Labour unions in Nigeria are calling for an annual review of the newly introduced US$45 minimum monthly wage. While nearly 20 states and major private sector employers have begun paying the new wage, analysts warn that annual reviews could pose challenges, advocating for more sustainable long-term solutions.
Wednesday, January 22, 2025
Video - Nigerian labour unions demand annual review of minimum wage
Labour unions in Nigeria are calling for an annual review of the newly introduced US$45 minimum monthly wage. While nearly 20 states and major private sector employers have begun paying the new wage, analysts warn that annual reviews could pose challenges, advocating for more sustainable long-term solutions.
Video - Nigeria joins BRICS as ninth partner country
Following Uganda’s recent inclusion, Nigeria has officially joined the BRICS alliance as a partner country, strengthening its economic, trade, and geopolitical ties with member countries China, India, Brazil, and Russia.
Scammers from Nigeria accused in AI Brad Pitt impersonation Scam
A group of Nigerian scammers have been accused of pulling off a scam involving AI to impersonate Hollywood star Brad Pitt and dupe a woman.
The victim, a French citizen named Anne, was duped into thinking she was in a romantic relationship with the actor.
The elaborate ruse cost her life savings and she is now seeking legal redress against the scammers.
The fraudsters used AI to generate convincing images of Pitt, further solidifying their deception.
Anne was initially approached on Instagram by someone claiming to be Pitt's mother, after she posted photos from a skiing trip in Tignes.
The scammers then manipulated her into believing that Pitt urgently needed funds for kidney treatment and his bank accounts were inaccessible due to ongoing divorce proceedings with Angelina Jolie.
Anne's attorney, Laurene Hanna, disclosed that her client had lost a whopping €830,000 (around ₹7.5 crore) to the fraudsters.
In a bid to hunt down these criminals, Anne has sought the assistance of Marwan Ouarab from FindmyScammer.com.
According to Le Parisien's report quoting Ouarab, the culprits are three young men living in Nigeria.
Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has said that it can only launch an investigation into this case if it receives a formal petition. "It is a petition that authorizes the EFCC to act," spokesperson Dele Oyewale told AFP.
Nigeria has a notorious reputation for being home to internet fraudsters, colloquially known as "Yahoo Boys."
However, despite the notoriety, the EFCC remains committed to fighting all forms of emerging crime, including those enabled by AI.
In a recent operation in Lagos's affluent Victoria Island area, the agency apprehended 792 suspects involved in online scams.
By Dwaipayan Roy, NewsBytes
The victim, a French citizen named Anne, was duped into thinking she was in a romantic relationship with the actor.
The elaborate ruse cost her life savings and she is now seeking legal redress against the scammers.
The fraudsters used AI to generate convincing images of Pitt, further solidifying their deception.
Anne was initially approached on Instagram by someone claiming to be Pitt's mother, after she posted photos from a skiing trip in Tignes.
The scammers then manipulated her into believing that Pitt urgently needed funds for kidney treatment and his bank accounts were inaccessible due to ongoing divorce proceedings with Angelina Jolie.
Anne's attorney, Laurene Hanna, disclosed that her client had lost a whopping €830,000 (around ₹7.5 crore) to the fraudsters.
In a bid to hunt down these criminals, Anne has sought the assistance of Marwan Ouarab from FindmyScammer.com.
According to Le Parisien's report quoting Ouarab, the culprits are three young men living in Nigeria.
Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has said that it can only launch an investigation into this case if it receives a formal petition. "It is a petition that authorizes the EFCC to act," spokesperson Dele Oyewale told AFP.
Nigeria has a notorious reputation for being home to internet fraudsters, colloquially known as "Yahoo Boys."
However, despite the notoriety, the EFCC remains committed to fighting all forms of emerging crime, including those enabled by AI.
In a recent operation in Lagos's affluent Victoria Island area, the agency apprehended 792 suspects involved in online scams.
Portugal looks to sideline Russia for increased Nigerian LNG supplies
Portugal has listed Nigeria alongside the United States as one of the countries it aims to get its supply of liquified natural gas (LNG) from.
This results from a shortage of LNG supplies from the Russian market, on which Portugal has traditionally depended on.
Maria da Graca Carvalho, Portugal's environment minister, disclosed this information on Tuesday.
According to statistics from power and gas networks operator REN, as seen in a report by Reuters, Portugal imported 49,141 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of natural gas in 2024, with around 96% of that amount being LNG.
Approximately 40 percent of those LNG deliveries came from the US, 4.4 percent from Russia, and 51% came from Nigeria.
