South Africa unfolds cabinet while Nigerians wait 3 months after Buhari’s election victory

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa elected two weeks ago has announced a leaner more purposeful cabinet hailed as one right for the time but in Africa’s most populous country, Nigerians wait for their President Muhammadu Buhari to name his cabinet three months after he was elected and a day into his new term of four years. Click here for more.

New Wave of Middle-Class Emigration Deepens Nigeria’s Skill Shortage

A new wave of emigration among Nigeria’s middle class is robbing the oil-rich West African nation of skills and putting local recruitment under pressure. An anemic economy that contracted for the first time in two decades in 2016, poor health facilities and schools, a worsening insecurity marked by a decade-old Islamist insurgency. Click here for more.

FG’s Social Safety Programme Gulps N471bn In Three Years

The Federal Government had in 2015 designed the programme to improve the lives of all Nigerians irrespective of religion, political affiliation and social class. Click here for more.

FG removes VAT on cooking gas

The removal of Value Added Tax (VAT) on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), also called cooking gas, produced in Nigeria, has been of major concern to members of the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM). Click here for more.

Why wealthy Nigerians evade taxes – Oxfam

The Niger Delta Budget Monitoring Group and Oxfam International have urged the federal and state governments to intensify efforts in the collection of taxes from citizens. During a multi-stakeholder dialogue in Lagos, the Programme Officer, Public-Private Sector Transparency and Accountability Officer. Click here for more.

Stocks: Analysts expect market sentiment to weaken

As the nation’s stock market rebounded on Tuesday after two straight days of losses, equity analysts have said the market sentiment is expected to weaken in subsequent trading sessions.There was no trading on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange on Wednesday as the Federal Government declared a public holiday in commemoration of the 2019 presidential inauguration. Click here for more.

Airtel Africa Eyes $1bn London Listing, Nigeria’s Bourse

India’s telecommunications firm Bharti Airtel, is considering a stock market flotation in London, for its subsidiary, Airtel Africa Limited, and subsequent listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). Click here for more.

FG’s Preference For Borrowing Slashed Savings Bonds By 50% – CBN

The Federal Government of Nigeria’s savings bonds reduced by 50.18 per cent at the end of the 2018 financial  year. According to a report by the Central Bank of Nigeria on its 2018 activities, “a total of N3.59bn was allotted during the review period. Click here for more.

Pension Assets Hit N9.03tn

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has disclosed that total pension assets in the country have risen to N9.030 trillion as at March 31, 2019, up from the N7.44 trillion it was in January. Click here for more.

11.5% of Nigeria’s Cattle Population Are Utilized For Dairy Production

Nigeria is a major producer of livestock (cattle and goats) in Sub-Saharan Africa but is the largest importer of milk in the region, with an annual importation bill of $1.3bn. The country’s cattle population is estimated at 20 million. Click here for more.

OPEC plus Has Capacity to Offset Iran Crude Supply Cuts

OPEC+ is likely to mitigate the decline in Iran’s production due to US waivers ending, Fitch Ratings says. This will not necessarily mean an increase in the alliance’s overall production and could be effectively achieved through ramping up output within existing quotas or redistribution of quotas. Click here for more.