The Association of Master Bakers and Caterers of Nigeria in Lagos State has lamented the incessant increase in flour prices in the country. The association made this known during a protest held in the state on Wednesday. Addressing newsmen during the protest, the association’s chairman, Chief Ayoola Mathew, said despite the recent approval of a duty-free importation waiver on wheat, maize, and other commodities, flour prices kept rising. Ayoola also expressed concern over Nigerian millers’ failure to implement the waiver. This, he said, had led to a surge in flour prices, making it difficult for bakeries to operate smoothly. He…
Author: UZDO Media
President Bola Tinubu says African countries must, as a matter of urgency, pursue peace and unity to achieve collective sustainable growth. Tinubu argued that the old legacies of nepotism must give way to unity and peace, which are non-negotiably important for Africa’s development. “We better roll our sleeves, put on our nickers and move for peace, stability and progress,” Tinubu said at a dinner in Malabo, organised in his honour by President Teodoro Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea on Wednesday. The dinner is part of events lined up as Tinubu undertakes a three-day official visit to the Central African country. Earlier,…
The Finnish government has assured Nigeria of collaboration on the case of the factional leader of the separatist Indigenous People of Biafra, Simon Ekpa, who resides in Finland. Finland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Elina Valtonen, provided this assurance during a press briefing in Abuja, on Tuesday. Ekpa, who resides in Finland, leads a faction of IPOB known as Autopilot, which has been pushing for the creation of an independent state of Biafra, encompassing Nigeria’s South-East and parts of the South-South regions. He is also alleged to have played a key role in instigating violence in Nigeria, particularly through the enforcement…
The Managing Director of NielsenIQ East & West Africa, Faith Wanderi, has emphasised that manufacturers and retailers need to keep innovating their products and offer more cost-effective options that can still satisfy the needs of consumers, who are already stretched over little or no extra income. Wanderi said this at the 2024 Nigeria NielsenIQ Breakfast Conference on Growing Around, ‘The Big Squeeze’, held recently in Lagos. Wanderi said, “They need to understand consumer behaviour and the recent shifts that have occurred. Our research shows that seven out of 10 consumers have switched brands in the past year, indicating that price,…
The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Felix Ogbe, says the board is targeting 70 per cent Nigerian content in the oil and gas sector by 2027. Ogbe stated this on Tuesday when he visited the facilities of BEAMCO Nigeria Limited in Lagos, commending the oil and gas service firm for its strides in equipment component manufacturing. He lauded the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited, Saipem-Daewoo Joint Venture, and BEAMCO Limited for enhanced in-country value addition. He disclosed that locally assembled pumps and valves were set for installation and pre-inauguration preparations on the multibillion-dollar NLNG Train-7…
NIGERIA’S struggle to develop and sustain local oil refineries has long been a sore point. The oil industry, often touted as the lifeblood of the country’s economy, remains paradoxically underdeveloped at its downstream core. This is no accident but the result of a complex web that has inhibited the growth of local refineries. Despite being the largest oil producer in Africa, Nigeria has relied on importing refined petroleum products for decades despite having four public refineries that have gulped billions of dollars in TAM. These refineries—Port Harcourt (two plants), Warri, and Kaduna—have operated far below capacity, often plagued by poor…
The recent decrease in the stock prices of the Dangote Group, which includes Dangote Sugar Refinery and NASCON Allied Industries, has been attributed to foreign exchange losses and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s decision to reject their merger request. Analysts suggested that the ongoing inflationary pressures and forex volatility have worsened these challenges. The depreciation of the naira has increased the cost of importing raw materials, further squeezing profit margins. From May to August 2024, Dangote Sugar Refinery’s stock plummeted by 18.67 per cent from N45.00 to N36.60, on the back of disruptions in the supply chain and volatile sugar…
The Nigeria Customs Service has been directed to start the implementation of the zero per cent import duty and exemption of Value-Added Tax on basic food items, The PUNCH reports. This was after President Bola Tinubu approved the implementation of zero per cent import duty and exemption of Value-Added Tax on basic food items. The Ministry of Finance confirmed the approval in a letter to the Nigeria Customs Service dated August 8, 2024. The Nigeria Customs Service also confirmed the development in a document shared with one of our correspondents on Wednesday. Responding, the Comptroller-General of the NCS, Bashir Adeniyi,…
Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, on Wednesday, undertook an on-the-spot assessment of the Kano State High Court, which was vandalised, looted and razed amid the recent nationwide hunger protest, which turned violent in parts of the North. Yusuf, during the tour, regretted the invasion and destruction of the state high court by hoodlums, lamenting that “the hired miscreants carted away corruption charges documents on former Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, who has been facing multiple charges before the state high court.” According to a statement on Wednesday by the governor’s spokesperson, Sanusi Tofa, the governor was conducted round…
THERE should be no hiding place for all tiers of government now that President Bola Tinubu has signed the new minimum wage law. The payment of the newly agreed minimum wage of N70,000 was meant to have kicked off in April following the expiration of the old minimum wage of N30,000, signed into law in 2019 by Muhammadu Buhari. Though wages are notoriously low in Nigeria, it is a complex matter. In the 2010 negotiations for N18,000 from N12,000 per month, the governors claimed they could not pay. They then manipulated President Goodluck Jonathan to raid the Excess Crude Account…