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Nigerian subscribers’ demand for the cost of voice tariffs to be lowered has been answered with a new mobile termination rates (MTRs) also known as interconnect rates introduced yesterday night by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) with...
The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has said that the absence of reliable baseline information and data on the actual quantity of crude either lost through theft, bunkering or pipeline vandalisation was responsible f...
The Consumer Affairs Bureau (CAB) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) holds yet another interactive session on Friday, 22nd of March, 2013 in the confluence city of Lokoja, Kogi State.Burning issues that have bordered on ensuring a vibrant ...
The on-going power sector reform yesterday further received a boost with the German Government and European Union (EU) disclosing their readiness to commit €24.5 million to the reform exercise.
While the German government promised to support with the sum of €9 million, the EU will commit €15.5 million.
The commitment which is within the framework of the Nigerian-German Energy Support Programme (NGESP) is aimed at strenghtening Nigeria’s efforts at advancing her energy policy and regulatory environment, energy mix with focus on rural renewable electrification as well as energy efficiency and respective institutional capacity development.
The programme which is to be implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), for an initial three years beginning this year (2013) seeks to also address Nigeria’s core technical and structural challenges with regards to efficient energy delivery across the country.
In his address at the inaugural workshop for NGESP in Abuja yesterday, Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, explained that the technical support was geared at driving Nigeria’s efforts to diversify her energy mix.
According to him, “the level of renewable energy implementation in Nigeria is minimal, but being endowed with significant quantities of renewable energy sources like the sun, wind, biomass and dams for hydropower generation, Nigeria is taking various measures in implementing renewable energy/energy efficiency programmes to increase our energy mix.”
He stated that the support programme was a welcome relief which will provide a strong platform for efficient and effective take-off of renewable energy/energy efficiency programmes in the country by encouraging private sector investments in renewable energy.
In her remarks, the Country Director of GIZ, Mrs Jacobi Sambou, explianed that the programme would in a separate part support the National Power Training Institute of Nigeria (NAPTIN) in developing new courses to satisfy the needs of Nigeria’s reformed power sector to position it as a commercially sustainable training entity.
As consumers continue to grumble over the quality of Chinese products in the Nigerian markets, the Chinese Government has explained why this trend has continued unabated.The Deputy Director General of the Department of Western Asian and African Affairs...
The Oyo State House of Assembly on Tuesday in Ibadan approved the sum of N159.6 billion as the budget for 2013 fiscal year. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the amount had a variation of more than N7 billion from the original b...
Trade between Nigeria and France currently stands at $7 billion, Nigeria’s envoy to France, Amb. Akin Fayomi, has said.
Fayomi, who spoke with the Western Europe Correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday, in Paris, said that the figure represented the volume of trade in 2012.
"As at 2012, the volume of trade was about $7 billion which translates to about 4.5 billion euro. It is a lot of money considering the economic recession, though given the potentials of Nigeria we feel it is not enough.
"We are France's second largest trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa, and the trade is in favour of Nigeria as oil is our main export," he said.
The envoy, however, said that French investors were keen on exploring other areas of investment.
"Already, there is a lot of involvement in other sectors like construction, manufacturing and others. The oil sector is saturated; Total has been operating in the country for many years.
"Also in Pharmaceuticals, there are some companies that manufacture drugs in partnership with some Nigerian companies,’’ Fayomi said.
He added: "Similarly, in waste management and maintenance culture, some state governments are in partnership with French companies."
Fayomi further said that the embassy was liaising with some French institutions for exchange programmes for Nigerian students and teachers in order to encourage the study of French as a language.
NAN reports that upon its attainment of independence in 1960, Nigeria immediately established diplomatic relations with France.
The Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) on Monday said that improved electricity supply to Kano would help to boost its comatose industries. Alhaji Muktar Baffa, the Assistant General Manager, (Public Affairs) in Kano Electricity Distrib...
United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has been selected as one of the few securities from 19 African Stock Exchanges included in the FTSE African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA) Pan African Index. The FTSE ASEA Pan African Index which was cre...
A vibrant capital market is essential to the growth of the economy, especially in terms of raising much-needed long-term finance for critical infrastructure, housing and the manufacturing sector. Solid economic growth in any country is closely linked t...
When the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meets today, it will be faced with considering a reduction in interest rates. This is because inflation rate remained within the single digit bracket in F...
The naira appreciated last Friday, halting a five-day decline, as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was said to have sold dollars directly to the market outside of its regular currency auctions. The currency of Africa’s biggest oil producer...
In its determination to ensure that its on-going $1.9 billion fertiliser plant in Edo State is of world class standard, the Dangote Group has appointed TATA Consulting Engineering as its management consultants for the project. ...
Nigeria’s inflation rate climbed to 9.5 per cent in February, as a result of a rise in the prices of farm produce, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said. According to the Consumer Price Index Report for February released by the statist...
The House Committee on Finance has insisted that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, (NNPC) has to pay N142.7 billion into the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) of the federal government, being calculation of surplus from its Internally Generate...