DSS operation, Saraki cautions• Market will find its course despite controversies, says Fasua Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), yesterday, bowed to pressure, changing its earlier limit on weekly cash withdrawal for individuals from N100,000 to N500,000 across all channels. Corporate entities are also allowed to withdraw as much as N5 million weekly, according to a circular signed by Director of Banking Supervision,…