<< Back             Poser >> Nigeria to expand credit access to citizens Nigeria will establish a national credit guarantee company in May to lend to businesses and individuals, President Bola Tinubu said in an speech last Wednesday. Tinubu, who took office in May 2023, campaigned on economic reforms including expanding credit access to boost economic growth. “To achieve this, the federal government will establish the National Credit Guarantee Company to expand risk-sharing instruments for financial institutions and enterprises.” Tinubu said the company would partner with government institutions such as the Bank of Industry, Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation, the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Agency, and Ministry of Finance Incorporated, as well as the private sector and multilateral institutions. “This initiative will strengthen the confidence of the financial system, expand credit access, and support under-served groups such as women and youth. It will drive growth, re-industrialisation, and better living standards for our people,” Tinubu said. Eight months ago, Tinubu launched the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation, to enhance access to credit to employed Nigerians. The implementation of the programme was planned in stages, beginning with Federal civil service employees and now the general public. The Sierra Leone Telegraph	GRA Sets D23 Billion Target after Exceeding 2024 Revenue Milestone By Mustapha Jallow The Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA) has set out to collect D23 billion in 2025, following a historic achievement of D20.83 billion in 2024, surpassing its D19.2 billion target by over D1.6 billion. This remarkable feat marks a 32% increase from the D15.79 billion collected in 2023. Yankuba Darboe, Commissioner General (CG) of Govt budgets 53% more allocations to military retirees The Federal Government has proposed a 53 per cent increase in the 2025 budget allocations for military retirees following a series of protests over unpaid entitlements. Findings by The PUNCH showed that the total allocation for military pensions is set to rise from N221.66bn in 2024 to N338.90bn in 2025, reflecting an effort to address Read Marketers, oil firms sign deal to build 50,000bpd refinery Nigeria’s effort to boost its refining capacity seems to be paying off, as petroleum product retailers signed a deal with three oil companies to establish a 50,000 barrels per day capacity refinery. On Wednesday, the Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria signed an agreement with Claridge Petroleum Company Ltd, Oasis Petrochemical Products Limited, Read Nigeria’s beverage, food industries hit N10.84tn market cap Nigeria’s beverage and food sectors have collectively achieved a total market capitalisation of N10.84tn, according to end-of-Wednesday trading data on the Nigerian Exchange Limited. The beverage sector, comprising breweries and distilleries, recorded a combined market capitalisation of N2.06tn. Industry giants like Nigerian Breweries Plc. and International Breweries Plc. drove the numbers, contributing N997.65bn and N908.77bn, Read Inflation, bond selloff trigger global stock market slump Global stock markets faced downward pressure on Thursday, as the recent surge in inflation and a widespread bond selloff continued to affect investor sentiment, Reuters reported. The U.S. dollar remained near its highest levels in over a year, while U.S. Treasury yields saw an uptick following recent signs of resilience in the U.S. economy, which Read Power stagnates at 4,500MW despite $3.23bn loans Nigeria’s electricity generation has continued to hover around an average of 4,500 megawatts despite the country securing loans totalling over $3.23bn in about four years from international financial institutions. Global institutions such as the World Bank, the African Development Bank, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency have supported the power sector with billions of dollars Read