Author: Ogochukwu Ndubuisi

Lagos N3trn Budget for 2025 Scales 2nd Reading The 2025 Appropriation Bill of N3.005 trillion presented by Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has scaled the second reading at the state’s House of Assembly. The House made this known on Monday at a plenary presided by the Speaker, Mr Mudashiru Obasa, at the assembly’s complex in Ikeja. Sanwo-Olu told the lawmakers at the budget presentation on Thursday that the budget aims to achieve a 59 per cent capital expenditure and 41 per cent recurrent expenditure ratio. The governor added that this is with deficit financing to be sourced through external…

40% of African Nations in Debt Crisis – ECA The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) says 40 per cent of African nations are in debt distress or at high risk, with most spending more on debt interest payments than on critical sectors. Hanan Morsy, Deputy Executive Secretary and Chief Economist at the ECA, said this at the ongoing 2024 African Economic Conference (AEC). The conference is themed: “Securing Africa’s Economic Future Amidst Rising Uncertainty.” She spoke during the conference’s Fireside Chat on Global Financial Architecture Reform Agenda: A Focus on Debt and Tax. The conference is co-hosted by…

After the spot rate on one-year bills was raised by 50 basis points to 23.50% at the primary market auction last week,

As liquidity conditions continued to be severely strained, money market rates rose and trended above 32% each. 

Investors on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) platform lost about N134 billion due to last minute selloffs in the equities market on Friday. 

Bank of Industry Raises $5bn, Plans N120bn MSME Support The Managing Director of Bank of Industry (BoI), Mr Olasupo Olusi, says the bank has raised over $5 billion from the international capital markets through Eurobonds, loan syndications, and green finance instruments since 2017. Olusi made this known on Thursday at the BoI’s 65th anniversary news conference in Lagos. He highlighted the bank’s evolution from its establishment as the Investment Company of Nigeria (ICON) in 1959 to its transformation into the Bank of Industry in 2001. Olusi noted that the bank also concluded global loan syndication that raised not less than…

The Senate has approved the new external borrowing plan request of $2.2 billion presented for consideration by President Bola Tinubu.

Design & Build Expo: SABA Steel, Coleman Others Partner Ecobank Leading global brands in the building, design and finance sectors are partnering with Ecobank Nigeria for its inaugural Design & Build Expo. Key partners include SABA Steel, Nigeria’s largest steel manufacturer; Coleman Wire & Cables, the leading cable producer in West Africa; Donna Spectre, a prominent indigenous oil and gas logistics company; Dulux Paints, a top paint brand in Nigeria. Others are HTL Africa, a forward-thinking architectural firm; ITB Nigeria Limited, leading Construction Company in Nigeria and West Africa; Mota Engil Nigeria, a civil construction company; and Chapel Hill Denham, …

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd. (NNPC) has officially unveiled its latest crude oil grade, the Utapate crude oil blend to the international crude oil market.

Import Licence: NNPC Asks Court to Strike Out Dangote Refinery’s Suit The Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) has asked a Federal High Court in Abuja to strike out a suit filed by Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE, describing it as “incompetent.” The NNPCL, in a notice of preliminary objection filed by its team of lawyers led by Kehinde Ogunwumiju, SAN, before Justice Inyang Ekwo, argued that the suit is premature. The application, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1324/2024 dated and filed on Nov. 15, was sighted on Wednesday. NNPCL seeks two orders, which include an order of the honourable court striking out…