According to data on Nigeria’s balance of payment from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria recorded a current account deficit of $424 million in the second quarter of 2021, dropping to its lowest level in over two years. Although Nigeria’s balance of payment continues to trail in the negative region, it dropped significantly by 79.8% compared to a deficit of $2.1 billion recorded in the previous quarter. Also, it reduced by 87% compared to a deficit of $3.27 billion recorded in Q2 2020. The upward movement in the country’s balance of payment is attributed to the significant surge in…
Author: Temitope Nlewemchi
The Federal Government unveiled the launch of an enhanced e-passport, which they say will improve the passport application process for Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora. The rollout of the e-passport was conducted at the Nigerian High Commission in London, United Kingdom. In a statement on Tuesday, the Minister of Interior Affairs, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, assured of the FG’s commitment with the enhanced e-passport, stating that the FG is committed to providing passports to all its citizens. What we have come to do here is symbolic of the core mandate of the Ministry of Interior Affairs and indeed, the…
The federal government of Nigeria has established that it is not in consensus with the International Monetary Fund’s economic growth projection of 2.7% for Nigeria, for the year 2021. Zainab Ahmed, the minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, made this known during the Nigerian Development Update Report launch for November 2021, tagged, “Time for Business as Usual”. The IMF had recently reviewed Nigeria’s outlook projection to a new 2.7% and 2.8% for 2021 and 2022 respectively, but the minister says Nigeria in the last three quarters of this year has hit a 3.3% growth and will improve to reach…
The Federal Government directed AITEO Eastern Exploration and Production Company Ltd (AEEPCo), to halt operating in the Nembe oil spill area of Bayelsa State until a proper investigation is carried out. This was disclosed on Tuesday in a statement by Mr Saghir el Mohammed, Press Director, Ministry of Environment, in Abuja. The statement added that adequate measures need to be put in place to ensure the safety of lives and property, at the site of the spill at Santa Barbara in Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa state. “The Federal Government has directed the exploration company, AITEO Eastern Exploration and…
The Federal Government has assured it citizen it will take necessary steps to bring down the cost of cooking gas across the country as it is worried about the situation. This is as the government has said that it needs N6 billion for the procurement of kits to convert the first one million cars as well as facilitate the procurement of equipment that will enable gas pump stations to come on board in its move to ensure the transition of cars from the use of petrol to gas. This was disclosed by the Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva,…
Shareholders of Guinness Nigeria Plc have confirmed the N1.008billion dividend declared and recommended by the Board of the Company at the 71st Annual General Meeting held in Lagos, as the Company recorded a 54% increase in revenue for the year ended June 30, 2021. Appreciating the support of the shareholders, the Chair, Board of Directors, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Dr Omobola Johnson maintained that the Company will keep up with its growth strategy to continue on its path of profitability. “We are confident that our strategy is comprehensive and robust. We are keen on making the right investments that will drive…
At least 135 private health facilities have been beckoned on by the Lagos State Government into its mass vaccination strategy programme targeted at vaccinating 4 million residents by December 2021 bringing to 360, the number of public and private vaccination sites in Lagos. This was made known by the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, explaining that the 360 vaccination sites comprising the 135 private health facilities and 225 existing public vaccination sites have been earmarked for the mass vaccination campaign. Abayomi, who noted that more private facilities would be added to the list, said the enrolled facilities…
SME.NG in partnership with Access Bank Plc and other leading institutions, including the Bank of Industry (BOI), LAPO Microfinance Bank, Chapel Hill Denham, and the Impact Investment Foundation Nigeria are launching the Ebi Marketplace – a Nigerian innovation for female entrepreneurs. The Ebi Marketplace consists of an access to capital market, an e-commerce mall and a knowledge market for female entrepreneurs in Nigeria seeking to digitize their businesses. Conceptualised and developed by SME.NG as a tangible solution to the impact of COVID-19 on female entrepreneurs, the Ebi Marketplace aims to close the gender digital divide in Nigeria by supporting women’s…
Since 2015, Ghana’s Central Bank raised its benchmark interest rate for the first time, citing “significant” inflation risks as justification. Stakeholders are wondering if Nigeria will follow suit as the nation awaits the Central Bank of Nigeria’s final Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting for this year (2021). According to a statement from the Bank of Ghana’s Monetary Policy Committee, the rate was lifted by 100 basis points to 14.5 per cent. The rate hike, which is the first since November 2015, reverses some of the 250 basis point reduction announced last year to help the West African country’s coronavirus-ravaged economy.…
The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has voted unanimously to retain the benchmark interest rate (MPR) at 11.5%, whilst keeping all other monetary parameters constant. This was disclosed by the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, while reading the communique at the end of the 282nd Monetary Policy Committee meeting on Tuesday, 23rd November 2021. The MPC stated that its policy over the previous months has begun to show results, owing to the 4.03% growth in real GDP and the 6th consecutive monthly decline in headline inflation. The governor noted the continued moderation in the headline inflation,…
