Industry minister seeks N7.4bn approval for 83 capital projects – Newstrends
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Industry minister seeks N7.4bn approval for 83 capital projects

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The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo, has defended the ministry’s budget for 2021 before the Senate, requesting N7.4bn for 83 capital projects.

This was part of a total of N11.18bn the ministry is seeking an approval from the Senate for the 2021 budget.

Adebayo said the ministry’s budget proposal also contained a personnel cost of N3.02bn and overhead cost of N762.81m.

He told the Senate joint committees on commerce and industry that the ministry received only N2.9bn out of the N7.3bn appropriated for capital projects in 2020.

This, he said, was far below what it got in 2019 and 2018 fiscal years, which he gave as N3.5bn and N7.9bn respectively for capital projects.

He urged the committee to approve the sum of N7.3bn proposed for the 2021 budget, saying that the ministry had 83 capital initiatives, made up of 56 ongoing ones and 27 new projects.

The capital budget, he told the committees, would be directed at the industrial policy reform and enabling business environment and international investment engagement initiatives.

Adeniyi added that the fund would enable full activation of the private sector-led six special economic zones comprising of Lekki, Enyimba, Funtua, Ibom, Kano and Benue coupled with the establishment of at least one agro-processing zone in each senatorial district.

The minister said the ministry would facilitate credit access to 10 million MSMEs at single-digit rate and promote made-in-Nigeria products that would bring an increase in industrial productivity, employment generation and reduction in the import of foreign products.

Adeniyi  listed other programmes to be funded through the capital budget to include the review of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council mandates and implementation of a four-year business environment transformation roadmap.

According to him, the ministry plan to revise and implement the National Industrial Revolution Plan; support Nigeria’s participation at the Expo 2020 from October 2021 – March 31, 2022; ensure ease of doing business and implement executive Orders.

 He added that the ministry would implement a strategy towards implementing the government’s promise to take 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in the next 10 years.

Business

Top 5 crypto apps that work with Nigerian Bank accounts

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Top 5 crypto apps that work with Nigerian Bank accounts

Nigeria is the number one country by crypto adoption in Africa and the second largest in the world.

Cryptocurrency is a revolutionary idea in the country and resonates well with the country’s large demographic of young people.

Despite mixed signals from the Nigerian authorities as regards crypto regulation, the sector is still thriving in the country and cryptocurrency is fast becoming an everyday means of transaction.

Earlier this year, Nigerian authorities led a crackdown on crypto entities accusing them of currency manipulation and other unregulated activities.

The highlight of the era was the prolonged dispute between Nigerian authorities and Binance Limited which led to the detention of a Binance executive for 7 months.

The crackdown led to an investor flight in the crypto space with Binance closing down its Peer to Peer feature and Kucoin and OKX pulling out of the Nigerian market.

The investor flight led to a shortage of crypto apps that the Nigerian crypto community can use for their day-to-day transactions.

Despite the vacuum, some crypto apps and resources are filling in the gap in the market while ensuring a smooth experience for Nigerian traders and crypto enthusiasts.

Some of these apps work with Nigerian banks making their services more tailored and relative to the Nigerian end user.

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In this Nairametrics article, we are going to look at the Top 5 crypto apps that directly work with Nigerian bank accounts

Yellow Card 

Yellow Card is a pan-African crypto exchange that allows users to buy, sell, and Trade cryptocurrencies. The crypto exchange supports Nigerian Banks in its services and users can sell their crypto assets and withdraw them in Naira into the Nigerian banks.

The exchange has an instant transfer feature where sold cryptocurrencies can be sent to your Nigerian bank account directly. This makes for convenient use amongst Nigerian and African users.

Quidax  

Quidax is another cryptocurrency exchange that supports Nigerian bank accounts. The exchange allows users to buy cryptocurrencies with Nigerian bank accounts.

This process occurs via Bank transfers or a Quidax Bank Account number which is usually the User’s bank account number.

Quidax is one of the two crypto exchanges to receive a full license from the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission under Emomotimi Agama.

Busha  

Busha is a cryptocurrency exchange platform that allows users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies with the naira. The Indigenous crypto exchange supports Nigerian bank accounts for payouts.

Busha Users can make deposits to Merchant’s Nigerian Bank accounts through their Naira wallet on the platform.

Busha is the second of the two crypto exchanges to receive a full license from the Nigerian SEC.

Local Traders  

Local Traders is a P2P crypto exchange platform gaining some popularity in the Nigerian crypto space. The platform offers over 750 payment options including traditional Nigerian bank accounts.

Nigerians using the platform for P2P transactions can send money directly to their Nigerian Bank accounts through Bank transfer and Paystack.

