Author: Olu Anisere

FG Moves to Bridge Education, Labour Market Gap The Federal Government (FG) has reaffirmed its commitment to addressing the disconnect between formal education and labour market outcomes. Vice-President Kashim Shettima gave the assurance on Wednesday at a news conference held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Shettima was represented by the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Sen. Ibrahim Hadejia. He disclosed that the federal government would inaugurate Africa’s first University Innovation Pods (UNIPOD) at the University of Lagos on April 7. UNIPOD is an initiative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with the Federal Government of…

AI revenue from services is estimated to reach $1.4 trillion in 2030; a top global rating agency, Fitch, hinted at this in a commentary note on Wednesday.

PenCom Opens Pension Plan for Students, Infants The National Pension Commission (PenCom) says its Personal Pension Plan is now open to students and infants, encouraging Nigerians to begin retirement planning early. Director-General, Mrs Omolola Oloworaran, disclosed this after the second Pension Industry Leadership Council meeting in Lagos on Tuesday. Oloworaran said the move formed part of efforts to expand retirement savings and strengthen financial security across all segments of society. According to her, students and infants can contribute voluntarily, urging parents to enrol their children early to secure their financial future. “The Personal Pension Plan is available for everyone. Previous…

President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday received former Minister of Transportation, Sa’idu Alkali, at the State House ahead of Tuesday’s resignation deadline.

Naira Depreciates as Interbank Deals Sink on FX Shortage The naira maintained a downtrend against the US dollar for the second trading session at the Nigerian foreign exchange market (NFEM) on Tuesday. There are signs that the forex market’s liquidity shrank, as the number of interbank FX deals collapsed by 62% in 24 hours to 114. According to data published by the Central Bank, the official spot rate closed at N1386.72 per dollar, up from N1383.58 the previous day, reflecting increased demand for foreign payments. Naira wobbled at the official window last week despite the FX intervention operations that saw…

Dangote Refinery Obtains $4bn Syndicated Loans Led by Afreximbank African Export-Import Bank has underwritten $2.5 billion in a $4 billion senior syndicated term loan for Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals, in a move aimed at strengthening the refinery’s financial position and supporting its long-term growth and expansion strategy. The five-year facility, arranged alongside Access Bank as co-Mandated Lead Arrangers, is designed to consolidate existing debt, optimise the refinery’s capital structure and align its financing with current operational realities. The transaction marks a significant milestone for the Dangote Refinery, Africa’s largest refining and petrochemical complex with a capacity of 650,000 barrels…

CBN Raises N1.7trn from OMO Bills Sales to Banks, FPIs The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) conducted an open market operation on Monday, offering N600 billion in OMO bills across three tenors: 8-day, 99-day, and 120-day. The offer was made to deposit money banks (DMBs) and foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), the key eligible market participants at the auction. This auction aimed to reduce excess liquidity in the financial system and address expectations of additional OMO repayments. Reflecting a strong demand for the attractive yields, total subscriptions reached N1.9 trillion at the primary market auction conducted by the monetary authority. Ultimately,…

FG’s N501bn Bond to Resolve Power Sector Liquidity Challenges-Adviser The Federal Government’s N501.02 billion bond issuance has been described as a major milestone in Nigeria’s power sector reform agenda aimed at addressing longstanding liquidity challenges. Mr Bolaji Tunji, Special Adviser on Strategic Communications and Media Relations to the Minister of Power, Mr Adebayo Adelabu, said this in a statement on Monday in Abuja. Tunji said the bond issuance was central to restoring confidence in the electricity market and repositioning the sector for long-term sustainability. Tunji said that as reforms continued to unfold in the power sector, the bond stood out…

Nigerian Exchange Opens Negative, Investors Lose N275bn The equity segment of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) opened the week on a negative note as investors’ portfolio balance reduced by N275 billion on Monday. The local bourse slipped with the All-Share Index (ASI) declining 0.21% to close at 200,484.43 points, according to trading details from the local bourse. The selloffs pulled NGX’s year-to-date return backwards to +28.84% and erased ₦275.14 billion from market capitalisation, which settled at ₦128.69 trillion. Trading activity was mixed, as turnover and deal count rose 4.83% and 38.84% to ₦25.65 billion and 60,311 transactions, respectively, even as volume…

Nigeria Targets 7% GDP Growth, $14bn Infrastructure Boost— Edun The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, says Nigeria is targeting a seven per cent annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate. Edun also said the country requires about 14 billion dollars in annual investment to bridge its infrastructure gap. He said this on Monday in Lagos at the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Day, where he highlighted Nigeria’s deepening partnership with the bank. According to him, the seven per cent growth target is critical to reducing poverty and outpacing the country’s population growth rate of…