The Central Bank of Nigeria plans to start selling foreign exchange to the Bureau de Change (BDCs) market twice a week and boost their liquidity by 20%. “In line with its pledge to sustain liquidity in the foreign exchange market, the CBN will from Monday, April 3, 2017, commence twice a week FOREX sales to licenced Bureaux de Change in the country. Licenced BDCs are henceforth required to...

A spokesman to the Senate President, Bukola Saraki (photo), has said that Nigeria will forward its oil governance bill to the Senate on the 25th of next month. This is in line with efforts to overhaul the energy sector. “Barring any last minute changes, the Senate Joint Committee on Petroleum (Upstream, Downstream and Gas), will on 25th April lay the final report of the Petroleum Industry...

The Nigerian Government has initiated talks to secure a $150 million loan from the World Bank to kick-start the Mineral Sector Support for Economic Diversification (MinDiver) Project. This project aims to revive the ailing mining industry. Kayode Fayemi (photo), Minister of Mines and Steel Development, who disclosed this in Abuja, said that the Board of Governors of the World Bank is...

MTN Nigeria has paid the second tranche of the $1.7 billion fine it was imposed by the regulatory authority of the telecom sector for failing to deactivate unregistered SIM cards last year. According to a source at MTN, the firm made a payment of $98 million to the Nigerian government. The source noted that MTN Nigeria had before now paid N80 billion ($253.9 million) out of the total...

On the launching of the 2017 agricultural season, Mozambique’s president Filipe Nyusi, revealed that five million land titles, known as “Duireito de Uso e Aproveitament de Terra” or DUAT, will be granted farmers across the country. This was reported by Agence de Presse africaine. The Head of State explained that the provision of the DUATs to farmers proves that agro-processing and...

Kenyan firm Serianu Ltd revealed that five African countries have lost overall $895 million to cyber-crime. In a report released on March 29 and entitled "Achieving Cyber Security Resilience: Enhancing Visibility and Increasing Awareness", the company puts Nigeria as one of the biggest losers in this regard with losses amounting to about $500 million. The other countries listed are...

The International Monetary Fund has urged Nigeria to lift the remaining restrictions on foreign exchange and discard the current multiple exchange rate systems in use so as to revive the country’s economy. “Our directors urged the authorities to remove the remaining restrictions and multiple currency practices, thus unifying the foreign exchange market and helping regain investor...

Starting from next month, the Federal Government of Nigeria will commence the payment of $5.1 billion joint venture cash calls owed International Oil Companies (IOCs) in the country, according to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Emmanuel Kachikwu (photo). Speaking on the sideline of the first Nigerian Oil and Gas opportunity Fair organized in Akwa Ibom on Wednesday, the...

Nigeria has received only one bid for a railway concession project worth around $2 billion, a procurement process adviser revealed on Wednesday. “We received one bid today,” said Fola Fagbule, Vice president and co-head of advisory at Africa Finance Corporation (AFC). The bid was submitted by a consortium led by General Electric. Others in the consortium include Transnet of South...

Nigeria’s state oil company, NNPC, plans to shift its focus from mainly oil and gas to power generation and transmission, in a bid to tackle the country’s power challenges. “The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) wants to transform into an integrated energy outfit with interest in power generation and transmission. The decision to diversify into the power sector was hinged on...