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  • Merchants, Businesses Must Accept e-Naira Anywhere It’s Presented – CBN 

    Merchants, Businesses Must Accept e-Naira Anywhere It’s Presented – CBN 

    The Central Bank of Nigeria has stated that the e-naira which will be launched on October 1, is a legal tender equal to the naira and must be accepted as a form of payment by all merchants and business establishments. 

     

    Mr. Musa Jimoh, the CBN Director of Payment System Management, stated this during an appearance on Channels Television’s “Business Morning.”

     

    Jimoh said, “Today, anywhere you present naira to pay, compulsorily it must be accepted because that is our fiat currency. So, the same way naira is accepted that you can’t reject it, is the same way e-naira must be accepted. Anywhere in this country where e-naira is presented, it must be accepted. So, merchants must accept e-naira as a means of payment.”

     

    He recommended that Nigerians should open e-naira wallets, which can be downloaded on mobile phones starting October 1, and said the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was responsible for all liabilities.

     

     “The liability of the e-naira money is directly on CBN which is similar to the cash you hold. The liability of the cash you hold today rests with the CBN. So, it gives Nigerians the opportunity to bank with CBN,” Jimoh said.

     

     What you should know

     

    Nigeria’s Central Bank planned to own a stake in Bitt Inc. It was stated that one of the conditions being considered for accepting Bitt Inc was for the company to register in Nigeria as a Limited Liability company allowing the central bank to own shares in its Nigerian entity.

     

    Bitt is a financial technology business that uses blockchain and distributed ledger technology to enable safe peer-to-peer transactions with seamless mobile money across Bitt’s software and mobile apps.

     

    The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria has stated that Bitt Inc, the company developing the country’s digital currency, eNaira, is not his company.

     

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced that the Nigerian International Financial Centre (NIFC) will be established to act as a gateway for funds and investments into the country.

  • 20th Anniversary: Airtel Offers Customers N100m in Recharge and Blow Promo

    20th Anniversary: Airtel Offers Customers N100m in Recharge and Blow Promo

     

    …. Rewards Customers with 250MB data bundle, 20 SMS

     

    As part of activities commemorating its 20th anniversary in Nigeria, leading telecommunications services provider, Airtel Nigeria, has announced the commencement of Recharge and Blow promo, a new offer that empowers customers to earn cash reward of up to N100m when they increase their weekly recharge.

     

    Airtel is also rewarding all its customers with a gift of 250mb of data and 20 SMS as part of the anniversary celebrations.

     

    Airtel says the promo is in line with its commitment to reward, excite and delight customers across the country in commemoration of its 20 years of providing telecommunication services in Nigeria.

     

    Chief Commercial Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Dinesh Balsingh, said the Recharge and Blow offer underscores the company’s pledge to creating exciting opportunities and platforms to reward and empower Nigerians as well as serve as a testimony to Airtel’s commitment of always putting customers first and ensuring their expectations are constantly exceeded.

     

    “At Airtel, we always hold all our customers in high esteem and the Recharge and Blow promo as well as the data/SMS reward is an expression of our deepest appreciation to our customers across the country. We thank our customers for their loyalty and patronage even as we wish to assure them that we will not relent in providing them with the best and most relevant products, services and reward opportunities,” he said.

     

    To participate in the promo, customers are required to dial 4444# to view details of the campaign including preset target, recharge progress and cash token wallet.

     

     In line with the terms of the promo, customers weekly target is set every Sunday and customers are to achieve their preset target before Saturday.

     

    As part of the promo, a draw is conducted weekly and preset target is based on customers’ previous recharge patterns. Upon meeting the preset target, customers stand the chance to win guaranteed cashback as well as win up to N100m in the weekly draw.

     

    To redeem the 250mb data bundle and 20 SMS gift, customers are required to dial 4444#.

     

     While customers will be able to redeem their reward when they dial the string, they can only utilize the reward on the Gift Redemption Day, which will be on September 26th and October 3rd, respectively. The gift is valid till mid-night on each of the aforementioned Gift Redemption Day.

     

    The Recharge and Blow offer puts the customer in the driver’s seat as it offers freedom and opportunity to enjoy an amazing variety of mouth-watering rewards and win as many times as possible, as long as a preset target is achieved.

     

    The promo ends on 31st December, 2021.

