Nigeria’s Unemployment Rate Leaps To 33.3 Per cent In Q4 2020

Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, has been ranked third on a list of countries with the highest unemployment rate globally. The country’s unemployment rate hit a new record high at 33.3 per cent in the fourth quarter (Q4) 2020 from 27.1 recorded in the second quarter (Q2) 2020. The Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Monday, released the Q4 unemployment report and it indicated that no fewer than 23.18 million Nigerians either did nothing or worked for less than 20 hours a week, making them unemployed during the fourth quarter (Q4) 2020.

COVID-19: Nigeria Fails To Secure Limited Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccines

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declined to shortlist Nigeria for the limited Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines being expected to be delivered to African countries this month. This is because of the country’s failure to meet the standard requirement of being able to store the vaccines at the required -70 degrees Celsius. According to WHO only four countries out of 13 African countries (Nigeria inclusive) that expressed interest and submitted proposals will be receiving the limited 320,000 Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines. The four countries are – Cape Verde, Rwanda, South Africa, and Tunisia. The United Nations Agency, while urging the other countries not shortlisted for the vaccines to fine-tune their planning for covid-19 immunization campaigns, stressed that it cannot afford to waste a single dose of these vaccines.

Alleged Fuel Hike: FG Govt Debunk Claim, Say There Is No Increment In Pump Price

Minister Of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva has disclosed that there was no increment in fuel pump price for now by the government until it concludes consultation with Organised labour.

Bitcoin On The Verge Of Being Widely Accepted Mode Of Payment

Cryptocurrency is becoming a popular tender when transacting businesses after it first surfaced as open-source decentralized software in 2009. CEO of Tesla Inc and Billionaire Elon Musk during his debut on the invitation-only app Clubhouse disclosed on Monday that cryptocurrency especially the bitcoin is “on the verge” of being more widely accepted among investors as he expressed his support for the cryptocurrency in a chat on social media app Clubhouse that drew thousands of listeners.

Nigerian Startup Flutterwave Raises $170, Currently Worth Over $1B In Five Years

Nigerian payments startup Flutterwave has closed a US$170 million Series C funding round, the largest amount ever secured by an African tech startup and one that gives it “unicorn” status with a value of over US$1 billion. Africa can now boast of a second fintech unicorn, after Interswitch, in barely under two years. The Africa-focused payments company, launched in 2016, builds modern payments technology and infrastructure for Africa to enable people and businesses to connect with the global economy. Its solution enables banks and merchants to replace multiple payment integrations with one simple API, which enables the processing of any form of payment anywhere in Africa.

Bitcoin Suffers Biggest 2-day Fall since March 2020

Bitcoin slid by 21% between Sunday and Monday to as low as $32,389 after hitting a record high above $41,000. The bearish movement has made the digital currency suffer its biggest two-day decline since March 2020 and this is beginning to raise concern among investors that the polarizing cryptocurrency boom may run out of steam.

COVID-19: Fresh Hope As Nigeria Records Yet Another Low Daily Case

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has yesterday record another daily record of 574 cases of the dreaded coronavirus, the lowest for the second time since the beginning of the second wave, first was on Sunday, the previous day.

Image of Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige

The Federal Government and Organised Labour have slated December 7, 2020, to reconvene in a bid to continue their dialogue over the increase in fuel price as well as the proposed electricity tariff adjustment. This was made known by Senator Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Employment during a media briefing on Thursday at the State House Banquet Hall, Abuja.

Former VP Atiku Abubakar Reacts To Ban On Cryto, Calls For A Rethink

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has reacted to the recent Ban on cryptocurrency purchase and trading by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN which placed restrictions on chryptocurrency transactions in the country. Since the emergence of the CBN decision, which entails that any person or entity who is receiving cryptocurrency as payment in his bank account and withdraws it as cash cannot do that again, a lot of Nigerians have reacted to it on several social media platforms. Atiku while reacting to the development on his Twitter page on February 6, said “We Need To Open Up Our Economy, Not Close It.” “The number one challenge facing Nigeria is youth unemployment. In fact, it is not a challenge, it is an emergency. It affects our economy and is exacerbating insecurity in the nation.

NNPC Assures Nigerians Of Sufficient Petrol Supply During And Beyong Yuletide Season

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has allayed fears of possible petrol scarcity brought to bear by ongoing disagreement between the Federal Government and oil workers under the auspices of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN), over the implementation of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS). Dr. Kennie Obateru, NNPC spokesman, in a statement, on Tuesday, in Abuja assured that the industrial action would not lead to non-availability of petroleum products at fuel stations and depots.