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...

In Rwanda, the National Agricultural Exports Board (NAEB) announced an increase of 64% of the minimum price guaranteed to coffee-growers. Indeed, the kilogram of the crop will be now sold at 246 Rwandan francs against 150 Rwandan francs previously. According to Pie Ntwari, head of public communication and relations at the NAEB, the decision to increase the price by the government aims to...

The Land Policy Initiative (LPI), a joint programme of the tripartite consortium consisting of the African Union Commission (AUC), the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) has launched a pilot project to track progress in implementing in the AU Declaration on land issues in Africa. This was revealed by the ECA in a press statement dated March...

According to the president of the expert surveyors’ order of Madagascar, 80% of land-related conflicts are due to the lack of competence of surveyors in charge of cases and affairs related to public domains, L’Express de Madagascar reports. “80% of these conflicts results from the fact that the surveyor who was in charge of the case that is the subject of conflict, does not possess the...

The Nigerian National assembly has revealed plans to amend laws on power generation, transmission and distribution in the country. This is aimed at following in the footsteps of Germans who allow residents to combine efforts and local resources to generate clean and renewable energy. According to Bukola Saraki (photo), President of the Nigerian Senate, the project can be achieved in Nigeria if...