  • Dollar Hits N575 Two Days After Aboki FX Update Suspension

    Dollar Hits N575 Two Days After Aboki FX Update Suspension

     

    The dollar rose to between N572 and N575 in different parts of the country on Monday barely two days after online platform, Aboki FX, stopped providing updates on the exchange rate.

     

    A visit to the ever-busy Wuse Zone 4 which is the hub of bureau de change operators in Abuja, discovered that the dollar was sold for N574 as opposed to the N570 it was sold for on Friday.

     

    In Lagos, the dollar was sold at N572 while in Kano it was N575 as of 3pm on Monday.

     

    The pound was sold for N780 as opposed to N770 last Friday.

     

    The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, had accused the online foreign exchange update platform, Aboxi FX, of manipulating the forex market.

     

    Emefiele, had said the bank would shut down the operations of Aboki FX which it described as illegal.

     

    Subsequently, Aboki FX said in a statement on Friday that it would no longer publish exchange rates for now and hoped that the naira would stabilise.

     

    It further stated that it usually gets its information from bureau de change operators in Lagos.

  • NNPC Generates Over ₦200 Billion From Its Filing Stations

    NNPC Generates Over ₦200 Billion From Its Filing Stations

     

    Results from NNPC Retail Limited, a subsidiary of Nigeria’s state oil corporation, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), revealed that the company generated over ₦200 billion from its 544 stations in the country.

     

    NNPC Retail Limited, which is principally engaged in the marketing and sale of refined petroleum, liquified petroleum gas and allied products, was established in 2002 as a corporate strategic unit of NNPC.

     

    It was incorporated as a limited liability company in 2009 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of NNPC.

     

    In 2020, the company generated a revenue of ₦200.3 billion which comprised of revenue from 5 petroleum products which are Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS), Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), Dual Purpose Kerosene (DPK), Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) and Lubricants.

     

    PMS accounted for the lion share of the revenue generated. It represented approximately 79% of the total revenue generated to the tune of ₦158.2 billion. Compared to 2019, the revenue generated from PMS increased by 7.07%.

     

    AGO accounted for the second largest as it generated approximately ₦40 billion in 2020. It accounted for approximately 20% of the total revenue. Compared to 2019, the revenue generated from AGO increased by 9.16%.

     

    DPK accounted for 0.65% of the total revenue as it generated ₦1.3 billion. The company did not generate any revenue from DPK in 2019.

     

    LPG accounted for 0.28% of the total revenue as it generated ₦558.2 million. Compared to 2019, this revenue line increased by 19.29%.

     

    Lubricants accounted for 0.13% of the total revenue as it generated the least of all the revenue lines. It brought in approximately ₦255 million. NNPC retail did not generate any revenue from lubricants in 2019 according to the report.

     

    After deducting the cost of sale, the company ended up with a gross profit of ₦17.8 billion. This represents a 15% increase from the gross profit of ₦15.5 billion generated in 2019. Ultimately, NNPC retail limited posted a Profit After Tax (PAT) of ₦1.48 billion which when compared to the ₦2.82 billion generated in 2019, represents a 47.33% decline. This is majorly attributable to the income tax charged in the year 2020 which when compared to 2019, increased by approximately 139%, from ₦1.72 billion charged in 2019 to ₦4.11 billion charged in 2020.

     

    The total comprehensive income posted a negative return of ₦934.8 million in 2020 compared to the gain of ₦2.62 billion made in 2019. This was majorly attributable to the loss on re-measurement of defined benefit obligations which stood at ₦2.42 billion. In 2019, this line item stood at ₦201.6 million. This puts NNPC retail’s Earnings Per Share at negative 9.35 in 2020.

     

    The company owns 544 filling stations as of 2020 and comparing that to the 555 it owned in 2019, the company has reduced its number of filing stations by 11 or approximately 2%. From the data provided, the 544 filing stations comprises 465 affiliates, 37 mega stations, 6 standard stations, 21 leased stations, 3 ultra-modern stations and 12 floating mega stations.

     

    Compared to 2019, NNPC reduced its affiliates stations by 16 from 481 affiliates, representing a 3.32% decline, increased its standard stations by 2 from 4 standard stations, representing a 50% increase and increased its leased stations by 3 from 18 leased stations, representing a 16.67% increase.

