MTN Nigeria Appoints Ex-CEO Of Telecoms Regulator Ndukwe As Chairman

The pioneer chief executive of the Nigeria telecoms regulator, Ernest Ndukwe has been appointed chairman-designate at the Nigeria unit of South Africa's MTN following a shakeup in its board on Wednesday.

Ndukwe, ex-chief executive of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), will take over from Pascal Dozie, also a former chairman of defunct Diamond Bank who has been at the helm for almost two decades, on Sept. 2, MTN said in a statement.
In addition to Ndukwe, MTN has appointed former Nigerian pension regulatory chief Muhammad Ahmad, ex-minister for communication Omobola Johnson and ex-banker Andrew Alli who once represented the International Finance Corporation to MTN Nigeria’s board.
“(The) combination of extensive experience across the worlds of technology, finance, regulatory and policy development and corporate governance offers a hugely synergistic set of skills that will be of great benefit to us as we move into a new phase of growth,” MTN Nigeria Chief Executive Ferdinand Moolman said.
MTN Nigeria grew to become Nigeria’s biggest telecoms firm under Dozie, who steps down alongside five other directors after 18 years at the helm of the company.
Majority owned by South Africa’s MTN Group, MTN Nigeria listed on the local bourse in May in a 2 trillion naira debut, in part to settle a long-running dispute in Nigeria, its biggest market.
That listing turned the telecoms company into the exchange’s second-largest stock by market value.

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Investors Demand 302 billion Naira Bond At Wednesday's Auction

In spite of indirect regulatory discouragement of banks from investing their surplus cash in government debt, demand at the Wednesday's bond auction was oversubscribed by207.6 percent, the Debt Management Office (DMO) has said.

The debt office had offered 145 billion worth of bond at the monthly auction, but investors staked about 301.02 on the debt notes on offer at the auction on Wednesday, the results of the debt auction posted by the DMO on Wednesday showed.
The DMO had offered 45 billion naira in 5-year bond, 45 billion naira in the 10-year paper and 55 billion of the longest 30-year tenor at the auction, totaling 145 billion naira.
"298 Competitive Bids were received from Investors for the three (3) Instruments, with a total value of ₦301.02 Billion, indicating a subscription level of 207.6%.," the debt office said in a statement on Wednesday.
It said allotments were made on successful bids at 13.35% for the 5-year, 13.64% for the 10-Year and 14.12% for the 30-Year Bonds, which were consistent with Secondary Market Yields and also represented a decline in the marginal rates compared with those at the June 2019 bond auction.
"The total amount allotted for Competitive Bids was ₦86.82 Billion from the total subscription of ₦301.02 billion. In addition, the sum of ₦58.20 Billion was allotted across the three (3) tenors for Non-Competitive Bids at the same rates with the Competitive Bids," according to the DMO.
The debt office said It raise a total of 145.02 billion naira at the Auction through both Competitive and Non-Competitive Bids.
"The amount raised is to be utilised to part-finance the 2019 Budget of the Federal Government." the debt office said.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Godwin Emefiele has said the regulatory bank had discouraged banks from investing their surplus cash in government treasury at an auction last week in a bid to boost lending to the private sector.
The regulator said over 70 percent of banks liquid assets are invested in government bond and other debt instruments, crowding our the private sector from accessing short term fund for expansion.

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The Good, the bad, the ugly of Buhari ministerial nominees

List of ministerial nominees was released by President Muhammadu Buhari, fifty-five days after he was sworn in for a second term in office. The release of the names of his cabinet members’ nominees this time, however, beat his first-term record of six months.

The nation was kept waiting for six months in 2015 before the president could assemble his cabinet and by the time the list was out, not fewer people were disappointed with the names of ministers.
In the past four years, the records of performance of the last group of ministers were nothing to cheer about, apart from a few of them, the majority of them were lackluster in their performance.
Expectations that the President would learn from the past and this time assemble more compact and high flying performers as members of his cabinet may have been dashed. From the look of thinks, the ministerial list released by the president of the Senate, Ahmed Lawan on Tuesday contained the same old tired faces of politicians, whose performance at their former beats were nothing to cheer about.
A closer examination of the list showed that there was no striking name that could fit well into the critical finance ministry, same for the budget and planning ministry.
Although Zainab Ahmed, who held fort at the finance ministry after the sudden exit of Kemi Adeosun, was listed as a ministerial nominee, many analysts said her performance in the office during the last dispensation was far from stealer.
The former finance minister merely wobbling and fumbling throughout her short stay in the minister and nothing significant can be ascribed to her as an achievement.
Unlike the former occupier of the office, Adeosun who introduced many reforms in the finance ministry before she was forced to resign due to her alleged forged NYSC certificate; Ahmed was unable to follow through with all the reforms initiated by her predecessor.
The tax amnesty programme, Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS), designed to expand the tax net and capture many high networth individuals who hitherto invade payment of tax died a natural death as a result of lack of diligent prosecution.
Another name on the list is the former minister of information, Lai Mohammed, who was generally tagged the propaganda machine of the government had attracted more opprobrium to the government than goodwill during his last tour of duty.
His inability to distinguish his former role of a political party spokesman and official government spokesman was a major flaw that marked his tenure in the information ministry.
Among the nominees was the immediate past governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola, who is coming newly into the cabinet if his name is eventually clear by the Senate. Aregbesola as governor of Osun State was well known for owing worker’s salary and his uninspiring pursuance of an educational reform that add little value to the system but more confusion and division among various religion sects in the state.
Although, some people said he made some giant steps in terms of infrastructure renewal in the state, he left huge debt for his predecessor in office to tackle.
Also, the return of Chris Ngige, a former minister of Labour and Productivity is another miscue by the President, who many expected to inject fresh blood from both the private sector and apolitical section of the country to boost his performance in his second term in office..
Although the country enjoyed a relative industry peace during the last four years, but the shambolic approach that characterised the negotiation for the new minimum wage by the ex-Labour minister and his various unguarded comments remain an albatross on his neck.
The tenure of the former Attorney general and minister of Justice, Abubakar Mallami remain shrouded in major controversy from allegations of collusion with some people to shortchange the country and his handling of the altercation between his office and the anti-graft agency the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) were some of the low points of his tenure.
The nomination of Gbemisola Saraki, junior sister to the immediate past President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki was seen as a political compensation for the younger Saraki for her support during the last election and probably to spite his brother who was seen as a thorn in the flesh of the President in the last dispensation.
Ms Saraki was a Senator between 2003-2007 before his brother took over from her and represent Kwara Central in the upper chamber. However, her tenure at the Senate has nothing significant to remember her for other than that she came to the Senate because of her family influence in Kwara politics.
A number of commentators have picked holes in the list submitted for screening by the Senate, mainly because it contains mostly names of many personalities that have failed their people in their former point of duty. The hope for a next-level that would usher in a good time for Nigeria may have gone up in smoke. If the last cabinet performed below average, the new one may not march up to the performance of the previous one.

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Nigeria Central Bank To Restrict Forex Access To Dairy Importations

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) plans to restrict foreign exchange access to importers of dairy products into the country, the regulatory bank's governor said on Tuesday as the apex bank held its benchmark rate at 13.5percent.
Godwin Emefiele, who spoke after the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja said the country is spending between $1.2- $1.5 billion on the importation of dairy products to the country.
He also disclosed plans to continue to encourage banks to perform their intermediation role in the economy, saying Nigeria loan-to-deposit ratio was the lowest in the world.
According to him, Nigeria's loan-deposit-ratio is about seven percent compared with over 60 percent in other climes.
Emefiele also disclosed that while the regulatory bank has no intention to restrict banks from participating in the treasury bills market, it will continue to ensure that bidding at the auction is done for customers of the banks and foreign investors.

