Sustained buying interest in the shares of some blue-chip stocks, especially Oando and FTN Cocoa, aided the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) to close on an upward note yesterday, as the All-Share Index (ASI) appreciated further by 0.5 per cent. At the close of trading yesterday, the ASI grew by 181.18 absolute points, representing an increase of 0.47 per cent to close at 38,849.08 points. Similarly, the overall market capitalisation value gained N94 billion to close at N20.241 trillion. The upturn was driven by price appreciation in large and medium capitalised stocks among which are, Airtel Africa, Julius Berger, Ardova, Lafarge…
Author: Temitope N.
Amazon on Monday denied a report that the e-commerce giant planned to begin accepting Bitcoin payments by the end of this year, but acknowledged an interest in cryptocurrency. City AM cited as unnamed insider as saying Amazon would start taking cryptocurrency, citing a recent job posting by the company for someone with digital currency and blockchain skills. Contacted by AFP, an Amazon spokesperson said information in the story was “fabricated,” but that the company does have its eyes on the cryptocurrency sector. “Not withstanding our interest in the space, the speculation that has ensued around our specific plans for cryptocurrencies…
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors’ Forum is meeting today in Bauchi to discuss a number of burning issues, including the parlous state of the economy and the health of Nigeria’s democracy, particularly the amended Electoral Act. The state chief executives would also examine the state of the nation and happenings in the regions. The forum’s Director-General, CID Maduabum, in a statement yesterday in Abuja, hinted that some thorny matters arising from Constitution alteration bills pending before the National Assembly would get adequate attention. Disclosing that the worsening insecurity in the country is to be accorded sufficient interest too, the…
It‘s not victory yet in Anambra State. Less than four months to November 6, 2021 governorship election, intrigues and suspense have continued to take the centre stage regarding the authentic candidates in the three leading political parties. This is threatening the credibility of the coming exercise. As it is, the governorship primaries that were conducted in the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that ordinarily should provide basis for the election proper are now unsettling the parties and raising serious doubts as to whether the will of the electorate would count…
Electionhe Chukwuma Soludo Campaign has been briefed on a publication by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) where Honourable Chukwuma Umeorji has been published as the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the November 6, 2021 gubernatorial election in Anambra State. The INEC publication is based on a judgment by a High Court in Jigawa State and the electoral body sensibly wrote that its inclusion of Umeorji as a candidate in the election is “By Judgment.” Our millions of supporters in Anambra State and elsewhere in the world are advised not to be dispirited by the publication…
The World Bank’s June 2021 77-page Nigeria Development Update instructs in particular federal economic policy formulators and implementors that “rising prices alone – even without incorporating the direct impact of COVID-19 on welfare – pushed an estimated seven million Nigerians below the poverty line in 2020.” The corollary is focus by the apex bank on attainment of the principal object which mandates it to “ensure monetary and price stability” that alone would have brought about the desirable outcome of successfully keeping seven million Nigerians (who were on or near the border line) from slipping into extreme poverty in 2020. It…
Holds MPC meeting in Abuja Ahead of its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting holding today and tomorrow in Abuja, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reiterated the resilience, safety and soundness of the nation’s deposit money banks (DMBs) and other financial institutions under its supervision. Addressing journalists at the weekend in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the apex bank’s Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, Osita Nwanisobi noted that the Nigerian banking system had proven to be very sturdy in spite of the global challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. He made the clarification following media reports in some quarters…
Lasaco Assurance Plc has paid a total of N364 million as a death benefit to relatives of the late staff of Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) and local governments in the state. At the presentation of the first batch of the payment, the Commissioner, Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs (MLGCA), Dr. Wale Ahmed, said the Lagos State Government gave priority to payments of staff and ensured that it owed nobody. Ahmed, who was represented by the permanent secretary of MLGCA, Kikelomo Morenikeji Sanyaolu, added that 159 relatives of the deceased were going to be presented…
Barely two years after the resumption of Value Added Tax (VAT) to the stock market, investors have returned about N30 billion into government coffers. The amount includes the 10 per cent withholding taxes remitted to the government, despite market operators groaning under the weight of double taxation. The Federal Government, had in 2014, granted a tax holiday on all stock market transactions, a deliberate action to reduce the high cost of transactions in the market and make it more attractive to investors. However, at the expiration of the tax exemption on July 24, 2019, dealing members were mandated to charge…
Environmental health scientist, Dr. Umar Kwami says more Nigerians must embrace the culture of good personal and public hygiene to curb the spread of infections. According to Kwami, a cleaner environment is crucial to curbing the spread of diseases in the country. Kwami, an Environmental Health Superintendent and Waste Manager with the Gombe State Environmental Sanitation and Protection Agency, stressed that proper and regular cleaning of the environment will help reduce diseases and sickness. He made this plea on Saturday, in an interview with journalists in Bolari, Gombe, after participating in an environmental sanitation exercise organised by the National Youth…