     

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) group posted a profit after tax of ₦287.23 billion in 2020, representing a significant growth compared to a loss of ₦1.76 billion recorded in the previous year.

     

    According to the result, NNPC recorded profit growth despite a 20% decline in its revenue for the year. Specifically, its revenue declined from ₦4.63 trillion recorded in 2019 to ₦3.72 trillion in 2020. This could be attributed to the downturn caused by the covid-19 pandemic, which affected global crude oil prices.

     

    A breakdown of the revenue from customers shows that a total of ₦2.28 trillion was made from the sales of petroleum products, accounting for 61.2% of the recorded revenue. NNPC generated ₦828.13 billion from the sales of crude oil, representing 22.3% of the total revenue.

     

     

  • Eat’N’Go Provides Academic Sponsorship For 1,200 Out-of-School Children in Remote Communities

    Eat’N’Go Provides Academic Sponsorship For 1,200 Out-of-School Children in Remote Communities

    Nigeria’s leading restaurant group, Eat‘n’Go Limited has stepped in to cater to the academic needs and wellbeing of 1,200 out-of-school children in partnership with Slum2School Africa.

     

    The Slum2School Programme, a corporate Social Responsibility  initiative, was launched to identify out-of-school children at slums in remote communities with the aim to provide them quality education.

     

    The 4th edition of the CSR initiative which held at Tarkwa Bay in Lagos was graced with the presence of EatNGo and Slum2School executives, teachers, parents, children who will be recipients of this year’s programme, and volunteers who engaged the kids in career mentorship and advised them on the importance of literacy.

     

    Tear-eyed Shekoni Rihannat in an interview shared her hopes of becoming a banker.

     

    “I stopped going to school in JSS1. My mummy doesn’t have any money.”

     

    The 10 year old Tarkwa Bay resident expressed her gratitude to EatNGo as she brightened up while noting that now her mother’s hope will also be fulfilled.

     

    Chief Executive Officer, Eat’n’Go Limited, Patrick McMicheal disclosed that for him, reaching the milestone of 1,200 kids was an exciting thing to see.

     

    “We started off with about 40 children in 2016. In 2019 we had about 1000 children. 2020 we did 1100 children and this year we are going on with 1200 children. We have picked up a lot of children who weren’t getting enough education and they are in school now.”

     

    Cheerful 8 year-old Grace Lekam-Obi shared her joy at the news that she could go back to school.

     

     She explained that it had been difficult to approach her mother ever since the new academic session resumed.

     

    “I watch others going to school. I can’t cry because I understand,” she noted.

     

    While buttressing the importance of giving back to a country that has done so much, Mc Micheal pointed that as a company “It’s one thing to be successful in Nigeria, the other thing is to give back.”

     

    In his words: “I think it’s really important to give back when you are successful across the country and so for us we looked at how can we give back. We do a lot of hiring and training of young people in Nigeria and these young people need to be educated to be successful, that’s why we partnered with slum2school to ensure these children get an education and hopefully one day they can work with us.”

     

    Speaking on how much has being achieved and the impact of the partnership with EatNGo, Ogechi Ofurem, Head of Operations, Slum2School said: “EatNGo has played a huge role in our organization by ensuring that we continually support the children that we have in school. For instance today’s programme is a reality because EatNGo partnered with us.”

     

    She continued: “They have also given us all the support we need to ensure that these children are well oriented on the importance of going to school as well as the importance of their ability to read and write; that’s the essence of our literacy day campaign. Currently in Nigeria, we have about 10million out-of-school children; at the moment we are fundraising to support 5000 children and EatNGo is supporting us with 1200 children and for us that is a really huge milestone.”

     

    Together with Slum2School Africa, Eat N’Go will ensure that the 1,200 children from slums in Nigeria are placed in schools by the end of 2021. Eat‘n’Go Limited is the parent company of Domino’s Pizza, Cold Stone and Pinkberry.

     

  • Heritage Bank Boss, Sekibo Urges Govt, Stakeholders To Prioritise SMEs, Youth Entrepreneurship

    Heritage Bank Boss, Sekibo Urges Govt, Stakeholders To Prioritise SMEs, Youth Entrepreneurship

    The Managing Director/CEO of Heritage Bank Plc, Ifie Sekibo has urged stakeholders and governments at all levels to prioritize conscious inclusion of Small and Medium Enterprises and youth entrepreneurship in bridging the gap to attain sustainable solutions to economic recovery as it is the most impactful route to drive lasting and meaningful growth.

