The Minister for Industry, Trade, and Investment, Adeniyi Adebayo, has unveiled the 2020 Corporate Sustainable Investor Report (CSIR), a landmark research document that analyses the sustainability progress of companies operating in Nigeria. Developed by CSR-in-Action, a sustainability consulting and advocacy outfit in Africa, the independent scorecard provides critical insights into the sustainability approach of Nigerian companies in line with Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors. The Minister for Industry, Trade, and Investment, Adeniyi Adebayo, has unveiled the 2020 Corporate Sustainable Investor Report (CSIR), a landmark research document that analyses the sustainability progress of companies operating in Nigeria. Developed by CSR-in-Action,…
Author: Temitope N.
The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) has said that with the current state of the Nigerian economy, the country needed to adopt a different approach with a profound sense of urgency to find workable measures towards achieving growth and national security. Chairman of the NESG, Asue Ighodalo, said governments at all levels must intensify efforts to address the challenges of kidnapping, theft and other social vices, to pave way for economic growth, job creation and poverty reduction.Ighodalo said this during the inauguration of the joint planning committee for the 27th Nigerian Economic Summit (NES) with the theme ‘Securing our future:…
Amid growing concerns of low revenue generated from the lottery and gaming industry, the Federal Government has projected to rake in over N100 billion from the sector yearly. Executive Secretary of National Lottery Trust Fund (NLTF), Bello Maigari, disclosed this yesterday, during the presentation of sporting kits to the agency’s staff in Abuja. According to the research firm, Research, and Markets, there are roughly 60 million Nigerians aged between 18 and 40, involved in active betting. Despite a huge number of people engaged in betting, the Nigerian government-generated less than N1 billion from the gaming industry in 2019. Bello, however,…
The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) halted four consecutive trading sessions of an uptrend, as profit-taking by investors on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) dragged the All-Share Index (ASI) by 0.3 per cent. Specifically, the ASI dipped by 126.32 points, representing a decline of 0.32 per cent to close at 38,801.51. Similarly, the overall market capitalisation of listed equities depreciated by N66 billion to close at N20.216 trillion. The market negative performance was driven by price depreciation in large and medium capitalised stocks amongst which are, MTN Nigeria Communications, Ardova, Guaranty Trust Bank Holding Company, United Capital, and Access Bank. Analysts…
As the country prepares for the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has stated that it successfully obtained over 150 orders for the destruction of fake and substandard products from courts across the country in the last four years. The Director-General of SON, Farouk Salim, during the organisation’s capacity building workshop for journalists in Abuja, yesterday, noted that the Federal Government and private sector are well prepared to take advantage of the trade deal. Salim said the Nigerian government signed the trade agreement early this year based on its overall preparedness.…
Erudite Economist and professor emeritus, Olu Ajakaiye has expressed shock and disbelief that the Debt Management Office (DMO) has resorted to borrowing $6.2 billion fresh capital from the international capital markets which have been described as very expensive and against the Agency’s plan to opt for concessionary loans. Ajakaiye, who is the Ibadan-based African Centre for Shared Development and Capacity Building while reacting yesterday, to the announcement by the DMO that it had picked some advisers to assist it to raise the $6.2 billion (N2.43 trillion) from the international markets through Eurobond, said it was more expensive raising funds through…
…sets December deadline for fuel stations’ DRMS registration As subsidy costs weigh down government interventions due to rising consumption of premium motor spirit (PMS) occasioned by smuggling and sharp practices in the downstream sector, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has set a December deadline for filling stations to register on its Downstream Remote Monitoring Systems (DRMS), as a requirement for licence renewal. DRMS, also known as e-Station, is an inventory and regulatory tool that tracks product levels across retail outlets and depots. The system also tracks the movement of products from depots to retail outlets using a USSD code…
The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has warned steel manufacturers to calibrate their equipment used for the production of steel rods and reinforcement bars or be forced out of business. The Director General, SON, Mallam Farouk Salim, said it is not business as usual, as the agency will ensure that all equipment used in measuring various parameters are calibrated in the country. The SON boss stated this at a stakeholders’ forum with Steel Manufacturers Association of Nigeria recently. He stated that SON has acquired the latest measuring instruments to ensure compliance with standards, pointing out that the standards body is…
Uber on Wednesday reported a profit in the second quarter on one-time gains and said its pandemic-stalled ride-hailing business was showing signs of recovering. The San Francisco-based company reported a profit of $1.1 billion. Revenue rose to $3.9 billion in the recently ended quarter, more than double what it took in during the same period last year. The net income for the quarter included gains of $1.4 billion from the revaluation of its investment in Chinese ride-share firm Didi and another $272 million from its stake in the autonomous technology firm Aurora, according to Uber. Uber made strong progress in…
The National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) has tasked freight forwarders on the need for a genuine declaration of goods imported. Coordinator, NAGAFF, 100 per cent compliance team, Ibrahim Tanko, who appealed in a statement, said freight forwarders making genuine declarations would help government to realise its revenue target. The NAGAFF 100 per cent compliance team was established to ensure compliance with government regulations in the port. Tanko said it would not be business as usual for terminal operators, shipping companies and freight forwarders who fail to abide by government directives on ease of doing business policy. “We…
