Business Drive

The United States says it stood firmly behind Lithuania and NATO commitments to defend it after Russia warned its neighbour over restrictions on rail transit. State Department spokesman Ned Price says their commitment to NATO’s Article Five on the part of the United States is ironclad Lithuania says that it would restrict the rail transit of goods sanctioned by the EU into Kaliningrad, an isolated Russian enclave on the Baltic Sea sandwiched between Lithuania and Poland. Russia warned that it would certainly respond to the hostile actions.

Germany’s economy minister says the country will limit the use of natural gas for electricity production amid concerns about possible shortages caused by a cut in supplies from Russia. The move comes after Russia sharply reduced flows of natural gas in its pipelines to western Europe, driving up energy prices. Robert Habeck says to reduce gas consumption, less gas must be used to generate electricity. Coal-fired power plants will have to be used more instead. Russian state gas giant Gazprom says the supply reductions via the Nord Stream pipeline are the result of repair work, but European Union officials believe Moscow is punishing allies of Ukraine, where Russian forces launched an invasion in February

Telecoms regulator says mobile operators in Belgium have bid 1.2 billion euros for fifth-generation mobile licences. The regulator says proceeds from the auction, which attracted bids from five operators, were 468.5 million euros higher than the minimum price. The Belgian regulator cleared the five entrants to the auction in March, after the government said it would encourage a new entrant on the market to increase competition with the largest operators Proximus, Orange Belgium and Telenet’s BASE.

The government of Canada announced that it will ban the manufacturing and import of a number of harmful single-use plastics, with several new regulations coming into place in December. The new rules will apply to checkout bags, utensils, food-service products with plastic that is difficult to recycle, ring carriers, stir sticks, and straws with some exceptions. Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault says the government is all in when it comes to reducing plastic pollution. The government will also ban the export of six plastics by the end of 2025.

Imports from China's Xinjiang region are due to be banned in the US from Tuesday as new rules come into force. Under the regulations, firms will have to prove imports from the region are not produced using forced labour. US lawmakers say the law sends a clear message that they will no longer remain complicit in the Chinese Communist Party's use of slave labour and egregious crimes against humanity.

The European Union added three Al-Qaeda-linked jihadist commanders in West Africa to its terrorist sanctions blacklist for attacks in Mali and Burkina Faso. The new asset freezes and visa bans target Sidan Ag-Hitta and Salem ould Breihmatt, senior commanders within the UN-listed Al-Qaeda-affiliated Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam Wal-Muslimin in Mali, as well as its Burkinabe branch Ansarul Islam and its leader Jafar Dicko. The EU says the sanctioned group and individuals are responsible for several terrorist attacks, including against civilians, the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali and defence and security forces in Burkina Faso.

East African heads of state have called for an immediate ceasefire and cessation of hostilities between the Democratic Republic of Congo and the several rebel groups fighting in its eastern region. The leaders also directed that rebel groups relinquish all territory they hold and that peace negotiations be intensified. The meeting also condemned recent incidents of hate speech and attacks on certain ethnicities in DR Congo, allegedly sparked by accusations from DR Congo that Rwanda is supporting the M23 rebels.

The Chief Executive Officer of Economic Associates, Dr Ayo Teriba, has faulted the decision of the federal government to borrow to fund its recurrent expenditure, stressing that such a decision flagrantly violates Section 41 of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007. He urged the federal government to adopt a cost-effective approach to generating revenues by issuing asset-backed debt and not revenue-based debt. He argued that not only that borrowing to pay salaries or generally for recurrent expenditure is against the law, but it is also not sustainable as it may lead to a debt trap which could quickly spiral out of control.

Justice Mobolaji Olajuwon of the Federal High Court in Abuja stopped the Independent National Electoral Commission from ending the voter registration on 30 June 2022. Justice Olajueom granted an order of interim injunction following the hearing of an argument on motion exparte by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project. The commission is further asking the court for an order of mandamus to direct and compel INEC to extend voter registration by a minimum of three months and take effective measures to ensure that eligible Nigerians are able to register to exercise their right to vote in the 2023 general elections.

The Edo State Governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki, has pledged to sustain partnership with security agencies in the state to ensure improved security of lives and property of citizens of the state. The governor says the ban on motorcycles in the Benin metropolis is still in force. The review came after a joint security meeting with representatives of various security agencies in the state.

