President Buhari Is Rewarding Incompetent Security Chiefs, Says Ezekwesili

Oby Ezekwesili, Ex-World Bank Vice President and a presidential candidate in the February general election has attributed the growing insecurity in the country to the extension of the tenure of incompetent security chiefs by President Muhammadu Buhari. The Presidential Candidate for the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN) accused the President of rewarding incompetent security chiefs to the detriment of the national security. Ezekwesili,...

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Dangote, Otedola Members Of APC’s Campaign Council

Africa's richest man Aliko Dangote and business mogul, Femi Otedola have been named as members of the special advisory committee of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Presidential Campaign Council, 2019.A long list of members of the Council was released by Mr. Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to the President (Media and Publicity) in Abuja on Friday.Other members of the advisory committee are Vice President Yemi Osinbajo,. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Senator Ahmed Lawan (Senate Leader), Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila ( Leader of the House ) and APC Party National...

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Atiku says President Buhari’s Family Owns Keystone Bank, 9mobile

Atiku Abubakar, Nigeria's main opposition Presidential candidate has alleged that the family of President Muhammadu Buhari was behind the recent acquisition of 9Mobile telecoms firm and Keystones Bank and seeking immediate probe of the deal. The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said the appropriate agency of government should swing into action by urgently institute a probe to unravel those he said may be hidden faces behind the new...

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Nigeria To Impose New Taxes on Luxury Goods

Nigeria plans introduce taxes on luxury goods next year in a bid to boost non-oil revenue and improve budgetary performance going forward, its finance minister has said. Zainab Ahmed, said the government is planning to raise some form of taxes on luxury goods and reduce taxes for small and medium scale enterprises as a part of major tax reform in the coming year. “We are exploring the way to increase taxes as well as reduce taxes in some sectors. For Small and Medium Enterprises, what will happen is to reduce taxes. But there are some special taxes...

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Access, Diamond Bank yet to seek regulatory approval for merger

The Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) said it is yet to receive official request from both Access Bank and Diamond Bank to merge into an entity, one week after the two lenders broke the news to the public.Mary Uduk, acting director general of the commission said though the two commercial lenders had sent informal notification of their intention to merge, they are yet to formally make the request for regulatory approval for their intention.Uduk...

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Nigerian billionaire, Otedola to Exit Forte Oil next year

Femi Otedola, one of Africa's leading billionaires has agreed to sell off his entire holding of 75 per cent direct and indirect in Forte Oil, Nigeria's leading gasoline marketer. In a letter sent to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) signed by Akinleye Olagbende, the general counsel of Forte Oil, Otedola divestment from the oil marketing company will take effect from the end of first quarter of 2019 said barring any regulatory and shareholders' objections to the deal. Prudent Energy, operating under the Ignite Investments and Commodities Limited...

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Appeal Court Asks United Bank for Africa To Pay 2.7 mln Damages To Firm

A Court of Appeal in Ibadan has ordered United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc to pay 2.7 million as general damages to Siegner Sabithos Nigeria Limited over negligence and breach of banker and customer relationship. In a ruling upholding the judgment of an Oyo State High Court, the court of appeal dismissed the appeal filed UBA against the judgment of the Oyo High Court. In a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani, the appeal court averred the lower court had the right to award both special and general damages to the appellant...

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President Trump Brands Federal Reserve U.S. Economy's ‘Only Problem’

President Donald Trump renewed his attacks on the Federal Reserve, commenting publicly on the central bank for the first time following last week’s interest-rate hike and reports he has discussed firing Chairman Jerome Powell.“The only problem our economy has is the Fed. They don’t have a feel for the Market, they don’t understand necessary Trade Wars or Strong Dollars or even Democrat Shutdowns over Borders,” Trump said in a tweet Monday. “The Fed is like a powerful golfer who can’t score because he has no touch - he can’t putt!”Trump’s latest...

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Finally, MTN Pays $53 mln To Settle $8.1 bln Dispute With Nigeria's Central Bank

South African telecoms firm, MTN Group has agreed to make a $53 million payment to resolve its dispute with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the firm said on Monday. The agreement between the telecoms firm and the central bank was meant to end a four-month multi-billion dollar dividend repatriation row that has hurt its share price.The CBN had ordered MTN and four local banks to return a total of $8.1 billion alleged illegally repatriated by...

