Oil and Gas downstream company, Ardova Plc has denied it is facing a winding up charge in respect of the debt owed to Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited (Zenon) by Ignite Investments and Commodities Limited (Ignite). Nairametrics reported on Monday that Zenon Ltd has filed a Winding Up petition against Prudent Energy and Services Limited over the inability of the latter to repay a debt of $ 6 million. Prudent Energy & Services through its entity, Ignite Investments and Commodities Limited owns 74% of Ardova Petroleum a company listed on the Nigerian Exchange. Cordova stated that there are no claims…
Author: Temitope N.
The Osun State Chapter of the All Progressive Congress (APC) says that it has concluded plans to drag the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and its candidate in the just concluded election, Senator Ademola Adeleke, to the Elections Petition Tribunal over the outcome of the election. The party said that the decision to challenge the results of the July 16 Osun State Governorship election at the tribunal follows assurances by the party’s lawyers who said they have good grounds to challenge the results after studying them. This was made known by the Osun State Chairman…
The Central Bank of Nigeria has extended a total sum of N19.9 trillion circa (N20 trillion) in loans to the Federal Government under its Ways and Means provision as included in the CBN Act. The Ways and Means provision allow the government to borrow from the Apex Bank if it needs short-term or emergency finance to fund delayed government expected cash receipts of fiscal deficits. Provisions in the act cap monetary financing of fiscal deficits at 5% of the prior year’s revenues. However, since the government started experiencing a significant shortfall in revenue, it has relied heavily on the central bank to finance…
The NESG said that the country’s economic growth was dominated by sectors with low contributions to output and weak job-creating capacity, while the oil sector remained in recession for 8 consecutive quarters, with headline inflation at 18.6% according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). It also stated that despite high global oil prices, Nigeria is not appropriating the benefits due to low crude oil production largely as a result of oil theft and pipeline vandalism, declining investment and divestment caused by oil theft, high cost of production, and a harsh operating environment. Some solutions to identified factors contributing to…
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed that Nigeria’s mineral production grew by 39.19% in 2021, from 64.29 million tons recorded in 2020 to 89.48 million tons in 2021. This was disclosed by the NBS in a report on Monday titled, ‘Mineral production Statistics’ for 2021. The report added that the most mined mineral in Nigeria remains Granite at 22.3 million tons. According to the NBS, “The aggregate production of mineral products in Nigeria in 2021 grew by 39.19% from 64.29 million tons recorded in 2020 to 89.48 million tons in 2021, indicating an improvement in production. “On state profile analysis, Ogun…
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has stated that Nigeria is the only major oil exporter that hasn’t benefited from the windfall of higher global oil prices. This was disclosed by Dr. Michael Olawale-Cole, President of LCCI in a statement, according to the News Agency of Nigeria. He added that the recent naira depreciation indicated an exchange rate risk likely to put pressure on inflation and its associated implications due to the substantial component of Eurobonds in the foreign debt. He said, “Nigeria is the only major oil exporter that hasn’t benefited from the windfall of higher global oil…
The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) yesterday said that it has concluded plans with the terminal operators to begin the reconstruction of the collapsed berths at the Rivers Port in Port Harcourt. Mohammed Bello-Koko, the managing director of NPA, who disclosed this in Port Harcourt during his maiden visit to the port, said the Authority has given BUA Terminal, one of the terminal operators, the final approval for the submitted design, which means that construction would commence soon. According to him, the berths five to eight of the BUA Terminal that was built in the 1920s collapsed years back. “They have…
The Federal Government yesterday inaugurated the National Cocoa Management Committee (NCMC) to see to the re-establishment of the Nigeria Cocoa Board and also ensure Cocoa farmers benefit from the Living Income Differential (LID) of $400 per tonne to improve their living standards. Cocoa exporters in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire have been enjoying the LID introduced by the two countries as a premium on their cocoa and as a tool to complement the prices of the cash crop in the international market. Unconfirmed reports have it that exporters have been taking cocoa of Nigerian origin to either Ghana or Cote d’Ivoire…
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimated the volume of capital that has left emerging markets, including Nigeria, following the ongoing interest rate cycle at $50 billion. It linked the flight, which it described as a slower version of the March 2020 occurrence, to monetary tightening (MT) by central banks of developed countries. Led by the Federal Reserve System, central banks across the globe have joined rate-raising mania to stem high inflation. The Fed has increased interest rates four times this year, two of which were 75 basis points (bps) imposed back-to-back. The monetary authorities are also winding down their stimulus…
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has developed a guideline that guarantees the allocation of 60 per cent of the Human Capacity Development (HCD) budget on major oil and gas projects to the strengthening of training institutions. Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony of the infrastructural upgrade of the Government Technical College (GTC), Rivers State, the Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Simbi Wabote, commended TotalEnergies Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited for embarking on the construction of a technical workshop, 200-bed hostel, and 25-block classroom. Wabote hinted that under the guideline, a large chunk of the HCD commitments on projects…
