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...

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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...

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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....

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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...

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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),...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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,"...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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