Twitter’s ‘pay per article’, new naira notes… 7 business news to track this week

Here are the seven top business news you need to track this week — May 1 to May 5.

‘PAY PER ARTICLE’ — TWITTER INTRODUCES NEW FEATURE FOR PUBLISHERS

Elon Musk, the billionaire founder of Tesla Inc., over the weekend, said Twitter, the microblogging platform, will soon allow media publishers to charge users on per article basis.

According to the billionaire’s tweet, the new service will be rolled out next month.

With this feature, he added, readers who do not sign up for a monthly membership will pay a higher per-article price for reading an occasional article.

CBN: NEW NOTES STILL AVAILABLE

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says it is not contemplating the withdrawal of the recently redesigned naira notes but supplying more quantities to banks.

Isa Abdulmumim, CBN spokesperson, in a statement on Sunday, clarified that speculations of a phase-out were unfounded.

Abdulmumin said the new and old currency notes “have been circulating side by side just as the bank has been taking delivery of a good quantity of the redesigned bank notes from the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company (NSPMC) Limited”.

“Furthermore, we are committed to supplying the approved indent for the smooth running of the economy,” he said.

NEW PRICES FOR MULTICHOICE PACKAGES COMMENCES MAY 1

MultiChoice Nigeria, on Tuesday, announced an upward review of prices on its DStv and GOtv packages.

According to a text message to customers, seen by TheCable, the new rates will begin on May 1, 2023.

The pay-TV firm said the price adjustment was due to the rising costs of business operations.

However, the company offered customers a price lock which is meant to cushion the effect of the price review.

The offer, allows customers to pay the old rates for 12 months if they pay before the expiration of their subscriptions.

UN: HOW CASH SCARCITY, OIL THEFT WEAKENED NIGERIA’S ECONOMY

The United Nations says large-scale oil theft and the recent cash scarcity crippled the Nigerian economy and strained finances.

The intergovernmental organisation disclosed this in its latest report published last week.

According to the UN, the informal sector was the most affected in the cash crunch period, adding that the decline in oil production was also a big threat.

The organisation further expressed worries that half of African countries will record double-digit inflation in early 2023, noting that many are at risk of stagflation in 2023.

Stagflation is an economic cycle characterised by slow growth and a high unemployment rate accompanied by inflation.

DELTA RECEIVES LICENCE TO OPERATE AS SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE

The Delta state government, last week, received the licence to operate as a special economic zone from the Nigeria Export Processing Zone Authority (NEPZA).

At the licensing ceremony, Adesoji Adesugba, managing director NEPZA, said to attract gains of economic zones and revamp the sector, Delta, as well as other states, needs an investment of about $22 billion.

Adesugba said Nigeria could address its developmental challenges by harnessing the huge advantages in economic zones.

He also called for massive investment in the sector.

PLANNED SUBSIDY REMOVAL… FG MAKES U-TURN

On Thursday last week, the National Economic Council (NEC), presided over by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, agreed that the removal of petrol subsidy should be suspended temporarily.

The council had said all of the preparatory works should continue in consultation with the states and other key stakeholders, including representatives of the incoming administration.

Speaking at the meeting Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, budget and national planning, said the proposed removal of subsidy should not be done now.

However, in less than 24 hours, Ahmed backtracked on her statement.

She said the government has no plans to stop the removal, instead, it intends to expand the subsidy removal committee to include teams from the incoming administration and the state governors.

PENGASSAN, MOBIL PRODUCTION ENDS STRIKE AFTER NNPC’S INTERVENTION

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) cancelled its industrial action across Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU) and Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited (EEPNL) facilities last week.

According to a statement by Garba Deen Muhammad, the spokesperson of Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, the strike was cancelled after a high-level mediation effort was made by Mele Kyari, NNPC’s group chief executive officer (GCEO).

The industrial action, which commenced two weeks ago, had constrained 300,000 barrels of oil production daily (BOPD). 

It also affected export activities and forced Mobil to declare a force majeure across all their locations.

Kyari, at the meeting, urged the union and Mobil to immediately and unconditionally return to work, adding that production and export activities across all Mobil locations in Nigeria should also resume.