Business
Atiku unfolds economic blueprint, proposes $10bn stimulus funds
Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, says he will raise $10 billion as an Economic Stimulus Fund within the first 100 days in office should he win the 2023 presidential election.
He also canvassed the removal of the power generation and distribution from the exclusive to concurrent list to give state and willing investors the right to give energy to whoever they want after generating and not send to the national grid.
Atiku also said he would rather privatise Nigeria’s dilapidated refineries than spend $1.55 billion on their revitalisation .
He revealed this in a statement on Tuesday evening after his speech at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Lagos State.
Atiku said, “Within the first 100 days in office, I will create an Economic Stimulus Fund with an initial investment capacity of approximately $10 billion to prioritize support to the MSMEs across all the economic sectors.”
The former Vice President said for Nigeria to improve the nation’s economy, “Larger volume of non-oil exports will earn more foreign exchange for Nigeria, improve our foreign reserves, and help in stabilizing the Naira. All of these will contribute to growth in GDP.”
He also said, “Poverty reduction shall be the centrepiece of our economic development agenda and economic performance shall henceforth be measured by the number of jobs created and the number of people lifted out of poverty.
“Finally, focus on non-debt financing by promoting a private sector-led infrastructure development fund for the financing and delivery of key infrastructure projects.”
He promised to undertake an immediate review of government spending in order to eliminate all leakages arising from subsidy payments.
He spoke on his plans in other sectors, saying, “With its current precarious fiscal position and daunting development challenges, can Nigeria really afford to forego critical investments in education, health, security, etc. and channel scarce resources to subsidising the lifestyles of its elite?”
He promised to “stop all fiscal support to ailing state-owned enterprises. As with subsidy payments, by holding unto these underperforming enterprises, Nigeria is sacrificing investments in critical areas, including water, sanitation, and rural infrastructure. For example, the first phase in the rehabilitation of Nigeria’s refineries is expected to gulp $1.55 billion! I will sell of them.”
He also said his government would “focus on non-debt financing by promoting a private-sector led infrastructure development fund for the financing and delivery of key infrastructure projects.”
He added that his administration would support “the private sector to drive growth. We will establish strong partnership in investing in infrastructure, in creating jobs and income and in the fight against poverty. We will listen to the private sector more.”
Business
PH refinery: 200 trucks will load petroleum products daily, says Presidency
PH refinery: 200 trucks will load petroleum products daily, says Presidency
No fewer than 200 trucks are set to load petroleum products at the government-owned Port Harcourt Refinery, the presidency has said.
A presidential spokesperson, Sunday Dare, made this known in a statement through his official X handle on Tuesday.
Newstrends had reported that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company on Tuesday announced that Port Harcourt Refinery has resumed operations and crude oil processing after years of inactivity.
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Reacting, Dare said, “200 trucks are expected to load products daily from the refinery, Renewing the Hopes of Nigeria.”
He added that “the Port Harcourt refinery has two wings.
“The Old Refinery comes on stream today with an installed production capacity of 60, 000 barrels per day of crude oil.”
PH refinery: 200 trucks will load petroleum products daily, says Presidency
Business
Breaking: CBN increases interest rate to 27.50%
Breaking: CBN increases interest rate to 27.50%
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has raised the lending interest to 27.50 per cent from 27.25 per cent.
This latest increase in the Monetary Policy Rate came after a meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Monday and concluded Tuesday.
The Monetary Policy Rate measures the benchmark interest rate.
The CBN Governor, Yemi Cardoso, announced this in Abuja on Tuesday after the MPC meeting, last for the year, held at the apex bank’s headquarters.
He said the MPC voted unanimously to raise the MPR by 25 basis points from 27.25% to 27.50%; and retain the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) at 50% for Deposit Money Banks and 16% for Merchant Banks.
The CBN governor also said the MPC retained the Liquidity Ratio (LR) at 30% and Asymmetric Corridor at +500/-100 basis points around the MPR.
Business
Nigeria’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.3% in Q2 – NBS
Nigeria’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.3% in Q2 – NBS
Nigeria’s unemployment rate stood at 4.3 per cent in the second quarter of 2024, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said in its latest report.
The report released on Monday said the unemployment rate decreased compared to the 5.3 per cent recorded in the Q1 of 2024.
The NBS defined the unemployment rate as the share of the labour force (the combination of unemployed and employed people) who are not employed but actively searching and are available for work.
“The unemployment rate for Q2 2024 was 4.3%, showing an increase of 0.1 percentage point compared to the same period last year,” the report stated.
“The unemployment rate among males was 3.4% and 5.1% among females.
“By place of residence, the unemployment rate was 5.2% in urban areas and 2.8% in rural areas. Youth unemployment rate was 6.5% in Q2 2024, showing a decrease from 8.4% in Q1 2024.”
Report also said the unemployment rate among persons with post-secondary education was 4.8 per cent; 8.5 per cent among those with upper secondary education, 5.8 per cent for those with lower secondary education, and 2.8 per cent among those with primary education in Q2 2024.
Employment rate – 76%
The report showed that the employment-to-population ratio, which measures the number of employed workers against the total working-age population, increased to 76.1 per cent in Q2 2024.
“In Q2 2024, 76.1% of Nigeria’s working-age population was employed, up from 73.1% in Q1 2024,” the report stated.
Self-employment – 85.6%
The report further showed that Nigeria’s labour market saw a notable shift as the proportion of self-employed individuals increased in Q2 2024.
It stated, “The proportion of persons in self-employment in Q2 2024 was 85.6%.”
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