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New Minimum Wage Poses Risk To Job Growth ~ United Capital

Nigeria’s Q3-18 Job Report: Unemployment rate worsens, are Nigerians more Miserable?This week, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) published its long-awaited quarterly unemployment and underemployment report for Q4-17 to Q3-18. According to the report, the unemployment rate in Nigeria jumped from 18.8 percent in Q3-17 to 23.1 percent in Q3-18. This is as the total number of people classified as unemployed in Q3-18 spiked by 30.8 percent y/y, faster than growth in the size of the total labour force which was up 6.3 percent y/y to 90.5 million.Notably,...

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Ezekwesili Says Buhari May Not Ensure Peaceful Elections

Obiageli Ezekwesili, ex-Vice-President World Bank Group and presidential candidate of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN), has said she was not sure President Muhammadu Buhari would ensure peace at the 2019 elections. The presidential candidate told delegates of International Republican Institute (IRI) and National Democratic Institute (NDI) that using security agents to compromise the election might lead to dangerous reactions. IRI and...

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Access Bank Plans To raise $250 mln Tier 11 capital, 75 bln Naira Via Rights Issue

Herbert Wigwe, chief executive officer of Access Bank Plc on Wednesday said the commercial lender had finalised plans to issue $250 million Tier 11 capital in January 2019, in its bid to create the largest bank in the continent.At a media briefing in Lagos, Wigwe said Access Bank had already finalised terms and obtained regulatory approvals for a Tier II capital issuance to raise 250 million dollars in January 2019. Access Bank this week announced...

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Nigeria’s Unemployment Rate Rises To 23.1 Percent- NBS

Nigeria’s unemployment rate now stands at 23.1 per cent, up from the previous rate of 18.8 per cent released in the third quarter of 2017, the country’s National Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday. Partime employment/underemployment slowed to 20.1 per cent in the third quarter of 2018 from 21.2 per cent in the third quarter of 2017. Although there was a marginal increase in the number of people employed from 69.09 million in Q3 2017 to 69.54 million in Q3 2018, the total number of people unemployed upped from 17.6 million in the fourth quarter...

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President Buhari Presents 8.8 trln naira 2019 budget to parliament

President Muhammadu Buhari presented a 8.83 trillion naira budget for 2019 before the joint sitting of the National Assembly on Wednesday, amid boos and cheers from the lawmakers.The fiscal plan for next year was smaller in size compared to this year's 9.12 trillion naira budget as the president on the last lap of his second term laid out a plan to drive growth few months to the critical election where he is seeking a second term.The proposed budget...

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Access, Diamond Banks Merger Now Official As NSE Gets Letters From two lenders

The planned merger between Access Bank and Diamond Bank has now been officially unveiled by the management of the two lenders with letters sent to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Monday.A statement by Uzoma Uja, Diamond Bank's Secretary/Legal Adviser, said the transaction will be completed by the first half of 2019.“The proposed merger would involve Access Bank acquiring the entire issued share capital of Diamond Bank in exchange for a combination of cash and shares in Access Bank via a Scheme of Merger,”  Uja said in a letter to the...

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Nigeria's farmer-herder clashes have left over 3,600 people dead, Amnesty says

Clashes in Nigeria between farmers and semi-nomadic herders have killed more than 3,600 people since 2016, most of them this year, Amnesty International said on Monday, in a report documenting an upsurge in violence that could sway the results of February 2019 elections.President Muhammadu Buhari is seeking a second term in office at next year's elections, but his campaign has taken a hit from accusations he has soft-pedaled justice for one of the...

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To Defeat BOKO Haram: Tackles Poverty, Youth Unemployment and Boost Soldiers Morale

The terrorist group waging war against the country in the northeast launched a terrible attack on a military based few weeks ago and ended up killing over 100 soldiers with the figure of those still missing in battle yet to be revealed. The attack by the West African wing of the Islamic State came as a surprise against the backdrop of claims by the government that it has technically defeated the insurgent group and rendered it incapable of major...

