A segment of Lagos-based Dangote Refinery was engulfed with fire on Wednesday afternoon, June 26, 2024, triggering an alarm in its environs. Witnesses in nearby areas reported seeing large plumes of smoke and hearing loud noises from the direction of the refinery. Information was gathered that the fire broke out around noon in the effluent plant of the refinery. In addition, video footages circulating on social media show thick black smoke rising from the affected part of the complex. Another video showed that the fire did not affect most parts of the complex, with engineers on-site watching the smoke…
Author: Temitope Nlewemchi
The average fare paid by commuters for bus journeys within the city per drop increased by 0.86%, rising from N967.76 in April 2024 to N976.08 in May 2024. This information is based on the Transport Fare Watch for May 2024, which was recently released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The NBS report further highlighted that, on a year-on-year comparison, the average fare paid by commuters for an intra-city bus journey per drop rose significantly by 50.26%, increasing from N649.59 in May 2023 to N976.08 in May 2024. “The average fare paid by commuters for bus journeys within the…
The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, has officially reacted to the alleged purchase of his National Identification Number (NIN) slip for N100 on a website that has now been taken down. Tijani in his first response to the issue, which has sparked data privacy concerns among Nigerians, said he has contacted the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, over the issue. He expressed confidence that the Ministry and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) are addressing the matter. Recall that the NIMC, formerly under Tijani’s Ministry’s supervision, was moved to the Ministry of Interior in September last year. …
The Federal High Court, Abuja has agreed with the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), in declining to determine a N100 million lawsuit instituted against the Commission which bordered on its oil prospecting licenses (OPL). Justice Inyang Ekwo delivered the ruling on Wednesday in a suit filed by NJ Exploration Limited against NUPRC over the alleged withdrawal of its oil prospecting licences (OPLs) 321 and 323 by the NUPRC. The OPL is granted by Nigeria’s Minister of Petroleum Resources to an applicant company that is registered for oil exploration and production business in Nigeria. What transpired in court Nairametrics previously…
A delegation from the Federal Government and the leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) are currently in a private meeting to address ongoing issues and prevent a strike by the union. According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the meeting began at approximately 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday in the office of the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman. The Federal Government’s team includes the Minister of State for Education, Dr. Yusuf Sununu, along with other senior ministry officials. ASUU President, Emmanuel Osodeke, who is heading the union’s delegation, informed reporters that the meeting aims to discuss…
The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) Secretary-General, Mr Afolabi Olawale has accused thirteen members of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers(PTD) Branch of the union of nearly killing him when he was on an administrative assignment at the Abuja office of the union. Olawale made the allegation before the Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting on Wednesday in an amended charge instituted by the Attorney-General of the Federation relating to an alleged attempted murder of the National President of NUPENG, Williams Akporeha, and two others. NUPENG is one of the industrial unions in Nigeria and one of the…
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has officially discontinued its Price Verification System (PVS) portal just ten months after its launch. The announcement, made through a circular dated June 26, 2024, indicated that recent developments in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market necessitated this decision. The official circular from the CBN, signed by Dr W. J. Kanya, Acting Director of the Trade & Exchange Department, states that effective July 1, 2024, all applications for Form M will be validated without the need for a Price Verification Report from the PVS portal. The circular read: “We refer to the circular dated August 17,…
A new report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revealed that Nigeria and some other developing countries lack digital infrastructure for the deployment of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology. This is despite the fact that Nigeria recently unveiled its AI strategy and also launched its first Multilingual Large Language Model (LLM) in April. IMF disclosed this in its new ‘AI Preparedness Index’ where it tracks 174 economies based on their digital infrastructure, human capital, labour policies, innovation, integration, and regulation. According to the report, most developing economies are lagging in the area of digital infrastructure for AI and are the…
The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMAFS), in collaboration with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), World Bank, and other key stakeholders, has launched the 2022 National Agricultural Sample Census Report (NASC). According to the National Bureau of Statistics on X, this report marks the first National Agricultural Sample Census since 1993. The report aims to provide robust data on agricultural activities, enhancing food and nutrition security as well as fostering economic growth. Speaking at the launch event held in Abuja, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Dr. Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, highlighted the importance…
The Australian Department of Home Affairs has announced plans to grant 6 month renewal window to skilled worker visa holders in their country. This was disclosed in significant revisions to visa conditions 8107, 8607, and 8608, set to take effect from July 1, 2024. According to authorities these changes aim to address unfair labor practices and enhance the labor market mobility for temporary migrants holding the following visas: Temporary Work (Skilled) visa (subclass 457), Temporary Skill Shortage visa (subclass 482) and Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (provisional) visa (subclass 494) Some context The new update highlights the extended flexibility for visa…
