The Managing Director, Nigeria Deposit Insurance NDIC Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim has disclosed that efforts are being put in place to ensure that Savannah Bank Nigeria (SBN)Plc and Societe Generale Bank of Nigeria (SGBN) Limited are to start operation by 2012.

Perhaps the most optimistic of recent signs have been observed in the non-oil sector, which doubled since 2001 and currently accounts for 7% of GDP.

State governments have been urged to seek ways of removing impediments to business growth in their states to pave way for wealth and employment creation. Executive Director of Jos Business School, Mr. Ezekiel Gomos made the call at the opening of a workshop for top civil servants in Plateau State on Deepening Public-Private Sector Partnership for Business-Friendly Environment.

Following the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) disclosure that Iran may be seeking a nuclear weapon, experts say oil could exceed $150 on rising political tensions in the Middle East and hit the $200 level if Israel attacks Iran. Khalid Al Awadi, a Gulf energy analyst in the Gulf, puts forward this scenario.

The Council of Mining Engineers and Geo-scientists (COMEG) plans to train artisan miners on how to avoid lead poisoning in their operations. The registrar of the council, Mr Jonathan Ikeako, who made the announcement in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, said lead poisoning, which occurred in Zamfara recently, was caused by miners who indulged in using wrong chemicals to process minerals.

Nigerian exporters and others can now restart their export to the United States of America under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP)which gave products from developing countries access to developed countries free of tariff.

In order to encourage international companies to get quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Governor of Bauchi State, Alhaji Isa Yuguda, has called on the federal government to make it a mandatory condition for foreign entities to be publicly quoted before being considered for award of contracts.

The Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission ( SEC), Ms Arunma Oteh had an interactive session with journalist on the journey the Commission has undergone since its creation 50 years ago and how it intends to build a world class capital market

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) have introduced an inter-connectivity project, importers’ Taxpayer’s Identification Number (TIN) platform, to stakeholders at the nation’s ports.

Access Bank Plc and Friends for the Global Fund Africa (Friends Africa)have commenced the training of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, SMEs, in Nigeria, empowering them to develop policies that will help reduce the negative effect of deadly diseases on their activities and bottom line.