Author: Ogochukwu Ndubuisi

Lagos Assembly Impeaches Speaker, Elects Deputy as Replacement Lagos State House of Assembly has impeached its Speaker, Mr Mudashiru Obasa . The House impeached Obasa at an emergency plenary in Ikeja on Monday. The Deputy Speaker, Mrs Mojisola Meranda(APC-Apapa 1) was subsequently elected and sworn in by the lawmakers as new Speaker . The Clerk of the House, Mr Olalekan Onafeko , was also suspended indefinitely, while the Chief Whip of the House, Mr Mojeed Fatai, was elected the new Deputy Speaker. Security officials have taken over the premises of the Assembly to forestall any breakdown of law and order…

TotalEnergies Targets N2.4bn Profit in Q1 TotalEnergies Marketing Nigeria Plc has forecasted N2.4 billion as its first quarter of financial year 2025 profit. In a regulatory filing, TotalEnergies Plc estimated its revenue will print at N213.910 billion in the first three months of operations in 2025. Its costs of sales is forecasted to reach N178.44 billion in the first quarter of the year, leaving the company with N35.47 billion as gross profit for the period. TotalEnergies expects total operating expenses to settle at N24.149 billion in the same period. Operating income is estimated to reach N11.320 billion. Further details in…

Bitcoin Falls to $90,500 as Sell Pressures Heat Up The market price of Bitcoin fell to $90,500 level during early trading hours on Monday as sell pressures persisted on the back of global economic uncertainties. Retail selloffs have been heated up due to weakening cryptos’ investors’ sentiment. The major digital asset slump has reduced the value of all cryptocurrencies.  Bitcoin (BTC-USD) has lost about 4% in the last 24 hours in the crypto market, settling at the $90,500 level at the press time. The world’s largest digital asset by market valuation has lost about 9% of its market value in…

Boeing to Assist Airlines in Nigeria in Accessing Aircraft Insurance Cover Boeing International Corporation says it is ready to assist airlines in Nigeria in accessing adequate aircraft insurance coverage through partnership with buoyant lessors and global financiers. Mr Moore Ibekwe, Boeing Sales Director, Africa Region Commercial Airlines, disclosed this in Dublin, Ireland during the start off meeting of the “Boeing Lessor Forum “scheduled to hold from Jan. 12 to Jan.15. The forum presents a unique opportunity for Nigeria to showcase its reforms in the aviation sector toward forging strategic alliances. According to Ibekwe, such effort will contribute significantly to enabling…

Naira Loses N9 as Nigeria’s FX Utilisation Jumps by 10% The naira lost about N9 on each US dollar paired in the foreign exchange market last week on the back of weak FX liquidity on the supply side. FX spot data revealed that the local currency was down by N8.98 to close at N1,543.03 in the official market amidst first intervention sales by the Central Bank. According to channel check, the exchange rate at the parallel market was stable at N1,655 in the absence of demand shock. As a result, the spread between the two markets narrowed to 7.26% from…

Nigeria’s Inflation Rate for Dec. Estimated to Reach 35.20% Nigeria’s inflation rate for December is expected to climb to 35.20%, analysts at Cowry Asset Limited said in a note. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is set to release its December 2024 inflation report, and early projections from Cowry Research suggest a rise in headline inflation to 35.20%, up from 34.60% recorded in November 2024. According to analysts, this marks a continuation of the inflationary trend observed over the past months. The annual average inflation rate for 2024 is also expected to climb significantly, Cowry said, reaching 33.21%, compared to…

BIPC to Establish Trust Fund for Young Entrepreneurs The Benue Investment and Property Company Limited (BIPC) says it would soon establish the BIPC Trust Fund to provide financial support and resources for young entrepreneurs. The Managing Director of BIPC, Mr Raymond Asemakaha, made the disclosure on Saturday during a virtual town hall meeting tagged “Advancing Economic Development in Benue State: Our Recent Achievements and the Future Outlook.” Asemakaha said that the establishment of the trust fund was to enable the young entrepreneurs to start up their own businesses. “By redirecting Benue youths into the business ecosystem, BIPC aims to create…

Nigeria, U.S. Sign Agreement on Repatriation of $52.88m Corruption Proceeds The Federal Government and the U.S. Government have signed an agreement for the repatriation of not less than 52.88 million dollars in forfeited corruption proceeds to Nigeria. Mr Kimiebi Ebienfa, Acting Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday in Abuja, Ebienfa stated that the agreement was signed by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, and the U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Richard Mills Jr. He further stated that signing of the agreement marked significant shared investment in Nigeria’s…

Fed. Govt. to Partner UN to Lift Nigerians Out of Poverty The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to partner with the United Nations (UN) to provide long-lasting solutions to help lift millions of Nigerians out of poverty. Prof. Nantawe Yilwatda, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, disclosed this on Friday while fielding questions from newsmen in Abuja. He disclosed it shortly after his meeting with Amina Mohammed, the Deputy UN Secretary-General. Yilwatda said that the UN had been a longstanding ally of the ministry and had helped government in actualising some of its social intervention programmes. The minister…

NGX Index Dips as Equities Investors Lose N49bn The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) index declined as sell pressure knocked off N49 billion from the equities market capitalisation on Friday. The local bourse closed the week on a negative note, as key market performance indicators dropped by -0.08% apiece on the final trading day this week. Despite today’s downturn, the market recorded an impressive week-on-week basis growth of 1.80%, fuelled by investors’ renewed buying interest in some medium- and large-cap stocks. Today, the market index, or All-Share Index, decreased by 79.68 basis points to close at 105,451.06, according to data from the…