Oyo To Partner British Govt on Economic Devt, as Makinde hosts British Deputy High Commissioner

Oyo State Governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, on Thursday, said that his administration will continue to collaborate with development partners and the private sector to promote economic growth.The governor, who stated this while receiving the British Deputy High Commissioner, Ben Llewellyn -Jones, who paid him a courtesy visit at the Governor’s Office, Agodi, Ibadan, added that government alone cannot develop the state's economy.

A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, quoted the governor as saying: "For us in Oyo State, we recognise the fact that government alone cannot sort out the challenges we have.

"I am glad to have you here to also discuss business opportunities.

“We have to look at development partners, which is a big part of what we are doing. We also encourage private sector participation.

"This afternoon, we will be flagging off a project on gas infrastructure, in collaboration with Shell Nigeria Gas.

"I know of an administration that tried to carry out same project using government resources but it failed. Now, if you have a business case where the private people can come in to invest, definitely such a project will be a go.

"So, we are always happy to sit down to discuss opportunities with development partners and the private sector."

Earlier, the British Deputy High Commissioner, Ben Llewellyn-Jones told the governor that the essence of the meeting was to talk about some areas his country and Oyo State could collaborate for development.

He said: "Thank you your Excellency for making time to see me. I know how busy you are.

"It is my sixth year in Nigeria and third year in Lagos. My role is to promote UK trade, investment and economic growth across Nigeria.

"I have come to see your Excellency to talk about some of the possibilities here in Oyo State."

He also said that his team will be meeting British Companies as well as officials of the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and will also spend some time to discuss partnerships with the University of Ibadan.

The event had in attendance the Head of Prosperity, British Deputy High Commission, Kris Camponi; Senior Political Adviser, Wale Adebajo; Secretary to the State Government, Mrs. Olubamiwo Adeosun; Chief of Staff, Hon. Segun Ogunwuyi; Head of Service, Alhaja Ololade Agboola; Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Hon. Niyi Adebisi, among others.

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Nigeria Will Begin Rice Export To Egypt - FG

The Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Tiamin Rice Company for processing and sale of rice locally and internationally.This was contained in a statement issued by the Deputy Managing Director of Tiamin Rice Company, Mr Aliyu Ibrahim, in Abuja.

Aliyu said the initiative was aimed at cultivation of quality rice paddy by RIFAN, while Tiamin processes and packages with state of the art milling technology for sale locally and internationally, particularly to Egypt.

He said the MoU, which would be operational for a period of two years was signed at the company’s 600-metric tonnes per hour capacity mill in Bauchi State.

“RIFAN and Tiamin share a common agenda in the area of rice farming and milling.

“This is to ensure a sustainable supply chain management of rice under a partnership that seeks to produce, mill and package processed rice of the highest quality for export and local trading.

“RIFAN and Tiamin share a common agenda in the area of rice farming and milling.

“This is to ensure a sustainable supply chain management of rice under a partnership that seeks to produce, mill and package processed rice of the highest quality for export and local trading.

“With a combined capacity of 920 tonnes per hour from its two mills in Kano and Bauchi states, Tiamin Rice is one of the largest producers of rice in Nigeria,” he said.

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Naira Redesign: Dollar May Crash To N200 – EFCC Chairman, Bawa

The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, has said the dollar might drop to ₦200 after the redesigning of naira.

In an interview with the Hausa service of Deutsche Welle (DW), Bawa claimed that President Muhammadu Buhari did well to approve the change.

He said, “The law says the redesigning of Naira notes should be done every eight years but we spent 20 years without any changes on them. And that resulted to 85 per cent of money are in circulation not in banks, when CBN came up with this redesigning, dollar moved to 880 and later dropped to 680 or thereabouts.

“So you see with this redesigning dollar may massively fall, who knows probably to ₦200.”

The EFCC chair also said there is no any political motive behind the idea and called on Nigerians to report any person with siphoned monies.

"As a result of this makeover, the value of the dollar may decrease dramatically, possibly to N200."

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Yoruba Council of Youths Plan Nationwide Protest Over Rising Fuel Prices, Scarcity

Some Nigerian youths under the auspices of Yoruba Council of Youths Worldwide (YCYW) has threatened to embark on a nationwide protest over the steady increase of prices of petroleum products.The group also asked President Muhammadu Buhari to sack the General Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited, Mele Kyari for gross incompetence.

This was made known on Friday in a statement by the Council President, Oladotun Hassan, in Abuja, noting that the NNPC GMD had destroyed the confidence and goodwill he had among Nigerians.

According to Hassan, Kyari’s incompetence has brought about untold hardship on the citizens.

The statement reads in part: "We have no choice than to rise in defence of Nigerian masses, for it is unarguable that the NNPC management under Mele Kyari is incompetent, weak and incapacitated, hence our clarion call for his immediate replacement with a better competent hand.

"Yoruba Council of Youths Worldwide shall be marching in protest to press home our demands should the needful not be done in a week’s time from date of this press release (On or before 17th November, 2022).

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Naira Redesign Won't Allow Politicians To Sponsor Thugs – Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari says there is no going back on the planned redesign of the N1,000, N500 and N200 bank notes, adding that politicians won’t be allowed to mobilise resources and thugs to intimidate voters in the 2023 general elections.The President made this known on Wednesday in an interview in the United Kingdom after meeting with His Royal Majesty, King Charles III in Buckingham Palace.

Buhari also said enough time has been given by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for Nigerians to deposit the present naira notes at banks in exchange for the newly redesigned ones which will be issued by December 15, 2022.

“On this change of currency, there will be a lot of money but time has been given from October to December, three months is enough for whatever money you have, to get it changed through the legal system.

“So, I don’t know why people are complaining about it,” the President said.

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FEC Approves N14.88bn For Construction Of FIRS Office

The Federal Executive Council has approved a contract for the construction of a new office block and parking lot worth over N14.88 billion for the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).The Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Clement Agba, disclosed this on Wednesday after the Council meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the State House.

Ogba told State House Correspondents that the Construction of the 12 storey building would save FIRS N4 billion annual rent and decongest traffic along Awolowo Road.

The Council also approved the creation of a database of the National Capital Projects Information System of Government, to track the growing abandoned and uncompleted projects across the country, particularly in the last five years, which drains national funds.

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You Can't Deposit More Than N5million For New Accounts, N50million For Old Account Monthly - CBN

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed that individuals can only deposit N5million for new accounts and N50million for old accounts in one month.CBN Director of Currency, Ahmed B. Umar,who issued the directive said that individuals will not be allowed to deposit more than N5 million if the transaction involves a new account in one month and if the transaction involves an old account, then only a maximum of N50 million will be allowed.

He also warned that those with multiple accounts will be monitored via the Bank Verification Number (BVN).

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I Will Sell Nigerian Refineries To Businessmen If Elected; They Can Manage Them Better – Atiku

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has again vowed to sell Nigerian refineries to “businessmen” if he is elected in 2023. Atiku stated this during a special interview with the Voice of America (VOA Hausa) during his visit to Washington DC, America.

He said, “My position on this is not new, I already said years ago, I will sell them, because if you give it to the businessmen, they will run these refineries better.”

Regarding the oil theft in southern Nigeria, the former vice president also promised to deal with the problem if he became president.

“This is a different problem that we have to see how we can use the power of the government to stop it, because there must be cooperation between the NNPC and the security agencies who are responsible to look after Oil pipelines laid,” he said.

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