The International Air Transport Association says Nigeria is holding back about $450 million in revenue earned by foreign airlines operating in the country. Vice President for Africa and the Middle East, IATA, Kamil Al Awadhi says a financially viable air transport sector supports jobs and must be a driving force for Africa and the Middle East's economic recovery from COVID-19. Al Awadhi says the consequences of reduced air connectivity include the erosion of that country’s competitiveness, diminished investor confidence and reputational harm caused by a perception that it is a high-risk place to do business.

President Muhammadu Buhari has asked the nation’s western allies to proscribe the Indigenous People of Biafra as a terrorist organisation. Buhari says the country is safer than he met in 2015 and proscribing IPOB, a group seeking secession of parts of Southern Nigeria, will improve the situation. The President urged the international partners to take additional steps costing them nothing, by proscribing another group – IPOB – as a terrorist organization.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg warned that the war in Ukraine could last for years while reiterating calls for Western countries to provide long-term support to Kyiv. He told Bild that the food and fuel costs are nothing compared to the one paid daily by Ukrainians on the frontline, warning they would have to pay an even greater price if Russian President Vladimir Putin were to achieve Moscow’s goals in Ukraine. Stoltenberg says the hardware support could increase the likelihood of Ukraine being able to push Putin’s troops out of the Donbas region.

The United States has imposed sanctions on Chinese and Emirati companies, as well as a network of Iranian petrochemical producers, accusing them of helping to evade sanctions by supporting the sale of Iran’s petrochemical products abroad. The US Department of the Treasury says it had imposed penalties on two companies based in Hong Kong, three in Iran, and four in the United Arab Emirates. Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E Nelson says the United States is pursuing the path of meaningful diplomacy to achieve a mutual return to compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

Qatar Airways announced its profits during the past fiscal year topped $1.5bn, marking the highest-ever earnings for the state-owned company as it prepares to see a record surge in travellers for the upcoming FIFA World Cup football games. The airline says revenue reached $14.4bn, up 78 per cent compared with last year. Qatar Airways CEO Akbar al-Baker says they have pursued every business opportunity and left no stone unturned as we aimed to meet our targets.

Elon Musk was sued for $258bn by a Dogecoin investor who accused him of running a pyramid scheme to support the cryptocurrency. Plaintiff Keith Johnson accused Musk, electric car company Tesla Inc and space tourism company SpaceX of racketeering for touting Dogecoin and driving up its price, only to then let the price tumble. The complaint also aggregates comments from Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and others questioning the value of cryptocurrency. Johnson is seeking damages worth triple the $86bn decline in Dogecoin’s market value since May 2021.

The World Trade Organization agreed on an unprecedented package of trade deals touching on health, reform and food security after a disagreement between countries on key issues forced the trade body to extend negotiations by two days. WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala says the package of agreements you have reached will make a difference in the lives of people around the world. The negotiations involving more than 100 trade ministers have been seen as a crucial test of the trade body’s ability to strike multilateral trade deals at a time when rising geopolitical tensions are increasing protectionism and economic decoupling.

The President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, says that the Proposed Court of Appeal (Federal Inland Revenue Service) Practice Directions 2022 will enhance the speedy dispensation of justice in tax-related matters at the appellate court. She described the collaboration as a testament to the willingness of the appellate court under her leadership, to ensure efficient dispensation of justice. She says the Practice Direction will also govern matters brought before the court based on the application of enacted tax legislation in effect in Nigeria, as well as their applications to parties in any appeals brought before the appellate court.

Global remittances, the hard-earned money sent by migrant workers to their family members in low- and middle-income countries also grew by 8.6 per cent in 2021. The President of IFAD, Gilbert F. Houngbo says the digitalisation of remittances, particularly through mobile channels was a great opportunity to boost rural development as over half of these funds go to rural areas. He says digitalisation reduces fees and other transactions costs like travel time, making the process more convenient and safer while promoting digital and financial inclusion.

The federal government announced that it had reviewed upwards the freight rate paid to petroleum products transporters under the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners but was surprisingly silent on the newly approved figure. The Nigerian Midstream Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority noted that the new deal as a result of several consultations with industry stakeholders. The Authority says President Muhammadu Buhari considered and approved the upward review in freight rate for transporters to alleviate the challenges associated with the distribution of petrol.