The Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun says solving the power sector challenges in Nigeria is a top priority of the government to help improve the economy. She said this in Abuja, when the executive directors of the World Bank Group paid her a courtesy visit.

Nigeria To Establish Stronger Petroleum Industry Regulator

Nigeria’s government plans to create a powerful energy regulator with broad oversight of the oil and gas sector, according the draft Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).

The draft laws, posted on the Nigerian legislature’s website on April 30, are the versions intended for the Senate, the upper house of parliament.

The PIB aims to improve transparency, attract investors, stimulate growth and increase government revenues.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has blamed commercial banks for sabotaging its efforts in replacing mutilated notes with new ones in the country. Mr Isaac Okorafor, Acting Director, Communications Department of the CBN, made the allegation in Lagos on Thursday in an interview with our reporter.

AFDB Embarks On First Africa Investment Forum In South Africa

The African Development Bank, AfDB has launched the Africa Investment Forum to mobilize between $600-700 billion of private equity funds yearly to develop the continent.

The maiden forum will hold in Johannesburg from November 7-9 this year.

The forum was launched based on the realization that by 2050, Africa’s growing population will tip the scales at a whopping 2 billion, with a youth of 840 million. In the process, the continent will overtake the populations of China and India combined.

Zenith Bank Appoints New CFO

Zenith Bank Plc. has announced the appointment of Dr. Mukhtar Adam as its Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

The company, in a notice to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and the investing public said the appointment has since been approved by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and explained that Adam had been in the bank since 2007 and prior his new appointment, he was the deputy chief financial officer of the bank.

CBN Instructs Banks To Repay Excess Charges To Customers

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said any bank that deducts monies illegally from a customer’s account for products and services would be forced to refund the money to the customer with interest.

Fada David, Consumer Complaints Management, Consumer Protection Department, CBN, made the statement in an interview with newsmen on Tuesday in Abuja.

Bank customers within the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, and many states have complained over excess charges by banks through Automated Teller Machine (ATM) withdrawals.

MTN To Raise N400bn On NSE Following Listing

Ralph Mupita, chief financial officer at MTN Nigeria, says the company hopes to raise N400 billion from its debt issuance when it gets listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange later in the year.

Speaking in a Bloomberg interview, Mupita said the proceeds will be used to fund local investment and replace existing debt.

Number Of Tax Payers Rises By 5m In 1 Year – Osinbajo

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday in Abuja, said that over five million new taxpayers have been enrolled in the last 12 months.

Speaking at the 20th annual tax conference of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), Osinbajo said that the tax compliances is closely linked to good governance.

He said that tax compliance should go hand in with good governance as the head and tail of the social contract between the government and its citizens.

EU Has Committed €1.5b Euros To Nigeria In 10 Years

The European Union (EU) has pledged to continue its partnership with Nigeria through multidimensional engagement, to promote democratic governance, saying, it committed 1.5 billion Euros support through development cooperation with the country over the last decade.

Amb. Ketil Karlsen, Head of EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS in his address at the Europe National Day and celebration of Democratic Governance organised by the European High Commission in Abuja said, “It is that spirit of integrated approach that guides us in all the work we do in Nigeria.”

Oil prices rose more than 3 percent on Wednesday, hitting 3-1/2-year highs after U.S. President Trump abandoned a nuclear deal with Iran and announced the “highest level” of sanctions against the OPEC member. Ignoring pleas by allies, Trump on Tuesday pulled out of an international agreement with Iran that was agreed in late 2015, raising the risk of conflict in the Middle East and casting uncertainty over global oil supplies at a time when the crude market is already tight.