     

     Sekibo gave this submission on the sidelines of the 14th Annual Banking and Finance Conference of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) with a theme: “Economic Recovery, Inclusion & Transformation: The Role of Banking and Finance.”

     

    According to him, one of the key areas where government, financial institutions and other stakeholders can move this nation from poverty to prosperity is through conscious creation of viable environment for small businesses and young entrepreneurs to thrive because they are the backbone of local economies around the world – they happen to be the biggest employers, job creators and contributors of the national gross domestic products.

     

    “We cannot talk about moving from poverty to prosperity without taking SMEs very seriously in this country.

     

    “We must support the SMEs sector reform through providing infrastructure, providing loans to farmers and ensuring interest rate loans is single digit,” he affirmed.

     

    Sekibo, who was represented at the conference by the Regional Head Abuja-1, Daniel Oniko, stated that giving SMEs and young entrepreneurs leverage to contribute immensely to the development of their host community through engaging the youths and unemployed individuals will bring about and facilitate economic recovery.

     

    He emphasized that the role of SMEs in creating and sustaining national development in relation to job creation has been considered a key tool in modern-day poverty alleviation, economic emancipation, and total well-being.

     

    The MD, however disclosed that “One of Heritage Bank’s major cardinal point as a bank is supporting micro, small and medium scale businesses and our strong desire to see young men and women succeed in any area of their business.

     

    This will help the society and economy to grow, thereby moving the nation from poverty to prosperity, he added. He noted that Heritage Bank was taking the lead through various initiatives such as its youth entrepreneurship development programmes which were aimed at increasing the contributions of the MSME segment to the economy.”

     

    He further explained that the entrepreneur schemes of the bank in the support for business had always focused on dependable job-creating sectors such as the agricultural value chain: fish farming, poultry, snail farming, etc., cottage industry, mining and solid minerals, creative industry: tourism, arts and crafts, and Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

     

    Speaking earlier, the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, said emerging challenges require that the banking and finance sector takes on more transformative projects such as housing and renewable energy.

     

    The VP acknowledged that the banking and finance sector has over the years played significant roles in the nation’s economic development.

     

    According to the Vice President, “it is time for the sector to take on some of the transformative big-ticket items that would fundamentally transform our economy. Such matters include consumer finance but housing finance.

     

    In his goodwill message, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele stated that the banking sector remained well positioned to support the recovery efforts of the monetary and fiscal authorities.

     

    “Clearly, Nigeria’s banks have become not only strong and resilient but have also carved a good niche in the world to consolidate on the growth and resilience of the banks in the last decades”, he added.

     

  • PIA: Buhari Orders Incorporation of NNPC Limited

    PIA: Buhari Orders Incorporation of NNPC Limited

    In his capacity as the Minister of Petroleum Resources, President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the incorporation of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, NNPC Limited, in a bid to prepare the Federal Government for the Petroleum Industry Act.

     

    The President also approved the board of the new company.

     

    This was disclosed in a statement by Garba Shehu, the President’s Spokesman on Sunday in Abuja, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.

     

    The Presidency said the move is in line with Section 53(1) of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, which requires the Minister of Petroleum Resources to call for the incorporation of the NNPC Limited within six months of the commencement of the Act.

     

    The President said, “The Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mr Mele Kolo Kyari, has, therefore, been directed to take necessary steps to ensure that the incorporation of the NNPC Limited is consistent with the provisions of the PIA 2021.”

     

    The President also added that it has approved the appointment of the board and management of the NNPC Limited, with effect from the date of the incorporation of the company, in line with Section 59(2) of the PIA 2021.

     

    Sen. Ifeanyi Ararume will serve as the Chairman of the board, while Mele Kolo Kyari and Umar I. Ajiya are Chief Executive Officer, and Chief Financial Officer, respectively.

     

    Other board members are Dr Tajudeen Umar (North- East), Mrs Lami O. Ahmed (North-Central), Mallam Mohammed Lawal (North-West), Sen. Margaret Chuba- Okadigbo (South-East), Barrister Constance Harry Marshal (South-South) and Chief Pius Akinyelure.