As Nigeria struggles with the challenges of energy crisis, alongside oil theft and global transition agenda, the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), Nigeria Council, has urged the government to deploy adaptive strategies that protect Nigerians from the socio-economic impact. Chairman, SPE, Nigeria Council, Olalekan Olafuyi, stated this at a press conference preparatory to the 2022 Nigeria Annual International Conference and Exhibition (NAICE) in Lagos. The NAICE is a yearly event of the SPE and this year’s edition is scheduled to hold from August 1, to August 3, in Lagos. Olafuyi said the theme of the conference: “Global Transition to Renewable…
With a global market estimated at $110 billion, the Federal Government has called on investors to explore the development of the nation’s 42 billion barrels of bitumen reserves. Speaking at a virtual clarification session, organized by the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development in collaboration with PwC Nigeria, the Director-General of the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency, Dr. Abdulrasaq Garbar, who provided geoscientific data and other information to guide potential investors, said the country holds the sixth largest reserves of bitumen in the world. He said the mineral remained unexploited for years, thereby creating a massive opportunity for domestic production of…
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has advised Nigerians not to succumb to the speculative activities of some players in the foreign exchange market. Mr Osita Nwanisobi, CBN’s Director, Corporate Communications CBN, advised in a statement on Friday, against the backdrop of rising demand for foreign exchange for goods and services. Nwanisobi said that the CBN remained committed to resolving the foreign exchange issues confronting the nation, and had been working to manage both the demand and supply challenges. He said that the apex bank was concerned about the international value of the Naira. He said that the monetary authority…
The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) and the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) have canvassed greater collaboration in harnessing opportunities for conducting the underwriting and brokerage businesses through technology. The decision was made at the 2022 mid-year workshop organized by the Lagos Area Committee (LAC) of NCRIB with the theme ‘Opportunities and Challenges of Insurtech’ and held in Lagos. At the program, the President of NCRIB, Rotimi Edu, condemned the low penetration of insurance in the country and urged participants to leverage opportunities presented by Insurtech to harness not only the accounts of big government corporations such as the…
The perfect storm of inflationary pressures, aggressive monetary tightening from central banks, combined with a deepening of the Russia/Ukraine crisis, have made capital raising via traditional bond markets, particularly, expensive for African countries whose governments have been forced to find innovative ways to raise capital, Co-Head of Loan Syndication at Rand Merchant Bank, Miranda Abraham, has said. Abraham said: “While the quality of African sovereigns hasn’t declined, risk appetite amongst typical bond investors certainly has and this has pushed pricing up to prohibitively high levels.” African government bonds have historically offered fairly priced, long-term debt for issuers and attractive returns…
The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) has vowed to intensify efforts aimed at attracting young investors to the stock market and addressing perennial issues constituting disincentives to the financial technology (fintech) firms in accessing the market. Chief Executive Officer of the NGX, Temi Popoola, while welcoming the Africa Walk Delegates to the exchange at the weekend, assured that the NGX has developed a focused strategy that would help to address major constraints such as listing rules and other concerns that have pushed fintech firm to source for offshore capital. Investigations revealed that Nigerian fintech firms are approaching investors and getting funded,…
Heavy transactions in the shares of United Bank for Africa (UBA), Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO), and Access Holdings Plc lifted the volume of shares traded last week, as a turnover of 917.2 million shares worth N14.8 billion was recorded in 19, 513 deals by investors. However, the volume of shares traded was higher than a total of N504 million units valued at N7.5 billion that was exchanged in 12, 393 deals. The top three equities accounted for 365.6 million shares worth N4.1 billion in 562 deals, contributing 38.8 percent to the total equity volume. The financial services industry…
Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the President on Public Sector Matters and Secretary of the National Action Committee (NAC) on African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), Francis Anatogu, said the inter-African trade policy would reduce poverty in Nigeria and boost the wealth-creating capacity of the citizens when it fully takes off. Anatogu said this at CEO Dinner/ Luncheon of Toiletries and Cosmetics Manufacturing Group (T&C group) of the Manufacturing Association of Nigeria (MAN) in Lagos. He described the regional trade pact as a process that would benefit generations to come but noted that inter-agency collaboration was necessary if Nigeria would…
Justice Zaynab Bashir of the National Industrial Court has awarded a driver, Sunday Onyemara the sum of N500,000 as general damages for the wrongful termination of his employment. While delivering judgment on Wednesday, Justice Zaynab held said the firm failed to accord the claimant the right to a fair hearing before terminating his employment. Consequently, she declared that the termination of Mr Onyemara’s employment on October 31, 2019, from Wheels Services Ltd., was wrongful. Mr Sunday told the court that he was employed by the firm as a driver in September 2019. However, he was later arrested with one of…
I’m seated at a dinner in faraway Dubai pondering as the Chairman of United Bank for Africa gave the opening remark for the launch of UBA Dubai. It’s a landmark event as it positions UBA as one of the leading Nigerian and indeed African banks when it comes to having a global footprint. Regional and global trade will surely dominate how businesses are conducted in the next few years and it’s not difficult to see what UBA is trying to achieve here. As I ponder, my thoughts gravitate to what this latest move could mean for the bank’s shareholders. Why…