Nigeria's headline inflation rate fell in July for the first time in well over a year, dipping to 33.40% in annual terms (NGCPIY=ECI) from 34.19% in June, data from the statistics agency showed on Thursday. Analysts had said June's reading could mark the peak in inflation as currency devaluation effects start to fade. July's slowdown will bring some relief to frustrated Nigerians, who protested this month over cost-of-living pressures and governance issues in Africa's most populous nation. Price pressures have been stoked by President Bola Tinubu's decision to remove a decades-old fuel subsidy, devalue the naira currency and hike electricity…

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has raised concerns about the 8-15% dropout rate among adolescents in primary and secondary schools across the Southwest region of Nigeria, which includes Ekiti, Oyo, Lagos, Ondo, Osun, and Ogun states. UNICEF’s Education Specialist, Azuka Menkiti, highlighted these concerns following a two-day regional stakeholders meeting on strategies for improving retention, transition, and completion rates among out-of-school children. The meeting, which took place in Ibadan, aimed to address the challenges facing education in the region. Menkiti reported that while the completion rates for primary and secondary education among adolescents aged 10 to 18 are currently…

The federal government says its dollar-denominated domestic bond will be issued on Monday. Gbadebo Adenrele, managing director of investment banking, at United Capital Group, spoke on Thursday during a hybrid roadshow with investors organised by the Debt Management Office (DMO). On July 25, the federal government said it would issue $500 million in domestic foreign currency-denominated bonds in August. Adenrele said the bond is expected to offer periodical repayments at maturity in dollars and full repayment of the principal amount at the end of a five-year term and will be listed on the Nigerian stock exchange. He said the goal…

A French court has authorised the seizure of three presidential jets linked to the Federal Government of Nigeria, sources familiar with the matter have told PREMIUM TIMES. Two of the jets, part of the Nigerian presidential air fleet, were recently put up for sale, while the third, an Airbus 330, was purchased by Nigeria but not yet delivered. The seizure of the presidential jets is a result of an application by Zhongshan, a Chinese company whose export processing zone management contract was revoked by the Ogun State government in 2016. An independent arbitral tribunal chaired by the former President of…