A report released by the Central Bank of Nigeria on Monday has shown that 12 of the 15 sub-sectors of the manufacturing sector recorded growth in April.

According to the report, called the Purchasing Mangers’ Index for April 2018, the index grew at a faster rate than it did in March.

The sub-sectors that recorded growth are: Petroleum and coal products, electrical equipment, appliances and components, printing and related support activities, textile apparel leather and footwear, fabricated metal products, chemical and pharmaceutical products, food, beverage and tobacco products, paper products, furniture and related products, plastics and rubber products, and transportation equipment.

The Annual States Viability Index ( ASVI) compiled by Economic Confidential, Nigeria’s leading economic magazine has revealed that 17 of the nation’s 36 states are insolvent as their Internally Generated Revenues (IGR) in 2017 were far below 10% of their receipts from the Federation Account Allocations (FAA) in the same year.

According to the report, without the monthly disbursement from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), most states were unviable and would not survive without the federally collected revenue, mostly from the oil sector.

The IGR are generated by states through Pay-As-You-Earn Tax (PAYE), Direct Assessment, Road Taxes and revenues from Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA)s.

The Federal Government has accused commercial banks in the country of frustrating the intention of government on accounts without Bank Verification Number BVN.

The government made the accusation at the hearing of the suit it filed through the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) against the 19 commercial banks and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Recall that a court presided by Justice Nnamdi Dimgba had ordered the forfeiture of accounts without BVN in all commercial banks.

The federal government and four companies led by General Electric have signed an agreement to start the interim phase of the Nigerian narrow-gauge railway concession.

According to a statement signed by Yewande Thorpe, head of communications, GE Nigeria, the interim phase will include “light remedial civil and track repair works” on the narrow gauge rail line.

“Additionally, a joint operation will be established between the consortium and the Nigeria Railway Corporation with a supply of 10 locomotives and 200 wagons provided to augument the existing rolling stock in Nigeria,” the statement read.

Uche Ofodile Appointed CEO MTN Liberia

Teleco-giant, MTN, has announced the appointment of Uche Ofodile as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Lonestar cell MTN Liberia.

An early career in marketing, advertising, and public relations gave Uche a diverse foundation in the automotive, consulting, higher education, and broadcasting industries.

Knowing full well that the critical role of lubricating products in the nation’s quest towards rapid industrialization as well as ensuring that adulteration of lubricants are stamped out, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has embarked on a nationwide mop up of substandard lubricants.

SON describe the move as an imperative in safeguarding the lives of unsuspecting consumers in the country, while also boosting Nigeria’s industrialization drive.

Zenith Bank Plc is now officially Nigeria’s largest bank by Customer Deposit. In its 2017 annual report and first quarter 2018 interim report released by the company, it reported that its total customer deposits are now a whopping N3.396 trillion as at end of March 2018. It was N3.43 trillion as at year-end December 2017.

Zenith Bank has thus overtaken First Bank as Nigeria’s largest bank by Customer Deposits, a position held by the latter for decades. In its 2017 December, year-end annual report recently released, FBN Holdings, the parent company of First Bank Limited, reported a total customer deposit of N3.14 trillion only. In its first quarter ending March 31st interim report, First Bank revealed that its total customer deposits were N3.24 trillion.

Justice Chuka Austin Obiozor of the Federal High Court, Lagos has ordered the interim forfeiture of a property worth the sum of N204, 200,000 to the Federal Government.

The property, which is located at 20, Cameron Street, Ikoyi, Lagos, was recovered from one Joy Obiageli Oti by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The judge gave the interim forfeiture order, following an ex-parte application filed by the Commission.

Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc has released a statement announcing additional strategic investments in a fertilizer blending plant and a bid for silo complexes from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD).

The company claims that work on the proposed fertilizer blending plant, which is located at Kudenda in Kaduna state, has reached an advanced stage. The installation of the requisite machinery, as well as the freighting of raw materials and its attendant packaging to the factory sites ahead of production for the next planting season, has begun.

CoralPay, a payment solution and transactions processing company in Nigeria, is bringing Alipay to ease online transactions for Nigerian and African merchants. Alipay is the world’s largest online and mobile payment platform operated by Ant Financial Services Group. Mr Chioma Nkechika, the Chief Executive of CoralPay Technology (Nigeria), told the reporters in Lagos on Thursday that the partnership agreement with AliPay was recently signed in Hong Kong.