Nigeria’s inflation figure is approaching 21.82 per cent, a level not seen in about two decades, on the heels of the prolonged fuel crisis. The inflation rate is 6.22 percentage points higher compared to a year earlier when it was 15.6 per cent. According to the January Consumer Price Index (CPI) released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) yesterday, the composite food index also rose to 24.32 per cent year-on-year (y/y), which is also the highest in decades. Core inflation, which is the segment stripped of volatile items such as food and energy, was 19.16 per cent. The figure is…
Author: Elvis Eromosele
Press Statement The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been drawn to a misleading report misquoting the Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, as attributing the current challenge in the distribution of the newly redesigned naira banknotes to a shortage of printing materials at the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company Plc. We wish to state categorically that at no time did the CBN Governor disclose this during his presentation to the National Council of State at its meeting on Friday, February 10, 2023. For the records, what Mr. Emefiele told the meeting was that the NSPMC was working…
Godwin Obaseki, Executive Governor of Edo State has announced that beginning March 1st, 2023, the state government would prohibit using cash in government offices. Governor Obaseki disclosed this Thursday during a Code of Ethics engagement with senior management staff of the Edo State civil/public service as part of the state government’s transformation enhancement programme (Edo STEP), held at the Government House in Benin City. According to the governor, “I have issued a circular that effective March 1st, government offices will be prohibited from using cash. The government is pushing toward a cashless economy. So, why must the service dodge transparency?…
The Federal Government, through the National Population Commission (NPC), has signed a landmark deal with Nigeria’s integrated technology brand, Zinox, for the supply of the tech components and other accessories for the 2023 national census project, further justifying President Muhammadu Buhari administration’s commitment on local content promotion. The contract, worth over N85 billion, was awarded to Zinox after ratification by the Federal Executive Council (FEC). In a statement from Zinox, the company said it has already commenced supply of the first batch of about 100,000 units of the Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) devices required for the nationwide enumeration, adding that…
The scarcity of the Nigerian Naira occasioned by the Central Bank of Nigeria’s redesign and cash withdrawal policy has pushed Point of Sales transactions to N807.16bn in January 2023. This is a 40.69 per cent year-on-year increase from the N573.72bn transactions that were done in January 2022. According to new data from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System, total cashless transactions in Nigeria rose by 45.41 per cent y-o-y to N39.58tn in January 2023. The NIBSS monitors cashless transactions through the Nigeria Instant Payment System and Point of Sales terminals. Total NIP transactions for the period rose by 45.52 per cent…
Some passengers of the Bus Rapid Transit in Lagos State, have commended the state government for giving them succour as the seven-day 50 per cent fare slash on state-run buses started Friday. The passengers spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos as Nigerians continued to face the cash and fuel scarcity gripping the country, which necessitated the state government’s action. A passenger who boarded the BRT to Lagos from Costain, Mr Jude Samuel, appreciated Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu for giving them relief when they needed it most. Samuel said he was happy to pay N200 to CMS instead of N400. Another…
By Elvis Eromosele The amount of queueing Nigerians have been subjected to in the last couple of weeks is unprecedented. It is equally unbecoming. It’s almost like the country had gone back four decades. Fights have broken out in queues at bank facilities, filling stations and INEC and LGAs offices across the country. There are trending videos of people stripping naked in protest inside banking halls, others hitting each other with queue dividers and one person has been confirmed dead inside a banking hall, somewhere in Asaba. Nigerians born in the 2000s, GenZs, should be forgiven for thinking the end…
…Nigeria lagging behind in cancer diagnosis, treatment, and survival rates. As Nigeria joins the rest of the world to commemorate the 2023 World Cancer Day (WCD), a group of cancer advocates has called for the timely release and full implementation of the cancer treatment fund. The advocates made the call on Saturday during a march to mark this year’s Cancer Day. The walk was organised by Project Pink Blue in partnership with other advocates. Speaking immediately after a 5km walk, Gloria Orji, the President, Network of People Impacted by Cancer in Nigeria (NEPICIN), said Nigeria bears a very high burden…
Elon Musk, Twitter owner, has announced that the platform will start sharing revenue from advertisements with some of its content creators with effect from Friday, February 3, 2023. Mr Musk noted that the new revenue-sharing will be open to subscribers of Twitter Blue Verified. In December last year, the company announced the relaunching of its monthly blue subscription. The initiative was announced a month after the company halted the service just days after its rollout. The company had earlier in November 2022 announced that the platform would charge users $8 monthly for its blue verification mark. Days after its rollout,…
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) last week awarded licences to investors to enable the country to take advantage of its vast gas deposit, almost seven years after the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration commenced Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme (NGFCP). Gbenga Komolafe, Chairman, NUPRC, said the award of licenses Coming at a time of energy crisis and transition and on the backdrop of the government’s decade of gas policy, the development seeks to tame decades of gas flaring in the oil-producing region and enable the federation to generate billions of dollars in investment and signature bonuses. He said the initiative…