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List Of President Buhari New Ministers Include, Aregbesola, Keyamo, Akpabio

In the list sent by President Muhammadu Buhari to the Senate on Monday and made public by the President of the Senate Ahmed Lawan, Festus Keyamo, who served as spokesman for the presidential campaign organisation and former governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbessola are among the nominees.

Others in the list include former governor of Akwa Ibom, Godswill Akpabio, Sunday Dare, executive commissioner at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Sharon Ikeazor, a former lawmaker, Tayo Alasoadura, a former federal lawmaker and Olorunnibe Mamora, former speaker of the Lagos house of assembly.
Also nominated by the president are; former governor of Ekiti State, Niyi Adebayo, Senator Gbemisola Saraki, who is a junior sister to the former President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, former Benue State governor, George Akume.
Immediate former ministers who made the list, include Rotimi Amaechi, Raji Fashola, Adamu Adamu, and Lai Mohammed.

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CBN Issues New Licences Three Banks

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has expanded the banking space in the country with the issuance of banking licences to three new players in the industry.

With the additional licences, the numbers of banks operating in the country have increased to 23 from the previous 21, according to a report on the regulatory bank's website.
The new operators are; Titan Trust Bank Limited, TAJ Bank Limited and Globus Bank Limited.
While two of the newly licenced banks will operate as commercial lenders, the third one, TAJ Bank Limited was licenced to operate as a non-interest bank.
Before the banking reform of 2005, instituted by ex-governor of the CBN, Charles Soludo, Nigeria has as many as 89 banks operating as commercial and merchant banks. With the reform, which hike minimum capital base to 25 billion naira from 2 billion naira, the number reduced to 24 universal banks.
However, subsequent alignment and take over by the regulators led to further consolidation in the operations of the banks, leading to a downward reduction in the number of operators.
The newly licenced TAJ Bank Limited has joined Jaiz Bank as only two operating as non-interest bank in the couuntry.

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Why Buhari Will Continue To Detain Shiite's Leader el-Zakzakky ~Adesina

Nigeria government has no plan to release the leader of the Shitte Islamic Sect, Sheikh Ibraheem el-Zakzakky as it has appealed the court order on the release of the leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, a presidential spokesman said on Tuesday.

Femi Adesina said on national television that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government refused to obey Justice Gabriel Kolawole’s order on the release of el-Zakzakky because of a pending appeal in court on the matter.
Adesina said the immediate past Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, may have had his reasons for doing so since the government had the right to appeal the bail.
“I know that the immediate past AGF in whose purview it was to make pronouncements on that, address the issue. If bail is granted and another case subsists and there is an immediate filing of appeal, you have to wait till it is dispensed with.
"So, that is a legal matter which is outside my purview but as a layman, an unlearned man as lawyers would call us, we know that until all cases are dispensed with, you don’t say that it has been concluded.”
Adesina said the matter had since been taken before a court in Kaduna State and the bail hearing would come up next Monday.
He, therefore, called on the Shiites to wait for the court to make its ruling.
Responding to allegations that the police ought not to have fired live bullets into the protesters on Monday, the President’s spokesman said the police deserve to be commended, adding that the death toll would have been much higher if the police did not show some restraint.
Adesina argued, “I tell you despite what happened yesterday, if the police had responded with greater force, you know we would not be talking about what we are talking now.
“A deputy commissioner of police was killed. Yes, very sad, that is one life just like any other life. He did not deserve to die in service to the country but if the police had responded in similar fashion, you would have been talking of rivers of blood in Abuja now.
“I still believe there was some restraint yesterday despite what happened and personally I still commend the police for showing that restraint.”

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President Buhari Sends Ministerial List To Senate, Returns 12 Old Ministers

President Muhammadu Buhari has finally sent his list of ministerial nominees to the senate, with the names of 12 ministers from the last dispensation included in the list, according to TheCable report.
The list, according to the report contains 42 names, with additional names from the six geo-political, after one-name -per- state recommended by the constitution.

The president had during his first term stuck to 36 ministers, representing the 36 states of the federation in his bids to cut down of the cost of governance.
The list was sent to the senate on Monday evening via executive communication and is expected to be read on the floor of the senate on Tuesday.
The senate, which will be proceeding on a two-month recess on Thursday, is expected to screen the nominees.

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Nigeria Earns $665 Mln Fees From Oil Blocks Licences Renewal~ ExxonMobil

Nigeria earned a total of $665 million in fees from the renewal of licences for three oil blocks by Mobil Producing Nigeria, according to a letter by the energy firm.
The local unit of American oil giant said it paid the amount to the coffer of the for the renewal of the Oil Mining Leases 67, 68 and 70.
Nigeria government is in court over allegations that some International Oil Companies (IOC) operating in the country are owing the country huge unpaid bonus, royalty and renewal fees.
In a July 15, 2019 letter to the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property, ExxonMobil stated that it made full payment for oil blocks’ renewal in 2009.
A petition by Femi Falana, a human right lawyer had accused ExxonMobil of shortchanging the country on the oil blocks licences renewal fees.
The lawyer said the oil company only paid about $600 million out of the payable renewal fees of $2.5 billion for the three oil blocks.
The oil company has, however, consistently denied the allegations of indebtedness to the country in a series of letters to the investigative panel.
ExxonMobil said the $665 million it paid for the Oil Mining Leases 67, 68 and 70 was the full payment in line with the agreement reached with the DPR and the NNPC.

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Nigeria Plans to Increase Power Supply To 11,000 MW By 2023~Buhari

Nigeria plans to work with German technology firm Siemens to gradually achieve 7,000 megawatts by 2021 and 11,000 megawatts of electricity by 2023, President Mohammadu Buhari has said.

The President who met with the Joe Kaeser, the president of Siemens AG. said efforts by successive administration to improve power supply in the country in the past has not achieved the desired results.
“My challenge to Siemens, our partner investors in the Distribution Companies, the Transmission Company of Nigeria and the Electricity Regulator is to work hard to achieve 7,000 megawatts of reliable power supply by 2021 and 11,000 megawatts by 2023 – in phases 1 and 2 respectively,” President Buhari told his guest.
President Buhari said in spite of the country's significant natural gas, hydro and solar resources for power generation, the country is still on the journey to achieving reliable, affordable and quality electricity supply necessary for economic growth, industrialization and poverty alleviation.
According to him.
He noted that in spite of the various interventions by previous administrations to solving the electricity problem in the country, all their efforts have only yielded an imbalance between the amount of power generated and the amount available for consumers.
He the country has been able to build capacity for over 13,000 megawatts of power generation capacity, However, only an average of 4,000 megawatts of the power generated reliably reaches the consumers.
The president said his administration priority was to stabilise the power generation and gas supply sector through the Payment Assurance Facility, which led to a peak power supply of 5,222 MW. Nonetheless, the constraints remained at the transmission and distribution systems.
"This is why I directed my team to ask Siemens and our Nigerian stakeholders to first focus on fixing the transmission and distribution infrastructure – especially around economic centres where jobs are created.
"After these transmission and distribution system bottlenecks have been fixed, we will seek – in the third and final phase – to drive generation capacity and overall grid capacity to 25,000 megawatts," the president said.

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Repentant Boko Haram Terrorists Can Become President

Repentant Boko Haram terrorists and other currently waging war against the country who lay down their arms stand the chance of becoming great in society and even emerging as the President of Nigeria, says a Nigerian Army General Abdulmalik Biu.

