All the major economic news from Nigeria in 5 minutes-17/8/2017

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

1. Dangote Group has commenced the disbursement of more than N850 million as compensation to land owners affected by its sugar refinery project in Tunga, Awe Local Government Area of Nasarawa State. Link
2. Primero Transport Services Limited, an operator of Ikorodu-CMS Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) has agreed with a Chinese automobile conglomerate, Yutong Group to set up a multi-million-dollar plant for the assemblage of high occupancy vehicles (HOV) in Lagos. Link
3. Nigeria’s telecoms operator, Airtel said yesterday that it has commenced another journey to deepen internet connectivity in line with the Federal Government to achieve a 30% broadband penetration by 2018. Link
4. Jaiz Bank Plc., Access Bank Plc., FCMB Group Plc., Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc. and Dangote Cement Plc. emerged the top five losers on Wednesday as the equities market shrank by N343bn in one session. Jaiz Bank shares dropped by five per cent to close at N0.76 from N0.80; Access Bank’s share price closed at N9.93 from N10.45, after shedding 4.98 per cent; while FCMB recorded a drop of 4.96 per cent to close at N1.15 from N1.21. Stanbic IBTC share price dropped to N37.03 from N38.95, losing 4.93 per cent of its value, while Dangote Cement dropped by 4.89 per cent to close at N214 from N225. Link
5. The Chief Executive Officer of ENL Consortium Limited, Mrs. Victoria Haastrup, has called on the government to relocate tank farms from Apapa, Lagos, to a more spacious area that will not constitute any danger to the society. Link
6. The Bank of Industry (BoI) has disbursed over N450 million micro credit loans to more than 7,000 beneficiaries under the Federal Government’s Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) in Ogun State. Link
7. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has made a cumulative disbursement of N277.4 billion as Power and Airline Intervention Fund (PAIF) between September 2016 and June 2017. Link
8. With the introduction of the Treasury Single Account (TSA), the federal government saves N4.7 billion monthly as banks charges, the Accountant General of the Federation, Alhaji Ahmed Idris disclosed on Wednesday. Link
9. The Accountant- General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris has disclosed that the Treasury Single Account (TSA) recently initiated by the Federal Government has so far consolidated over 20,000 bank accounts. Link
10. The Nigeria Expanded Trade and Transport (NEXTT) project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has announced the launch of eight model business/industry studies for processing, export and subsequent development of their value chains in Nigeria. Link
11. The federal government may have completed arrangements to set up a task force that will be charged with the responsibility of curbing piracy, tax defaulting and promotion of national heritage. Already a bill to give legal backing to the organisation has passed the first reading in the House of Representatives. Link
12. A Federal High Court in Lagos on Thursday ordered the interim forfeiture of N664,475,246.6 and $137,680.11 recovered from a serving Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity, Dr. Clement Illoh Onubuogo. Link
13. Hubmart Stores has inaugurated a new outlet located in the heart of the Ikeja G.R.A. Link
14. The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has expressed worry over the continuous decline in the number of telecoms subscribers in Nigeria from 155 million in January 2017 to 143 million as at the end of June 2017. Link
15. The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said it will penalise telecoms operators involved in call masking and call refilling. Link
16. The International Air Travel Agency (IATA) has revealed that the aviation industry in Nigeria has created over 650,000 jobs and contributes $8.2 billion to the domestic economy. Link
17. Brazilian businessmen have signalled their intentions to invest in the country. A representative of the Brazillian Trade and Export Agency, Diogo Akitaya stated this recently in Lagos. Link
18. The Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mounir Gwarzo, has said that SEC plans to stop the printing of annual reports and accounts. He said this yesterday at the post third quarter Capital Market Committee (CMC) press briefing in Lagos. Link
19. In what may come as a shock to Nigerians, a household survey carried out by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in conjunction with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC) says Nigerians spent roughly N402 billion as bribes to government officials between June 2015 and May 2016. Link
20. For the first time, Nigeria is taking practical moves towards development of a robust framework for ‘Smart Cities’ in order to create a society through the building of a strategic and integrated planning approach and a comprehensive and high-quality Information Technology infrastructure. Link
21. According to the latest industry data obtained from the custodian of the banking industry’s electronic payment activities data, the Nigeria Interbank Settlements System plc.  (NIBSS) ,the value of cashless transactions carried out on the point of sales (PoS) terminals deployed across the country has risen to N726 billion this year. Link
22. The number of telecoms subscribers that have activated the Do Not Disturb (DND) facility introduced by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), to check incessant unsolicited text messages has hit 6.7 million at the end last June. Link
23. The Oyo State Government on Wednesday said that it has disbursed over N13bn to settle the average of about 5 months salaries owed local government workers and primary school teachers as well as their pensioners in the state. Link
24. Acting President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday assigned portfolios to Professor Stephen Ocheni and Mr. Suleiman Hassan, three weeks after swearing them in as ministers. While Ocheni from Kogi State was made the Minister of State for Labour, Hassan who hails from Gombe State became the Minister of State for Power, Works and Housing, leaving the Ministry of Environment without a senior minister and the power and works ministry with two ministers of state. Link
25. The Kwara State government has said it has deployed solar energy systems to villages, small scale businesses and key government establishments to boost electricity supply and enhance economic activities in the state. Link