Haruna Musa Appointed As New MD/CEO Of Jaiz Bank

Nigeria’s largest non-interest bank, Jaiz Bank Plc has appointed Mr. Haruna Musa as the substantive Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer. The appointment has been approved by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Novembermber 21, 2023. In a statement, the bank said the new MD/CEO’s cognate experience in the banking industry spans over 27 years. He is an alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Bayero University, Kano, and Cranfield University, United Kingdom. He is currently in the final stage of a PhD programmed in Islamic Banking and Finance at the University Utara in Malaysia.

Oil and Gas: Nigeria, Saudi Sign Preliminary MoU

The Federal Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for collaboration in the oil and gas sector. According to Saudi Arabia’s energy minister, Abdulaziz bin Salman, who spoke during the Saudi-Arab-African economic conference in Riyadh, the kingdom has signed preliminary agreements with Nigeria and other African countries, on energy-related cooperation.

1,633 Mining Licenses Revoked by FG

The Federal Government has revoked 1,633 minerals titles earlier awarded to non-complying mining companies in the country.

CBN: Old, New Naira Notes Remains Legal Tender, Warns Against Panic Withdrawals

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said that both old and new naira notes currently in circulation remain legal tender, and also warned the public against withdrawals of cash. This was disclosed on Wednesday in a statement issued by Isa AbdulMumin, the CBN Director of Corporate Communications.

State Governments To Maintain Security Vote Accounts With CBN

Following the agreement reached earlier in the year between the 36 governors and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), Governors will henceforth draw their security votes from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). With the agreement, the governments in the states were mandated to open dedicated accounts for their governors’ security votes with the apex bank. The opening of such accounts will enable the NFIU to monitor cash withdrawals for security purposes by the governors.

Crude Oil Theft Gulps N16.3trn In 11yrs, Says NEITI Boss

Nigeria lost N16.3 trillion to crude oil theft between 2009 and 2020, the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya has disclosed. According to him, about 620 million barrels of crude oil was lost within the period, and added that curbing the twin menace of crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism has become a national emergency challenge.

World Bank Commences $300m Palliative Loan Disbursement

The World Bank has initiated the disbursement of $300 million out of the approved $800 million for the National Social Safety Net Program-Scale Up. The documents from the World Bank confirm the recent disbursement of about $299.99 million to Nigeria under the National Social Safety Net Programme-Scale Up, approved on December 16, 2021. With approximately 37.5% of the total loan disbursed, there remains a pending balance of about $442.88 million. The $800 million social safety net program involves a conditional cash transfer planned to be executed by the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs & Poverty Alleviation. This loan aims to support a monthly cash transfer program for poor and vulnerable Nigerians impacted by recent policies, including the removal of fuel subsidies. In October 2023, President Bola Tinubu officially launched the conditional cash transfer program, targeting 15 million households nationwide to receive N75,000 within three months.

Scarcity Of Cooking Gas Hits Lagos, Kano, Katsina, Others

Nigerians across the country have continued to experience scarcity of Liquefied Natural Gas or cooking gas, shooting up prices across the nation. Residents of Lagos, Kano, Maiduguri, Abuja among others are currently trying to find alternatives for the cooking product. The black market price of 12.5KG cooking gas now sells between ₦13,500 and ₦14,000 while gas plants sell the commodity between ₦1,100-₦1,200 per 1kg. The situation has seen some terminals ration supply with several filling stations not dispensing at all.

Naira Appreciates to N818.99/$1

The naira has gained against the U.S. dollar in the official market and closed flat in the parallel market, halting losses after experiencing an appreciable decline couple of days prior. It can be recalled that the country inflation rate jumped to 27.33% in October 2023 which represents a 0.61 %-point increase compared September's 26.72% as prices of foodstuff and commodity continued to increase.

NASS To Collaborate With MTN On Human Capital Dev

Senate President, Godwill Akpabio, gave his words on Monday to the Management of Mobile Telecommunications Nigeria (MTN)headed by its Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Karl Toriola, stating that the Federal Government is ready to continue its partnership with the telecommunication outfit, in area of job creation, manpower development through it training and retraining of Nigerian youths. A statement by Special Assistant Media to the President of the Senate, Mr Jackson Udom quoted Akpabio as saying, “the entire Senate is highly delighted to receive you and your team because of the contribution of your organization to the development and capacity building of Nigerians. We value your contributions and interventions in the area of human capital development.”