General Officer Commanding, 7 Division, Maj. Gen Abdulmalik Biu, says repentant terrorists who lay down their arms stand the chance of becoming great in society and even emerging as the President of Nigeria.
Biu said this during an interview with journalists in Borno State while calling on Boko Haram members to lay down their arms.
“Boko Haram should lay down their arms unconditionally and be accepted in their community; opportunities are out there for them. They can be rehabilitated. An ex-Boko Haram member who has laid down his arms and turns away from negativity stands to become the President of this country and take up any position in this country.
“Why is he wasting his time when he cannot even deliver? But we have appealed to them including their collaborator to see reasons to drop their arms as quickly as possible so that we can once again re-occupy our position in Nigeria and Borno State.”
Biu said there was a time for everything even as he noted that the people of Borno State were yearning for peace at the time for such is now.
“The best for them is to lay down their arms as this is the only way we can move forward. As professional soldier, we will continue to do our best by projecting our efforts. We will not be distracted by the activities of some of our detractors, by the activities of some of the collaborators.
“Nigeria deserves peace, the North-East deserves peace, the people of Borno deserve peace because it is only when there is peace that there will be development and it is time now and that is why I said there is time for everything. If we were in difficult times for eight years, it is now time for peace.”

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NNPC Records 6.33 Bln Naira Surplus From Operations In May

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has posted a trading surplus of 6.33 billion naira for the month of May 2019, 13 percent higher than the 5.60 billion naira recorded in the preceding month of April 2019.

According to the May 2019 edition of the corporation's Monthly Financial and Operations Report (MFOR), the increase operation surplus was a result of the rise in gas and power output which contrasts with the figure for the preceding month.
The report, released by NNPC spokesman, Ndu Ughamadu, said the corporation’s downstream entities like NNPC Retail, PPMC, NPSC and Duke Oil contributed largely to the increased surplus recorded in the fifth month of the year.
NNPC earning from crude oil and gas export rose 23.39 percent to $580.32 million in May compared with the figure for the previous month.

The corporation earned $458..32 million from crude oil export alone in May against $342.11 million contributed in the previous month.
The report also showed that between May 2018 and May 2019, crude oil and gas worth $5.97 billion was exported.
In the downstream, to ensure uninterrupted supply and effective distribution of petrol across the country, a total of 2.06bn litres of petrol translating to 66.49mn liters/day were supplied for the month of May 2019.

It was noted that beyond supply, the corporation continued to diligently monitor the daily stock of petrol to achieve smooth distribution of petroleum products and zero fuel queue across the nation.
Within the period, a total of 60 pipeline points were vandalized which represents a remarkable 52 percent decrease from the 125 points vandalized in April 2019.
The Atlas Cove-Mosimi and Ibadan-Ilorin pipelines accounted for 38 percent and 23 percent respectively and other locations accounted for the remaining 39 percent of the total breaks.
The report noted the spirited efforts by NNPC in collaboration with the local communities and other stakeholders to continuously strive to reduce and eventually eliminate this menace.
The May 2019 NNPC MFOR is the 46th in the series designed to provide greater transparency and remove the perception of opacity hitherto associated with the operations of the national oil company.
The new NNPC Management headed by Mallam Mele Kyari has pledged to enhance the current approach to encourage increased citizenship participation and greater accountability to the public.

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Drilling Rig as a Vessel: Distinguishing the TRANSOCEAN Case Vis-a-Vis the SEADRILL Case

The Court of Appeal in the recent Judgment of Transocean Support Services Nigeria Limited & 3 Ors v Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency & 1 Or: Appeal No:CA/L/ 503/2016, held that drilling rigs cannot be deemed to be vessels for the purpose of the Coastal and Inland Shipping (Cabotage) Act, 2003 and liable to the 2% surcharge as stipulated in the Cabotage Act. In arriving at its decision, the Court of Appeal gave consideration to the provisions of the Cabotage Act and held that either both or one of two conditions had to be met in order for a drilling rig to be classified as a vessel under the Cabotage Act.
The first condition is that in order for a drilling rig to be deemed as a vessel eligible for registration under the Cabotage Act, it was crucial to show that the rig was designed, used or capable of being used solely or partly for marine navigation and used for the carriage on, through or underwater of persons or property without regard to method or lack of propulsion.
The second condition is that a drilling rig could be classified as a vessel under the Cabotage Act if it is shown that the rig was listed among the machinery expressly identified as vessels in the Act. It is crucial to note that the Court of Appeal expressly stated that either both or one of these two conditions are necessary to make a drilling rig a vessel under the Cabotage Act.
The Respondents in Transocean failed to show that the drilling rig in contention satisfied any of the two conditions identified by the Court of Appeal. As a result, the Court of Appeal held that a drilling rig could not be classified as a vessel under the Cabotage Act and further held that the listing of drilling rigs under the head of foreign vessels in the Guidelines on Implementation of Coastal and Inland Shipping (Cabotage) Act 2003, Revised 2007, was beyond the powers of the Minister of Transport.
At first blush, the Court of Appeal’s decision would appear to have overturned the judgment delivered in the recent Federal High Court case of Seadrill Mobile Units Nigeria Limited v The Honourable Minister for Transportation & 2 Ors, however, this is not so. In Seadrill, it was held that the drilling rig in contention was a vessel under the Cabotage Act because it satisfied one of the conditions identified by the Court of Appeal in Transocean, which is that the rig must be capable of being used for marine navigation and for the carriage of property and persons.

This is different from the position in Transocean where the Respondents failed to establish that a drilling rig satisfied any of the two conditions laid down by the Court of Appeal for the purpose of classifying the rig as a vessel under the Cabotage Act. This clearly reflects that the decision in Seadrill is distinguishable from the decision in Transocean.
From the above, the effect of the Court of Appeal’s decision in Transocean is that a drilling rig could be considered as a vessel under the Act, if it satisfied the condition that it is capable of being used for marine navigation and for the carriage of property and persons without regard to method or lack of propulsion, irrespective that the drilling rig is not expressly listed as a vessel under the Cabotage Act.
Given this position, there is the likelihood that there could be more cases seeking the determination of whether a particular drilling rig is a vessel under the Cabotage Act, which will be decided on a case by case basis. In light of this position, it would appear that the final word is yet to be heard regarding the controversial matter of whether a drilling rig is a vessel under the Cabotage Act.

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I Raped My Daughter To Test Her Virginity – Suspect

Wasiu Orilonise, a 37-year-old guard has confessed to an Oyo State Magistrates Court sitting in Ibadan that he raped his 15-year-old daughter to ascertain her virginity and protect her.

The accused, who was arraigned on one count of having unlawful carnal knowledge of his daughter begged the court not to punish him as he had carnal knowledge of the victim for protection and to confirm if she was still a virgin.
The prosecutor, Sunday Ogunremi, told the court that the accused had sometime in December 2018 at Omo village, Agbofieti, Ibadan, in the Ibadan Magisterial District, raped the victim without her consent.
Ogunremi said the offence was contrary to and punishable under Section 34, sub-sections 1 and 2 of the Child Rights Law of Oyo State of Nigeria, 2006.
The plea of the accused was, however, not taken during the arraignment.
When the Chief Magistrate, Taiwo Olaniran, sought to know what pushed him into defiling his biological daughter, Orilonise said since he lost his wife a few years ago, he had been taking care of the victim and her siblings.
He told the court that he committed the act in order to protect his daughter.
Orilonise said the incident happened when he was trying to ascertain if the victim had lost her virginity, adding that upon discovering that she was still a virgin, he started having sex with her regularly before she would leave for school and at night.
The magistrate berated fathers, who were fond of sexually abusing their daughters and other under-aged girls, saying they were allowing the devil to use them to destroy the society.
He, thereafter, ordered that the accused be remanded in the Agodi Prison pending legal advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions and adjourned the case till July 30, 2019.

