CBN projects continued drop in inflation for six months 

The Central Bank of Nigeria has projected a gradual drop in inflation rate over the next six months.

It stated this in its newly released report on inflation expectations for February 2025.

The report said businesses and household respondents expected the level of inflation to gradually reduce over the next six months.

The respondents also anticipated lower spending as their expenditure gradually dropped over the next six months.

A further analysis by income distribution indicated that more households earning above N200,000 per month perceived inflation to be moderating, driven by factors such as energy costs, exchange rate, transportation costs, interest rate and insecurity influenced their perception of the inflation rate in the month under review.

The CBN, however said 65.1 per cent of respondents wanted a reduction in interest rate by the financial institution.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for March said the inflation rate for February dropped to 23.18% year-on-year in February 2025, reflecting a second consecutive monthly decline from the 24.48% recorded in January.

This figure marks a significant 8.52 percentage point decrease from the 31.70% seen in February 2024, following the adoption of a new CPI rebasing methodology.

Lanre Shittu Motors offers support for EV bus design competition in universities

Lanre Shittu Motors (LSM) has thrown its weight behind the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC)’s competition of building 8-seater for 12 Nigerian universities.

The universities are spread across all the geo-political zones of the country.

The frontline auto company in Nigeria is a major supporter of the competition which kicked off last week with the commissioning of eight units of EV bus shuttle at the University of Lagos, with representatives from different schools gracing the event.

The competition is expected to last for six months.
Apart from supporting the event, a technical representative of LSM is also part of the jury which is made up of auto industry players, academia and the NADDC.

Commenting on the development, the Managing Director of LSM, Mr. Taiwo Shittu, said, “We as a company like to support and encourage young talents who have interest in the automotive industry.

“It is also our own way of supporting the NADDC initiative of encouraging young brains in the country
“Encouraging and training the youths is part of our Corporate Social Responsibility. Before now, every years, we take in youths into our facility and train them, even while in training, we give them stipends, and we are still doing this.”

The MD added, “We do not stop at training and giving stipends, we also provide basic workshop tools to those we train, and employ some of them.”

The participating universities in the competition are Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; Uthman Danfodio University, Sokoto; Modibbo Adama University, Yola; Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi; University of Abuja; and University of Ilorin, Kwara State.

Others are University of Nigeria, Nsukka; Federal University of Technology, Owerri; University of Benin; Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife; University of Lagos; and University of Port Harcourt.

At the commissioning event, which was held at the University of Lagos, and witnessed by auto industry operators, academia, top NADDC staff and the press, the Director General of the NADDC, Mr. Joseph Osanipin, stated that the Council would give its full support to the competition, tasking the contenders, made up of students and supported by lecturers from the concerned schools, to come up with practical and workable solutions suitable for the Nigerian environment.

He promised that the NADDC would not stop at the design stage at the end of the competition, but also take steps to involve auto players to develop the final products after the competition.

“Today, I challenge the Nigerian university community to dream big; I challenge you to do even better than our expectations. Let us have a vehicle of our dream. We are going to work with universities, polytechnics and technical schools,” the DG said.

NADDC Director in charge of Vehicle Electrification, Engr. A.N Ayinde, added that the competition would generate ideas and provide students with opportunity to embrace global best practices.

The kick-start of the competition was concluded with the inspection of some environment friendly auto brands such as electric vehicles and compressed natural gas-powered vehicles displayed by LSM.

One of the participants, Senior Vice President, Technical of Oando Clean Energy, Mr. Adeyemi Adebajo, stated that Oando is concerned about the environment and reasoned that environment, economy and society are key in sustainable transportation.

In his submission, a lecturer from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Prof. Ozoemena Ani, commended the initiative and pledged the collaboration of the academia.

Dangote, Amosun disagree on Ogun cement factory demolition, Abiodun facilitates rebuilding

THE President of Dangote Industries, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, yesterday, alleged that his cement plant in Itori, Ewekoro local government area of Ogun State was demolished twice by the Governor Ibikunle Amosun administration, including the factory’s fencing during the second demolition.

However, in a swift reaction to the allegation, the former Ogun State governor said that Dangote does not possess requisite approvals for constructing the structures he alleged were demolished.