The P2P sector in Nigeria took a hit following the discontinuation of Binance Naira P2P. platforms like local traders are filling the void.

Koyn  

Koyn is a crypto app that facilitates the sale of major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, and Tether. The app is gaining ground in the Nigerian crypto market due to its ease of use.

The crypto app supports Nigerian bank accounts and readily converts crypto naira which can be easily withdrawn to Nigerian bank accounts.

The app has a dedicated rate calculator which varies according to the given market price for the day.

Koyn is patronized mostly by Nigerians who don’t want to go through the hassle of direct P2P.

The crypto industry in Nigeria is still lagging in much-needed infrastructure to meet up with the demand in the Nigerian market. This is partly due to an unclear regulatory framework from relevant Nigerian authorities for investors and crypto end users in the country.

The issuing of Full licenses to Busha and Quidax marks a significant step forward in the Nigerian crypto space as regards regulation and its role in creating an enabling environment for growth.

 

Top 5 crypto apps that work with Nigerian Bank accounts

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Nigerian railway adds extra train to Friday, Saturday trips on Lagos-Ibadan route

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Nigerian railway adds extra train to Friday, Saturday trips on Lagos-Ibadan route

The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has announced the introduction of additional train trips on its Lagos-Ibadan Train Service (LITS) route, exclusively for Fridays and Saturdays.

This initiative increases weekend trips from two to three, offering commuters greater travel flexibility.

The announcement, made via the NRC’s official X (formerly Twitter) handle on Tuesday, revealed that the new Lagos-to-Ibadan trip will depart at 1:40 pm, complementing the existing schedules of 7:45 am and 4:00 pm.

For the Ibadan-to-Lagos route, the additional trip is set for 10:50 am, joining the regular departures at 8:00 am and 4:30 pm.

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“Catch our extra Friday & Saturday train trips on LAGOS – IBADAN TRAIN SERVICE (LITS). 

“LAGOS to IBADAN: 

“•⁠Times: 7:45am, 1:40pm, 4:00pm 

“IBADAN to LAGOS: 

“•⁠Times: 8:00am, 10:50am, 4:30pm,” NRC’s tweet read in part.

This tweet by the Nigerian Railway Corporation further noted that the new schedule complements the existing Sunday-to-Thursday trips, which remain unchanged with departure times at 8:00 am and 4:00 pm from both Lagos and Ibadan.

This move by the NRC to expand the schedule is aimed at accommodating increased demand, particularly during weekends, and providing greater flexibility for commuters traveling between Lagos and Ibadan.

The move is expected to ease travel pressures and improve convenience for passengers on one of Nigeria’s busiest rail routes.

Travelers are encouraged to take advantage of the additional services and book tickets early via the e-ticketing website. to secure their spots, especially as the Lagos-Ibadan rail route continues to grow in popularity.

Nigerian railway adds extra train to Friday, Saturday trips on Lagos-Ibadan route

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NNPCL to deliver 12 CNG stations, LNG mini plants

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NNPCL to deliver 12 CNG stations, LNG mini plants

Mele Kyari, Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC Ltd), has stated that the company has finalised plans to deliver 12 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Mother Stations and Mini LNG Plants as part of efforts to increase the existing 1.6 billion cubic feet of gas supply for the domestic market.

In a statement issued on Monday, the NNPCL’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer (CCCO), Olufemi Soneye, quoted Kyari as saying this at the opening ceremony of the 42nd Nigeria Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE) Annual International Conference and Exhibition, themed “Resolving the Nigeria Energy Trilemma: Energy Security, Sustainable Growth, and Affordability,” held in Lagos.

He said, “The energy trilemma is a profound responsibility we shoulder as stewards of Nigeria’s energy future. NNPC Ltd is working tirelessly to improve our supply chain, develop new refining capacities and expand our retail network.”

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He added that the NNPC Ltd is set to collaborate with private refineries to ensure affordable and sustainable petroleum products supply, naira-for-crude transactions as parts of efforts to stabilise the naira as well as regulate forex markets which he said will bring about expansion of gas infrastructure such as the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline and the Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) Gas Pipelines projects and the development of cleaner energy alternatives, such as Liquiefied Natural Gas (LNG) and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).

He continued, “Currently, NNPC Ltd supplies over 1.6 billion standard cubic feet (bscf) of gas per day to the domestic market through infrastructure we either own outright or operate with partners. This distribution network is entirely managed on NNPC Ltd.’s balance sheet.”

While reacting to the claims that national oil company is sabotaging the efforts of domestic refineries, the NNPCL boss said the NNPC Ltd is part-owners of the Dangote Refinery describing it as an investment and strategic move aimed at strengthening domestic fuel supply across the country.

 

NNPCL to deliver 12 CNG stations, LNG mini plants

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