Kirikiri Lighter Terminal of the Nigeria Customs Service has attributed the drop in import volume to the effect of the monetary policy.

Statement signed by the Customs Area Controller in charge of the command, Timi Bomordi, says that the command collected a total of N10m from imported goods, adding that the amount represented 77 percent of its expected revenue for the quarter.

“So far, in the first quarter, the command has collected a total of N10bn. This amount represents 76.87 percent of its expected revenue for the quarter. While we acknowledge the impact of monetary policy changes and the effect of exchange rates on business, the overall effect has been a downturn in import volume, hence the command’s performance.”

He added that the command had an anticipated revenue target of N55bn for the year 2023.

“However, all hands are on deck to safeguard and protect all revenue accruable from import and export trade. To this effect, demand notices to the tune of N68.5m have been raised to shore up the shortfall in revenue.”

Its major impediment is the draft, which restricts the direct berthing of seagoing vessels. This challenge has recently been overcome with the introduction of ocean-going lighter barges with the capacity of moving over 200 TEUs.”

Twitter boss Elon Musk has threatened to sue Microsoft as he accused the technology giant of using data from his social media company without permission.

Earlier, the company says in a notice that its advertising platform would “no longer support Twitter” from Tuesday 25 April. As a result, ad buyers would not be able to access their Twitter accounts through Microsoft’s social management tool.

“They trained illegally using Twitter data. Lawsuit time,” the multi-billionaire says in a tweet. Musk was responding to Microsoft’s plan to remove Twitter from its corporate advertising platform. He did not provide further details or evidence to support the claim.

“Other social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn will continue to be available,” Microsoft says.

In February, Twitter started charging for the data it collects from “hundreds of millions” of users, with a basic plan starting at $100 a month. The data allows users to “manage and track every aspect of your social media presence”, according to the platform.

Since buying Twitter for $44bn (£35.4bn) in October, Musk has cut its workforce by around 80% and moved to boost the company’s finances through measures including charging users for “blue tick” verification.

Federation Account Allocation Committee says it shared N714.63bn among the three tiers of government in March 2023. The figure represents a decrease of N8.05bn compared to the N722.68bn shared in February 2023.

FAAC disclosed this in a statement issued at the end of its latest meeting in Abuja on Wednesday 19th 0f April.

Total amount includes gross statutory revenue, Value Added Tax, and electronic money transfer levies.

Federal Government received N276.14bn, the states received N232.13bn, and the local government councils got N171.26bn, while the oil-producing states received N35.1bn as derivation (13 percent of mineral revenue).

It was also noted that the gross revenue available from the Value Added Tax for the month of March 2023 was N218.79bn, with the cost of collection taking N8.71bn, and the rest was shared among the Federal Government, States and Local Government Councils.

Breakdown showed “The remaining sum of N202.693bn was distributed to the three tiers of government of which the Federal Government got N30.404bn, the States received N101.347bn, Local Government Councils got N70.943bn.”

For the Gross Statutory Revenue, N638.67bn was received, with the sum of N22.04bn as the Cost of Collection and a total sum of N119.18bn for Transfers, Refunds and Consultancy fees.

Accelerex, a fintech, has won the prestigious Excellence in Commerce Enablement Award at the Africa Fintech Summit 2023.

The event was held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington DC, United States. It states that the award celebrates companies that have contributed to the growth and development of the fintech business landscape in Africa.

In a statement, the Managing Director of Accelerex, Olukayode Ariyo, says, “The award is a testament to the hard work and creativity of the entire Accelerex team in the provision of world-class payment and innovative products to businesses across Africa.

“We are in the vanguard of commerce enablement and simplified electronic payment solutions. We are also passionate about deepening financial inclusion and providing financial services to the underserved and under banked.”

According to the lead organizer of the summit, Andrew Barden, the fintech emerged as the winner of the award after an extensive and in-depth “analysis of its role in the retail and trade markets across Africa and was elected this year’s category winner by a public poll that witnessed over two thousand voting industry stakeholders from across the globe.”