Fidelity Bank Plc started its N127.1 billion combined rights and public offers to rousing support from the investing public as key capital market stakeholders recalled the symbolic importance of Fidelity Bank’s impressive growth and investor-friendly disposition over the years. From the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) to stockbrokers, investors and customers; the N127.1 billion combined rights and public offer received unreserved recommendations, with industry thought leaders citing the performance of Fidelity Bank in its core banking operations and as a quoted company at the stock market. They said Fidelity Banks N127.1 billion combined rights and public offer was the right way for…
Transcorp Hotel has rejoined the N1 trillion market capitalization club, also known as the SWOOTs. Stocks Worth Over One Trillion Market Cap is an acronym for the most capitalized stock on the Nigerian Exchange. Transcorp Hotel gained 9.33% on June 24 to close with a share price of N98.40 per share, bringing its market capitalization to N1.01 trillion. Market report The stock market started the week off on a bearish note, as the All-Share Index declined by 0.44% to close at 99,304.12 points, representing 438.93 points from last Friday’s 99,743.05 points. The NGX market cap also declined by N248.3 billion,…
The federal government has raised N297.006 billion from the June bond auction, which is only about 66% of its target. The amount raised in June is approximately 22% less than the N380.769 billion raised in May. The total subscription across all tenors reached N305.257 billion, far lower than the N551.316 billion in subscriptions recorded in the previous month. The auction result released by the Debt Management Office (DMO) for the June 2024 bond auction revealed a shift in investor preferences towards higher-yielding and longer-tenor bonds, amidst a backdrop of cautious market sentiment. The auction, which took place on June 24,…
As audited accounts start to trickle in, companies will propose dividend payments to their shareholders as recommended by their respective boards of directors. It is also important to track these announcements to know who is eligible to collect the dividend, when it will be approved, and when it will be paid. Dividend payment also affects share prices. This page will be updated from time to time. Legend Date announced – The date the company announced dividends, evidenced by a corporate action published on the website of the Stock Exchange. Dividend during the year – This represents all the dividend announcements made by a company…
Memecoins have reversed their week-long bearish run in the market with an impressive bull run as other crypto assets like Bitcoin continue to falter. Memecoins have broken out of their various red zones to record double-digit growth in the last 24 hours. At the time of writing this report, Bitcoin was hovering between a monthly low of $58,000 and $61,000 struggling to build a bullish trend. But Memecoins once again defied market sentiments to go on a bullish run after being the worst hit during the red crypto market of mid-June. The two top leading meme coins both recorded growth in the…
The naira has weakened further against the dollar on Wednesday, closing at N1,507.83/$1, based on the latest data from the FMDQ, which manages the NAFEM window where currencies are officially traded. Throughout June, the exchange rate had been stable, fluctuating between N1,470/$1 and N1,480/$1. However, yesterday marked a significant shift as it breached the N1,500 threshold. Over the past eight days, the naira has experienced a series of marginal depreciations, ranging from 0.02% to 0.71% daily, indicating a fresh trend of decline for what had been a relatively stable currency. This recent pattern of depreciation suggests potential volatility ahead, raising…
The naira has weakened further against the US Dollar, falling to N1,500.79/$1 on the official market on June 25, 2024. This marks the lowest exchange rate since May 16, 2024, when it was recorded at N1,533.99/$1. According to the FMDQ data for the NAFEM window, the naira’s depreciation on June 25 represents a 0.71% decline from the previous day’s rate of N1,490.2/$1. This crash occurred amid the claim by the Governor of the Central Bank, Yemi Cardoso, that the country has already experienced the worst of naira volatility regarding foreign exchange. The naira traded at a high of N1,507/$1 and…
The Governor of the Central Bank, Yemi Cardoso, stated that the country has already experienced the worst of naira volatility regarding foreign exchange. Cardoso said this in an interview on Tuesday in London while speaking to Bloomberg TV. The head of the apex bank said he is satisfied with how far they have been able to manage the currency crisis in the past few months. Cardoso, however, added that it is a work in progress as they will continue to implement certain macroeconomic fundamentals that will positively impact the market. “We are relatively pleased with how far we’ve gotten now.…
The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) is set to close the first half of 2024 on a positive note, driven by renewed investor confidence in listed companies. This marks a significant achievement for NGX, despite ongoing economic adversities such as heightened inflation, currency depreciation, and security challenges. This optimism has translated into discernible changes in purchasing patterns, with the All-Share Index closing at 99,217 index points as of June 25, 2024. The year-to-date (YTD) return of the NGX All-Share Index stands at 32.69%, highlighting strong performance despite recent bearish trends. However, the equities market has shown contrasting performances in the first…
The naira moderated by 71 basis points in the official market amid increased pressure from the U.S. dollar index, showing improved stability in the unofficial market. FMDQ data highlighted that the naira dipped by 0.71% against the greenback, settling at N1,500.79, much lower than N1,490.2/$ on Monday at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market. Currency exchangers attributed the recent uptick in dollar demand to summer vacations and importers who require the haven currency for purchasing raw materials. Market fundamentals support the naira’s remarkable stability due to the fresh foreign cash inflows that have entered the Nigerian economy during the recent…