University Of Lagos Offers Admission To 9,000 Candidates

The University of Lagos has offered admission to 9,000 candidates to study for various programme at the undergraduate level for the 2019/2020 academic session, officials of the university has disclosed.

“At least 9,000 candidates would be given placement into the university for the various undergraduate programmes.“For any candidate to be considered for admission in our institution, he or she must have scored 12 points,’’ the official said.
According to the official, over 60, 000 candidates applied for admission into the institution for the 2019/2020 academic session.
He noted that of the figure, over 35,000 obtained 200 marks and above at this year’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination organised by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board.
The official said that candidates who scored 200 and above were eligible to participate in the institution’s Post UTME
The Post UTME carries a total of 30 marks.
“The examination started on Monday, August 26 and so far, it has been hitch-free. The university acquired more computers and their back-ups, which have all been in top shape, while the tests lasted.
“The electricity too was uninterrupted. We have not recorded any impersonation too, probably because of the measures put in place.
“This year’s examination has turned out to be one of the best we have ever recorded in recent times. JAMB made available to us images of the candidates coupled with the biometric machines used in authenticating them.
“We must also give credit to the candidates because most of them now know how the system works, how to operate the computers, thereby taking the pressure off the examiners,’’

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NCC Warns On Hazardous Phone In Circulations

Nigeria telecoms regulator, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has warned Nigerians that using sub-standard telecom devices could adversely affect their health.
Head of NCC, Umar Danbatta said at a sensitisation workshop for stakeholders that using sub-standard and counterfeit telecom devices was dangerous to human health and safety.
The workshop had as theme: “Hazardous Effect of Non Type Approved Handsets and E-Waste: Impact on Quality of Service and E-Waste.”
Represented by Mr Clem Omife , NCC’s Assistant Director, Zonal Operation, Danbattta said that sub-standard devices also increase cyber security-related threats such as Zero Day attack.
According to him, the NCC is collaborating with other stakeholders in the industry to evolve ways of curbing the menace of sub-standard and counterfeit devices.
He said the commission found it necessary to educate the general public on the effect of using non-type approved devices in the country through the sensitisation workshop.
Danbattta further stated that using fake devices has a wide range of negative impacts on the quality of services given to telecom service consumers.
“Using genuine handsets and other devices will help consumers to prevent economic losses and associated ailments.
“As a commission, we are not relenting in efforts to ensure that Nigeria is saved from the hazardous effects of using fake devices,” he said.
In a paper entitled “The Socio-Economic Effects of Counterfeit Devices,” Mr Chukuma Nwaiwo of NCC’s Technical Standard and Network Integrity Department, said the proliferation of fake products and devices was having negative effects on both government and the general public.
He urged consumers to avoid patronising fake telecom devices and equipment, adding that “ Nigerians should support NCC’s move to prevent fake and counterfeit devices from entering the country.”
The sensitisation programme was attended by members of the National Youth Service Corps, security agencies, government officials, civil society groups and other stakeholders.

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MTN Nigeria Launches Money Transfer Service

Nigeria’s biggest telecoms firm MTN has launched a mobile money transfer service, targeting those without bank accounts, and said on Thursday it plans to become a payment services bank once it obtains approval from the central bank.
The success in east Africa of M-Pesa, the mobile money unit of Kenya’s Safaricom, has convinced investors and the industry that financial services are the next growth area for the telecoms sector, where prices for basic services are falling.
Nigeria said last year it would allow telecom companies to provide banking services, aiming to give millions of Nigerians without bank accounts access to mobile money services.
MTN Nigeria was awarded a licence by Nigeria’s central bank in July to provide financial services.
Majority owned by South Africa’s MTN Group, the company runs Nigeria’s biggest mobile phone network serving around 56 million people.
MTN Nigeria’s CEO Ferdi Moolman said its Yello Digital Financial Services Limited (YDFS) unit would extend access to simple money transfer services and other financial services.
More than half of Nigeria’s population of 180 million do not have a bank account.
Shares in MTN Nigeria, which was listed on the local bourse in May, fell 1.49 percent to 144.50 naira on Thursday, valuing the telecoms firm at 2.95 trillion naira ($9.64 billion).
MTN Group appointed Rob Shuter as chief executive in 2016 to oversee the formulation of a new strategic growth plan and look for new revenue streams as competition and regulation hit profit margins.
Shuter, who has previous banking experience, has been revamping Africa’s biggest telecoms group, seeking returns in everything from financial services to music and video games.

