Dave Umahi, the Minister of Works, has issued a stern warning, stating his intention to refer ministry officials who have colluded with contractors to obstruct the government’s initiatives to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for potential prosecution. This development comes nearly two weeks after an altercation between Umahi and ministry staff when he locked them out of their offices. Umahi disclosed this during an interview with State House correspondents at the State House in Abuja, following a meeting with President Bola Tinubu. He emphasized his determination to eliminate these individuals from the ministry, accusing them…
Author: Temitope Nlewemchi
MTN Nigeria Plc recorded a loss of N143 billion in market value at the end of Tuesday’s trading session on the Nigerian Exchange to rank among the losers of the day. MTN Nigeria’s share price depreciated by 3.26% to close at N208.00 per share, taking the market capitalization to N4.233 trillion from the N4.376 trillion it closed the previous day. Low sentiment: The decline in share prices can be attributed to investors’ low sentiment informed by the 2023 general elections approaches, even as speculators continue to move their funds to money market instruments for higher yield following the interest rate hike.…
Nigeria’s exchange rate crisis had crashed foreign investor participation in the stock market to just 16.8% when compared to their domestic counterparts. This is largely due to capital controls put in place by the central bank limiting currency repatriation as well as the disparity between the official and parallel market rates. On Tuesday, the exchange rate between the naira and the dollar fluctuated between N444 and N446 to the dollar at the official market. However, the rate on the parallel market was N745 to the dollar. The parallel market, where the dollar is freely exchanged but at a premium of 80% to…
When Akin arrived in the United Kingdom (UK) earlier this year, he was grateful to God for delivering him from Nigeria. Life had been tough for him back home, from his stressful job to long-commute hours due to traffic, landlord problems, epileptic power supply, and constant insecurity amongst other challenges. A friend had convinced him to switch to the UK where his skills would be better compensated. However, what the friend did not tell him was that life is not all that sweet in the land of milk and honey. Things were about to get tougher. Akin, a former supervisor…
The Nigerian Government said it has commenced an investigation into some generator importers, manufacturers, assemblers & distributors, especially Mikano, Jubali Brothers and JMG. This was disclosed in a statement by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) which said it already received credible intelligence and carried out preliminary inquiries. A serious investigation: The broad investigation into generator importers, manufacturers, assemblers and distributors is to confirm whether reported incidents of overpricing, multiple or duplicitous models, import and or customs clearing malpractices and other crimes. To this end, the FCCPC has requested the assistance of Nigerian customers who are willing to share their experiences with the generator manufacturers,…
The average price of 1kg tomato rose by 30.06% from N342.25 in September 2021 to N445.12 in September 2022. This was disclosed by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its Selected Foods Price Watch Report for September 2022. According to the report, the price of 1kg boneless beef rose by 24.39% year-on-year to N2,199.37. Part of the report Selected Food Price Watch by the NBS said: “At the state level, the highest average price of rice (local sold loose) was recorded in Rivers with N621.61, while the lowest was recorded in Jigawa with N371. Ebonyi recorded the highest average price of beans…
Nigerian Governors have warned that given the constant reductions in FAAC Allocation to states, it would be suicidal if the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) goes ahead to carry out its proposed recovery of state loans. In reaction to the warning, the National Economic Council (NEC) said it will negotiate with the CBN and the Finance Ministry on loan recovery. The developments were disclosed by Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State after a virtual NEC meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Thursday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The Governor added that NEC also agreed to set up a committee to engage the CBN governor and the Finance…
Panelists at the ongoing West African Clean Energy & Environment (WACEE) Trade Fair & Conference 2022 have identified a lack of data and currency mismatch as the main reasons investors are reluctant to invest in Nigeria’s off-grid power sector. The panelists disclosed this on day two of the WACEE conference in Lagos while addressing the issue of sustainable financing gaps in Nigeria’s off-grid sector. Among the panelists were Eme Kponu, the Energy Market Advisor for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Daniel Adedokun, Head of Geocycle at Lafarge Africa Plc, and Victoria Uwadoka the Head of Corporate Communications at Nestle…
The exchange rate between the naira and the US dollar recorded a sharp fall on Friday morning, 21st October 2022, trading at a minimum of N755/$1 at the black market compared to N742/$1 recorded on Thursday. This is according to information from black market operators. The depreciation of the local currency at the black market was attributed to increased demand and sustained FX scarcity in the market. According to Nairalytics’ exchange rate tracker, the rate at N755/$1 is the highest on record. It also indicates a market differential of N313.87/$1 between the official market and the parallel market. Also, at…
Let’s face it; Nigeria’s skyrocketing inflation and a few high-yielding investment options are already deterring some investors from investing in the continent’s largest frontier market. The risk that investors confront is ranked highly by this rise in the cost of goods and services. The average investor’s portfolio is negatively impacted by inflation because you need to consistently generate returns that are higher than inflation to make genuine progress toward your financial goals. This indicates that the typical Nigerian investor must look for yields higher than that because the present inflation rate is at 20.8%, a 17-year high. However, it is…