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India May Grants Nigeria Credit Line To Revamp Refineries

India government may grant Nigeria credit line for the purpose of revamping the country's moribund petroleum refineries to boost the domestic supply of refined products.

At a visit to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) headquarters in Abuja on Thursday, the Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Abhay Thakur, said India was ready to provide credit line mechanisms and expertise to help NNPC revamp its massive infrastructure across the country.
“India is prepared to offer Nigeria and particularly the NNPC a credit line mechanism to help her in the areas of refinery maintenance, construction, security, surveillance and anything possible.
"Our expertise in Information Technology (IT) is available as well. We are ready to cooperate with NNPC to boost our bilateral relations,” Thakur told the group managing director of the state-oil firm, Mele Kyari.
The High Commissioner expressed appreciation for the recent renewal of the crude oil term contracts for three Indian companies and seeks increment in the crude oil supply in view of the increasing energy needs of India.
On his part, the NNPC chief executive promised that Nigeria will continue to supply 10 percent of India’s crude oil demand in the face of competing demand for the product from other countries.
Kyari said Nigeria, through the corporation, would continue to support India’s energy security, adding that the recent Memorandum of Understanding in the area of energy between Nigeria and India would be consummated to further strengthen the bilateral relations between the two countries.According to Kyari, NNPC was desirous of growing the energy cooperation with India and that it was time to progress from just talking to walking the talk.
“We are ready to have a robust engagement with the Indian trade team to provide a win-win energy scenario between us. Every trade opportunity that is available will be fully explored.”
He said India was a very important market and that NNPC would ensure that the current volume of crude oil supply from Nigeria to India is secured for the collective interest of both countries.
He averred that there were lots of untapped investment opportunities in the nation’s Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and expressed the willingness of NNPC to aggressively improve LPG infrastructure and consumption in the country.

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Nigeria;s External Reserves Decline Marginally To $45.09 Bln By July 17

Nigeria's external reserves declined 0.04 percent to $45.09 billion by July 17, from $45.11 billion a month earlier, latest data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) shown on Friday.

The foreign exchange buffer, however, rose marginally by $48 million between July 1 to July 17, according to the regulator's data posted on its website.
The decline in the forex reserves month-on-month may have been accounted for by the frequency of the CBN intervention in the interbank foreign exchange market.
The regulatory bank sells an average of $210 million to importers on the official window weekly to help stabilise the exchange rate on all segment of the forex market.
However. Nigeria's forex reserves are able to support the country's import bills for more than 13 months, higher than five months minimum global recommendations.
Africa's biggest economy has enjoyed relative macroeconomic stability in the past two years due to rising global oil price and improvement in foreign capital inflows, majorly from offshore portfolio investors.
Consequently, inflation rate has gradually slowed to 11.22 percent at the end of June from 11.40 percent in May and 11.37 percent in January.
The naira traded unchanged at 360 to the dollar on the parallel market on Thursday and traded at 306.95 to the dollar on the official window.
The naira is expected to remain relatively stable in the coming days, will be buoyed by a sustained foreign exchange intervention by the central bank and continued foreign portfolio investment flows as the country prepares to raise 145 billion naira in local bond next week.
Analysts are expecting that with the improvement in the macroeconomic environment and softening of inflation figure, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) might be tempted to lower Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) slightly at their meeting next week.
The CBN had come out with some regulatory tools in the last few weeks to influence banks credit growth to the private sector in a bid to boost productivity in the economy.

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NAICOM Workers Protest In Lagos, Abuja

Members of the Association of Senior Staff Union of National Insurance Commission (NAICON) on Thursday staged protests in Abuja and Lagos over non-implementation of their various demand from the management of the insurance regulator.
The protesters were demanding that the management conduct promotion examines for members of staff who are long due to be lifted to the next grade.
Some of the placards displayed at the gate of the Lagos Liason office of the commission near the Passport office in Ikoyi called on President Mohammadu Buhari to remove the Commissioner for Insurance Mohammed Kari who they accused of highhandedness.
Kari was accused of posting staff to areas outside their professional cadre and redeploy them to non-existence NAICOM branch in a bid to frustrate them from the service. Karis was also accused of nepotism and other conduct not in the interest of the commission.
The workers called on the president to save the commission from collapse due to the overbearing attitude of the commissioner.
NAICOM was established in 1997 by the National Insurance Commission Act 1997 with responsibility for ensuring the effective administration, supervision, regulation, and control of insurance business in Nigeria and protection of insurance policyholders, beneficiaries and third parties to insurance contracts.

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UK Bay Be Slipping Into Full-Blown Recession ~Budget Watchdog

Britain might be entering a full-blown recession and a no-deal Brexit could more than double the country’s budget deficit in 2019, the watchdog for public finances on Thursday said.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said the world’s fifth-biggest economy appeared to have flat-lined or possibly contracted in the second quarter, some of which was probably “pay-back” after Brexit-related stock building in early 2019.
“But surveys were particularly weak in June, suggesting that the pace of growth is likely to remain weak.
“This raises the risk that the economy may be entering a full-blown recession,’’ it said in a report on the outlook for the public finances.
A no-deal Brexit would hurt confidence and deter investment and lead to higher trade barriers with the EU, pushing down the value of the pound and causing the economy to contract by two per cent by the end of 2020, the OBR said, referring to forecasts by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
A no-deal Brexit – something the two contenders seeking to be Britain’s next prime minister say they are prepared to do if necessary – could add 30 billion pounds ($37.4 billion) a year to public borrowing by the 2020/21 financial year, the OBR said.
The OBR said the spending and tax-cut promises made by Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt, one of whom is due to become prime minister next week, would put a strain on the budget.
“The spending control framework seems to be under pressure, with major announcements being made outside fiscal events, and the Conservative leadership making pledges that would prove expensive if pursued,’’ it said.

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Nigeria's Coscharis Group To Assem bles Renault Vehicle Locally

French carmaker Renault and Nigerian biggest automobile dealer Coscharis Group have formed a partnership to assemble and distribute Renault vehicles in Nigeria, the companies said on Thursday.
The Coscharis Group plant will start assembling Renault Logan and Renault Duster vehicles and will distribute the cars through their sales network throughout Nigeria from October.

“With a population of over 200 million, Nigeria is a strategic African country where Groupe Renault will extend its footprint,” said Fabrice Cambolive, senior vice president and chairman of Africa, Middle East and India Pacific region of Renault.

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Nigeria To Borrow 145 Bln Naira From Domestic Market To Fund 2019 Budget

Nigeria plans to borrow 145 billion naira from the domestic market on Wednesday, July 24, to fund 20119 budget gap, a notice from the Debt Management Office (DMO) has shown.
Africa's biggest economy plans to auction 55 billion naira worth of 30-year local bond to investors at an auction next week, 50 billion naira in 10-year paper and 40 billion naira of the 5-year debt.
Nigeria's total domestic debt stood at 13.11 trillion naira by the end of the first quarter of this year, according to the latest data from the DMO.
Local debt constituted 9.72 trillion naira or 74 percent of the total domestic debt of the government, while the treasury bill component stood at 2.65 trillion naira or 20 percent of the country's domestic debt.

