Victor Ezeja
Here we present to you the top 10 Business stories from Nigerian newspapers today, 20 December 2023.
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1. NLC Warns Nigerian Govt of Mass Protest, Cash Scarcity Worsens
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has warned the Nigerian government that the lingering scarcity of cash might lead to mass public protest if nothing is done to address it.
The citizens have been groaning over the shortage of cash. This is as banks have further cut withdrawal limits at both over-the-counter and Automated Teller Machine (ATM) points.
The concern rises more as Christmas approaches which involves a lot of spending involving cash.
2. Subscribers Seek Extension Of February Deadline for NIN-SIM Linkage
Following the announcement of the February 2024 deadline for linking National Identity Numbers (NIN) with Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) by users, customers have called on the Nigerian government to extend the deadline.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has directed Mobile Telecommunications Network operators including MTN, Airtel, and Globacom among others to fully block subscribers yet to link and verify their NINs by 28 February 2024.
Full blocking means barring both incoming and outgoing calls. Currently, those yet to link their SIMs with NIN, are only barred from making voice calls.
3. Power generation to drop by 676MW over plant maintenance
The Transmission Company has announced that the Egbin Power Station has been shut down to allow the Nigeria Gas Company to maintain a linking gas pipeline to the power plant.
TCN said this would lead to a reduction of 696 megawatts of electricity on the national power grid. Nigeria’s grid delivers between 3,500MW to 4,500MW daily.
4. Dangote Refinery gets another 1m barrels of crude oil, set to create more jobs
The Dangote Refinery on on Tuesday, took delivery of an additional one million barrels of crude oil as it prepares to begin production.
The new supply comes two weeks after the $19bn facility took delivery of the first cargo of one million barrels.
The refinery is making all efforts to meet its bid to commence operations before the end of the year as it missed the earlier schedule to begin in June.
5. Good Pricing Will Create Market For Gas In Nigeria – NNPCL
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), on Tuesday, said only appropriate pricing for gas in Nigeria would create the required market for the commodity in the country.
6. We’ll Pass 2024 Budget on December 30 – Speaker
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, has announced that the 2024 budget is scheduled for passage on Saturday, December 30, 2023.
This was announced during the resumption of the House’s plenary on Tuesday, December 19.
The N27.5 trillion presented by President Bola Tinubu to the National Assembly last month has been undergoing consideration by various committees in both the Senate and House of Representatives.
7. Naira Gains against Dollar to Exchange N844.85/$1 at the official market
Nigerian naira further appreciated against the dollar on Tuesday, 19 December 2023, closing at N844.85/$1 at the official market.
According to data from the NAFEM where forex is officially traded, the domestic currency appreciated by 5.15 per cent to close at N888.35/$1 to a dollar at the close of business on Tuesday.
8. Nigerian Govt, BOI to Disburse N75bn Loans at 9% Interest rate to MSMEs in January 2024
The Federal Government in conjunction with the Bank of Industry (BOI) has concluded plans to begin the disbursement of N75 billion to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) across the country by January 2024.
9. Cardoso Insists on Banking Sector Recapitalization.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, has reiterated the resolve of his administration to ensure that the banking sector undergoes Recapitalization.
Cardoso had while speaking at the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) 58th Annual Bankers’ Dinner and Grand Finale of the Institute’s 60th Anniversary, held in Lagos last month, said that to play an effective role in achieving the $1 trillion economy target of the President Bola Tinubu administration, banks need to increase their capital base.
10. UBA Secures $175m Facility from AfDB
United Bank for Africa (UBA) has received a $175 million financial package from the Africa Development Bank (AfDB) Group for enhancing its support to the private sector and financing of Nigeria’s infrastructure development.