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EFCC begins probe of OBJ’s $16bn power project, arrests 4

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday detained two top officials of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), the company which supervised execution of the $16 billion failed power projects.
The officials are Head of Finance Marvel Emefiele and Head of Compensation Eze M. C. Odigbo.
They are expected to account for the N850 million earmarked as compensation to communities where components of the power project were sited
Others in EFCC’s net are Managing Director of Pivot Engineering Mr. Richard Ayibiowu and the Managing Director of Chris Ejik Nigeria Limited Mr. Christain Ejik Imoka.
Detectives are on the trail 18 more suspects including two former governors, a former chairman of a bank and a former chairman of an airline.
About 15 more companies are also on the EFCC radar, it was learnt last night. There are fears that some of the suspects might have secretly relocated abroad.
President Muhammadu Buhari has repeatedly wondered how $16 billion was spent on power and there is no electricity generated. He subsequently ordered a probe into the expenditure.
A source in the anti-graft commission said: “The NPDHC officials are being detained by the EFCC, following their alleged involvement in bogus payment and diversion of about N850million compensation to communities where the components of the power projects were sited.
“Investigation revealed that approval was granted for the payment of N84billion to the communities where transmission lines of the power project are meant to be laid.
“Investigators discovered that there were serious issues arising from the payment of the compensation to the communities.
“Though about N50 billion compensation was said to have been paid to the communities, the contractors were said to have been prevented from working by the communities over non- payment of the same compensation which the NPDHC records claimed had been paid.
“Emefiele was said to have approved the payment of N850million as NPDHC Head of Finance while Odigbo, Head of Compensation reportedly effected the compensation to the communities. The two officials are being quizzed over the propriety of the matter.
“The Managing Director of Pivot Engineering, Mr. Richard Ayibiowu, is being detained over alleged payment of N350million to the communities. Part of LOT 8 of the power project, Ihiala /Orlu Transmission Line, was not executed by Pivot Engineering due to the alleged claim of hostility by the communities while about N350million was on record as paid to the same communities. Mr. Oba Otudeko is the chairman of Pivot Engineering.”
“The Managing Director of Chris Ejik Nigeria Limited, Mr. Christain Ejik Imoka, is being detained over controversial payment of N500million contract LOT 14, which ought to include Lekki-Ajah Transmission Line, which was not executed. But money was paid to that effect.
“The detained officials allegedly failed to honour previous invitations from the commission.”
The source said: “We have invited about 15 companies implicated in the mismanagement of funds meant for the power projects. One of the firms got four contracts but was only able to put in place 30 per cent of the construction. The firm also claimed that it imported certain materials since 2013 and lying in Onne Port without clearing.”
to have approved the payment of N850million as NPDHC Head of Finance while Odigbo, Head of Compensation reportedly effected the compensation to the communities. The two officials are being quizzed over the propriety of the matter.

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Nigeria gets 50 million Euro From EU To Rebuild North east

Nigeria has signed a €50 million Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the European Union (EU) to help support most vulnerable communities in northeast part of the country.
EU Commissioner for International Development, Neven Mimica and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama signed the MOU in the presence of President Muhammadu Buhari who is in Japan to take part in the Seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD7), holding in Yokohama.
The region has been in the throes of a decade-long fight against Boko Haram insurgency, and lately, Islamic State in West African Province.
The crisis contributed to the ranking of Nigeria as one of the five countries most impacted by terrorism in the 2018 Global Terrorism Index.
According to the report, Boko Haram and Fulani extremists’ accounted for the largest percentage of deaths. The Bachama extremist group was listed as the third most violent group.
However, the number of deaths attributed to terrorism in the country fell to 1,532 in 2017 from 1832 in 2016. The decline follows the 63 percent drop in deaths in Nigeria in the preceding year and a 34 percent drop in 2015.

