Chidinma Okoro has been unemployed since she got laid off in September last year. Her husband's previously thriving business has struggled for a few years. This made Mrs Okoro's contribution all the more critical for the family. With school fees due, things had become quite desperate. She then heard about a friend who had sold some of her gold and…
Nigeria's expansive budget We run an economy today that is based on budgeting. But, to a large extent, our culture does not encourage budgeting. In advanced economies that we are copying, if one lives on a monthly salary, it is difficult to expect one to share with members of one's family, outside those in one's nuclear family. In some instances,…
The country appears set for another budget showdown as the executive and the legislature resume their long standing disagreement over budget figures. Finance minister, Olusegun Aganga said last week that the 2011 appropriation bill passed by the Senate is not "implementable" due to the alterations carried out by the lawmakers. The Senate last week passed a budget of N4.972 trillion,…
A few more banks have released their 2010 year end results, some of which have fallen below the expectation of industry watchers. However, the trend that was common among the institutions was the drop in earnings, due largely to the reduction in lending. Through a mixture of cost-cutting strategies and efficiency in deploying assets, most of the firms still posted…
2 April 2011 SuperSport United defeated Al Ahly 1-0 in their CAF Champions League first round, second leg match at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday night, but it was not enough to stop the Egyptians advancing to the second round on aggregate. Leading 2-0 from the first leg, Al Ahly were outplayed by Matsatsantsa on the night but did…
Many residents in Lagos turned out to exercise their rights on Saturday to vote for candidates into the National Assembly. In Ikorodu, the day began with myriad of voters arriving at the polling centres before 8am with some of them coming with their meals and chairs for the day. However the electoral officers and materials did not arrive until about…
The place and role of the media in bridging the gap of knowledge and closing space was at the centre of discussion in Berlin, Germany, on March 17, as the International Institute for Journalism (IIJ) of the GIZ hosted its fourth international media conference. The topic this time was ‘Jumping the gap: the Power of Media to extend classrooms’. Roland…
Elections for the National Assembly were yesterday disrupted in at least seven confirmed states across the federation. Due to a combination of security lapses, administrative errors and a shortage of electoral materials, the elections in Abuja, Niger, Ekiti, Plateau, Edo and Gombe could not start. However, the disruptions that were first noticed in these states were later discovered to have…