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said that First Bank is a very significant part of the Nigerian banking system, and it is happy that investors are showing interest in First Bank’s shares. This was made known by the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele at the Monetary Policy Committee meeting held today, November 23rd, 2021. The apex banks stated that one person cannot own First Bank and the major shareholders should see themselves as representatives of other shareholders. Emefiele stated that First Bank is essentially too valuable to the banking sector to fail. “Remember that First Bank was established in 1894…
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has informed Nigerians about a false Davido’s airtime and data give away advert on social media. The regulator said that a syndicated group is on the prowl to swindle unsuspecting members of the public, particularly millions of Nigerian telecom consumers, by capitalising on the generosity of Davido. This disclosure is contained in a statement issued by NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Dr Ikechukwu Adinde, on Tuesday, November 23, 2021. The Nigerian-American music star, songwriter and producer recently announced he would donate N250 million to various orphanage homes across Nigeria. Adinde in the statement said that…
The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) established that over 97% of depositors at deposit money banks (DMBs) in the country would be completely protected by the N500,000 Maximum Insured Limit. The Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, NDIC, Mr Bello Hassan stated this during the 2021 Finance Correspondents and Business Editors (FICAN) workshop organized by the Commission. The NDIC’s maximum coverage limits of N500,000 per depositor in commercial, merchant, and non-interest banks, primary mortgage banks, and mobile money operators, as well as N200,000.00 per depositor in microfinance banks, remained the most adequate and robust in…
Flour Mills of Nigeria (FMN) Plc and Honeywell Flour Mills Plc, two of Nigeria’s largest flour mills, disclosed an acquisition deal that will see the former purchase over 71.6% of the shares of Honeywell. Honeywell shares are already up 9% during intraday trading ahead of the actual share price for the transaction being determined. Honeywell share price is up 183% YTD coming into this transaction while Flour Mills share price is up 13% YTD. While the companies are yet to reveal the actual purchasing price for the transaction, we ponder on how the transaction will be paid for. Currently, both…
Global insurance premiums will surpass $7 trillion for the first time by mid-2022 with the ongoing rate hardening in non-life insurance commercial lines providing further support. Following the report released by the Swiss Re Institute titled Sigma: Turbulence after lift-off: global economic and insurance market outlook 2022/23. The report projects that the premium will reach a 3.3% in 2022 and 3.1% in 2023 on the back of rising risk awareness in the life and non-life segments which is pushing consumers and businesses to seek protection following the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic and above-average natural catastrophes.
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) says a total number of 65 Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) plants (otherwise known as cooking gas plants) have been sealed off in Lagos from January to October for various infractions. The shutdown of these gas plants, which is coming at a time there has been reports of gas explosions in the state with some casualties, was done for various reasons such as illegally operating without a valid approval or licence, contravention of guidelines and others. According to NAN, this disclosure was made by the Zonal Operations Controller of NMDPRA, Mr Ayorinde…
Honeywell Flour Mills Plc shares went up by 9.73% barely an hour after the trading session resumed for the day The spike in the share price of the fast-moving consumer goods company comes after the announcement of the agreement on the acquisition of Honeywell Flour Mills Plc by Flourmills Nigeria Plc. Flourmills Nig Plc and Honeywell Group Limited disclosed through a press release that both companies have signed an agreement that will allow Flourmills Nig Plc to acquire 71.69% stake in Honeywell Flour Mills Nigeria Plc for N80 billion. The press release stated thus: “For the proposed combination of FMN…
Nigeria-based Mobility-as-a-Service platform Treepz (formerly Plentywaka) has raised $1.6 million seed extension. This deal follows after raising $1.2 million seed round bringing its total raise to $2.8 million. The seed extension had participation from new investors like Japan-based Uncovered Fund, Dubai-based Blanford Capital and Jonomi Capital and Egypt-based Jedar Capital. The company has also expanded into Uganda, acquiring Ugabus, a bus company. Treepz’s initial step into the East African market will be through this acquisition, which will see Treepz fully acquire all of Ugabus’ operations and personnel. Founded in 2019, Treepz formerly called PlentyWaka connects commuters with buses via an…
The Nigerian Railway Corporation has disclosed that it has received a total of 24 bids on open requests for the Lagos/Ibadan and Warri/Itakpe e-ticketing solutions for standards gauge railway operations under its Public/Private/Partnership (PPP) arrangement. This is coming after the approval granted by the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) and the issuance of a certificate that grants NRC an Outline Business Certificate to enable it to process PPP-based online ticket sales solutions for its operations. According to the News Agency of Nigeria, this disclosure was made by the Managing Director of NRC, Mr Fidet Okhiria, at the opening of the…
Fidelity Bank Plc disclosed its 9-months results for the period ended September 30, 2021, on Tuesday, at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NGX). The results showed double-digit growth in revenues, deposits and profitability. Gross earnings grew by 12.5 percent to N174.4 billion from N155.0 billion in the same period in 2020 while profit before tax (PBT) soared by 31.4 percent to N28.1 billion from N21.3 billion in the first 9 months of 2020. In other indices, total assets grew by 15.4 percent to N3.18 trillion from N2.76 trillion in the same period last year. Total deposits, a measure of customer confidence,…