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Nigeria Unit Of Oil Firm Eni, Oando Discovers New Oil, Gas Reserves

Italian oil major Eni said Wednesday that Nigerian subsidiary Agip has found lots of gas and oil in an onshore facility in the Niger delta, raising potential output in Africa’s leading oil exporter.

The Eni-operated NAOC, which is majority-owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), with minority stakes held by Oando and Eni, made the discovery in the Obiafu-Obrikom fields, a statement said.
“The find amounts to about 1 trillion cubic feet of gas and 60 million barrels of associated condensate in the deep drilled sequences,” the statement added.
It said “the well can deliver in excess of 100 million standard cubic feet/day of gas and 3,000 barrels/day of associated condensates, and will be immediately put on-stream to increase NAOC’s gas production.”
Eni which has been operating in Nigeria since 1962, currently produces 100,000 barrels per day of crude oil.
Nigeria is Africa’s oil largest producer, accounting for a daily output of two million barrels per day, but it is seeking to boost that to four million barrels.
The west African nation depends on the oil sector for 70 percent of government revenue and 90 percent of foreign exchange earnings.

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President Buhari Accuses Iran Of Supporting Islamisation Of Nigeria

Nigeria has accused Iran of providing support for the leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky to establish an Islamic State in the country.
The government also said the cleric had the full support of the Iranian government to achieve this aim.
The government made these claims in a counter-affidavit it filed against IMN’s motion challenging the Federal High Court’s order of July 26 proscribing the group.
Justice Nkeonye Maha of the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court who issued the proscription order, on Wednesday, fixed September 11 for the hearing of the motion filed on behalf of the IMN by Mr. Femi Falana

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EFCC arrests three lawyers for alleged N20m property fraud

Nigeria's anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has picked up lawyers for allegedly defrauding one Adetunji Adedoyin, a pastor of his property worth 20 million naira.

The accused lawyers are Salman Rafiu, Sulyman Abaya and Saka Hammed.
Other alleged accomplices of the lawyers on the run include Olarewaju Aluko and Mr. Na’ Allah Suyuti.
Adedoyin (petitioner) alleged that the suspects fraudulently obtained a court order through a false representation and sold the said property without his consent.
He also alleged that the lawyers did not allow him to brief them to defend him in the legal proceedings they instituted.
“I was informed that I was served summons all through the Court proceedings whereas it was R.A Salman who picked and arranged his colleagues, Abaya Sulyman and Saka Hammed to stand for me and these lawyers forged my signature on some documents purporting to consent in court to the sale of my hostel.
“The truth of the matter is, I never set my eyes on these people (Lawyers) prior to or during the court proceedings, neither did I participate directly or indirectly in the proceedings, I also was not aware of the proceedings from the beginning to the end.
“Earlier in 2016, after seeking advice on what to do, I engaged a lawyer Victor Okojie, in Ilorin to pursue justice for me because all attempts I made failed. Victor Okojie later linked me up with the buyer Na’ Allah and the buyer’s lawyer, Ayodele Aluko Olarewaju, the buyer felt my pain and explained that he had expanded about 12.5 million for the acquisition of my property. He said he was willing to release it only if I can pay back the money.”
The petitioner further explained that he was able to pay the sum of N4.2 million to the buyer’s account in order to recover the property which they released for him as at that time.
“The hostel was taken over again in March 2019 by the alleged buyer Mr. Na’ Allah through his Lawyer, Aluko Olarewaju on the grounds that I have not paid the outstanding balance,” he said.
It was gathered that the suspects initially denied the allegations against them when confronted by the operatives of the EFCC with some forged documents that emanated from the petitioner EFCC source said efforts are on to arrest other suspects indicted on the allegations.

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Nigeria Approves New Spectrum For 5G Service Deployment

Nigeria has approved dedicated spectrums to test run 5G mobile deployment in the country, the chief executive of the telecommunications industry regulator said on Tuesday.
Umar Danbatta head of Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), says the commission has approved dedicated spectrums for the trial of Fifth Generation services.
Danbatta said this in his opening remarks at the first Digital African Week organised by the International Telecommunications Union in Abuja on Tuesday.
He noted that the commission was prepared to jump-start the trial of 5G deployment in the country.
“In this regard, we have approved spectrum for the trial of 5G services in the country,” he was quoted as saying.
The NCC boss had in 2018 said that the commission had begun work on the regulatory and policy framework that would enable the deployment of 5G network in the country by 2020.
He added that three spectrums – 26GHz, 38GHz and 42GHz – had been assigned for operators to use in the rollout of the advanced technology.
Major telecoms firms in the country current operating on 4G network.