The OPEC top member conducts a monthly auction to sell domestic debt to investors as part of measures to raise cash to fund budget deficit, help manage liquidity in the banking system and set a benchmark for corporate bond issuance for the private sector.
The secondary bond market was bullish on Wednesday with yields falling by as much as 5 basis points, while demand for tenor bond remain high, traders said.
Allotments at the June auction were made to successful bidders by the debt office at 14.3 percent for the 5-year paper, 14.5 percent for the 10-year and 14.68 percent for the 30-year bonds.
The Nigerian government bonds are backed by the full faith and credit of the Federal Government of Nigeria and are charged upon the general assets of the country.

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Eni Officials Tried To Tamper With Witnesses In Nigeria Case - Prosecutor

Officials from Eni sought to convince a witness, a former Eni manager, to withdraw some statements he made during investigations into a Nigerian corruption case involving the Italian oil group, a court heard on Wednesday.

Prosecutor Fabio De Pasquale made the comment in a trial hearing into the case, during a legal debate over a request by Eni lawyers to adjourn proceedings to give more time to consider evidence in a related obstruction-of-justice investigation.
“We have become aware that Eni, through its managers, would have tried to influence and would have approached the defendant (Vincenzo) Armanna to convince him to withdraw some of his statements,” De Pasquale told the court without elaborating.
Armanna is both a defendant and a prosecution witness in the corruption trial.
Eni has denied any wrongdoing in the trial, in which it is accused of buying a Nigerian offshore oilfield licence in the knowledge that most of the $1.3 billion purchase price would be siphoned off to agents and middlemen in corrupt payments.
Oil major Shell, which jointly bought the offshore field with Eni, is also on trial for corruption over the deal. It too denies any wrongdoing.
Eni also denies any wrongdoing in relation to a separate investigation where prosecutors are looking into allegations that Eni sought to obstruct justice in the Nigeria case.
Armanna, who led Eni’s project to acquire the OPL-245 field in 2011, has told investigators he was informed by a security official for the then Nigerian president that $50 million had been set aside for top Eni management under the deal.
Later on Wednesday, the Milan trial court denied Eni’s request for an adjournment, clearing the way for Armanna to take the stand. However, it ruled that for now he could only be asked about the graft case, not allegations of obstruction of justice.
Eni said in a statement on Wednesday it had declared itself an offended party in the obstruction-of-justice investigation. Prosecutors have not laid any charges against Eni officials or the group itself in this widening investigation.
“Eni is dealing with the (trial) proceedings with the utmost serenity and is confident that the deliberations underway will continue to confirm the company’s total non-involvement with facts that never happened and have nothing to do with the group,” the company said in a statement.

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Nigerian Senate Confirms Tanko Muhammad New Chief Justice

Justice Tanko Muhammad has been confirmed by the Senate as the country's substantive Chief Justice, replacing Walter Onnoghen who resigned from the position after being convicted for violating the code of conduct rule.

The Senate on Wednesday confirmed the appointment after screening the nominee Justice Muhammad, who was until his confirmation the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria.
President Muhammadu Buhari had, last Thursday, forwarded to the Senate a letter requesting the confirmation of Muhammad as substantive Chief Justice of Nigeria.
The President, in the letter of request, said the nomination was sequel to the recommendation made to that effect by the National Judicial Council.

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Lagarde Resigns Appointment As IMF MD, Lipton Takes Over

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced the resignation of its managing director, Christine Lagarde and the appointment of David Lipton as the acting managing director of the Fund.
Lagarde will, however, not leave the Fund until September 12, when her resignation will take effect, according to a statement by IMF.

The executive board of the Fund has accepted the resignation of Lagarde and said that it would kick-start the selection process for her successor promptly.
Lagarde, a French lawyer, politician and economist relinquishes her position following her nomination as the president of the European Central Bank (ECB).
“We would like to express our greatest appreciation for all that managing director Lagarde has done for the institution. Her legacy of achievements has made a lasting imprint on the fund," IMF said in a statement.
“Under her guidance, the fund successfully helped its members navigate a complex and unprecedented set of challenges, including the impact of the global financial crisis and its aftershocks.”
It added, “The fund has excelled in serving its entire membership over the course of her tenure with cutting-edge policy advice supported by ground-breaking analytical work on a range of macro-critical issues. Her stewardship has been exceptional, and we are grateful for her innovative and visionary leadership.
“With this decision by Managing Director Lagarde, the IMF executive board will initiate promptly the process of selecting the next managing director and will communicate in a timely fashion.”
The executive board added that it had the utmost confidence in Lipton who would remain acting managing director of the fund in the interim period.

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Nigerian Immigration Earns 39 Bln Naira From Passport Issuance

The Nigerian Immigration Services (NIS) generated a total of 39.06 billion naira from the issuance of International Passports and other services last year.

The information was contained in the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data on the activities of the service.
According to the data from the statistics bureau, the immigration earnings in 2018 was an increase of 9.34 percent over the 35.72 billion naira generated in 2017.
The NIS received a total of 1,011,158 applications for passport in 2018 compared with 720,958 received in 2017.
This indicated that more Nigerians applied for passport issuance last year than the previous year, according to the data.
A breakdown of the applications for passport showed that 173,461 of the 1,011,158 applications in 2018 were minor, 779,905 were adults, while the remaining 57,792 are senior citizens.
“The Immigration statistics for 2018 reflected that a total of 1,011,158 passport applications were received in 2018 as against 720,958 received in 2017.
“This represents about 40.25 percent positive growth. 173,461 of the 2018 figure are minor, 779,905 are adults and the remaining 57,792 are senior citizens.”
The report said a total of 185,657 passports were issued at the foreign missions in 2018 as against 152,163 issued in 2017 while the number of visa issuance at the foreign missions was put at 120,697.
In terms of international travellers, the NBS report said about 4,529,153 international trips were recorded across all Nigeria borders in 2018 as against 3,715,268 in 2017.

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How Potent Is Recent Change To the SDF threshold?

Last week, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), once again tapped into its arsenal of circulars. In what seemed like a repeat of history, when banks remunerable placements at the Standing Deposit Facility was capped at N7.5bn some few months after the tenor of the CBN governor started in 2014, the CBN reduced the maximum placement at the window to N2.0bn.

This directive came a few days after the CBN issued a regulatory note for banks to increase their loan to deposit ratios to 60.0% by Sep-19.
No doubt, the CBN is doubling down on efforts to drive banks to increase lending to the private sector.
For context, data from the NBS showed banking sector credit to the private sector fell 2.5% y/y in 2018 and an annualized Q1-19 number shows that we could be on track for a further decline by the end of the year.
It is unlikely that the CBN’s recent policy will trigger a spike in credit to the real economy in the near term.
Rather, banks could opt to lose 50.0% of liquid assets to CRR at 0.0% instead of worsening asset quality.
In the medium term, banks will have no option but to lend by either going into a partnership with Fin-Techs, via liquidity support, to drive SMEs loans or boost their risk management framework to drive credit origination and expansion.
Overall, interest income could suffer in 2019 (especially in Q4-19) as lower yield, tighter regulation, and harsh operating environment soften bottom lines.
Meanwhile, with the MPC set to meet next week, we see the possibility of an adjustment to some policy of the variables to support recent actions.

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Nigeria Inflation Slows To 11.22 % In June Vs 11.40% In May ~NBS

Nigeria inflation rate slowed to 11.22 percent year-on-year in June from 11.40 percent the previous month, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Monday.

Food inflation stood at 13.56 percent in June compared with 13.79 percent in May, while core inflation declined to 8.80 percent against 9.00 percent in May, the data bureau said.
On a month-on-month basis, the headline index increased by 1.07 percent in June 2019, this is 0.04 percent rate lower than the rate recorded in May 2019 (1.11) percent," NBS said in it inflation data publication.
The Bureau said the percentage change in the average composite CPI for the twelve months period ending June 2019 over the average of the CPI for the previous twelve months period was 11.29 percent, similar to the 11.29 percent recorded in May 2019.
Nigeria inflation figure had risen to 11.40 percent in May from 11.37 percent in April.

