In the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly, which ended in New York recently, high-level representatives from governments, civil society, the private sector, philanthropy and international organisations agreed to scale up efforts to build safe, trusted and inclusive digital public infrastructure (DPI) to achieve a more sustainable and equitable world. In furtherance of these efforts, they committed to sharing digital public goods, knowledge, and learnings, while providing an initial $295 million in funding to support the development and adoption of inclusive DPI, scaling technical assistance and deeper capacity building. The event with the theme, ‘the future of digital…
Author: Elvis Eromosele
The Lagos State Government through the State Employment Trust Fund has supported 3,673 businesses with the sum of N1.56 Billion as grants and provided mentorship and business advisory to young people to start and grow their businesses. The Governor disclosed this today at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI)/Lagos Economic Summit Group (LESG) Private-Public Partnership Pre-Ehingbeti Stakeholders Engagement, with the theme: “Building a Sustainable Future for a Greater Lagos”, held at the Commerce House, Victoria Island Lagos. The Governor, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat added that the State Government has also supported…
…€7.5 million earmarked for Nigeria The European Commission has allocated €600 million from the European Development Fund to finance immediate humanitarian food aid, food production and resilience of food systems in the most vulnerable countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP). This will help partner countries and vulnerable people to cope with the unjust consequences of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, notably the current food security crisis and related economic shock. Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen stated: “The EU’s swift and comprehensive response to the current food insecurity in several vulnerable partner countries of the African,…
Over 50 winners have emerged as instant Millionaires of Dangote Cement Plc. in the Northeast Region, according to the company in a statement on Monday. The statement said a Winner’s event attended by a large number of people from seven states of the Northeast, to celebrate the lucky winners was held in Jos, Plateau state last Thursday. It would be recalled that, on Wednesday, a similar event was organized in Sagamu, Ogun State, and while two people won N5 million each, a total of five people won N1 million each, and hundreds of other customers won different prizes, including television…
Nigeria’s tax collection agency has attributed the low level of tax compliance in the country and others developing countries to the failure of the social contract between taxpayers and the government. According to the chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Muhammad Nami. it is expected that if the citizens are committed to paying taxes, the government should be committed to using the taxes for the common good of all citizens. Nami, who spoke at the launch of the Public Finance Database by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) in Abuja, noted that when governments deploy tax revenues for the…
As part of efforts to foster a safer, more inclusive payments ecosystem, Interswitch, Africa’s leading integrated payments and digital commerce company, in collaboration with Providus Bank, has emphasized the need for heightened focus on security in the payments ecosystem. This submission was made at the official unveiling of the tokenization solution jointly developed by Interswitch, Providus Bank, Mastercard, and Thales, where industry experts also gathered to discuss current and future trends in the payments space. One of the key trends highlighted at the event was the demand for more convenient, accessible, and secure means of conducting everyday financial transactions by…
The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has revealed that N673.137 billion was shared among the three tiers of government as federation allocation for August. This was contained in a statement issued by the Director of Information and Press, Phil Abiamuwe-Mowete, on Friday. The statement revealed that the Federal Government received the larger share of N259.641 billion, the states received N222.949 billion, and the Local Government Councils received N164.247 billion. Adding that the N673.137 billion was inclusive of Gross Statutory Revenue, Value Added Tax, and augmentation of Non-Oil Excess Revenue. The statement indicated that the Gross Revenue available from the VAT…
By Elvis Eromosele Universal access to financial services is today widely regarded as a fundamental human right. Firms helping to drive access to financial services are highly regarded as enablers of financial inclusion. “Financial inclusion,” according to the World Bank, “means that individuals and businesses have access to useful and affordable financial products and services that meet their needs – transactions, payments, savings, credit and insurance – delivered responsibly and sustainably.” It is viewed as a key enabler in reducing poverty and boosting prosperity. Across developing countries, fintechs are at the forefront of bridging the financial inclusion gap. Over the…
Roger Federer said on social media last week that he was ready to retire, and now the fateful day is here: The 41-year-old tennis legend will take the court for the final time as a professional on Friday alongside Rafael Nadal in a doubles match in London at the Laver Cup, the international team tournament he cofounded in 2017. Federer, who has been sidelined by a knee injury since reaching the Wimbledon quarterfinals in July 2021, is among the most accomplished players in the history of the sport when judged by his on-court exploits. However, there’s no debate off the…
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has said power consumers paid a total of N210.17bn to distribution companies in the fourth quarter of last year. It disclosed this in its Quarterly Report for Fourth Quarter 2021 released on Thursday, noting that the N210.17bn represented 9.34 per cent of the total electricity bill given to consumers by electricity distribution companies during the period. “The total revenue collected by all Discos in 2021/Q4 was N210.17bn out of N303.11bn billed to customers – corresponding to a collection efficiency of 69.34 per cent (70.89 per cent in 2021/Q3),” the regulator stated. It added, “Compared to…