Summary of the top business, economic and political news in Nigeria today.
- The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, has assured Nigerians that the skyrocketing prices of foods in the country will soon crash, saying specifically that that of rice will happen within the next two weeks. Link
- The federal government lost an estimated $6 billion as a result of the Department of Petroleum Resources’ (DPR) poor administration of the expiring oil blocks, which were sold by the international oil companies (IOCs) between 2010 and 2015 to local firms, Nigerian exploration and production (E&P) operators have said. Link
- The Assets Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) has said it has drawn the battle line with some recalcitrant debtors who have refused all entreaties to repay their loans, totaling N2.5 trillion. Link
- The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has disclosed that over N1 billion has been spent to power street lights and acquire about 22 generating sets to support lights in Abuja. The FCTA said five of the generators were already installed and used to ensure a brighter city all through the night. Link
- Nigeria’s inflation rate rose by 16.1% for the month of June 2017 compared to 16.5% in the month of May 2017. This is the 5th consecutive month of a drop in monthly (year on year) inflation rate in Nigeria. Link
- The Federal Government has announced its support for the establishment of a 327,000-tonne iron and steel plant as part of its plan to diversify the economy away from oil. The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah, gave the indication on Friday during a facility tour of Standard Metallurgical Company Limited in Sagamu, Ogun State, where the plant is being built. Link
- Manufacturing companies listed in the Nigerian Stock Exchange’s top 30 index gained over N160 billion in revenue in the 2016 full year financial statements despite foreign exchange devaluations and the difficult micro-economic environment that impacted sales. Link
- Following the dearth of cheap capital in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, MSMEs, in the country, the NASD OTC Securities Exchange Plc, has announced plans to create a window, Enterprise Platform, that will enable MSMEs access funds to power their businesses. Enterprise Platform, which will be launched before the end of third quarter of the year, Q3’17, will give MSMEs operators the opportunity to enjoy funding support from venture capital firms upon confirmation of viability of such business. Link
- Aba-based dealers in leather and garment fabrication made excess sales of N1 billion in 2016. Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, yesterday, on a fashion show slated for today in Abuja, the Special Assistant to the Governor of Abia State, Chinenye Nwogu, said over 1 million pairs of shoes were exported weekly from Aba to the West African region alone. He said this was an indication of the growing acceptance and admiration of Made in Aba products which were in line with the Federal Government’s local content policy. Link
- The European Union says it has so far committed over €700m for the development of sustainable energy in Nigeria and other ECOWAS countries from 2014 to 2020. Link
- The Chairman of DAAR Communications Plc, Chief Raymond Dokpesi (Jnr), has blamed the huge operating loss of N2.13bn for the 2016 financial period on the harsh operating environment, which was caused by economic recession. He told the shareholders who attended the combined 2015 and 2016 Annual General Meeting of the company which was held on Friday in Abuja that the company’s operating loss grew from N1.51bn in 2015 to a new height of N2.13bn. Link
- The number of indigenous insurance companies acquired by foreign investors will soon rise to 12, findings have revealed. Information obtained from the National Insurance Commission on Friday showed that 10 foreign firms had already acquired Nigerian underwriting firms and two were about to be taken.“There were three foreign acquisitions into the sector in 2014; two in 2015; five in 2016 and two companies are now in progress,” according to NAICOM. Link
- The House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts has issued a 30-day ultimatum to the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun to return to the federation coffers, the sum of N11.2 million allegedly cornered by ministry officials to organise a fictitious seminar for some stakeholders at an undisclosed location within the country. Link
- The scarcity of funds experienced in the financial system in recent times led banks borrowing N4.05trillon from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through its Standing Lending Facility (SLF) window in the month of May, data from the apex bank’s Economic Report for the period shows. Link
- Power distribution companies did not remit N4.62bn revenue due to the sector in May, the latest report on the monthly performances of the Discos obtained from the electricity Market Operator has shown. Link
- The Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Aisha Abubakar, said an estimated N7 trillion was spent by Nigerians to import consumables and household items into the country in 2015. She said the staggering amount on importation of goods was unacceptable to the present administration hence the national orientation to change the attitude of Nigerians towards patronising locally made products. Link
- Importers are expected to pay N55 billion as transportation and port charges on one million metric tons of Muriate of Potash (NPK) being shipped from Morocco to Nigeria before the end of the year. The amount translates to an extra 50 per cent the end users would pay on the factory price of the product. Currently, Nigerian farmers are paying N5,500 on 50-kilogramme bag of imported fertilizer from Morocco. Link
- Heritage Bank Plc is set to boost Nigeria’s oil palm production with its recent signing of N232million Pilot phase of Out-growers Agreement with Biase Plantations Limited (BPL) and its joint venture partner, PZ Wilmar Limited. Link
- Ahead of the 2019 target date for the cessation of petroleum products importation by the Federal Government, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has announced that its three refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna now supply 60 per cent of kerosene consumed in the country. Link
- The Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET) has paid out N17,801,337,671 from the N701 billion power supply payment guaranteed loan it got from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to 20 out of the 22 electricity generation companies (Gencos) that produce the electricity as the first tranche of disbursements for power they generated and supplied in January. Link
- The board of director of MRS Oil Nigeria Plc has announced the appointment of Mr. Patrice Alberti as the new Chairman of the board. His appointment follows the resignation of Alhaji Sayyu Dantata as the chairman of the board of directors of the company. Link
- Members of Association of Mega Filling Station Owners of Nigeria (AMFSON) across the country have vowed and concluded plans to embark on peaceful public protest to shut down headquarters of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Abuja. The filling station owners, had in a letter, addressed to the Group Managing Director (GMD) of NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru, notified him of their intention to embark on the protest. Link
- Prestige Assurance Plc has introduced a travel insurance called Prestige Overseas Mediclaim Policy. The company explained that POMP was specially designed to indemnify the legal residents/citizens of Nigeria travelling temporarily outside Nigeria for the purpose of business/holiday/employment/study. Link
- In order to further deepen financial inclusion in the country and promote better regulatory framework for the Microfinance Banks, (MFBs), Financial Technology (Fintech) solutions provider, Inlaks, is collaborating with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to deploy a single core and agent banking solution for almost 1000 MFBs in Nigeria. The project would be implemented as the National Association of Microfinance Banks Unified IT Platform (NAMBUIT) starting from July 2017. Link
- Interstate Securities Limited, a dealing member of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has appointed Adeniyi Falade and Ademola Ajuwon into its board of directors. Link