Following the announcement of the sale of Polaris Bank Limited earlier today, there have been mixed reactions from experts and stakeholders. As expected, some minority shareholders have frowned at the development, describing it as ‘an illegality’, for which they said they are prepared to seek redress in court. In case you missed the details, the Central Bank of Nigeria and AMCON announced the completion of the sale of Polaris Bank’s entire shares to Strategic Capital Investment Limited (SCIL). The apex bank said SCIL paid the upfront transaction fee of N50 billion, and in accepting the terms will repay fully the sum of N1.305 trillion…
Top Nigerian tech entrepreneurs, including the founder and CEO of MainOne, Funke Opeke, were among the 447 personalities honoured by the federal government on Tuesday. The CEO of Flutterwave, Gbenga Agboola, co-founder of Paystack, Ezra Olubi, and co-founder and General Partner at Future Africa, Iyinoluwa Aboyeji were also honoured. While Opeke was awarded Member of the Order of the Niger (MON), Agboola, Olubi, and Aboyeji were honoured with the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) recognition. The awards were presented to the recipients by President Muhammadu Buhari at an event held at the International Conference Centre, Abuja. Who they are Funke Opeke is…
The United States has returned 23 stolen Benin Bronzes to Nigeria through the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, the National Gallery of Art, and the Rhode Island School of Design. This was disclosed during the handover ceremony by Nigeria’s information minister in Washington DC on Tuesday. He said that he will soon launch an international traveling exhibition with the artifacts being repatriated The Benin Bronzes were looted during the British Empire invasion of Benin in 1897. Countries, including Germany, are in the process of repatriating over 1000 to Nigeria. The minister of information and culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, commended the United…
French cement maker, Lafarge, has pleaded guilty to U.S. charges of supporting the Islamic State by keeping a factory running in Syria after conflict broke out in 2011. According to Reuters, the admission in Brooklyn Federal Court marked the first time a company has pleaded guilty in the United States to charges of providing material support to a terrorist organization. The company agreed to pay $778 million as part of a plea agreement. Lafarge, which became part of Swiss-listed Holcim (HOLN.S) in 2015, is also facing charges of complicity in crimes against humanity in Paris. The cement maker previously admitted after an internal…
Shareholders of Airtel Africa Plc, one of the major telecommunications companies quoted on the Nigerian Exchange, again witnessed a massive loss of about N609 billion today, as the stock continued to consolidate its lead on the losers’ chart due to sustained sell pressure on the stock. The telecom giant had previously lost a whopping N676 billion at the end of trading on Monday to top the losers’ chart. The latest loss on Tuesday brings the cumulative losses to N1.285 trillion in two days of trading sessions. Checks by Nairametrics showed that the telecom stock dropped by 10% to close at N1,458…
The era of cash-based transactions is gradually becoming a thing of the past, as more cashless forms of payment continue to be developed and adopted in the Nigerian financial industry. The use of various cashless forms of payment, such as Point-of-Sale (POS) terminals, instant bank transfers, and mobile transfers, and others, has already recorded significant growth in the country. However, cyber threats have continued to militate against the growth of the digital banking sector. The problem is also hampering the actualization of a deeper financial penetration rate in the country. But the good news is that the same problem has prompted the need…
Nigeria’s transport inflation rose to a 15-year high of 18.74% in the month of September 2021, representing a 50-basis points increase compared to 18.24% recorded in the previous month. This is also the highest level since August 2007. This information is contained in the recently released Consumer Price Index (CPI) report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) a copy of which was obtained by Nairametrics. In case you missed it, the CPI report showed that Nigeria’s headline inflation rate rose to a 17-year high of 20.77% in September 2022, driven by increases in the core and food index. The core inflation, which excludes the…
The Nigerian Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has claimed that the Central Bank of Nigeria’s financing of the country’s fiscal deficit is responsible for rising inflation. CPPE disclosed this in a statement made available to Nairametrics by its CEO, Dr Muda Yusuf. According to the statement, Nigeria is suffering from an “Inflation Tax” as a result of the CBN’s contribution to increasing the money supply in the economy. Yusuf’s comments came just shortly after the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced that Nigeria’s inflation rate had jumped by 20.77% year-on-year in September 2022. What the CPPE is saying Dr…
Nigeria still remains the most cryptocurrency-adopting nation in Africa. The U.S. company’s Crypto index is based on the maximum sums of money that regular people and non-professional investors are ready to put into certain digital assets, in different countries. Chainalysis revealed Sub-Saharan Africa is driving unprecedented crypto growth and usage thanks to small retail purchases, with the area handling the world’s greatest proportion (80%) of crypto retail sales of less than $1,000. The research also emphasizes that Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest prevalence of peer-to-peer transactions worldwide. Peer-to-peer transactions in Africa account for around 6% of global crypto transaction volume, much exceeding…
The current situation where 10 brokers still control over 50% of the total value of transactions on the nation’s local bourse in a market with more than 250 players raises a lot of worries that if more dealing members, especially the domestic ones, are not expanded by way of government intervention, the local bourse might face similar situation it witnessed during the global financial meltdown of 2007 and 2008. The outcome of the meltdown saw the nation’s capital market lose huge funds, as the Nigerian Stock Exchange’s All-Share Index fell from a height of 66,000 basis points in March 2008…