Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), has unveiled his eagerly-awaited manifesto. The 72-page manifesto, titled ‘It’s POssible: Our Pact with Nigerians’, was released on Sunday. The manifesto listed seven priority areas that Obi’s administration would concentrate on if elected president. Here are some of the highlights of the manifesto. One of the priorities of the manifesto is to shift emphasis from production to consumption by creating a production-centred economy driven by an agrarian revolution and export-oriented industrialisation. The former Anambra governor promised to “aggressively” pursue policies and programmes that will enhance the productivity of all sectors of…
Author: Elvis Eromosele
The Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), the regulator of Nigeria’s burgeoning telecommunications sector, is set to roll out two additional 3.5GHz spectrum licenses for the Fifth Generation (5G) licenses in 2023. This is in furtherance of the Commission’s determination to fast-track the achievement of the National Digital transformation agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari’s government. Professor Umar Garba Danbatta, Executive Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (EVC/CEO), NCC, revealed this at the TechTV, Digital Agenda Forum which held in Lagos last week. The session, which had the theme “Looking Forward 2023 – Convergence of 5G, AI, IoT & Blockchain.” was a platform to…
By Elvis Eromosele Barring any unforeseen, the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) will grant licenses to companies to operate as Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) before the end of this year. The telecom regulator insists that this is part of a strategic effort to ensure the provision of qualitative and efficient telecommunications services throughout the country. Professor Umar Garba Danbatta, Executive Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (EVC/CEO), NCC, revealed this at the Business Remarks Telecom Sector Sustainability Forum (TSSF) in Lagos this week with the theme “Creating Awareness and Ensuring Sustainability of Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) in Nigeria’s 5G Ecosystem”. The…
Remittances to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) withstood global headwinds in 2022, growing an estimated 5 per cent to $626 billion. This is sharply lower than the 10.2 per cent increase in 2021, according to the latest World Bank Migration and Development Brief. Remittances to Sub-Saharan Africa, the region most highly exposed to the effects of the global crisis, grew an estimated 5.2 per cent to $53 billion in 2022, compared with 16.4 per cent last year (due mainly to strong flows to Nigeria and Kenya). Remittances in 2023 are projected to soften to 3.9 per cent growth as adverse…
The Nigerian government and fuel marketers have offered varying explanations for the ongoing fuel scarcity that has affected states across the country for weeks without reprieve with pump price hitting N270 in many places. While the NNPC said the queues in Lagos and Abuja are largely due to ongoing “road infrastructure projects” around Apapa and access road challenges in some parts of Lagos depots, major marketing group IPMAN said it was caused by high prices imposed by fuel depot owners who store the product for the NNPC. In the past weeks, long queues returned to filling stations in many cities…
The Osun government says the immediate past administration of Gboyega Oyetola left a debt of N75.25 billion in salaries and pensions. Olawale Rasheed, spokesperson to Ademola Adeleke, the Osun governor, in a statement, Thursday, said the figure was made public during a meeting with permanent secretaries of ministries on the financial status of the state. “The Osun state government has uncovered a monumental debt in salaries, pensions, and insurance commitments incurred by the administration of Mr Gboyega Oyetola amounting to N76 billion,” the statement reads. “This revelation was made by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Mrs Bimpe Ogunlumade, while…
Japan, on Thursday, stunned Spain, 2-1, to emerge winner of Group E and proceed to the World Cup last 16. Spain in spite of the loss staggered through to the World Cup last 16 with four-time champions Germany eliminated. Japan has earlier beaten Germany in their opening game and their progression from the “group of death” is regarded as perhaps one of the most outstanding achievements in the country’s footballing history. For a few heart-stopping minutes Spain was poised to head out when Costa Rica was leading in the other game, but the 2010 champions squeezed through after Germany did them…
By Elvis Eromosele Last week, I passed by the ever-busy Computer Village and saw shop after shop loaded floor to top with laptops. I thought to myself, what happens if there is an incident, say fire? Do they have insurance? I shuddered to think of the sheer loss. While insurance is not new in Nigeria, plenty of people disagree with its acclaimed importance. Records show that the insurance business has existed in one form or the other in the country since 1958. What is amazing is that after such a long time, the sector is still struggling to overcome the…
The Director of the Bank Examination Department, the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Company (NDIC), Michael Oladele, has disclosed that no less than N911.45 billion has been lost to various Ponzi schemes and related frauds across the country in the last 23 years. The revelation came as the NDIC sought stronger collaboration among relevant agencies in the financial regulatory space and public support to achieve a breakthrough in the war against Ponzi schemes. At the workshop for financial correspondents and business editors, which ended Wednesday, Oladele said promoters of the schemes have become so sophisticated and creative in their tricks that broad…
The Federal Government has approved the commencement of 14-working-day paternity leave for federal civil servants. The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan, said this on Monday in a circular with ref no: HCSF/SPSO/ODD/NCE/RR/650309/3, dated 25th November, 2022. The circular titled, ‘Computation of Leave Based on Working Days and Approval of Paternity Leave in the Public Service’, said that this was in line with the provisions of the Public Service Rules, 2021 Edition. “Government has also approved Paternity Leave for serving male officers whose spouse delivers a baby. The period of the leave shall be fourteen…