Victor EzejaHere we present to you the top 10 Business stories from Nigerian newspapers today, 19 December 2023.
1. TotalEnergies Pledges $6bn Investments In Nigeria’s Oil, Gas Industry
French multinational energy giant, TotalEnergies, has pledged to invest the sum of $6 billion in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
The French company said its head Patrick Pouyanne had met with Nigeria President Bola Tinubu in Abuja on Monday, adding that it had signed a co-operation agreement with the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to carry out methane detection and measurement campaigns using its advanced drone-based AUSEA technology on oil and gas facilities in Nigeria.
According to the Presidency, the $6 billion investment will focus on offshore oil projects and gas production.
READ ALSO: Oil Theft Continues To Frustrate Nigeria’s Efforts To Ramp Up Production
2. Naira Scarcity: POS Operators Raise Charges By Over 50%
As the recent resurgence of naira scarcity lingers in parts of the country, there are indications that Point of Sale (POS) Operators have increased their charges for transactions to over 50 per cent.
This is as customers endure long queues at Automated Telling Machine points in various bank branches across the country struggling to make withdrawals.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had assured that there is enough cash in circulation, blaming the current scarcity on hoarding by customers.
There are concerns that as the festive season approaches, the scarcity would have more negative impact on Nigerians who depend on cash for their transactions.
3. MTN, Airtel, Other MNOs to fully Bar SIMs not Linked with NIN by February 2024
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has directed all mobile telecommunications operators in Nigeria, including MTN, Airtel, and Globacom, among others to fully bar all phone lines used by subscribers that are yet to submit their national identification numbers (NINs) for verification by February 28, 2024.
The Commission also ordered the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to bar mobile phones lines used by subscribers who have submitted NINs but not verified on or before 29 March 2024.
This latest directive follows the NCC’s directive on 4 April 2022 requiring operators to restrict outgoing calls (one-way barring) for subscribers whose lines are not linked with NININs.
4. Nigerians Tackle NAFDAC, SON, Over Proliferation Of Fake Wine Factory
Nigerians have taken to social media to berate the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) over the proliferation of fake and substandard wine products in parts of the country.
NAFDAC recently cracked down on counterfeit wine factories and other items in Aba, a commercial city in Abia State.
READ ALSO: NAFDAC Lists Benefits Of WHO Prequalification Status For Its Drug Testing Lab
Many who reacted to it on X, expressed concerns over the lapse in regulatory oversight by NAFDAC and also SON leading to the number of counterfeit products flooding the markets rising to such an alarming level.
5. Deputy Senate President moves to stop ShopRite Exit from Kano in 2024
Following the news on the plans by multinational chain store operator, ShopRite, to exit from Kano mall in January 2024, Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jubrin, has promised to make efforts to stop it.
This was contained in a statement by Senator Barau’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ismail Mudashi, who said the Senate President will meet with the key players of the management to intervene in the matter in the coming week.
The supermarket recently announced its intention to cease operations in Ado Bayero, Kano, beginning on January 14, 2024 citing the worsening economic condition in the country.
6. Court Freezes Accounts of Oyo State Government in 10 Banks over N3.5bn Debt
The Federal Capital Territory, Abuja High Court has issued an order freezing the accounts of the Oyo State Government in 10 commercial banks in the Nigeria over an outstanding N3.5 billion judgement debt.
The order was issued by Justice Anitte Ebong in a ruling on a garnishee proceeding initiated by ex-council leaders in Oyo State, sacked on May 29, 2019, by Governor Seyi Makinde.
The sacked Local Government Chairmen and Councillors, had in 2021, gotten a N4.9 billion judgement against Governor Makinde as well as other and agencies of the state.
7. Tinubu Inaugurates NNPCL Board, Emphasises Performance
President Bola Tinubu has inaugurated a new board of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), charging the members to swing into action to improve the oil and gas sector.
While threatening that the Federal Government could dissolve the board without prior notice if it records poor performance, Tinubu directed that more attention should be given to gas as Nigeria transitions to cleaner energy.
Chairman of the of the Board, Pius Akinyelure, who commended the President for taking the bold decision to remove petrol subsidy, hinted that their focus would be to increase oil production.
8. Nigeria Records N7.5trn Trade Deficit with China
An analysis of data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) show that the trade balance between Nigeria and China increased to N7.54 trillion in the first nine months of 2023.
The data showed that the bilateral trade deficit has widened in favour of china as Nigeria’s imports continue to increase.
The foreign trade statistics released by the Bureau showed that Nigeria imported N8.4 trilliom worth of goods from China in the nine months between January and September 2023 while exports to the Asian country was valued at a total of N860.82 billion for first, second and third quarters of 2023.
9. Forex scarcity: Aviation fuel import Drops 26.6% to N358bn
The import of Aviation fuel also known as Jet-A1 into Nigeria dropped by 26.58 per cent to N358.08 billion in the first nine months of 2023, highlighting foreign exchange scarcity in the aviation sector.
10. Lagos IGR higher than 30 States IGR Put Together – Report
The Lagos State government recorded N651 billion in 2022 as Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) making it the highest among the 36 states of the federation.
This was revealed in the 2022 Annual States Viability Index (ASVI) report released by the Economic Confidential.
According to the report, 36 states generated the sum of N1.8 trillion, against N5.72 trillion received from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) in the year under review.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
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