Q3 GDP report, Emirates flight resumption… 7 business stories to track this week

Here are the seven top business stories you need to track this week — November 20 to November 24.

NIGERIA’S GDP REPORT

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is expected to release a report on automotive gas oil (diesel) and premium motor spirit (petrol) prices for October 2023.

The bureau will also publish reports on foreign trade in goods statistics for the third quarter of 2023.

A report on Nigeria’s gross domestic product by output for the third quarter of 2023 will also be published this week by the bureau.

‘EMIRATES TO RESUME FLIGHT OPERATIONS IN NIGERIA’

Festus Keyamo, minister of aviation and aerospace development, says Emirates Airlines would soon announce the exact date of their resumption of flight operations to Nigeria.

The minister spoke on the airline’s flight resumption in a post on X on Sunday.

Keyamo said he spoke with representatives of Emirates Airlines regarding their Dubai to Nigeria flights on the sidelines of the Dubai Airshow in Dubai last week.

He said the federal government is working on some details concerning the resumption.

‘NIGERIA LOST N1.3TRN IN 2023 DUE TO WAIVERS BY BUHARI’S ADMINISTRATION’

Adewale Adeniyi, the comptroller-general (CG) of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), says waivers and concessions granted to investors by the administration of Muhammadu Buhari, former president, cost the country N1.3 trillion.

Adeniyi said customs would have generated more income for Nigeria’s consolidated revenue fund in 2023 without the waivers and concessions arrangements.

The CG spoke at the national assembly on Wednesday during a public hearing on the 2024–2026 medium-term expenditure framework and fiscal strategy by the senate joint committees.

The revelation led Sani Musa, the chairman of the joint committee, to request the senate to probe the waivers and concessions granted by the previous administration.

‘NO DEADLINE FOR USE OF OLD NAIRA NOTES’

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says the old naira notes will remain legal tender indefinitely and beyond the initial December 31, 2023 deadline.

CBN announced the development in a statement signed by Isa AbdulMumin, director of corporate communications, last Tuesday.

Earlier this month, the apex bank assured Nigerians that there are no plans to phase out the old naira.

‘NIGERIA’S OIL PRODUCTION ROSE TO 1.35M BPD IN OCTOBER’

Nigeria’s oil production increased to 1,350,573 barrels per day (bpd) in October 2023.

The drilling performance is contained in the latest crude oil and condensate production data of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

The figure represents the highest production level since the beginning of the year. It is also the biggest volume since January 2022.

FG WITHDRAWS $1.1BN CASE AGAINST SHELL

The federal government has withdrawn its $1.1 billion lawsuit against Shell Plc alleging corruption in relation to the oil prospecting licence (OPL) 245 deal.

A Shell spokesperson quoted in a report by Bloomberg on Friday said FG has ended civil proceedings related to OPL 245 before Italy’s highest court.

On Thursday, Eni SpA, Shell’s partner in the field, confirmed that it received a letter from the government, saying the claims would be withdrawn “unconditionally” by Friday.

‘NIGERIA CAN’T RELY ON BORROWING | REFORMS WILL TAKE TIME’

Last week, Wale Edun, minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, said the benefits of the economic reforms by President Bola Tinubu will not materialise immediately.

Edun said the results of the reforms will be evident after three years.

Also speaking when he appeared before a senate joint committee on the 2024-2026 medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF) and fiscal strategy paper (FSP), Edun said the federal government needs to spend more but borrowing to fund its budgets is not sustainable.

The minister said Nigeria’s spending in comparison to gross domestic product (GDP) is one of the lowest in the world.