The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed on Tuesday that Nigeria’s annual inflation dropped to 17.78% last month from the 18.72% in January driven by a slower rise in general price levels. This is the first decline in 15 months. According to the statistics office, the major sectors responsible for the slower rise in the headline index were Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other...

Nigeria is to start exporting processed cashew nuts by 2019, according to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh (photo). Ogbeh who disclosed this on Tuesday at the maiden edition of the 2017 First Bank Agric Expo in Lagos, said that currently a tonne of processed cashew nut when exported is sold for $10,000 while the raw cashew nut is sold at $1,200. He...

The Government of Taraba has signed a N2.2 billion ($7million) contract with Pinnacle Communications regarding the digitization of the Taraba State Broadcasting Service (TSBS). “The contract is in partial fulfilment of Governor Darius Ishaku’s campaign promise to beat the 2017 deadline for full digitization of all broadcast media organizations in Nigeria,” Anthony Danburam, the...

Nigeria will save about $200 million in foreign exchange through the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative just launched by the Federal Government, according to the Fertilizer Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN). Speaking while monitoring the fertilizer project in Kaduna State, Thomas Etuh, the president of FEPSAN, said the initiative is aimed at increasing production to...

The Federal Government of Nigeria’s plan to pull the nation out of recession and create 15 million jobs by selling stakes in Joint-venture oil projects within the next three years has been met with skepticism, Bloomberg reports. This plan which will run till 2020 will lessen Nigeria’s stakes in joint ventures with oil majors which produced about 90% of the country’s crude, from 55% to...

The Bank of Industry (BoI) in partnership with Diamond Bank, have provided soft loans worth N140 billion ($447.8million) to micro-entrepreneurs under the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP). According to the Acting Managing Director of BoI, Waheed Olagunju, the GEEP is one of the Federal Government’s social intervention programmes executed by the bank to promote financial...

Etisalat has announced that it is considering selling its stake in its subsidiary, Etisalat Nigeria, following the unit’s failure to repay its $1.2billion debt. According to sources with knowledge of the matter, the Abu Dhabi-listed firm wants Etisalat Nigeria’s debt restructured before initiating the sale process. The sources explained that the parent company is keen to clear the...

Four militant groups in Nigeria’s Niger Delta have warned oil companies operating in the region to suspend production until further notice or face unfavorable consequences. The militants namely, the Adaka Boro Avengers, Niger Delta Creek Warriors, Ogunuma Camp of Niger Delta and Niger Delta Revolutionary Crusaders, issued the warning last Sunday. According to the militants, the Federal...

The Lagos State government during the weekend revealed plans to kick-start a proposed Bus Reform Initiative this year with the sum of N30billion ($97 million). This initiative is aimed at providing Lagosians with an integrated public transportation system. According to Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode (photo), the reform initiative is a three-year plan under which 5000 air-conditioned...

According to an NBS report, the number of unemployed people in Nigeria rose from 7.51 million in October 2015 to 11.19 million at the end of September 2016. According to the report, youths between the ages of 15-24 and 25-34 were most affected. The rate of unemployment for people from 15 to 24 rose from 17.8% in Q4 of 2015 to 25% at the end of September 2016. This rate for those from 25 to 34...