Summary of the top business, economic and political news in Nigeria today.

1. The Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Mr. Tunde Fowler, has denied the allegation that the agency awarded huge contracts to Active Solution Integrated Synergy Limited without following procurement process. Fowler told the House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee on Procurement that the said company was selected on account of the prevailing national revenue emergency. Link
2. The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency on Tuesday stated that it did not approve any N5 increase in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol. Link
3. The Federal Government has said it will in 2018 commence a predictable budget year that will enable the executive and the legislature to check the delays that usually follow the budget process. Link
4. At a time when stakeholders are complaining about the high cost of clearing goods at the nation’s sea ports, the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, yesterday, further increased the costs by introducing a N70,000 royalty dues to be collected on its behalf by shipping companies. Link
5. The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria says checking of travellers luggage will no longer be done at the departure hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. The Managing Director, FAAN, Mr. Saleh Dunoma, said this was part of the plan to ensure the implementation of the Executive Order recently issued by the Acting President Yemi Osinbajo. “The Executive Order does not give room for pre-checks on luggage. All checks should be done in designated areas. Luggage should not be checked at the departure hall,” he said. Link
6. The federal government on Tuesday in Abuja said it would build a one billion dollar ICT company to boost indigenous technology. The acting president, Prof.  Yemi Osinbajo made this known in his opening address at the 2017 Digital Africa Conference and Exhibition. According to him, such feat will make Nigeria no longer a dumping ground for ICT products and services. Link
7. Minister of Communication, Mr. Adebayo Shittu, said at the weekend that the country would reposition the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) for national growth by leveraging on information and communication technology (ICT), especially now that disruptive technologies abound. Link
8. In his bullish drive for investment, Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State, Monday, signed a partnership agreement with his counterpart in Shaanxi Province in China, Hu Heping, to bolster the injection of capital for business in the state. The agreement will allow Chinese businessmen pump the much desired capital into the Calabar Carnival, Power, and Solid Minerals sectors of the state. Link
9. The President/Chief Executive of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has urged African leaders to address as a matter of urgency, the problem of power generation and transmission if the continent wants to grow like others in the western world. According to him, “No power, no growth. We need to make sure we tackle the issue of power,” the leading industrialist said at the first panel discussion at the Development Finance Forum. Link
10. The Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has assured investors that Nigeria is one of the most profitable places in the ECOWAS sub-region for business and investment. Citing the success of Indomie noodles, one of the products by an Indonesian company in the Nigerian market, Osinbajo said “there is much room to increase the volume of trade between both countries”. Link
11. The Federal Executive Council has approved Information Communication Technology (ICT) roadmap that will drive the sector from 2017 to 2020z. The roadmap is a framework that will ensure the creation of 2.5million jobs and 30 percent broadband penetration among others by 2020, Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu told newsmen at the Post FEC briefing at the State House, Abuja. Link
12. The Federal Ministry of Finance says N375.8 million has been paid to 20 providers of information under the Whistleblower Policy. The Director of Information, Mr Salisu Dambatta in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja, said that payment was related to the recovery of N11.6 billion. He explained that the payment was only for recovered assets that had been declared free of legal disputes or litigation by the Attorney-General of the Federation. Link
13. A FCT High Court, Maitama, on Monday ordered the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) to refund $ 385,000 to Emaren Oil and Gas Ltd for failed business transaction. Link
14. Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc is pursuing the diversification of its export routes and development of its domestic natural gas business to forestall disruptions to earnings and ensure steadily improving performance, its directors have said. Link
15. Etisalat, Globacom and Airtel Nigeria Limited may be owing the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) millions of naira as part of their mandatory levies from their annual profits, a House of Representatives panel heard yesterday. The Director General of the agency, Dr Isa Ibrahim Pantami said, only MTN has been regular in paying the levy. The company paid N19 billion since the inception of the fund in 2007, while Globacom paid only N1.3bn for 2011, 2012 and 2015. Airtel paid N677.7 million for 2007, 2008 and 2015 and declared losses in other years, while Etisalat, which came into Nigeria in 2008 has not paid anything since then, claiming losses. Link
16. Globacom Chairman and one of Nigeria’s billionaires, Dr. Mike Adenuga, is reportedly making moves to acquire Etisalat as the latter continues to face debt crisis. The development is coming as Etisalat continues to show distress signs evident in its inability to expand its network as it is enmeshed in a $1.2 billion loan. Link
17. As part of the corporate efforts aimed at creating awareness on investment opportunities on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), one of the frontline securities and investment companies, Capital Bancorp Plc, has unfolded the benefits of investment in fixed income securities to the officers of Lagos State Sector, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC). Link
18. Coronation Merchant Bank was on Tuesday awarded the International Organisation for Standardisation’s (ISO) 27001:2013 Certification for Information Security Management by the British Standard Institute (BSI). The certification signifies Coronation Merchant Bank’s adherence to the highest internationally recognised standards and stringent controls for managing data and protecting customer information across all the bank’s systems, processes and services. Link
19. Pan-continental fintech company, MFS Africa has partnered with Paga, a mobile money transfer provider, to connect its users and Nigerian bank account holders to remittance senders from around the world. The pact allows customers with Paga wallet to receive transfers from millions of other mobile money users across Africa, or from any money transfer operator connected to the MFS Hub. Link
20. Worried by the high cost of foodstuff and other consumables  in most markets, Akwa Ibom State  government has ordered the immediate reduction in prices of  foodstuff in the state. The Special Assistant to the Governor on Traders Matters, Mr. Idorenyin Raphael said “This is most regrettably condemnable, hence the need to by this notice inform all the leaders of the various Traders Union to as a matter of urgency reduce the prices of the food stuffs in the market within 31 days so as to decrease the rate of hardship being experienced by the consumers who are residents in the state.” Link
21. The House of Representatives ad hoc Committee investigating  $17 billion undeclared proceeds of crude oil and liquefied gas sales between 2011 and 2014 has summoned Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of the Shell Petroleum Development Company  (SPDC) and the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC). Link
22. The Senate on Wednesday criticised the recently approved 2017 N1.5m Hajj fare packages for 23 states by the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria. As a result, the legislature launched a probe into the upward review to unravel the alleged corruption in the process. Link