Summary of the top business, economic and political news in Nigeria today.
- The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma, has revealed that the country’s debt stock has risen to N19 trillion, accounting for 20 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). “Every country borrows, the level of borrowing in Nigeria is not excessive too. Currently, our debt is about N19trn which is less than 20 per cent of GDP which is quite moderate, so, we don’t have a debt problem,” he said. Link
- The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has suspended trading on the shares of 17 companies following the failure of the companies to adhere to best corporate governance and extant post-listing requirements. The suspended companies included African Alliance Insurance, Equity Assurance, Fortis Microfinance Bank, Guinea Insurance, Premier Paints, Resort Savings & Loans, Sovereign Trust Insurance, African Paints (Nigeria), Aso Savings & Loans, Ekocorp, Evans Medical, Goldlink Insurance, Great Nigeria Insurance, Omatek Ventures, Union Dicon Salt, Union Homes Savings & Loans and Universal Insurance Company. Link
- The Federal Government needs N3 trillion annually to cover up the huge infrastructure deficit in the country. The President of Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS), Mercy Iyortyer, disclosed this at a two-day workshop on finance and development of capital projects in Lagos. Link
- The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, says the Federal Government’s newly launched Voluntary Asset and Income Declaration Scheme will help the country to correct its poor tax-to-Gross Domestic Product ratio. Adeosun described VAIDS as a credible platform put in place for defaulting Nigerian taxpayers to work out a flexible way to pay their outstanding tax liabilities in the past six years. Link
- Pensioners of the Kaduna State Polytechnic have given the Federal Government an ultimatum of three weeks to commence gratuity payment of retirees who served the institution. LInk
- The Federal Government has unveiled plans to raise between N360 billion and N450 billion ($1.18 billion to $1.48 billion) in sovereign bonds maturing between five and 20 years in the third quarter, the Debt Management Office (DMO) has said. Link
- The Federal Government on Thursday commenced an aggressive campaign to drive the rate of voluntary tax compliance in the country and boost tax revenue. Link
- NASD OTC Securities Exchange Plc, yesterday, disclosed that it’s N165.45 million Rights Issue was oversubscribed by 27.22 per cent. The Exchange also said it earned N32.2 million as fees and commissions for the financial year ended December 31, 2016. Link
- The CDC, a bilateral development finance institution of the United Kingdom, has unveiled a new five-year strategy for investment in Nigeria and other eligible countries in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Link
- The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said the Nigeria InterBank Settlement System (NIBSS) recorded over 1,200 per cent increase in reported fraud cases in 2016, estimated at N2.19 billion when compared to 2014 cases. According to ‘Dipo Fatokun, CBN’s Director, Banking and Payments System Department and Chairman, Nigeria Electronic Fraud Forum (NeFF), in a latest report, the industry processed transactions in 2016 that amounted to 278,744,529, while the value was over N64 trillion. Link
- The Federal Government on Thursday commenced the review of Nigeria’s environmental guidelines and produced 15 new ones to ensure effective Environmental Impact Assessment process. Link
- In its sustained efforts to ensure the availability of quality grade tomato fruits for processing by industries in the country, the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) is embarking on the distribution of improved tomato varieties to vegetable farmers in Nigeria. The objective of the exercise is to facilitate farmers’ access to improved seeds so as to boost national output from the current estimate of about 1.8 million metric tonnes/annum. Link
- The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Mr. Segun Ogunsanya, says telecommunications companies in Nigeria can successfully list on the Nigerian Stock Exchange and contribute significantly to the socio-economic development of the country, barring the challenges confronting operators in the sector. He said an enabling business environment, policies that promote ease of doing business and market forces in line with best practices, were key factors that could encourage telcos to list on the bourse. Link
- AIICO Pension Managers Limited has appointed Dr. Adenike Fajemirokun, as a member of the board of directors. Fajemirokun, who is the current chief risk officer of Dangote Group, is expected to bring to the board her wealth of experience in the areas of developing and managing processes to identify, assess, monitor and reduce risks that could interfere with the achievement of the company’s goals and objectives. Link
- The Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) has reiterated its commitment to sustained supply of cooking gas to the local market, to boost domestic consumption and a cleaner environment. Managing Director of Nigeria LNG, Mr Tony Attah said that the assurance became necessary to ensure the use of cleaner energy for the health benefit of Nigerians and for a cleaner environment, in line with the mission of the company to help to build a better Nigeria. Link
- The Committee on Telecommunications, chaired by Rep Saheed Akinade-Fijabi (APC, Oyo), yesterday directed the NCC to immediately conduct financial audit of Etisalat and all other telecoms companies with a view to ascertaining their integrity. Link
- Dana Air has introduced another customer-centric product called “Pay with Dana Miles,’’ as part of efforts to enhance its service delivery to its customers. The Communications Manager of Dana Air, Mr Kingsley Ezenwa, said in a statement on Friday in Lagos that with the “Pay with Dana Miles’’ initiative, frequent flyers could now use their miles as they desire for payment for excess baggage or an upgrade from economy to business class. Link
- Sokoto State’s internally generated revenue has risen from N200 million to N830 million monthly, the chairman, Interim Management Committee State Revenue Board, Alhaji Aminu Dalhatu, has revealed. Link