Health experts have warned that smoking shisha is far more dangerous to health than smoking cigarettes. The experts stressed that contrary to the belief held by many people that shisha is less harmful than cigarette, a puff of shisha contains more toxins than a cigarette Shisha is a form of tobacco smoking that has become fashionable in society, with manywho do not smoke cigarettes embracing it. It is considered a better alternative to cigarettes. It is also called hookah, waterpipe, or goza. According to news-medical.net – an online medical media site – the practice of smoking shisha involves burning charcoal…
When the Liquefied Natural Gas, LNG, Train 6 was completed in 2008, close observers had anticipated that Nigeria would immediately go ahead with the construction of Train 7, expected to increase the LNG output to 30 million metric tonnes, MT per annum, from 22 million MT. A number of reasons accounted for this expectation. The first is that the Train was widely discussed and embraced as a step in the right direction towards the diversification of the nation’s economy. Second, previous trains had already launched Nigeria into the league of global exporters, thus justifying additional expansion. Third, increased investment was…
The interventions which are part of Federal Government’s effort to ease liquidity challenges and improve infrastructure in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry were expected to improve supply to consumers. Checks on fourth-quarter economic report (4Q’2020) of CBN showed that the interventions include, Power and Aviation Intervention Fund about N300 billion, Nigerian Electricity Market Stabilisation Facility, NEMSF, at N213 billion, about N140 billion Solar Connection Intervention Facility, over N600 billion tariff shortfall intervention as well as a recent N120 billion intervention designed for mass metering among others. The CBN interventions were also necessitated by the inability of the sector to finance…
The nation’s rice revolution has received a boost as Fevick Resources, a private concern, has provided loans to 1, 000 women and youths to undertake massive rice cultivation across the nation. The Project Coordinator of Fevick Resources, Mr. Samuel Adeshina, told journalists in Abuja, yesterday, that the new wet-season rice farming project would link farmers to new technologies and high-yield seedlings. He said that 1, 000 women and youths who are to participate in the novel wet-season rice planting project, have been identified According to him, the rice transformational programme would empower clusters of women and youth Agripreneurs farming together…
Allianz Nigeria has introduced a Covid-19 travel protection cover to the Nigerian market as an extension of its international travel insurance. The company said that the introduction of the product followed the announcement of the Allianz Risk Barometer 2021 results, which was dominated by the Covid-19 risks of business interruption, Covid-19 pandemic and cyber incidents. Speaking on the product, Managing Director of Allianz Nigeria, Adeolu Adewumi-Zer, said that the Covid-19 travel protection cover offers travelling customers protection against emergency medical expenses associated with a Covid-19 diagnosis while on a trip. The travel plan also covers accommodation costs related to Covid-19…
Nigerians, and by extension, their businesses, expend about N7 trillion annually on power generation, a Renewable Energy expert, Mr Stephen Ogboko, has said. Ogboko, also the Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, Off Grid Tech Solutions Ltd., made this known at a virtual news conference in Lagos. He spoke on the theme: “Analysing the Benefits of Technological Innovation.” According to him, this is inefficient, expensive, noisy, polluting and of poor quality. He said that inadequate power supply had been a major challenge facing businesses in the country, forcing them to source for alternative power supply for their operations. The executive…
Cholera cases have continued to be recorded in some states in Nigeria. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control Director-General, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, listed Bauchi, Plateau, Kano, Niger, Zamfara and Kaduna as some of the affected states. The Federal Capital Territory Minister of State, Dr. Ramatu Aliyu, said 60 persons died of suspected cholera in six area councils, adding that suspected cases had risen to 698. In Plateau State, the disease has killed 21 people and infected 1,144 in two months as of Wednesday. The World Health Organisation described cholera as an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by ingestion of…
A public health expert, Dr. Taiwo Obembe ha cautioned against excessive consumption of alcohol, noting that it increases the threshold of alcohol tolerance and risk of long-term health complications. According to Obembe, alcohol tolerance is the ability of persons to consume larger amounts of alcohol before feeling its effects. Obembe, who is a public health specialist at the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, explained that regular consumption of huge volumes of alcohol usually increases tolerance level thus making the individual less tipsy or drunk. He explained further that drinking alcohol regularly makes the body get accustomed to it while…
After the two–day holiday to mark the Eid-el Kabir celebration, investors’ renewed appetite in some blue-chip firms, especially in Total and Cutix buoyed transactions on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) yesterday, causing market capitalisation to increase by N330 billion. Specifically, at the close of trading yesterday, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 632.87 points, representing an increase of 1.67 per cent, to close at 38,585.52 points. Similarly, the overall market capitalisation value rose by N330 billion, to close at N20.104 trillion. The improved performance was driven by price appreciation in large and medium capitalised stocks amongst which are, Total Nigeria,…
IMF extends zero-interest loans to low income countries The World Bank Group, yesterday, announced its new Climate Change Action Plan that seeks to deliver record levels of climate finance to developing countries through a series of activities. Apart from funding, the Group will help affected countries to firm up incentives and taxes to support de-carbonisation efforts. The new plan is a follow-up to its first Climate Change Action Plan, which delivered over $83 billion in financing over five years, including a record $21.4 billion in 2020. The new move aims to reduce emissions, strengthen adaptation and align financial flows in…