Author: Ogochukwu Ndubuisi

Naira Tumbles, FX Shortage Stokes Pressure on Spot Rate The Nigerian local currency, the naira, tumbled against the US dollar for international transaction settlement at the official window on Friday over extended liquidity shortfall. The exchange rate direction signal of fx pressure at the official window has become more obvious as the Apex Bank intervention sales failed to quell demand and supply dislocation. The spot fx rate touched an intraday high of N1469.9000 per dollar after the authority strengthened US dollar volume at the supply side, a significant day-on-day depreciation from the previously quoted N1462. The Central Bank of Nigeria…

Nigerian Exchange Booms as Equity Investors Gain N1.08trn The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) entered into a boom with a significant surge in equity portfolio value on Friday, according to trading data.  Stockbrokers said the momentum was driven by investors taking positions ahead of the fourth quarter of financial year 2025 earnings release. With the expectation of better earnings, there was a significant surge in consumer goods stocks, and the market reported increased demand for industrial names.  Financial stocks gained investors’ attention, but sell pressures were seen in oil and gas stocks. The NGX All-Share Index surging 1.13% to 152,057.38 points, while…

State Police: What I Told U.S, European Partners – Tinubu President Bola Tinubu on Thursday said that he had assured the United States and European partners that his administration would implement state police to boost security in Nigeria. He said this during the 14th National Caucus meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC) held at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja. The president said he had a very long discussion with the country’s United States and European partners and assured them that state police would be used to improve security. ” They asked me if I’m confident and I said…

Putin to Hold Annual Press Conference Friday Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to hold his traditional annual press conference in Moscow on Friday, answering questions from national and foreign journalists on a range of topics over several hours. This year, the media spectacle will again be combined with the TV show “Direct Line,” in which Russian citizens can lament their problems, ask the head of the Kremlin for solutions, and quiz him on other issues. Russian state television reported that more than 2 million questions had been received in advance. Putin has been preparing for the event since Wednesday,…

Tinubu Convenes APC Caucus Ahead of NEC Meeting President Bola Tinubu on Thursday night convened a meeting of the National Caucus of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the State House, Abuja, ahead of the NEC meeting on Friday The strategic meeting was attended by key party leaders, including Vice President Kashim Shettima, former Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo and Senate President Godswill Akpabio. Other attendees included serving and former governors, National Assembly leaders and senior party stakeholders from across the geopolitical zones. The president used the occasion to charge governors on grassroots development and ensuring the full implementation of financial autonomy…

EU Agrees to Provide Ukraine With €90bn  The European Union (EU) has agreed to provide Ukraine with €90 billion ($105.5 billion) for the years 2026 and 2027, European Council President Antonio Costa has said. “We have a deal,” Costa said in a post on social media platform X in the early hours of Friday. “Decision to provide 90 billion euros of support to Ukraine for 2026-27 approved. We committed, we delivered.” EU leaders gathered in Brussels reached a compromise after plans to use billions of euros in frozen Russian state assets to cover Ukraine’s financing needs of the coming years…

PenCom Unveils PenCare Pilot for Low- Income Retirees in March Says DG The National Pension Commission (PenCom) will commence the pilot phase of the Pension Industry Healthcare Initiative (PenCare) in March 2026, targeting no fewer than 30,000 low-income retirees across the country. The initiative covers retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), Director-General of PenCom, Ms Omolola Oloworaran, disclosed this at the 2025 PenCom Media Conference held in Lagos on Thursday. The conference has the theme: “Pension Revolution Summit: A 365 Days Scorecard.” According to her, the initiative is designed to ease the healthcare burden of low income retirees, and…

Nestlé, Guinness, Others Lift Stock Market by N331bn The stock market closed bullish on Thursday, leading to N331 billion gains for investors. This marked the fourth consecutive positive rally in the week. The positive performance was driven by sustained investor’s interest in stocks like Nestlé Nigeria, Guinness Nigeria, Aluminium Extrusion Industries, Daar Communications, Mucure and 30 others. Specifically, the market capitalisation, which opened at N95.525 trillion, added 331 billion or 0.35 per cent to close at N95.856 trillion. The All-Share Index also gained by 0.35 per cent or 520.23 points, to settle at 150,363.05 against 149,842.82 recorded on Wednesday. As…

23 Ships Laden With Petroleum Products, Food Items Expected at Lagos Ports No fewer than 23 ships laden with petroleum products, food items and other goods are expected to arrive Apapa and Tin-Can Island Ports in Lagos from Dec. 18 to Dec. 26. The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) stated this in its publication,`Shipping Position’, a copy of which was made available to the News men on Thursday in Lagos. NPA explained that the expected ships contained buck wheat, bulk fertiliser, general cargo, bulk soya beans, fresh fish, containers, diesel and petrol. The document noted that four ships had arrived the…

Trump Vows Economic Boom, Blames Biden in Address to Nation U.S. President Donald Trump promised Americans an economic boom in an address to the nation on the night of Dec. 17, while blaming Democratic predecessor Joe Biden for high prices that have hit the Republican’s popularity. “Good evening, America. Eleven months ago, I inherited a mess, and I’m fixing it,” the 79-year-old said in his live speech from the White House at the end of his first year back in power. Trump faces growing voter anger over the issue of affordability despite his efforts to dismiss it as a “hoax”…