Tau Mashigo CTO Group IT, Standard Bank As the future pushes ahead unabated, the set of circumstances emerging spark a lot of imagination. We no longer just rely on linear cognitive capabilities that give rise to incremental change, but rather parallelised, and intertwined capabilities that result in exponential progress. The world is filling up with opportunities waiting to be discovered. The Fourth Industrial Revolution is characterised by the on-setting of new capabilities stemming from exponential developments in a multiplicity of domain technologies including robotics, artificial intelligence, nanotechnologies, quantum computing, 3D printing, superfast telecommunications, and the internet of things. While these can be leveraged independently of each other, real impact can be exp...
Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) has welcomed the plan by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Alhaji Muhammad Bello to harmonise tax policies within the territory in order end multiple taxations on by businesses in the territory. The President of ACCI, Alhaji Abubakar, in a statement yesterday, commended the minister for acknowledging the challenges faced by businesses within the territory due to series of levies, charges and taxes from Federal, FCTA and Area Councils. “Multiple taxations within the FCT and the larger national economy has imposed crippling consequences on businesses. “The fallout has been many failed businesses, the rising level of inflation, the non-thriving of existing ones and the lack of capacity to engage many unemployed youths. “We want ...
The collapse in crude oil prices, coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic, is expected to “plunge the Nigerian economy into a severe recession, the worst since the 1980s”, the World Bank said on Thursday. The World Bank, in a new report, titled ‘Nigeria in times of COVID-19: Laying foundations for a strong recovery,’ estimated that Nigeria’s economy would likely contract by 3.2 per cent this year. “This projection assumes that the spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria is contained by the third quarter of 2020,” it said. The bank said if the spread of the virus became more severe, the economy could contract further. It said, “Before COVID-19, the Nigerian economy was expected to grow by 2.1 per cent in 2020, which means that the pandemic has led to a reduction in growth by more than five percentage poin...
The Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat of the FCT Administration has reassured farmers of the administration’s commitment to the provision of basic support for farmers toward the attainment of food security in the territory. Malam Zakari Aliyu, Deputy Director Information of the secretariat, in a statement on Friday, said the Acting Secretary of FCTA Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat, Mr Ibe Chukwuemeka, gave the assurance when he issued the Safety Protocols for Agricultural activities in the FCT. The secretary explained that the operational guidelines covers five key sectors which includes abattoir and slaughter slabs, Veterinary Clinics, Livestock Markets, Fish processing Facilities and agric Extension Services. He said that the administration would ensure strict s...
Nigerian National Assembly spends billions of naira on constitution review
The perennial constitution amendment exercise by the National Assembly is characterised by proposals that keep resurfacing despite gulping billions of naira yearly, an analysis has shown. The federal parliament had from the 5th to the current 9th National Assembly made several attempts to amend some provisions of the 1999 Constitution to no avail. At every session, the parliament officially spends N1 billion shared equally between the Senate and the House of Representatives. There are reports that the lawmakers spend more than what is appropriated for the exercise. While some amendments were successful, several others suffered serial failures but kept appearing in new proposals. Considering the huge spending, lawyers and civil society groups have pointed out that no significant amendments ...