This is sharp contrast to 2021 when Russia accounted for 15% of Portugal's LNG supplies.
However, sanctions placed on Russian products by the European Union, after the Kremlin declared war on Ukraine has seen Russian supplies dwindle.
"Portugal is now practically independent of Russian gas ... but we want to reduce this figure further by importing more gas from Nigeria and the United States," Graca Carvalho told a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, according to economic website ECO.
A recent report revealed that Nigeria’s LNG trade seems to be on an upward trajectory.
According to data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Nigeria produced 2.5 trillion cubic feet of gas last year.
This amounted to a revenue generation of approximately N8.6tn, throughout the year.
Nigeria generated 1.44TCF of associated gas, according to the data provided by the group. Likewise, in the period under review, 1.06TCF of non-associated gas was produced.
However, 192.89 billion standard cubic feet of gas were flared in 2024, whereas 2.31 trillion TCF of gas was used.
The 2.31TCF of gas used in 2024, as reported by the Punch, was roughly 2,370,061,914 MMBTU. When multiplied by $2.42, it comes to around $5.74 billion.
At an average exchange rate of N1,500 to the dollar, the number equates to around N8.6 trillion produced from gas output in 2024.
In contrast to 2023, when 2.3 tcf of the 2.49 tcf of gas produced was used and 183.52 bcf was flared, 92.2% of the gas generated in 2024 was used, while 7.69 percent was flared.
It took almost 2.46 million standard cubic feet for the gas to shrink.
The Nigerian government, last year, claimed that the country's gas output would increase from 7.5 billion cubic feet per day to 12 billion cubic feet per day.
In keeping with the Decade of Gas ambition, Ekperikpe Ekpo, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), revealed that increasing gas production and transforming Nigeria into a gas economy will be the main priorities in his second year in office.
This results from a shortage of LNG supplies from the Russian market, on which Portugal has traditionally depended on.
Maria da Graca Carvalho, Portugal's environment minister, disclosed this information on Tuesday.
According to statistics from power and gas networks operator REN, as seen in a report by Reuters, Portugal imported 49,141 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of natural gas in 2024, with around 96% of that amount being LNG.
Approximately 40 percent of those LNG deliveries came from the US, 4.4 percent from Russia, and 51% came from Nigeria.
This is sharp contrast to 2021 when Russia accounted for 15% of Portugal's LNG supplies.
However, sanctions placed on Russian products by the European Union, after the Kremlin declared war on Ukraine has seen Russian supplies dwindle.
"Portugal is now practically independent of Russian gas ... but we want to reduce this figure further by importing more gas from Nigeria and the United States," Graca Carvalho told a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, according to economic website ECO.
A recent report revealed that Nigeria’s LNG trade seems to be on an upward trajectory.
According to data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Nigeria produced 2.5 trillion cubic feet of gas last year.
This amounted to a revenue generation of approximately N8.6tn, throughout the year.
Nigeria generated 1.44TCF of associated gas, according to the data provided by the group. Likewise, in the period under review, 1.06TCF of non-associated gas was produced.
However, 192.89 billion standard cubic feet of gas were flared in 2024, whereas 2.31 trillion TCF of gas was used.
The 2.31TCF of gas used in 2024, as reported by the Punch, was roughly 2,370,061,914 MMBTU. When multiplied by $2.42, it comes to around $5.74 billion.
At an average exchange rate of N1,500 to the dollar, the number equates to around N8.6 trillion produced from gas output in 2024.
In contrast to 2023, when 2.3 tcf of the 2.49 tcf of gas produced was used and 183.52 bcf was flared, 92.2% of the gas generated in 2024 was used, while 7.69 percent was flared.
It took almost 2.46 million standard cubic feet for the gas to shrink.
The Nigerian government, last year, claimed that the country's gas output would increase from 7.5 billion cubic feet per day to 12 billion cubic feet per day.
In keeping with the Decade of Gas ambition, Ekperikpe Ekpo, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), revealed that increasing gas production and transforming Nigeria into a gas economy will be the main priorities in his second year in office.
“In the Decade of Gas, we are looking at turning Nigeria into a gas economy by 2030, in which case, we are looking at growing from 7.5 billion cubic feet to about 12bcf. So, we are progressing in that direction to make sure we have gas sufficiency in the country,” he stated.
LNG-associated gas and non-associated gas
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) can come from two main sources: related gas and non-associated gas.
Associated gas is natural gas that occurs as a byproduct in petroleum reserves. It is "associated" because it coexists with crude oil in the same reservoir.
