Aliko proffers way out of recession

Aliko Dangote

Nigerian recession has a simple solution according to Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote.

In an interview with CNBC, he has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to embark on a wave of asset selling to boost the recession-hit economy.

“I think the real challenge for us is now for us to have the political will in terms of selling some assets,” Dangote said.

“I think it’s an easier route than the IMF (International Monetary Fund) or the World Bank to borrow money, because what you need to do is actually to beef up the reserves.” Aliko Dangote made the statement before Nigeria’s credit rating was downgraded to B from B+ by S&P Global Ratings on Friday.

“Nigeria’s economy has weakened more than we expected owing to a marked contraction in oil production, a restrictive foreign exchange regime and delayed fiscal stimulus,” S&P said in a report on the downgrade.

Nigeria’s economy is set to contract on an annual basis in 2016 for the first time in 21 years, with its all-important oil industry suffering under weak global prices. The country’s gross domestic product (GDP) dropped by 2.06 percent in the second quarter of 2016, after falling 0.36 percent in the previous three months.

Pensioners' Union grind axe with Head of Service

Winifred Ekanem Oyo-Ita

The Pensioners' Union in Nigeria appear to be prepared for a showdown with the Office of the head of Service over their funds which was kept in agreement.

Members of the Association of the Federal Public Service Retirees have asked the Head of Service of the Federation, Winifred Oyo-Ita, to order the release of their N14.6bn trapped in the accounts of the Nigerian Union Pensioners. The group, according to its Chairman, Emmanuel Omoyeni, said the money was the accumulation of the 1 per cent of the 2 percent deduction from their monthly pension since July 2008.

Buhari supports constitutional disentanglement of LGs

Muhammadu Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari says his administration will support a constitutional amendment to free local governments from the stranglehold of states and better the lot of Nigerians at the community level.

This is contained in a statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity, Garba Shehu on Thursday in Abuja.

Receiving the leadership of the Association of Local Governments in Nigeria (ALGON) on Thursday in Abuja, President Buhari said a constitutional amendment was urgently required to clearly define the relationship among the three tiers of government.

Winnie Mandela celebrates her 80th birthday

Wife of former South African President, Winnie Madikizela Mandela looked amazing as she celebrated her upcoming 80th birthday(Sept 26th) with a dinner at the renowned Belmond Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town on yesterday Wednesday night September 14th. 

Nigeria posts better agric performance

Nigeria is among 12 countries in Africa that have posted higher agriculture productivity and stronger GDP growth as well as sharper declines in malnutrition due to early implementation of the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) goals. The African Union’s Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme or CAADP, was created in 2003 with key call for African governments to allocate 10 percent of national budgets to agriculture and aim for six percent annual growth in the sector.

David Oyelowo looks to infuse Nollywood

David Oyelowo in Rise of the Apes

The British-born Nigerian two-time Golden Globe-nominated British star, David Oyelowo has said he may return to Nigeria one day to join its booming movie industry, Nollywood, which is a hot topic at this year's Toronto International Film Festival.

Mr Oyelowo, who spent part of his childhood in Nigeria, gave further indication of this when he said "I can tell by the profile that they are gaining that it's not going to be long before I -- to be perfectly frank, as someone who has established their career in Western filmmaking -- am going to be desirous to go back and make a film that would be deemed a Nollywood movie," Oyelowo said in an interview at the Toronto film fest.

Fed. Govt. borrows to ease recession

The Nigerian Government is eager to steer the economy out of recession waters. Borrowing from offshore banks under the supervision of the Debt Management Office (DMO) may be the way out of the economic quagmire for the Buhari Administration.

The administration has assured Nigerians that its economic team is back at the drawing board not only to avert depression but to ease the pains of the recession on the country.

It is no longer news that the economy is not at its best following the second quarter report of National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in which it confirmed that the has sailed into recession.