     

    Last month, President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the committee to immediately commence the implementation of the newly passed Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

     

    The steering committee which will drive the implementation process is to be headed by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva and will have a duration of 12 months for the completion of the assignment.

  • Nigeria Runs The Risk of Entering Another Debt Trap Over Unending External Borrowing –Pat Utomi

    Nigeria Runs The Risk of Entering Another Debt Trap Over Unending External Borrowing –Pat Utomi

    Pat Utomi, a Professor of Political Economics has warned that Nigeria runs the risk of entering another debt trap if it keeps borrowing to fill the needs of recurring expenditure spending.

     

    He urged that Nigeria develops a clear national strategy, which looks at how growth can take place in a sustainable manner in this economy.

     

    Utomi disclosed this in an interview with Channels TV on Sunday, following President Muhammadu Buhari’s letter to the Senate requesting to borrow over $4 billion from external lenders.

     

    Utomi said, “Our country is going through a very trying period. This is a time for statesmen to emerge, not people arguing partisan position on things.

     

    “The Nigerian economy, is not growing in any way or shape that can accommodate its needs, population growth, rates, location on scale of poor countries. It means that in terms of absolute numbers of people living in poverty, that this is one of the most terrible places to live in on earth.”

     

    Utomi said that even though the borrowings are sometimes justifiable, there was cause for concern seeing how much of Nigeria’s revenue goes into debt servicing.

     

    “In terms of statistic’s being said, yes, in an absolute sense, the fact of borrowing $4 billion is not necessarily something that will kill Nigeria, even though if you look at how much of our revenues going into servicing debt, you have to worry.

     

    “However, there is a converse point here. This country needs to grow like crazy, and it cannot grow unless you invest. The real issue is the targeting of borrowed funds.

     

    “Am I convinced that the targeting is enough to drive the kind of growth that will facilitate the economy to grow in a sustainable manner? I have not been given enough information to believe that it is the case.”

     

    He added that Nigeria has been in this position before, back in the 70s, when General Obasanjo was head of state.

     

    “One of the reasons Nigeria is where it is today, is that oil price dropped during the heat of last year, compounded by supply chain challenges brought about by the lockdown, which led to revenue shortfall of a significant nature because we have failed to do something we said we are doing, which is to diversify the base of the Nigerian economy.

     

    “Do I see the plans that these borrowings will facilitate the diversification of the economy? My straight answer is No, I do not see the plan.

     

    “We need to develop a clear nation strategy, which looks at how growth can take place in a sustainable manner in this economy, then we can borrow, twice or three times as much as we are borrowing, and I won’t be afraid,” he explained.

     

    President Muhammadu Buhari has last week sent a letter to the Senate requesting to borrow over $4 billion from external lenders to fund infrastructure development.

     

    The President sent the letter to the Senate on Tuesday citing European banks including Credit Suisse Group and Standard Chartered Bank as private lenders.

     

    The loans range from a grant of $125 million to a 710 million Euros loan will be sourced from the World Bank, French Development Agency, China-Exim Bank and International Fund for Agricultural Development.

     

    “The projects listed in the external borrowing plan are to be financed through sovereign loans from the World Bank, French Development Agency, EXIM Bank and IFAD in the total sum of $4,054,476,863 and €710 million and grant components of $125 million,” Buhari said.

     

  • Review of Grassroots Economy, Key To National Development –Princess Akobundu

    Review of Grassroots Economy, Key To National Development –Princess Akobundu

    The National Coordinator/ Chief Executive Officer, African Union Development Agency- New Partnership for Africa’s Development, AUDA-NEPAD Nigeria, Princess Gloria Akobundu has reiterated that for the nation to attain greater heights in global economic circle, there is need for self-assessment of economic practices particularly at the grassroots with the aim to embrace and work towards global best practices.

    Akobundu made the call as a member of the Panel of Discussants on day-two of the Inaugural Partnership Economy Summit Abuja with the theme “Translating Global Goals into Local Businesses in Nigeria organized by the Federal Ministry of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs.

     

    She made the submission while responding to a paper presented by Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals, titled ‘Partnership Economy Nigeria as a Multi-stakeholders platform in pursuit of Translating Global Goals into Local Businesses for SDGs in Nigeria adopting Peer Review Mechanism among the participating Local Government Councils and Areas on the platform of the Government Citizens Partnership.

