Oil Price Hits $50PB For The First Time Since March

The crude oil price has shown strength on Thursday as the Brent Crude traded at $50 per barrel, recording a 2 percent gain and also, the highest it has been since March 2020 amid the remarkable development of the COVID-19 vaccine. At the end of the trading session in London, Brent traded at $50.34 PB, while U.S West Texas Intermediate traded at $46.96 PBD. The increase in crude oil price is attributed to the deal struck by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on December 3rd where the group agreed to lift production in January by 500,000 BPD. This was following a price war by Saudi Arabia and Russia during the COVID-19 pandemic in March.

President Buhari presides over 24th virtual FEC Meeting

President Muhammadu Buhari is currently presiding over the 24th virtual Federal Executive Council, FEC meeting at the Council Chamber, Presidential Villa, Abuja. Physically present at the meeting are Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Boss Mustapha, and the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari.

FG To Insure Assets In 22 Airports

The Federal Government has on Wednesday said it will offer insurance cover for assets in 22 airports owned by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the expansion of the apron of the Maiduguri Airport. The approval was done during the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided by President Muhammadu Buhari, adding that the contracts of the Kano, Kaduna, and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) roads have been approved. Speaking on the insurance of the aviation sector, Information minister, Lai Mohammed told State House correspondents that the contract which totals N758,173,556 were approved following a presentation by the aviation minister, Hadi Sirika.

FG: Lufthansa, Air France To Resume Flights Into Nigeria

The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika announced in a series of tweets that the Federal Government has given Lufthansa, Air France, and KLM approval to resume international flights into Nigeria. The tweet read, “We are working with the Ministry of Health, CACOVID, and The PTF to open Kano, Port Harcourt, and possibly Enugu airports before the end of the year. Also Lufthansa, Air France/KLM have been given go-ahead to resume. Qatar Airways is approved to start Abuja. Thank you for your patience.

G7 To Regulate Digital Currencies

G7 finance ministers and central bankers have expressed the need to control and regulate digital currencies during a virtual meeting of officials held on Monday. Olaf Scholz German Finance Minister expressed his concerns about authorizing the launch of Facebook's Libra cryptocurrency, newly renamed Diem in Germany and Europe.

Image of President Muhammadu Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has on Thursday signed the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act 2020 into law. This was disclosed on Friday by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu in a statement titled “President Buhari assents to Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act 2020”. Shehu said the new law repeals the extant Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act 1991 as amended. The statement read in part “The BOFI Act 2020 updates the enabling law in response to developments and significant evolution in the financial sector over the last 2 decades.

Image of the NCAA logo

The Direction-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Captain Musa Nuhu has said the Nigerian aviation sector is likely to experience mergers among airlines due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. He made this known on Saturday while assessing the impact of the pandemic on the aviation industry during a televised interview on NTA. "The COVID-19 pandemic exaggerated a bad situation; some airlines may not survive but the industry will come back better. It has always gone through crisis but has come out stronger. The Airlines Operators of Nigeria are coming together to see what they can do to help the situation and they met with me. The industry will be different altogether," Capt. Nuhu said.

Image of AGF, Abubakar Malami

The Federal Government on Monday officially inaugurated a 22 member committee to sell of both movable and immovable assets recovered as a result of the anti-corruption efforts of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. The inauguration was presided over by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami who urged the committee to be diligent in their duties. Malami said “Your mandate is to ensure the expedient disposal of all FGN Forfeited Assets and generate revenue for the Federal Government of Nigeria. I wish to implore the inter-ministerial committee to work as a formidable team with the relevant agencies in accordance with extant laws and regulations.”

Border Reopening: Customs, Immigration Identify Grey Areas

In spite of the recent federal government pronouncement that the nation’s land borders would be re-opened soon after being closed for over a year, indications from across the country are that state commands of the main security agencies manning the borders –the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) are still awaiting an official directive, hence there is no practical preparation at the borders yet to that effect.

PenCom Set To Launch RSA Transfer System November 16

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has announced the flag-off of the Retirement Savings Account (RSA) transfer system, under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) would be launched on November 16. This was disclosed in a statement on Monday by the Head Corporate Communication, PenCom, Mr. Peter Aghahowa.