Curator

http://ift.tt/2mlKGh6 By Babajide Komolafe The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)  injected $186.5 million into the foreign exchange market even as the naira remains stable at N379 per dollar in the parallel market. Confirming this development Tuesday, Acting Director, Corporate Communications, CBN, Mr.  Isaac Okorafor, said: Following the conclusion of the Monetary Policy Committee Meeting on Tuesday, May 23, 2017 the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has injected the sum of $186.5million into the invisible and the whole Wholesale Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) segments of the forex market. The sum is made up of $36.5 million in the invisibles, $50m for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) segments and $100 in the wholesale segment. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) also approved the sale of $100 million at the Wholesale Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) auction announced on Monday, May 23, 2017. Okorafor reiterated that the CBN will continue to make every nec...

http://ift.tt/2q8oPQt Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May writes a message in a book of condolence at Manchester Town Hall in Manchester, northwest England, on May 23, 2017, following the terror attack at the Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena in Manchester on May 22. Twenty two people have been killed and dozens injured in Britain's deadliest terror attack in over a decade after a suspected suicide bomber targeted fans leaving a concert of US singer Ariana Grande in Manchester.Ben Birchall / POOL / AFP Britain raised its terror threat level to “critical” on Tuesday, meaning a new attack is believed to be imminent, and soldiers are being deployed to assist armed police, British Prime Minister Theresa May said. “It is a possibility we cannot ignore that there is a wider group of individuals linked to this attack,” she said after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, at a pop concert late Monday in Manchester. Addressing the nation from her Down...

http://ift.tt/2pXyBk3 Crystal Palace's English manager Sam Allardyce gestures on the touchline during the English Premier League football match between Crystal Palace and Hull City at Selhurst Park in south London on May 14, 2017 / AFP PHOTO / OLLY GREENWOOD / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. / Sam Allardyce announced Tuesday he was stepping down as Crystal Palace manager after just five months at the helm of the Premier League club for family reasons. The 62-year-old, who was previously in charge of England for just one game, said he had “no ambitions to take another job”, admitting he was turning his back on a club that had offered him a “chance of rehabilitation”. Allardyce took over at Palace from Alan Pardew in December on a two-and-a-half yea...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By Monsuru Olowoopejo lagos—the Lagos State Government, yesterday, said it has started the  review of the 14-year-old Newspapers Law, to effectively regulate media activities in the state. The State Government argued that the review became necessary considering the developments that have taken place since the enactment of the law. Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, who gave the hint at the 2017 ministerial press briefing held at Alausa Secretariat, Ikeja, lamented that the existing Newspapers Law has become obsolete and cannot respond effectively to present challenges. He said: “In view of the realization that the State Newspapers Cap Law is obsolete, the state government has begun the process of reviewing existing Newspapers Law Cap No2 of 2003 with a view to making it more effective and in tune with modern reality. “The review attempt is not to stifle the media. The idea is to move with the trends and development of the time....

http://ift.tt/2rQV82p Accountant-General, Mr Ahmed Idris The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) on Tuesday shared N415.7 billion, which is N52.1 billion less than what the three tiers of government shared as revenue for March. The Accountant-General, Mr Ahmed Idris, who represented the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, told journalists in Abuja that the N415.7 billion was distributed under four sub-heads. “The distributable revenue for the month is N272.1 billion. The sum of N6.33 billion was refunded by NNPC. There is also a proposed distribution of N20.42 billion from the excess Petroleum Profit Tax. “Also, exchange gain of N38.5 billion is proposed for distribution. Therefore, the total revenue distributable for the current month, including VAT of N81.2 billion is N415.7 billion”, she said. Adeosun said government generated N177.7 billion as mineral revenue, which showed a reduction of N50 billion from the N228.5 billion generated in March. Similarly, ...

http://ift.tt/2qSSyMl Dr Adeyemi Dipeolu, Special Adviser to the President on Economic Matters The Presidential Adviser on Economic Matters, Dr Adeyemi Dipeolu, has analysed the statistics released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) saying it showed the economy maintained path to recovery. According to Dipeolu, it is an encouraging indication of a steady, even if slow, progressive pace. He said by the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), figure the Nigerian economy was emerging out of recession. “The 2017 Q1 GDP figures released early Tuesday depicts an overall picture showing the economy is emerging slowly out of recession’’, he said. Dipeolu noted that growth had continued in agriculture and a notable positive turnaround had also been recorded in manufacturing and non-oil sectors. He, however, observed that slow down in negative growth rates was noticed in several more sectors. “The latest figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed that the economy s...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says it has intercepted 440 pieces of riffles at Tin Can Island Port, Lagos. About three months ago, the Federal Operations Unit of the service had  intercepted 660 pieces of pump action rifles at Apapa port also in Lagos. Displaying the guns to newsmen on Tuesday at the Tin-Can Island Command of Customs, Mr Monday Abueh, the Zonal Coordinator of Zone A’ , also an Assistant Comptroller-General of Customs, said the imports originated from Turkey. The guns were concealed in a 20-ft container no PONU210024 (1) 22G1 carrying POP powder used for design of houses. He said the container was intercepted following intelligence obtained by the command. Abueh, who is also an Assistant Comptroller-General, said a suspect had been arrested in connection with the seizure. The service intercepted the container on Monday night and transferred it to its enforcement unit where other security agencies were called in for inspection. “...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J Ben Agande, Kaduna. The Kaduna State Government has blacklisted 11 contractors and have petitioned them to the economic and Financial Crimes Commission for collecting funds for projects and not executing them. The Kaduna state Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Muhammed Sani Abdullahi who disclosed this when he addressed a press conference to mark Nasir El Rufai’s two years in office said the affected contractors who will never get any contract from Kaduna state government again. “Some of the contractors executed projects awarded them so badly while some of them even ran away with mobilization fee without a trace of the project. For instance we have a bridge awarded to a contractor with all the money paid but the bridge was nowhere to be found. You can see it was that bad. “We have written warning letters to erring contractors and their failure to respond or give concrete evidence that led to their failure have been referred to appropriate quarters...