The Federal government has sealed partnership agreements with ten private real estate developers and investors under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement, to deliver 16 housing projects in five states across the country and the federal capital territory (FCT). The beneficiary states are Adamawa, Niger, Osun, Ogun and Ondo.

The value of listed equities on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) appreciated last week by N44.82 billion. This was in spite of the downturn recorded in the market indices for the most part of the week, which saw investors taking advantage of few price gains recorded in the previous weeks to make some profits.

The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to the effective implementation of a land reform scheme as proposed by the Yar-Adua administration within a reasonable time frame.

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) woke up to its responsibility to ensure the wholesomeness and integrity of what we consume about six years ago. Over the years, the Agency carried the battle to the nooks and crannies of this country to apprehend the manufacturers as well as the distributors of fake and substandard foods, beverages, drugs and cosmetics. In the process, factories were shut down; local as well as imported unregistered products were seized from markets all over the country and publicly set ablaze.

Skye Bank Plc has restated its commitment to providing excellent e-banking and card services to the banking public as a way of easing their difficulty in the course of carrying out banking transactions.

Dearth of skilled professionals in the insurance industry has resulted in intensive head-hunt by operators, a situation that is now becoming worrisome to management of most companies, Patience Saghana writes.

The Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture and the Manufacturing Association of Nigeria would want the newly appointed governor of the apex bank to address the problem of high exchange rate, high inflation and astronomically high interest rate in order to save the real sector from total collapse, Babajide Komolafe writes.

Colin Powell, who was to become President George W. Bush’s first Secretary of State, was such a successful Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff that anytime the American public is asked to name those before him or even his successors, it fails to do so in most cases. But everyone remembers General Powel as someone who once commanded the world’s mightiest military force, with some even thinking that he is in office to this day.

Customers of the bank are looking forward with bated breath as another draw date for its SavingsXtra Promo comes up July 10 this year. Lucky Fiakpa writes that every customer believe that anyone can emerge the winner of the N50 million star prize which has heighten the anxiety

The pro-cyclical nature of the current international loan loss provisioning regime most banking crises have had as a direct cause the inadequate management of credit risk by institutions. Growth of bank lending is typically characterised by alternate periods of expansion and stagnation. In many countries loan loss provisions are likewise cyclical of nature.

The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has flagged off the 2009 Lagos International Trade Fair (LITF) prospectus.

The commitment of the bank to infrastructure development and poverty alleviation across the country appears irreversible as it opens new branch at Ijebu Ode with a promise to join forces with the Awujale’s palace to strengthen the poverty alleviation programme and make the people to be more economic self-reliant, Lucky Fiakpa writes

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Several friends and acquaintances, both within and outside the media have contacted me lately for my reaction to the recent change of guard at our country’s Central Bank! My callers were generally rather disappointed at my tepid response of ‘let’s wait and see.

In this interview conducted by Naomi Uzor, the President of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, LCCI, Chief Solomon Onafowankan, believes the way things are in the country at the moment, the leaders may just be creating more poverty instead of taking people out of it. Excerpts

The newly appointed governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, has said that exchange of ideas and critical analysis of the banking industry are critical tools in the sustenance of good corporate governance.