Operators in the manufacturing, power, and digital industries may face harsher rules in this year for the benefit of consumers, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has revealed. According to the Vice Chairman/CEO, FCCPC, Mr Babatunde Irukera, there would also be increased collaboration, particularly with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, and others to strengthen the commission’s regulatory authority. In a statement, Irukera said that the FCCPC started a more thorough investigation and examination of the actions of the digital lenders, the fast-moving consumer goods industry, and the electricity…
Author: Elvis Eromosele
Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development is contributing Euro 2.85 million to the Standards and Trade Development Facility over a period of four years (2022-2025). The fund is to facilitate safe and inclusive agricultural trade in developing and least-developed countries aimed at helping them to meet international food safety, animal, and plant health standards. The World Trade Organisation Director-General, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was quoted in a statement as saying, “I thank Germany for its generous and longstanding support to developing countries and LDCs in strengthening their compliance with sanitary and phytosanitary measures. “When farmers are empowered to meet…
Airtel Nigeria on Monday announced the acquisition of 5G spectrum and an additional spectrum for its 4G network for a total sum of $316.7 million. The firm’s shares climbed 5.2 per cent to N1,630 per unit on the Nigerian Stock Exchange at 13:28 WAT after the news hit the market, pushing its market value above N6.1 trillion, the biggest by any publicly traded company in the country. According to a statement by the local unit of Airtel Africa, the decision is part of its commitment to deepen higher-speed connectivity in Nigeria by way of 5G cellular technology. The company said…
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has taken delivery of two brand new 150 MVA, 330/132/33kV power transformers and accessories at its Central Store, Ojo, Lagos State. General Manager, Public Affairs, TCN, Ndidi Mbah, in a statement, said that the two 150MVA power transformers and accessories were delivered to the store from the Tincan Island Port, Apapa, Lagos. According to her, TCN also has another two 150MVA power transformers awaiting delivery to the store in Ojo at the Lagos port even as it is expecting the arrival of different capacities of transformers and accessories to berth at the port very…
A Pension Fund Administrator (PFA), Premium Pension Limited, has strengthened its financial position in the pension industry, as its Assets Under Management (AUM) increased by over N1 trillion. The firm’s Head, Corporate Communications, Aliyu Mohammed Ali, disclosed this at the weekend. He said the firm is among three PFAs out of a total number of 19 that are in the trillion-AUM category. According to him, Premium Pension is the first indigenous-owned PFA to attain over N1 trillion AUM without any form of the business combination. He stressed that the firm prides itself as a pacesetter on several performance metrics. One…
The Central Bank of Nigeria’s policy on restriction on daily cash withdrawal took off across the country on Monday, January 9, 2023. By the development, the maximum weekly limit for cash withdrawals across all channels by individuals and corporate organisations is N500,000 and N5 million, respectively. Individuals or organisations that have a compelling need to withdraw above the approved limits to transact legitimate businesses will have to pay a processing fee of three per cent and five per cent respectively. The financial institutions are also expected to obtain the following information from the customer, at the minimum, and upload the…
The World Bank has ranked Nigeria 132 out of 136 countries in infrastructural development. While asserting that the country’s infrastructural deficit would likely reach $3 trillion in the next 30 years, the Bank noted that Nigeria’s development index is among the lowest in the world. Going by the current rate of expenditure allocation for infrastructure, the Washington-based bank noted that “it would take 300 years to close the country’s current infrastructure gap”. “Closing Nigeria’s infrastructure gap would cost at least four per cent of GDP growth per year.” the report added. Investors King understands that infrastructure deficit and lack of…
Nigeria’s Debt Management Office (DMO) on Thursday said that the next administration will inherit a public debt of N77 trillion if the N23 trillion loans from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) are securitised. The Director-General of the DMO, Patience Oniha, made this known in a statement on Thursday. In recent weeks, there have been heated debates on the sustainability of Nigeria’s debt amid shrinking revenue and mounting CBN loans. Last week, President Muhammadu Buhari requested a delayed approval for the N23.7 trillion loan that had already been spent, causing an uproar in the Senate. Lawmakers rejected the request and…
The National Pension Commission has revealed that the federal government released N13.89 billion for the payment of the pension of retired workers in the country. The payment is for the accrued pension rights (ACR) of retirees of treasury-funded ministries, departments and agencies (MDA’s) in 2022, the commission said. In a statement signed by the management, PenCom said the payment will cover employee benefits up to June 2004, when the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) came into effect. The CPS was established under the Pension Reform Act of 2004, which was repealed and replaced with the Pension Reform Act in 2014. It mandates…
The Independent National Electronic Commission expressed concern this week about the number of uncollected PVCs across the country. There are 6.7 million uncollected PVCs across 17 states and the Federal Capital Territory with less than two months until the general elections. Although INEC expects the number to drop significantly before the deadline of January 22, the commission suspects that citizens have become unwilling to visit state offices. INEC is eager to avoid repeats of voter apathy and has announced plans to devolve collection to the ward and local government levels in the coming weeks. According to data from the 2019 presidential…