The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has promised to enthrone international standards and best practice in the handling of ships and cargo in all seaports in the country. The acting Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Mohammed Bello Koko made the remark while addressing members of the Senate Committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation led by Senator Theodore Orji, during an oversight visit to NPA. According to him, the authority has created the enabling environment for a well-structured inter-modal system for seamless connectivity of the water ways, rail and road transportation, to foster improved service delivery as well as increase…
The Port General Manager of Kaduna Inland Dry Port (KIDP), Rotimi Raimi-Hassan, has disclosed that rail access to the port, which has stopped working for some time, has increased the cost of doing business in the state. He said it was not only affecting the dry port, but also a huge cost to importers and exporters as they spent more on cargo haulage. Raimi-Hassan said the cost of moving cargo from Lagos to Kaduna was about N1 million or more, depending on market demand. He stressed that rail would reduce the cost by half. “You can now imagine less than…
The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) is marking a decade of action on cutting greenhouse gas emissions from shipping. The first set of international mandatory measures to improve ships’ energy efficiency was adopted on 15 July 2011 as part of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL). To support the implementation of the measures and encourage innovation, IMO has been implementing a comprehensive capacity building and technical assistance programme, including a range of global projects. These include the GEF-UNP-IMO GloMEEP Project (now concluded), the European Union-funded global network of maritime technology cooperation centres (GMN project), the IMO-Norway…
A Joint Committee of the ECOWAS Parliament has issued some recommendations asking Member States to develop legislation to fight cybercrimes in their jurisdictions as well as implement effectively, the elimination of roaming charges in the region. These were part of recommendations contained in the draft report of the delocalised meeting of the Joint Committee on Political Affairs, Peace, Security and African Peer Review Mechanism/Legal Affairs and Human Rights/Telecommunications and Information Technology (TIT), held at Winneba, Ghana from 27 – 31 July, 2021. According to the Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Dr. Sidie Mohamed Tunis, the draft report may be considered…
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has unveiled guidelines for licensing and regulation of payments system holding companies (PSHC), stressing that companies must exist as non-operating entities in the ecosystem. The guideline is a follow-up to an earlier template on new license categorisation, which required companies with an interest in switching/processing and mobile money service to set up holding structures. In an accompanying circular issued yesterday and signed by the Director, Payments System Management Department, Musa Jimoh, the CBN insisted that PSHC must maintain a minimum of two subsidiaries with a focus on switching and mobile money services. The guideline…
The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has said it is formulating a Maximum Economic Recovery (MER) strategy for Nigeria to attain maximum value from its oil and gas resources. The Director, DPR, Sarki Auwalu, during a keynote address at the 2021 Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Nigeria yearly International Conference and Exhibition (NAICE) yesterday, in Lagos, said the decision was taken to ensure an in-depth assessment of the status of the industry. Auwalu said the industry initiative was one of the outcomes of the work of the National Oil and Gas Excellence Centre (NOGEC), Lagos inaugurated in January by President…
With profit before deferred tax (PBT) of $62.1million, representing an increase of 142.7 per cent in the first half of 2021 as against H1’20, Seplat Energy Plc, is proposing to pay shareholders an interim dividend per share of 2.5 cents to holders of its shares listed on the Nigerian Exchange and the London Stock Exchange. Highlights of the company’s financial further showed that revenue went up 32 per cent to $308.8 million in H1’21, from $233.5million in H1’20; earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of $178.9 million; cash generated from operations ($125.8 million); cash at bank ($298.8 million)…
As the strike embarked upon by the National Association of Resident Doctors enters its second day, medical activities have been paralysed in government-owned hospitals. A visit to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja on Tuesday by our correspondent revealed that there was full compliance with the strike directive by the NARD as resident doctors stayed away from work. Findings also revealed that resident doctors at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba complied with the strike as they handed over patients’ care to senior physicians. Recall that NARD had on Saturday issued a communiqué after its Annual General Meeting of…
Stakeholders that gathered at a workshop organised by the development Research and projects Centre (dRPC), under the Partnership For Advancing Women Economic Development (PAWED) in Lagos, have stressed the need for government to make the National Collateral Registry (NCR) more functional to enable women to have more access to funds and loans for business expansion. Besides, they urged the government at all levels to identify credible associations and ensure that intervention funds targeted at women in business are disbursed through these associations to achieve the required result. Specifically, the Chairman of Export Group, Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Bosun…
Anticipation of improved half-year (H1) earnings and accompanied dividend declarations triggered bargain-hunting on the equities sector of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) last month, causing investors’ fortune to soar by N327 billion in one month. Specifically, the market capitalisation, which reopened for the month of July at N19.756 trillion, rose by N327 billion to close on Friday, July 30, 2021, at N20.083 trillion. Similarly, the All-share index, which measures the performance of, listed equities increased by 648.52 points or 1.7 per cent from 37,898.56 to 38,547.08. Analysts linked the performance to bargain hunters’ positioning as profit-taking slow down amidst rekindled…