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President Buhari says Nigerian economy in "bad shape"

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari said the country’s economy was in “bad shape”, the governor of a northwestern state told reporters on Friday after a meeting with governors from across the country.Buhari will seek a second term in an election to be held in February in which the economy is likely to be a campaign issue. Africa’s top oil producer last year emerged from its first recession in 25 years, caused by low crude prices, but growth remains...

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World Debts Hit Record $184 Trillion

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said that the world debt has hit an all-time record of $184 trillion, an upward review from the $182 trillion it reported last week.
The figure represents an average of $86,000 debt owed per person, according to a statement by Ting Yan, Press Officer at IMF, on ‘Global Debt Database (GDD) Update’.
“Today, the International Monetary Fund updated its publicly available Global Debt Database (GDD) – a comprehensive dataset covering public and private debt for virtually the entire world (190 countries) dating...

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Is ‘Doing Business in Nigeria’ getting Easier?

In Oct-2018, the World Bank published it's ‘Doing Business Report’ for 2019. According to the report, Nigeria’s overall Doing Business Ranking fell from prior 145 to 146, despite the recent effort by Nigerian Authorities aimed at easing the business environment.  Save for an appreciable improvement recorded in Paying Taxes (up 14points) and Starting a Business (up 10 points), Nigeria continues to rank outrageously low in critical indices such as Registering Property (184), Trading Across Border (182) and Getting Electricity (171), compared...

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Nigeria inflation rate rose slightly in November

Nigeria’s inflation rate rose slightly in November over the previous year, with price increases across a broad range of products, the statistics office said on Friday,November consumer inflation was up 11.28 percent from a year ago, versus 11.26 percent in October, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said.Food inflation was at 13.30 percent over the previous year, another slight bump from the 13.28 percent yearly increase recorded in October,...

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Nigeria’s First Gold Refinery On Stream

Nigeria’s first gold refinery being built by Kian Smith Trade & Co Limited is billed to be completed by the end of June next year.There was already a significant monthly supply of gold from Zamfara, Kebbi, Kwara, Niger, Kaduna, Ibadan, Ile-Ife, and Ilesha and about 100kg per month from other parts of Africa,” said the Vice Chairman, Kian Smith, Nere Teriba.The firm was finalising supply agreements and terms from suppliers in Kano, and supply...

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Nigeria files $1.1 bln London lawsuit against Shell, Eni over oil deal

The Nigerian government said it had filed a $1.1 billion lawsuit against Royal Dutch Shell and Eni in a commercial court in London on Thursday in relation to a 2011 oilfield deal.The OPL 245 oilfield is also at the heart of an ongoing corruption trial in Milan in which former and current Shell and Eni officials are on the bench.Milan prosecutors allege bribes totalling around $1.1 billion were paid to win the licence to explore the field which,...

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President Buhari To Present 2019 Budget To National Assembly On Dec 19

President Muhammadu Buhari may present the 2019 fiscal policy to the National Assembly On December 19, barring any unforeseen circumstance. In a letter to the parliament, President Buhari is seeking the lawmaker's consent to lay the budget document at a joint sitting of both the senate and house of representatives on the said date. Last week, the federal executive council (FEC) approved the 2019 budget document ready for presentation...

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Nigerian Interbank Rate Falls After CBN Injects Cash Into Market, Naira Firms Slghtly

Nigerian interbank lending rate closed at an average of 16.87 percent on Thursday, down from 59.58 percent average on Wednesday due to repayment of huge matured treasury bill to investors by the regulatory bank, traders said. The Open Buy Back (OBB) closed at 16.5 percent while the overnight rate deep to 17.25 percent at the close of business on Thursday. The market had closed with the OBB and O/N rates at 56.67 percent and 62.50 percent...