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Prof Soyinka Says Buhari Has Failed, Can’t Solve Nigeria Problems

Professor Wole Soyinka, the man who once called President Muhammadu Buhari, 'deaf and dump' in 1994, has passed a verdict on the president, saying his administration has failed Nigerians over its approach to the herders/farmers’ crisis and other security problems bedeviling the country.
The Nobel laureate said, "the central government, I am afraid, has failed and that is my view in the main to really serve the people intelligently, creatively and be even-handed in their apportionment of facilities to various areas of the nation.“Look at what is happening today, how is it possible for me to say for instance that I am pro this government, it is being negligent, look at what is happening with the cattle all over the place. That is a security issue which should never have reached this level.
“I am sure that carelessness and single act which has resulted in hundreds of people being massacred in their farms and their farms taken over; it has wiped away a lot of the positive achievements of the government.
“It is an issue that is so serious and which concerns the welfare of you and me that any carelessness or any failure there is totally unforgivable and unpardonable. It is not that one likes to criticise for the sake of criticising; no! It is just that we believe that there is a minimal level which any government which has been elected to power must achieve to be considered a true representative of the people. So, I am afraid I am waiting for you to grow up and become president.”
The playwright, who fielded questions from 85 pupils drawn from all the six geopolitical zones of the country to mark his 85th birthday during an interactive session, was supported by his younger sister, Prof. Omofolabo Ajayi, and one of his children, Bojode.
When asked of his opinion about governance in Nigeria, Soyinka said, “Governance is a very difficult occupation; Nigeria is a very complex nation for a lot of reasons; its history, the background, the formation of it, the complexity, the culture, balancing here and there and then, you have several complications like fuel, among others.
“Politicians that money has gone into their heads misdirect themselves in terms of priority, they neglect some sections, some of them are nepotistic and some of them alienate themselves from the public which is the people they are supposed to serve and govern and they think they are still colonial masters, especially when we went through the military period.”

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Ethiopian Airlines Is Helping Nigeria To Setup National Carrier ~CEO

Ethiopian Airlines, one of African aviation success story has been commissioned to help Nigeria set up a national carrier, the chief executive of Ethiopian Air has said.

“We have been discussing and exploring possibilities to establish or support a strong airline in Nigeria. I don’t mean that there is no strong airline in Nigeria, but we want an airline that can satisfy the demand of the domestic market, the regional market, and international market," Tewolde Gebremariam told reporters on Friday in Abuja.
“We are also in talks with Ghana government to establish Ghana Airways but the biggest market which is Nigeria has been a challenge, to be honest with you. We make sure that when we start something, we start professionally and make sure that it succeeds.”
The Ethiopian Airlines chief had last year disclosed move to help Nigerian government to establish a national carrier, but the then minister of aviation, Siraki denied the story. Shortly after, the government announced the floating of Nigeria Air, which later moribund before take-off.
On Friday, he said he had been meeting with the Federal Government and private sector players on plans to establish an international carrier for Nigeria.
According to the airline, the lack of a national carrier in Nigeria that could compete favourably with other international brands was not good for the country and for Africa.
He noted that the non-existence of an indigenous airline in Nigeria that is fully involved in international operations was a big threat to the aviation sector in Africa.
Gebremariam observed that with the demise of Nigeria Airways, there has not been a very strong airline in Nigeria that has the capacity to compete effectively with other large international carriers.
He explained that non-African carriers had the biggest share in terms of percentage volume on international routes in African countries, as well as across the globe.
“Nigeria is a very large country but unfortunately, since the demise of Nigeria Airways, we are unfortunate that we don’t have a strong carrier. So, this concern is part of continental concern because in Africa, non-African carriers have the biggest shares.
"It is around 80-20 percent ratio. 80 percent of the traffic between Africa and the rest of the world is carried by non-African carriers.
“The homegrown carriers have only 20 percent of the market. This is not fair and it used to be 60 percent some years ago but now it is coming down. We are also threatened because all of us in Africa are only 20 percent of the market," Gebremariam said.
“So, in a declining trend, there is a possibility that the market share can be zero. So, they will wipe us out. We have to make sure that we work together with all African countries to ensure that there are strong homegrown indigenous carriers. We have done this with Asky in Togo and we want to do it in Nigeria.”

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Ecobank To Pay Back $250 Mln Eurobond Ahead Of Due Date

Ecobank Nigeria said it plans to repay the $250 million outstanding Eurobond on August 14, 2019, ahead of its maturity date.The bond was issued in August 2014 with 8.75 percent rate to one of the bank's largest subsidiaries; EBN Finance Company BV and is due by August 2021.
The Nigeria unit of the Pan-African banking group Ecobank Transnational Inc. (ETI) in a regulatory filing on Friday said the note will be delisted from the regulated market of Euronext Dublin as of August 14.
"The early redemption of the Subordinated Note is a liquidity management and operational efficiency decision which highlight the strength of ENG balance sheet," the commercial lender said in the filing to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
With the announcement, Ecobank has joined the league of banks repaying outstanding fund borrowed from the International Capital Market (ICM) ahead of maturity.
Access Bank, Zenith Bank, and First Bank had announced early in the year their plans to repay outstanding Eurobond ahead of maturity date in similar circumstances, described as part of their liquidity management strategies.
Analysts said many of the banks are taking advantage of the stability in the local foreign exchange market to liquidate their external borrowing to avoid currency crisis in the event of future devaluation of the naira.

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MONEY MARKET THIS WEEK: Dollar Shortage Hits I&E Window, Naira Depreciates:

Nigerian naira closed at 360/360.75 to the dollar on the Investors' and Exporters (I&E) foreign exchange window on Thursday against 359.75/360.15 it opened on Monday this wee, according to traders at Citibank Nigeria.
The local currency trended up in the week to Thursday due to the drop foreign exchange flows from on I&E window, the bank said in a note to its clients on Friday.
"NAFEX closed up at 360.56 from 360.29 recorded at the end of last week while External reserves closed the week down at $45.135 billion from $45.149 billion the prior week," Citibank wrote in its newsletter to clients.
"We could see some USD selling interest if the exchange rate crosses 361.00 in the coming week. Our estimated range for FX rate in the coming week is between 360.00 and 361.50 with sellers expected at the top end of the range."
INTERBANK LENDING
The money market experienced high level of liquidity in the week as the Central Bank Of Nigeria (CBN) declined to sell treasury bills at the Open Market Operations (OMO window, leaving many banks with bulging vaults.
Cost of borrowing among banks at the interbank market also remains subdued as Overnight rates traded largely between 3% and 5 % in the week.
"The treasury bills market has been quite bullish this week as a result of the excess money market liquidity boosted by the CBN's circular limiting access to its Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) to N2bn from N7.5billion."
"Buyers were largely local players looking to deploy the excess liquidity. Consequently, discount rates dropped by an average of 75 basis points.
"FGN Bonds prices also rallied late in the week after opening the week on a relatively quiet note. Yields slid by 15-25 bps across the curve with the sharpest decline seen on the short end of the bonds curve (2-5 years)."
* Source: Citibank Nigeria

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South African Airways Gets State Funds After CEO, Chairman Quit

