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Summary of the top business, economic and political news in Nigeria today
- Acting president, Yemi Osinbajo has signed the 2017 spending plan into law at about 4:40 p.m today inside his conference room in the presence of the Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, Abba Kyari; Senate President, Bukola Saraki, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, Ministers and other top government officials with the final figure of N 7.44 trillion presented by the National Assembly. Link
- Nigeria’s Brent crude price will increase by between $2 and $3 per barrel in the coming weeks, on the back of stable demand and low volatilities, a report by the global oil research firm S&P Global Platts, has predicted. This implies that crude oil price, which stood at $48.27 per barrel, last week, would increase to $51 per barrel or more, signalling a good omen for Nigeria, which depends on crude oil for its fiscal responsibilities. Link
- The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has marked out about 56 dealing-member firms as inactive, kick-starting the revocation of their licences and expulsion from the stock market. The firms marked out as inactive included Adamawa Securities Limited, Aims Asset Management Limited, Arian Capital Management Limited, Bestlink Investment Limited, Bytofel Securities and Investment Limited, Cadington Securities Limited, CEB Securities Limited, Clearview Investments Company Limited, Covenant Securities and Asset Management Limited, Cradle Trust Finance and Securities Limited, ECL Asset Management Limited, Excel Securities Limited, Finbank Securities and Assets Management Limited, Gem Assets Management Limited, GMT Securities and Asset Mangement Limited, Gombe Securities Limited, Horizon Stockbrokers Limited, International Standard Securities Limited, Investment Shark and Asset Mgt Ltd, ITIS Securities Limited, Kakawa Asset Management Limited, LB Securities Limited, Lion Stockbrokers Limited, LMB Stockbrokers Limited, Mact Securities Limited, Mainland Trust Limited, Marimpex Finance and Investment Company Limited, Maven Asset Management Limited, Mercov Securities Limited, Midpoint Capital Limited, ML Securities Limited, Monument Sec and Finance Limited, Mutual Alliance Investment and Securities Limited and Northbridge Investment and Trust Limited. Others were Options Securities Limited, Partnership Securities Limited, Perfecta Investment and Trust Limited, PML Securities Company Limited, Professional Stockbrokers Limited, Profund Securities Limited, Redasel Investments Limited, Resano Securities Limited, Resort Securities and Trust Limited, Shalom Investment and Financial Services Limited, Stanwal Securities Limited, Summa Guaranty and Trust Company Limited, Supra Commercial Trust Company Limited, Surport Services Limited, Tower Asset Management Limited, Transafrica Financial Services Limited, and UIDC Securities Limited. Link
- Lagos State Pension Commission (LASPEC) former Director-General,Rotimi Hussain, has urged life insurers in the country to accept the mandate given to them by the National pension Commission (PenCom) to transfer N167.84 billion annuity fund belonging to about 34,312 annuitants to Pension Fund Custodians (PFCs), describing the transfer as a blessing to the insurance industry. Link
- The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma has called on the Centre for Management Development (CMD) employees to help government actualise its Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP’s) goals. Link
- The newly appointed Director-General of the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), Mr. Jelani Aliyu, has assumed duties at the NADDC’s headquarters in Gudu District, Abuja. Link
- Operators of bureaux de change in the country, under the aegis of Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) have called for exchange rate cut in their segment. ABCON President, Alhaji Aminu Gwadade said the CBN should review BDCs dollar buying rate downwards from N360 to N350/$1 and enhance security surveillance at the boarders to check illegal cash movement that has long posed dire consequences on naira’s stability. Link
- The Federal Government yesterday said N3, 770, 688, 144 has been released for the feeding of 1, 287, 270 school children in nine states under its Home Grown School Feeding programme. The benefiting states comprising Anambra, Enugu, Oyo, Osun, Ogun, Ebonyi, Zamfara, Delta and Abia have received various sums in tranches while 14, 574 cooks have been engaged. Link
- Following the fluctuations in forex and international crude oil prices, the ex-depot price of diesel has dropped by over 30 per cent between February and June 2017. Link
- Output from the Shell Petroleum Development Company Limited (SPDC) Joint Venture-owned Afam VI power plant in the Niger Delta region has dropped by about 40 per cent to 350megawatts (Mw) due to transmission challenge. Link
- The Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt has ordered Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) to pay N122 billon as damages to Ejama-Ebubu community in Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State for crude oil spillage. Link
- Petralon Energy Limited has appointed Edith Unuigbe as Non-Executive Director to the Board of Directors. Unuigbe joined Petralon’s board after an illustrious 20-year career at the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited where she was General Counsel and Company Secretary, a role she had for 10 years. Link
- Shareholders of Wapic Insurance Plc’s have given their approval for the firm to raise additional capital in the sum of N10 billion or its equivalent in any foreign currency. Link
- The children of a Lagos socialite, late Chief Olatunji Ajisomo Alabi, a.k.a, Lord Rumens, have filed a suit against the Bank of Industry Investment and Trust Company Ltd before a Lagos State High Court, over alleged mismanagement of their father’s N5.6billion estate. Link
- The controversy rocking Nigeria’s major carrier, Arik Air, may soon be over as the shareholders are now deeply in discussion with a major investor, who would take over significant shares from the company and provide the funds to offset the debts of the airline owed to Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) and other creditors. Link
- Oil marketing major, Forte Oil Plc, at the weekend, disclosed that it has embarked on a road show across the globe to woo foreign investors in its proposed N20 billion fresh capital drive for the expansion of its operations. Link
- The President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote has expressed his readiness to build the biggest agricultural company in Kogi State with focus in the areas of rice and cassava production. Link
- Former Minister of Communication, Dr. Omobola Johnson, would join Mouka Limited in June as the new board chairperson of the company. Link
- The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, recorded over 60.19 per cent growth in its operations in March 2017, the national oil company’s latest financial and operations report shows. Link
- The Jos Electricity Distribution Company (JEDC), is to send additional 840 smart prepaid meters to the Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA) station in Kaduna for re-testing, JEDC’s Head of Corporate Communications, Dr. Friday Adakole Elijah has stated. The company, according to Elijah in a press statement has already sent 660 meters to NEMSA and the additional 840 will make the figure 1,500 as agreed upon by the company, agency and stakeholders when NEMSA officials visited Jos in May. Link
- The Ondo State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu, has reassured the workers in the state that their salary arrears will be paid in full by his administration. He noted that civil servants in the state were being owed N38bn, while N41bn were being owed the pensioners as gratuities. Link
- The Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions has invited the Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation and Deposit Money Banks to a meeting on Tuesday over the high interest rates being charged by financial institutions in the country. Link
- The House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the activities of telcoms operators and vendors has ordered the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) to end all existing lottery contracts between GSM companies and lottery operators. Link