     

    Akobundu, was represented by Director, APRM Department, AUDA-NEPAD, Mrs Adefunke Adimula.

     

    She reiterated the need for sub-national government to embrace Peer Review Mechanism in order to attain global development standard in their areas of comparative advantages.

     

    According to Akobundu, there is need to introduce technology into every economic activity at the grassroots.

     

    “What to do is not really a challenge as every society in Nigeria is notable for one production or the other but there is an urgent need to transform to global way of production to maximize output.

     

    “Farming is common to every community, but when compared to how it is done in other climes where they have greater outputs and toil less you will discover that the difference is the use of the right technology.

     

    “Let us Peer Review each other’s economic system with love, not to shame each other so that together we can fast track the growth of our local businesses.

     

    “African Union came up with  APRM for voluntary self-assessment among member states and it has also helped in the pursuit of AU- Agenda 2063 ‘Africa We Want’, APRM tool can also be adopted at the sub-national level for greater development.

     

    Orelope-Adefulire, represented by Ms Patricia Aniebue, said all the 17 Goals of SDG-2063 would make individual society and by extension, the country to become condusive for all.

  • SDG: Sub-National Govts, Private Sector Should Embrace Developmental Laws, Policies, says Princess Akobundu

    SDG: Sub-National Govts, Private Sector Should Embrace Developmental Laws, Policies, says Princess Akobundu

    As the Nation aspires to achieve United Nations Sustainable Developmental Goals (SDG) 2030 and African Union Agenda – 2063 ‘Africa We Want’, sub-national governments and the private sector should embrace the existing developmental laws and policies of the Federal Government through compliance in their activities.

    Princess Gloria Akobundu,  National Coordinator/CEO,  AUDA-NEPAD/APRM Nigeria made the call in her remarks at the opening of the Inaugural Partnership Economy Summit 2021 organized in Abuja by the Federal Ministry of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs  themed ‘Translating Global Goals into Local Businesses in Nigeria’ held 14th -15th September.

    According to the CEO, effective globalisation of local businesses requires collective efforts.

    In a statement signed by Abolade Ogundimu, Media Assistant to NC/CEO, AUDA-NEPAD/APRM Nigeria, Akobundu noted; “In order to take our cottage industries to global standard,  there is need for sub-national governments and private sector to partner with federal government in  the implementation of its policies and programmes.

     

    “Through mutual Partnership with major stakeholders,  the general public will be more willing to play their expected roles in the economic transformation agenda of the government.

     

    “This is not the time to complain on what should be done, it is time for every stakeholder to discharge assigned roles so that the society can transform to global standard in every aspect of development.”

     

    She commended President Muhammadu Buhari for coming up with various policies as she urged states and local governments to complement Federal Government’s developmental efforts for rapid growth.

     

    “All stakeholders should begin to work the talk in promoting Public-Private Partnership in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and the AU Agenda 2063 of ‘Africa we want’.

     

    “The ongoing policy of President Buhari to lift 100 million people from poverty within 10 years, among others indicate his commitment to bequeath a greater Nation on the trajectory to meeting AU Agenda- 2063 ‘Africa We Want’ and UN SDG-2030.

     

    “Also, the ongoing Second Peer Review of the Country approved by President Buhari and conducted  by AUDA-NEPAD/APRM Nigeria is to enable the Nation look itself in the mirror to see where it was, where it is and where we want to be. The APRM is a veritable developmental tool.

     

    ” Successful completion of Nigeria’s Second Review will put it ahead of other West African States and fourth in the entire continent to have conducted Second Peer Review on APRM thematic areas which are Socio-economic Development; Democracy and Political Governance; Corporate Governance and; Economic Governance and Management.

     

    “All stakeholders should continue to work together to build a better Nation,  Continent and the world,” she said.

     

    Akobundu lauded Sen. George Akume,  Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs for organising the summit, targeting grassroots development.

     

    Earlier, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo,  represented by Otunba Niyi Adebayo, Minister of Trade and Investment said rapid development at Local Government Level had been the focus of President Buhari-led administration,  calling for synergy among  State and Non- state actors at all levels of government.

     

    The National Executives of Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON), National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) said the summit was capable of deepening development at the Local Government level across the country.