South African Airways will receive additional state funding after Chief Executive Officer Vuyani Jarana resigned over what he said was a lack of government support for the loss-making carrier.
Finance Minister Tito Mboweni included the country’s flagship airline on a list of companies that will be getting support from the country’s contingency reserve account.
Power utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd., South African Broadcasting Corp. and weapons maker Denel SOC Ltd. were also identified as in need of aid.
“I must emphasise that this additional government support cannot be a blank check to these state-owned enterprises,” Mboweni said on Thursday.
“We really and truly cannot go on like this.”
SAA needs a clear government commitment of support for lenders to deal with the company, Jarana said in his resignation letter released early last month.
The airline went unmentioned in both President Cyril Ramaphosa’s state-of-the-nation address last month and Finance Minister Tito Mboweni’s budget in February, raising concerns about how it will handle 9.2 billion rand of debt set to mature later this year. A 3.5 billion-rand bridge facility was expected to run out at the end of June.
Chairman JB Magwaza quit the struggling state-owned airline on Monday, according to Adrian Lackay, a spokesman for Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan. He didn’t give a specific reason for the chairman’s decision.
The departure of Magwaza and Jarana exacerbates the leadership vacuum at South African state companies, many of which are in financial distress and in need of a radical overhaul. Eskom, SAA and ports and rail operator Transnet SOC Ltd. are all run by interim CEOs, with few obvious replacement candidates.

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MARKET DEVELOPMENT: CBN Moves To Cut Cost Of Liquidity Management

The CBN FX Importation figure and NBS Capital Importation number
In the days of yore, it was generally believed that photograph does not lie, in fact in some geographic zone an idiom was coined for such saying; the camera is like a mirror and as you pose for it so your image will be reproduced.
However, with the advancement in technology, such talks have since changed and became irrelevant, no thanks to Photoshop applications and other filtering mechanisms that could easily transform people’s image from ugly to beauty or distort the look as the case may be.
So also is the axiom that says data don't lie because of the dependability of data these days will depend on the sources of such statistics.
The report of capital importation into the country released last week by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) significantly exposed the manner data could be used or manipulated to achieve expected ends or results
Going by the CBN figure, estimate foreign investment inflows into the country between April and May stood at around $5.72 billion. The regulatory bank figure is doubtful considering the trend of capital flow since the advent of President Mohammadu Buhari’s administration.
Anyway, the disparity in the figure of capital importation into the economy is better left to be resolved by the two agencies of government. It’s however important to note the political undertone behind the release of the CBN figure, which came more than two clear weeks before the release of the NBS figure, which must have also been obtained from the regulatory bank.
Government agencies should ensure the integrity of data released to the public otherwise, they will be inadvertently undermining their relevance in the economy.

NSE suspension of 11 companies and importance of effective regulation The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) last week slammed 11 companies listed on its board for their failure to submit their financials within the stipulated time frame. The move was in consonance with the market regulation on submission of market information by listed firms.
The rule was to ensure transparency in the operations of such listed companies and provide investors with timely market information to enable them make informed decision on their investment.
The beauty of the regulatory action manifested few day later when one of the suspended firm rushed to the exchange to file its audited report, which was overdue, while another have to file information on the late submission of its financials.
However, beyond the issue of suspension of trading on the shares of the defaulting companies, the NSE should go a step further in collaboration with the capital market regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to enforce stricter sanction on key officers of such firms.
Restoring and sustaining investors’ confidence in the market will continue to require the effectiveness of regulations in the market and discouragement of impunity by some operators.
Experience in the past when many companies where not transparent with their accounts and misled many investors into buying into their stocks and later regret their action should not be allowed to repeat itself in the market.
Market regulators should tighten market rules to ensure that companies listed adequately comply with the dictates of the market.
The investors should be protected and their funds secured in the market so that the purpose of capital market is fulfilled and the economy is better for it.

CBN moves to cut cost of liquidity management, wean banks of cheap earnings In a bold move to discourage banks from dumping their excess cash at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Standing Deposit facility (SDF) window and slash the cost of liquidity management, the regulatory bank came out with a circular on Wednesday proclaiming its decision to stop paying interest on commercial lenders idle funds with it.
The measure will checkmate the habit of many high net worth banks that usually dump their idle funds at the CBN SDF window to earn up to 8.5 percent interest rather than lending to the productive sector or on the interbank market.

The regulatory bank over the years continues to spend a huge portion of its balance sheet to manage liquidity in the system and pay interest on banks idle funds deposited with it.
This has often indirectly encouraged banks to resort to armchair banking rather than focus more on their intermediation role in the economy.
Many of the banks rake in huge profits from merely placing their idle funds at the CBN SDF window to earn secured interest and invest the balance in treasury bills and other government debt instruments.
Most banks resort to this measure because of the high rate of default in their loan portfolio and the high risk associated with granting credit to the private sector.
Many analysts consider the latest move by the central bank as timely and would lead to the reverse of the trend where banks simply depend on fee earn from government treasuries and placement in the SDF to record jumbo profit.
The CBN should go ahead to slash the present interest being paid on funds placed by banks in the SDF window to the barest minimum as a way of discouraging them from just dumping their idle fund with the regulatory bank.
However, the monetary authority should strengthen its supervisory role in the financial system, tightens risk management process in the industry and help banks recover the bulk of their NPLs through appropriate monetary policy initiative.

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NNPC hints of fuel pump price rise, says N145 cheapest in West Africa

Nigerians may soon wake up one day to discover that the pump price of PMS, commonly refers to as Petrol has been jerked up by the government., going by the hint by the new helmsman at the state-run oil firm.

According to the new chief executive of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari, the current price of 145 naira per liter for petrol is the cheapest in West Africa.

Kyari stated this while on a visit to Senate President Ahmed Lawan at the National Assembly complex, Abuja.

“The N145 per litre fuel price regime in Nigeria runs against the N350 per litre most of the other West African countries operate, encouraging smuggling.
“It is even very difficult for us to make the product available at N145,” said he.
Kyari spoke while making submissions on revenue generation before the leadership of the senate.
He identified cheap fuel price and smuggling as the two key factors hampering revenue generation by the agency.
NNPC also said it would lobby the National Assembly to ensure speedy passage of laws relating to the oil and gas industry to enhance performance.
The corporation stated that the move would ensure the emplacement of an enabling legal framework for the growth of the oil and gas sector.
Immediate past GMD, Dr. Maikanti Baru, who was at the meeting, said a visit to the senate president was part of the programmes planned for the period of transition but was not realised due to exigencies.
Baru stressed that he considered it necessary to still visit, even after the formal handover, considering the good relations he enjoyed with Lawal.
He stated that beyond introducing his successor, the visit was meant to canvass the senate’s support for the quick passage of the Deep Offshore Amendment Bill, which could boost the government’s revenue with about $5 billion per annum.

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Absence Of cabinet Delay Release Of 2019 Capital Expenditure To Ministries

More than six months into the 2019 fiscal year and 43 days after President Mohammadu Buhari signed this year's appropriation act, the government is yet to release any portion of the capital expenditure component of the budget to relevant agencies.

The President had signed the 8.91 trillion naira 2019 budget into law on May 27, but none of the ministry and agency of government has received any disbursement from the capital vote.The government had proposed to spend 2.09 trillion naira on capital projects in the fiscal year, 4.07 trillion naira on recurrent expenditure and fiscal deficit of 1.92 trillion nairas.
A report by the Debt Management Office (DMO) on Wednesday put the country's total debt at 24.9 trillion naira at the end of the first quarter of the year.
The report showed that the debt stock rose 2.3 percent within the first three months of the year, an indication that the government had borrowed up to 560 billion naira in the three months to March, this year.
Government sources said funds for capex is yet to be released to finance capital projects as stated in the budget, this has led frustration by contractors carrying out ongoing projects across the country.
Top government officials are blaming factors such as the delay in obtaining procurement certificates for the projects, in the absence of a cabinet to supervise the ministries and agencies and the low approval limit of Permanent Secretaries currently in charge of government business.
The president is yet to constitute his cabinet, more than a month after he was inaugurated for a second term of four years in office.
Although the President of the Senate has hinted that the president could forward the list of his cabinet members to the parliament this week, it was doubtful if the list is ready as at the close of business on Wednesday, a source said.

