MAW Royal Media

AfCFTA’ll create more jobs locally –Secretary-General   The African Continental Free Trade Agreement will create more jobs and attract investments in the local markets of participating countries, the Secretary-General of the AfCFTA secretariat, Wamkele Mene, said on Monday. Mene, who said this at a press conference in Abuja, stated that the secretariat had been working hard to establish mechanisms that would prevent job losses.  He said, “We don’t want this agreement to lead to job losses. We want this agreement to create jobs. “Therefore we have to work extremely hard to establish mechanisms for employment, not mechanisms that would lead to job losses in the local market.” He said the agreement was inclusive for all African countries with every segments of the economy benefiting from it. Mene said, “My mission is that this agreement when being implemented, every country benefits both big and small and that every segment of the economy also benefits. “If we do not ...

NSE vows to enhance retail investment opportunities   The Nigerian Stock Exchange has expressed its commitment to redefining and improving investors’ overall experience in the Nigerian capital market, and ensuring that it remains modern, convenient and secure. This was highlighted at the inaugural edition of the Retail Investors’ Webinar hosted by the Exchange in collaboration with the Nigerian International Securities Limited on Monday. The event, with the theme ‘Capital market investing in a digital age’, was supported by the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers and the Association of Securities Dealing Houses of Nigeria. Speaking during the webinar, the Chief Executive Officer, NSE, Mr Oscar Onyema, said, “Investor participation is central to the growth and sustainable development of any economy. “The Exchange is, therefore, committed to facilitating conversations that will expound on the retail investment opportunities available in the capital market and the chann...

Petrol scarcity looms as tanker drivers halt operations   Petrol scarcity may surface across the country as the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners on Monday ordered tanker drivers nationwide to halt operations beginning from Tuesday (today). NARTO gave the directive in Abuja in protest against the Federal Government’s ban on petroleum trucks above 45,000 litres from plying Nigerian roads. NARTO is the umbrella organisation of all commercial vehicles owners in Nigeria engaged in the haulage of petroleum products, general cargoes, and movement of goods and passengers within the country and the West-African sub-region. Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja, NARTO’s National President, Yusuf Othman, said members of the association would have to park their trucks on Tuesday and Wednesday as warning to government against the abrupt ban. He said, “NARTO received with grave shock the recent government decision to place immediate ban on all petroleum trucks above 45,...

CBN decries speculation as naira plunges, exchanges for 465/$   Declining export receipts from oil and speculative activities of the Bureau De Change operators among other challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy will put more pressure on the naira. The Central Bank of Nigeria said this in its report on ‘Monetary, credit, foreign trade and exchange policy guidelines for fiscal years 2020/2021’. The value of the naira plunged further as it exchanged at 465/$ on the parallel market on Monday, after it exchanged at 460/$ on Thursday. It had earlier exchange at 430/$ when the CBN commenced forex sales to the BDCs earlier in September. Sequel to the COVID-19 pandemic, it said, the viability of the external sector in 2020 was expected to deteriorate, given the present worsening current account balance and depletion of external reserves driven, largely, by decelerating export receipts, particularly oil. Specifically, it added, the degree of external reserves accumula...

Petrol subsidy gulped N8.94tn in 10 years, says PPPRA   The Federal Government spent N8.94tn on petrol subsidy between 2006 and 2015, figures released by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency on Monday showed. Data from the PPPRA showed that during the 10-year period, the government consistently spent billions of naira subsidising Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol. It said that in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010, the government spent N257.36bn, N271.51bn, N630.57bn, N469.31bn and N667.08bn respectively. Also in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015, the government paid N2.104tn, N1.354tn, N1.315tn, N1.217tn and N653.51bn respectively on petrol subsidy. The PPPRA had in March commenced the deregulation of the downstream oil sector in a bid to halt the continued payment of subsidy. Before March, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, the sole importer of petrol into Nigeria, had been recording under-recoveries as a result of its subsidy spendings ...

ACCESS BANK TO HOLD FOURTH EDITION OF BUSINESS CLINIC. The MSME arm of one of the leading New Generation Banks in Nigeria, Access Bank Plc will hold its fourth edition of its specialized virtual business training session on Thursday 24 th September 2020. The Sessions which is tagged Access Digital Business Clinic is open for Macro, Small and Medium Entrepreneurs from across Nigeria According to the facilitators of the training, the clinic is a one-on-one business consulting and advisory sessions with experts, who will diagnose and proffer practical and tailor-made solutions to the challenges that MSME owners might be experiencing in the course of running your business.  However to gain access into the Business Clinic and to have a better understanding of what to expect at the Business clinic, the bank will be holding a virtual technical test session on Tuesday, 22 nd September, 2020, time: 2:00PM - 2:30PM. To register or join the Live Test Session visit: https://te...

FG Opens Application Portal for N75 Billion MSME Survival Fund 10pm Today, Releases Time-table for Payroll Support Scheme for different sectors     The Federal Government of Nigeria has disclosed that the registration portal for the MSME Survival Fund will open at 10pm, Monday, September 21, 2020. According to a statement issued on Sunday by the Project Delivery Office, the portal which opens at 10 PM, will have educational institutions as the first category of beneficiaries to register. “In order to ensure seamless registration process, the Project Delivery Office (PDO) has designed a registration schedule. “Registration for Payroll Support will start with educational institutions on Monday and will be followed with businesses in the hospitality industry on Friday September 25 beginning from 12 A.M. “The portal will also be open to other category of small businesses from 12 A.M., on Monday September 28, 2020,” the statement said. Features –  Payroll Suppor...