Typically extracted during the oil production process, the gas is separated from the crude oil and can be utilized as fuel for operations, re-injected into the reservoir to increase oil recovery, or converted into LNG for transportation and consumption.
On the flip side, non-associated gas refers to natural gas that occurs independently of crude oil.
It is found in natural gas reserves that do not contain considerable levels of crude oil.
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) can come from two main sources: related gas and non-associated gas.
Associated gas is natural gas that occurs as a byproduct in petroleum reserves. It is "associated" because it coexists with crude oil in the same reservoir.
Typically extracted during the oil production process, the gas is separated from the crude oil and can be utilized as fuel for operations, re-injected into the reservoir to increase oil recovery, or converted into LNG for transportation and consumption.
On the flip side, non-associated gas refers to natural gas that occurs independently of crude oil.
It is found in natural gas reserves that do not contain considerable levels of crude oil.
By Chinedu Okafor, Business Insider Africa
MTN Shares Surge After Nigeria Raises Telecoms Tariffs by 50%
MTN Nigeria Communications Plc’s shares jumped after the Nigerian government raised telecommunications tariffs by 50% to offset the impact of the collapse in the naira and surging inflation.
The stock surged the maximum 10% to 256.30 naira at close in Lagos, the commercial capital. Rival Airtel Africa Plc was unchanged at 2,156.90 naira.
The Nigerian Communications Commission announced the tariff hike late Monday to “support the ability of operators to continue investing in infrastructure and innovation,” according to a statement.
The tariff increase — the first in more than a decade — was half of what companies such as MTN had asked for to weather harsh economic conditions, including a 41% depreciation in the naira against the dollar last year and inflation running near a three-decade high.
Even so, MTN Nigeria Chief Executive Officer Karl Toriola said the adjustment was “an important step toward addressing the impact of the prevailing economic challenges on the company and industry. “It will enable us to maintain the critical investments required to deliver reliable, high-quality services,” he said in a filing to the Nigerian Exchange Group.
The increase will also help telecommunications companies in Africa’s most-populous nation return to profitability, Bismarck Rewane, CEO at consultancy Financial Derivatives Co., said. “Giving them the 50% tariff increase is a boost. We are going to see an increase in base stations, an increase in 5G deployment, an increase in capex,” he said by phone.
While the tariff hike is short of what the companies had asked for, Avior Capital Markets Ltd. analyst Mike Steere said it “far exceeds” the 10% to 20% price rise it had factored into its full-year earnings model for MTN in 2025. The increase should eventually support medium-term revenue growth of over 30%, he said.
Higher prices are also likely to have an inflationary impact in the short—term, Rewane said.
“It increases costs, which will pass through to the consumer,” he said. “But you will see that the telcos will have to invest more in capex and the quality of service will become a key issue. If quality of service improves, you will see productivity will improve. That may offset part of the inflationary impact.”
By Nduka Orjinmo and Emele Onu, Bloomberg
The stock surged the maximum 10% to 256.30 naira at close in Lagos, the commercial capital. Rival Airtel Africa Plc was unchanged at 2,156.90 naira.
The Nigerian Communications Commission announced the tariff hike late Monday to “support the ability of operators to continue investing in infrastructure and innovation,” according to a statement.
The tariff increase — the first in more than a decade — was half of what companies such as MTN had asked for to weather harsh economic conditions, including a 41% depreciation in the naira against the dollar last year and inflation running near a three-decade high.
Even so, MTN Nigeria Chief Executive Officer Karl Toriola said the adjustment was “an important step toward addressing the impact of the prevailing economic challenges on the company and industry. “It will enable us to maintain the critical investments required to deliver reliable, high-quality services,” he said in a filing to the Nigerian Exchange Group.
The increase will also help telecommunications companies in Africa’s most-populous nation return to profitability, Bismarck Rewane, CEO at consultancy Financial Derivatives Co., said. “Giving them the 50% tariff increase is a boost. We are going to see an increase in base stations, an increase in 5G deployment, an increase in capex,” he said by phone.
While the tariff hike is short of what the companies had asked for, Avior Capital Markets Ltd. analyst Mike Steere said it “far exceeds” the 10% to 20% price rise it had factored into its full-year earnings model for MTN in 2025. The increase should eventually support medium-term revenue growth of over 30%, he said.
Higher prices are also likely to have an inflationary impact in the short—term, Rewane said.
“It increases costs, which will pass through to the consumer,” he said. “But you will see that the telcos will have to invest more in capex and the quality of service will become a key issue. If quality of service improves, you will see productivity will improve. That may offset part of the inflationary impact.”
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