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Nigeria's Total Debt Rises 2.3 % To 25 Trln Naira In Q1 ~DMO

Nigeria total public debt rose 2.30 percent in the first quarter of 2019 to 24.95 trillion naira or $81.27 billion, using 306.95 naira to the dollar exchange rate, the Debt Management Office (DMO) said on Wednesday.

The debt position stood at 24.39 trillion naira or $79.44 billion at the end of last year, according to the DMO data.
In a statement by the DMO, the increase in the total debt was accounted for largely by borrowing from the domestic market by the federal and state governments.
It said domestc debt grew by 458.36 billion naira in the period under review while external debt rose by 101.65 billion naira in the same period.
"In relation to the Debt Management Strategy, the Ratio of Domestic to External Debt stood at 68.49% to 31.51% at the end of March 2019," the debt office said.
According to the DMO, the country's debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio stood at 19.03 percent compared with 25 percent debt limit stipulated by the government.
Nigeria's external debt stood at $25.61 billion or 7.86 trillion naira in the first quarter of the year. The debt were owed by federal, state and the federal capital territory.
Furhter breakdown of the debt showed that the country's domestic debt stood at 17.09 trillion naira of which 13,11 trillion naira is owed by the federal government while the balance is owed by states and federal capital.

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CBN To Stop Paying Interest On Banks Excess Deposit At Its Window

In its bid to encourage banks to lend to the productive sectors of the economy, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Wednesday said it will no longer pay interest of commercial lender's deposits in excess of 2 billion naira.

In a circular to banks and Discount Houses, the CBN said "the remunerable daily placement by banks at the Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) shall not exceed 2 billion naira.
It said deposit of 2 billion naira placement in the SDF window shall attract interest rate as prescribed by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) from time to time.
"Any deposit by a bank in excess of 2 billion shall not be remunerated," the CBN said in the circular entitled "Guideline on Accessing the CBN Standing Deposit Facility."
The regulatory bank had issued a circular last week directing banks to lend 60 percent of their liquid assets to specific sectors of the economy by September 30, 2019, in a bid to stimulate growth and boost production in the economy.
In the July 4 circular, the apex bank instructed that banks that failed to lend 60 percent of their Loan to Deposit Ratio (LDR) to the productive sector would be penalised.
"Failure to meet the above minimum LDR by the specified date shall result in a levy of additional Cash Reserves Requirement equal to 50% of the lending shortfall of the target LDR," the CBN said in its July 4 circular.
Nigerian banks are averse to lending to the productive sectors of the economy due to high rates of default and Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) in the industry.
A CBN report stated that banks invest over 70 percent of their liquid assets in treasury bills and other government debt instrument.
Before the released on the latest circular, the regulatory bank pays 8.5 percent on banks placement at the SDF, while it charges banks 15.5 percent on short term borrowing on the Standing Lending Facility (SLF).
The regulatory bank had already threatened to stop banks from investing their liquid assets in government treasuries as part of measure to discourage them from shunning their intermediation roles.

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Nigeria's Cocoa Main Crop Threatened By Black Pod Disease

Nigeria’s 2019-20 cocoa crop is threatened by an attack of the fungal black-pod disease due to the wetness created by persistent rains in the main cocoa-growing areas, the industry association said.
“The losses could escalate if the rains continue far into July in its current intensity,” Sayina Riman, president of the Cocoa Association of Nigeria, (CAN) which groups farmers, traders and processors of the chocolate ingredient, said in a phone interview.

The disease makes pods shrivel and trees wither, these are cases that have been reported in most farms in the south Eastern part of Nigeria cocoa belt around the cocoa-trading center, Ikom, he said. This region accounts for about 30% of Nigeria’s cocoa, with the rest coming from the southwest, the main growing area, with Akure as its main trading hub.
“The rains have been relentless and farmers are helpless,” Sola Akingbade, a cocoa farmer from Ogun state, said by phone. Many farms in the area are infested with the black pod, he said.
Nigeria is the world’s fifth-biggest producer of cocoa with output estimated at 245,000 tons for the 2018-19 season by the International Cocoa Organization.
The country’s cocoa season comprises the main crop harvested from October to March and the smaller mid-crop that runs from April to June.

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MTN Nigeria Maintains Market Leadership In Internet, GSM Usage~ NCC

South Africa's local unit of MTN has continued to dominate Nigeria telecommunications market with steady growth in the numbers of subscribers to its network, according to the latest data from the industry regulator.The data showed that MTN Nigeria is leading in all segments of the market,
Total numbers of internet subscribers rose 2.6 percent in May to 122,624,417 across the spectrum against the figure in the previous month, data from the industry regulator has shown.
Numbers of internet users stood at 119,506,430 in April, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) latest data.
The growth in the numbers of internet users in May was, however, lower than the figure in the previous month.
Numbers of new subscribers rose by 3.12 million month-on-month in May compared with 3.6 million new users in April.
MTN Nigeria grew its new subscriber numbers by 2,406,627 in May, hitting 52.433 million users at the end of May.
MTN Nigeria, which listed on the premium board of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in May has also continued to dominate the telecoms segment of the stock market.
Airtel came second with 595,093 new Internet users in May, increasing its subscription to 31,932,750 in May as against 31,337,657 in April.
9mobile, which hitherto was a market leader in the internet segment was the biggest loser as more subscribers are dumping the mobile telecoms firm network for its rivals.
The NCC data further showed that 9mobile lost 90,866 Internet users in May and was left with 9,350,477 users in May as against 9,441,343 recorded in April.
Globacom also gained more Internet subscribers during the month under review. The firm gained 198,142 new Internet users in the month under review, increasing its subscription to 28,825,533 in May as against 28,627,391 recorded in April.
The data revealed that 800Hz spectrum MTN got from Visafone recorded 82,637 Internet users in May as against 73,646 in April.
MTN remains the largest mobile network provider in the country by the number of subscribers, dominating 37 percent market share, Globacom maintained the second position with 27 percent market share, while Airtel is the third largest with 26 percent market share and 9mobile holds nine percent market share and the 800Hz Visafone spectrum has one percent market share.

including internet and mobile phone usage. While more people are subscribing to mobile internet usage in the country, MTN sustained its leadership position with 37 percent of market share.

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Tinubu Disowns Presidential Campaign Group

A national leader of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu Has disowned a group that has launched a presidential campaign for him.

According to a tweet by the APC chieftain, the group christened ‘Asiwaju Reloaded Ambassadors’ Nigeria’ is not known to him.
"We have seen pictures of face caps, T-shirts, shirts and even leaflets with Bola Tinubu 2023 embossed on them purportedly by a faceless group which christened itself ‘Asiwaju Reloaded Ambassadors’ Nigeria’," the tweet signed by Bola Tinubu media office read.
"Neither the group nor its souvenirs are known to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. We hereby, through this medium, categorically deny any knowledge of the group and dissociates Asiwaju Tinubu from the group’s unsolicited and unwarranted materials."
There have been speculations in the media over the presidential ambition of Tinubu come 2023, but he has not denied such ambition.

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