Fuel Subsidy: CPPE urges FG to implement interventions to mitigate impacts
The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has pleaded with the Federal Government to introduce some palliatives that will reduce the impact of the removal of the fuel subsidy from the 2023 budget on Nigerians.
Muda Yusuf, founder of the CPPE, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lagos.
Yusuf said that the government needed to come up with immediate and short-term measures that would ease the pain of the sharp increases in transportation and feeding costs on the citizens.
Yusuf, who said that food and transportation account for over 50 percent of the household budget of the populace, noted that “something urgent needed to be done”.
According to him, such measures should reduce the cost of food, provide cheaper public transportation options, and improve power supply.
He said that an improved power supply would help reduce demand for fuel, electricity, generators, and incentives to promote the use of auto gas.
Read also: Abuja residents lament fuel crisis, queues
Shareholders of TotalEnergies approve N8.5bn dividend payout for 2022 financial year
Shareholders of TotalEnergies Marketing Nigeria Plc have approved a N8.49 billion dividend payout for the 2022 financial year. This payment translates to N25 per ordinary share for shareholders.
The shareholders’ approval came at the company’s 45th Annual General Meeting (AGM), held on Thursday in Lagos, while approving all resolutions.
The shareholders of the company commended the board and management for an impressive result.
The company, despite inflationary pressure, recorded N141.12 billion, or a 41 percent increase in 2022 turnover, to close at N482.47 billion when compared with N341.35 billion recorded during the corresponding period of 2021.
President Tinubu meets with National Assembly leadership over successors
President Bola Tinubu met with Senate President Ahmad Lawan and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila, on Thursday in Abuja over the choice of the leadership for the 10th National Assembly.
Lawan told newsmen after the meeting that the president emphasised the need for the right choice of leadership for the National Assembly.
He said Tinubu maintained that the emergence of the leadership should be in the national interest—in the interest of the National Assembly and of the legislature.
“We are getting somewhere, and our prayer is that we are able to resolve all the outstanding issues. Mr. President is positively disposed to everything being done smoothly.
“We believe that Mr. President, having been a senator himself, and his vice president also having been a senator, will always wish and pray for the right leadership for the National Assembly,’’ he said.
Nigeria, others transport more than $7 trillion in goods by sea yearly — WSC
The World Shipping Council has reported that Nigeria and the rest of the world move around $7 trillion worth of goods across the sea every year.
The group, based in Washington DC, said in its report available on its website that there were more than 100 international liner ship operators providing over 2,000 regularly scheduled services.
“Every year, 241 million containers are transported across the seas with over $7 trillion worth of goods. It is a hotly contested market, with more than 100 international liner ship operators providing over 2,000 regularly scheduled services, most weekly, enabling trade between the nations of the world.
“During the pandemic, extreme and unpredictable demand put supply chains to the test, driving up shipping rates. Today, as conditions are normalising, so is the global supply network, with rates and reliability returning to pre-COVID levels,” the report indicated.
JPMorgan to close 21 First Republic Bank branches
JPMorgan Chase & Co. will shut 21 branches of First Republic Bank by the end of the year as it finalises plans to integrate the failed bank into its operations, a JPMorgan spokesperson said on Thursday.
According to Reuters, the locations account for about a quarter of First Republic’s 84 branches across eight states. The lender, which was the largest to collapse since the 2008 financial crisis, was seized by regulators in May and sold to JPMorgan.
“These locations have relatively low transaction volumes and are generally within a short drive from another First Republic office,” the spokesperson said.
