The governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Mr Godwin Emiefiele says it has recorded an increase of $890 million in non-oil export proceeds in 2022.

He stated this at the Nigeria International Economic Partnership Forum as part of activities lined up for the United Nations General Assembly,where he also said in the first quarter of 2022, export repatriation was about $64 million, second quarter rose to $622 million, third quarter increased to $959 million, adding that projections are that by the quarter, the figures would have increased further.

He expressed regret that Nigeria is highly dependent on oil revenue proceeds to support its import obligations.

He said that low revenue inflow from oil sales was responsible for the current foreign exchange crises confronting the country.

The development had led to the massive depreciation of the Naira with an exchange rate of the IE window crashing to N436 to $1.

He said the CBN is addressing the situation with its RT 200 project which will help boost foreign exchange supply with non-oil export repatriation.

He assured that Nigeria is aggressively looking at non-export for foreign exchange proceeds, saying he is certain this would yield the expected results in the months to come.

He added that Nigeria is a country where the country depends on food, and crude revenues to support other sectors, adding that the country is aggressively looking at non-oil export.

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President Muhammadu Buhari and African Development Bank Group President Akinwumi Adesina urged global businesses and leaders to boldly invest in Nigeria.

The two leaders and others from the private, public, investment, and donor community, spoke at this year’s Nigeria International Economic Partnership Forum in New York, the two leaders reassured participants that despite challenges, the country is still an investment destination of choice.

The Nigerian government and the African Business Roundtable organized the event on the sidelines of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly. The Nigerian president was represented by his Chief of Staff Prof. Ibrahim Gambari.

He said:“Overall, the Nigerian economy is ripe for increased investment,” President Buhari said as he highlighted his government’s measures to tackle insecurity and improve the country’s business climate.Our administration has put in much investment in improving security, and we are committed to doing much more. We will continue to give all necessary support to our security outfits to ensure they can tackle the challenge headlong.”

On the security situation in Nigeria, the African Development Bank chief said:“To attract greater foreign direct investment to Nigeria, we must fix the security situation. Capital does not like to be troubled. Ultimately, investment capital must be made comfortable. Only then can it be attracted. With the right conditions in place, we can confidently say Nigeria is a great investment destination.”

He said even though Nigeria faces several challenges, “the country remains an attractive investment destination.”

President Buhari highlighted initiatives his government is undertaking to enhance the country’s economic development including intensifying policy reforms, bolstering governance, and encouraging public-private investments in social, human, and physical infrastructure.

“Nigeria could be the fastest growing African economy by 2050 and could move up the global GDP ratings to 14th in the same year, provided we succeed in our efforts to diversify the economy away from oil and strengthen its institutions and infrastructure,” President Buhari said, echoing PricewaterhouseCoopers projections.

He added, “Of course, we are already committed to diversifying the economy and are already enjoying significant results.”

President Buhari also cited the new Integrated National Financing Strategy for enhancing the impact of development finance and expanding the country’s ability to finance its Sustainable Development Goals. The private sector is expected to play a significant role in driving the strategy.

The Nigerian leader noted that the war in Ukraine and the lingering impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic had affected Nigeria’s growth.

Adesina described Nigeria as an ‘investors’ dream with a strong market pull, rapidly growing middle class, and burgeoning youth that can create demand and spark and spur entrepreneurship.

The bank president said: “Investors must recognize this and invest. That’s why the African Development Bank, together with the Islamic Development Bank and the French Development Agency, is investing $618 million in the Digital and Creative Enterprises Program in Nigeria. The program will support the creation of 225 creative start-ups and 451 digital technologies for small and medium-sized enterprises. They will create 6.1 million jobs and add $6.4 billion to the economy.”

Adesina said to help the country unlock its vast agricultural potential, the African Development Bank, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, and the Islamic Development Bank have provided $540 million to develop special agro-industrial processing zones in the country.

The funding will strengthen Nigeria’s food and agribusiness value chains and increase its competitiveness. “That is the power of international partnerships working for Nigeria,” the Bank president said.

Investment in environmental, social and governance (ESG) is set to grow to $50 trillion by 2025,Kaspersky research has said.

It said with ESG forming a key component of financial reporting in South Africa, and with many businesses in the region on the journey to adapt to international reporting requirements and standards, organisations across the continent are looking for ways to strengthen their portfolios in this regard.

Protection against cyber threats is necessary not only for business continuity, but also for the preservation of the environment and human health,it said .

The report ESG programmes should therefore include aspects of cyber security in order to minimise the risk of the impact of a cyberattack on employees, the ecosystem and society as a whole.

“This is particularly relevant to critical infrastructure, where organisations tend to experience significantly more severe outcomes from operational technology security issues than others,” says Bethwel Opil, Enterprise Client Lead at Kaspersky in Africa.

Kaspersky researchfound that over the course of 2021, there was a 45% increase in the incidence of spyware on computers used for industrial control system purposes when compared to the previous year. A cyberattack on a safety-critical power station or oil and gas installation, for example, has the capacity to have knock-on impacts that touch all components of ESG.

Besides, Kaspersky has found that approximately a third (30%) of companies globally experience significant operational technology security issues. They see four times as many incidents and suffer financial costs that are twice as large. These companies are also more likely to see these cyber risks manifest in terms of physical risk, such as injury or death (5 times more likely) and environmental damage (2.5 times more likely).