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Nigeria Targets 2.2mbpd Crude Oil Production By Jan

Ibe kachikwu, Nigeria's junior petroleum minister said the government is targeting to increase the crude oil production to 2.2 million barrel per day by the end of January 2019.Kachikwu said in Abuja on Thursday that by the end of 2019, crude oil output would have hit 2.5 million, based on the coming on stream of the Egina field and the recently approved 30 field works which have the capability of increasing Nigeria’s output by 500,000 barrels...

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President Buhari Promises To Reward Loyal Party Men Who Work For His Victory

President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday night assured loyal All Progressives Congress members, who would work for his victory in 2019 of a handsome reward. Buhari admitted that he had not been able to fully reward those who worked for him to emerge as President in 2015. However, he stressed that in 2019, it would be a different ballgame as his loyal supporters would be rewarded. Buhari spoke at the old Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa, Abuja, during...

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Nigeria's Anti-graft Agency, EFCC May Declare Fidelity Bank CEO wanted

Is the managing director of Fidelity Bank Plc, Nnamdi Okonkwo on the run from the anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)? This was the question on the lips of many in the business circle on Wednesday as news filtered in that operatives of the anti-graft commission has taken into custody Chris Ezem, who stood as surety for the Fidelity Bank boss. YOU CAN ALSO READ: http://globalfinancialdigest.com/2018/12/12/nigerias-anti-graft-agency-efcc-may-declare-fidelity-bank-ceo-wanted/ A...

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Nigerian Senate Confirms Keyamo As NDIC Director

Nigerian Senate on Wednesday confirmed the appointment of Ronke Sokefun as Chairman of the Board of the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation.Other members of the board include President Buhari campaign organisation spokesman Festus Keyamo, Garba Bello, Josef O. J. Okoloagu, Mustapha Adewale Mudashiru, Adewale W. Adeleke.The appointments of other members of the board were also confirmed after the presentation of the report of the Committee on...

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How Nigerians Spend 1 Trn Naira Yearly On Foreign Education

Professor Oye Ibidapo-Obe, the Pro Chancellor, Crawford University has said that Nigerians were spending a whopping one trillion naira yearly to pursue university education abroad.Ibidapo-Obe, a former Vice-Chancellor, University of Lagos (UNILAG), made the revelation in his address at the 10th Convocation of the faith-based Crawford University, Igbesa, Ogun.Crawford is a private Christian university established in 2005 by the Apostolic Faith Mission.Ibidapo-Obe...

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Ivory Coast Farmers Say Dry Winds Could Impact Cocoa Quality

Below-average rainfall in most of Ivory Coast’s cocoa growing regions last week could reduce the quality of beans harvested at the end of the October-to-March main crop, farmers said on Monday.Ivory Coast, the world’s top cocoa producer, is in its dry season, which runs from November to late February. Dry, dusty Harmattan winds sweep in sand from the Sahara, which can ravage cocoa pods and sap soil moisture, leading to smaller beans.But farmers...

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KPMG South Africa Apologizes For Scandals, Seeks Second Chance

KPMG LLP, the auditor that shed clients and staff after scandals in South Africa, apologizes for its “misdeeds” and wants a second chance to reestablish its business in the country, Chairman Wiseman Nkuhlu said.The firm, one of the so-called big four global auditing companies, confessed to publishing a misleading report on the South African Revenue Service that led to a police probe of a former finance minister, did work for the Gupta family who...

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Nigeria's GDP Grew 1.81 Pct In Q3, Driven By Non-Oil Sector

Nigeria’s economy grew 1.81 percent in the third quarter of 2018 from a year earlier, pushed higher by the non-oil sector, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Monday. The figures are a slight improvement from the previous quarter, when a slowdown in growth sparked fears that Africa’s biggest oil producer might enter recession for the second time in three years. The NBS said in the second quarter of 2018, the GDP grew by 1.50 per cent...

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Nigeria's Central Bank To Create Window For Young Entrepreneurs To Access Loans

Nigeria's central bank in conjunction with the Bankers’ Committee has set up a committee to create a strategy that will stimulate lending in the domestic economy.Godwin Emefiele, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor broke the news yesterday at the end of the 10th Annual Bankers’ Committee retreat in Lagos.The committee is to ensure that lenders deploy key intervention funds, including the 210 billion naira Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)...

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