IN order to alleviate the sufferings being faced by Nigerian during scarcity of petroleum products in the country, the Federal Government has admonished Nigerians to embrace the use of Condensed Natural Gas (CNG) for their vehicles.

Following the current crisis rocking the Nigeria financial sector, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has concluded plans to meet with stockbrokers and investors in the Nigerian capital market, next week, to brief them of the latest development in the banking sector and seek suggestions on ways to move the sector out of its current predicament.

THE British government disclosed Monday that its export to Nigeria stood at £1.3 billion in 2008 short of what it sold to South Africa, just as the volume of trade it had with Nigeria increased significantly by 30 per cent in 2008 and 23 per cent in the first five months of 2009.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says it has injected a total of N105.57 billion into the economy.The injection was done last week through payments made to investors on 30, 90 and 182 days tenor bills.The CBN said in a statement on Monday in Lagos that it had paid N25 billion to investors through the sale of treasury bills on 91-day and 182-day tenor bills.

OPEC ministers meeting in Vienna this week were expected to keep supply targets intact and instead rely on hoped-for economic growth to sustain oil prices. The oil market rose towards $69 a barrel on Monday after Group of 20 finance leaders said at a weekend meeting they would not end stimulus plans until recovery was well established.

The Managing Director, Bell Oil and Gas Ltd., Mr Kayode Thomas, has called on the Federal Government to compel operators and major contractors in the Oil and Gas sector to award contracts to local companies.Thomas said on Monday in Lagos that they should be made to give priority to Nigerian companies before awarding contracts to foreign companies.

The Joint Tax Board (JTB) plans to introduce a unified tax collection, processing, monitoring and accounting system nationwide, according to Mr Akinwale Olugbenga, Assistant Manager, Unique Tax Identification Number (UTIN).

The hallmark of this year’s conference of Association of Corporate Affairs Managers of Banks ( ACAMB) will be on risk management as the Governor of the Central bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi declares open the 2009 Annual Conference/Retreat of the Association on Friday, 25th September in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

Public affairs commentators who are searching for a perfect example of an instance where opponent of change have fought back to keep the decadent status quo, but have apparently failed, then one need not look too far from the episodes playing out in the ongoing developments in the Nigerian banking sector especially with the dismissal of five erstwhile powerful bank chief executives by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for alleged clear violations of the common ethical codes governing the management of commercial banks.

Real estate consultants have observed that tax exemption is necessary for the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) to succeed. REIT is an investment initiative that buys, develops and sells income-producing real estate assets on behalf of shareholders who own common shares, which may be publicly quoted or privately held.

The Road Accident Health Insurance Scheme (RAHIS) put together by the Nigerian Union of Road and Transport Workers (NURTW) and released by the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC will commence nationwide from Wednesday 9th of September 2009

Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc has shown its avowed commitment to claims settlement. The underwriting firm recently released its second quarter claims record detailing total claims paid between January and June 2009. In the published statement, the claims figures revealed that the sum of N311, 062,980 (Three hundred and eleven million, sixty two thousand, nine hundred and eighty naira only) had been paid in the period under review.

The management of International Energy Insurance Plc (IEI) has assured that the company will continue to give back to the society in fulfillment of its corporate social responsibility function as International Energy Insurance Plc donated 12 wheelchairs to Basket Ball Association of Nigeria.

THE management of Fin Insurance Company Limited (Finsurance) says it is targeting a gross premium income of about N2 billion at the end of 2009 financial year.
In a statement made available to journalists in Lagos, the insurance firm stated that it has put strategies in place to achieve this set target.

The National Insurance Corporation Limited (NIC) of Uganda has announced a gross premium income of 15.26 billion Ugandan Shillings (N1.09 billion) for year 2008, representing an increase of 35 percent over the total earnings of 11.28 billion Shillings (N805.71 million) recorded in 2007.