“Cybersecurity takes on a new level of importance for local organisations. It is not only about being protected against attacks that can threaten business continuity and damage corporate reputation, and from a business governance point of view, but there is a very real threat against human life and the environment – especially when industrial control system hardware that controls critical infrastructure is attacked,” says Maria Losyukova, Head of Sustainability at Kaspersky.

“As a part of an organisation’s ESG, it will be the cybersecurity team leader’s responsibility to document current practices and to address issues of concern with solid and quantifiable security solutions. The days of enterprises simply declaring ‘We have cybersecurity insurance’ are over.”

Each year it becomes more challenging to secure and protect infrastructure and data assets at an enterprise level. Staff in security operations centres can get overwhelmed with alerts coming from different cybersecurity components. XDR (extended detection and response) products have emerged as a class of automated information security solutions designed to proactively detect threats at various infrastructure levels, respond to them, and counter complex threats.

The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), at its Meeting shared a total sum of N673.137 billion to the three tiers of government, as federation allocation for the month of August, 2022.

This was conveyed in a statement signed by Phil Abiamuwe-Mowete, the Director of Information and Press in the Ministry of Finance Budget and National Planning.

It noted that from this stated amount, inclusive of Gross Statutory Revenue, Value Added Tax (VAT), and an Augmentation of Non Oil Excess Revenue, the Federal Government received N259.641 billion, the States received N222.949 billion, the Local Government Councils got N164.247 billion, while the Oil producing states received N0.000 billion as derivation, (13% of Mineral Revenue).

The communiqué issued by the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), at the end of the meeting, indicated that the Gross Revenue available from the Value Added Tax (VAT) for August 2022 was N215.266 billion which is an increase distributed in the preceding month. The distribution is as follows; Federal Government got N32.290 billion, the States received N107.633 billion, Local Government Councils got N75.343 billion.

The Gross Statutory Revenue of N437.871 billion distributed was lower than the sum received in the previous month, from which the Federal Government was allocated the sum of N216.815 billion, States got N109.972 billion, LGCs got N84.783 billion, and Oil Derivation (13% Mineral Revenue) got N26.301 billion.

Besides,the N20.000 billion Augmentation of Non Oil Excess Revenue now converted to distributable revenue was shared to the three (3) tiers of government as follows; the Federal Government received N10.536 billion, States got N5.344 billion, Local Government Councils received N4.120 billion.

The communiqué added that Value Added Tax (VAT), Import and Excise Duties recorded significant increases, while Companies Income Tax (CIT), Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT), Oil and Gas Royalties decreased considerably.

It was further disclosed that total revenue distributable for the current month of August was drawn from Statutory Revenue of N437.871 billion, Value Added Tax (VAT) of N215.266 billion and N20.000 billion Augmentation of Non Oil Excess Revenue bringing the total distributable for the month to N673.137 billion.

The balance in the Excess Crude Account (ECA), as at 23rd September 2022 stood at $470,599.54

The Lagos State Government is collaborating with the Lagos Urban Development Initiative (LUDI) to observe the first car free day in Lagos this Sunday.

The development will encourage road users and motorists set aside their cars for a day and take up active and inclusive means of transport such as cycling and walking known as Non Motorized Transport (NMT).

The Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Dr. Frederic Oladeinde,announced that traffic will be diverted around Alausa/Ikeja as cyclists will utilize Governor’s Office Road, through Mobolaji Johnson Ave, Billings Way, Obafemi Awolowo Way, Aromire, Adeniyi Jones, and Oba Akran Way for bicycle ride to mark the event, while about 400 Meters of the Governor’s Avenue will be closed for the event.

He explained that the aim of the initiative was to create awareness about the benefits of Non Motorized Transport, including reduced environmental pollution.

He added that the initiative will also reduce insufficient physical activity and sedentary behavior to promote health of the people regardless of their ages.

He noted the significant drop in air pollution recorded during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns, when movement was curtailed and many private cars and public vehicles were off the roads, which he said resulted in reduction of vehicular carbon emissions into the atmosphere, thereby improving the quality of air, as well as increase in physical exercise and improved health practices

“Vehicular emissions have now become a global issue. In Nigeria as well as other developing countries, 25% of the air pollution problems are as a result of automobile exhaust.This is very evident in the number of unroadworthy, smoky vehicles plying our roads on daily basis, causing not just health issues but visibility problems and sometimes accidents.” Oladeinde stated.

He also noted that the event provides cities and governments opportunity to do more in advancing public transport systems which can be run more efficiently through provision of viable, reliable alternative to the cars in the urban areas, as well as implementing Non Motorized Transport whereby walking, cycling and inclusive mobility are given priority.

Oladeinde further explained that the event which was being coordinated by the Lagos State Ministry of Transportation along with other Ministries, Departments, Agencies and Lagos Urban Development Initiative was necessary to continuously enlighten the citizenry on the importance of environmental health.

He assured that Lagos State Traffic Management Authority will work hand in hand with the Nigerian Police Force to manage vehicular movement on the diversion routes, urging the motoring public to cooperate with the interventions put in place to minimize inconveniences.