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Nigeria Vows Not To Pay $9 Bln UK Judgment Debt On Failed Gas Project

Nigeria on will not relinquish assets to a firm registered in the British Virgin Islands following a court ruling related to a $9 billion gas project dispute, Lai Mohammedinformation minister has said.

Mohammed - addressing journalists alongside the finance minister, attorney general and central bank governor in the capital, Abuja, said the country would not relinquish any assets.
"The federal government is taking all necessary steps to appeal the decision of the UK Court, to seek a stay of execution of the decision, to defend its rights and to protect the assets of the people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he said.
Earlier this month a judge in London granted Process and Industrial Developments Ltd (P&ID) the right to attempt to seize some $9 billion in assets from the Nigerian government over an aborted gas project.
The company was awarded $6.6 billion in an arbitration decision over a failed project to build a gas processing plant in the southern Nigerian city of Calabar. The award was based on what the firm could have earned during the 20-year agreement as part of a deal struck in 2010.
The judge’s decision converted the arbitration award to a legal judgment and the sum rose to around $9 billion with interest accrued since 2013.
“This award is unreasonable, an assault on every Nigerian and unfair,” the finance minister, Zainab Ahmed, told journalists.
And the attorney general said he believed the contract signed by a previous administration with P&ID, a little-known firm founded by two Irish businessmen specifically for the project, was “designed essentially to fail right from conception”.
“There is need for comprehensive criminal investigations to unravel the undertone of the contract,” he said.
He said the agreement with P&ID should have involved international oil companies and Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), the country’s main gas producer.
The $9 billion sum would be one of the largest financial penalties imposed on Nigeria, representing 20% of the currency reserves of Africa’s largest economy and top oil producer.
Last week Nigeria’s central bank said it would strive to protect the country’s currency reserves following the judgment, though it did not outline measures the bank might take.

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Nigeria Oil Production Output Increases To 2.2 Mbpd In Aug Despite Disruptions

Nigeria’s oil output including condensates increased to around 2.2 million barrel per day by the first week of August, compared with 1.92 mbpd a year ago, S&P Global Platts reports shown.

The latest monthly data from the NNPC showed that average production for the month of May peaked at 1.94mbpd.
The country’s crude and condensate production has risen sharply in the past six months due to the start-up of the 205,000 b/d deepwater Egina field which came online December 29.
Nigeria pumped 2.1 million b/d and 2.05 million b/d of crude and condensate in June and July respectively, based on Platts estimates.
The NNPC spokesman said however that the steady growth in production was being threatened by a corresponding rise in cases of attacks on its network of oil pipelines.
“NNPC recorded a 77 per cent increase in cases of oil pipeline vandalism in its network of pipeline infrastructure in June 2019,” he said, adding that the company was collaborating with government security agencies to secure the pipelines and other production facilities.
Oil companies warned last week that escalating production costs due in part to security issues posed a serious challenge to Nigeria’s bid to boost its oil output and reserves.
The companies, under the umbrella body of the Oil Producers’ Trade Group of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said high costs were a major disincentive to investing in new projects.
“Nigeria ranks amongst the top 10 countries with the highest cost of producing oil and gas equivalents per barrel. Security costs are escalating as peculiarities of the business environment require additional resources be deployed to secure our people and assets,” chairman of the group Paul McGrath said at an industry event last week.
Nigeria has said it aims to sharply increase its crude oil production to 3 million b/d and reserves to 40 billion barrels by 2023, from around 2 million b/d and 37 billion barrels now.

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Nigerians To Pay More For United States Visa

Nigerians seeking to obtain travel visa to the United States (US) would have to pay more effective from August 29, 2019.

The US government on Tuesday announced a revised visa reciprocity scheduled for Nigeria.
Consequently, beside the normal visa fee, Nigerians are expected to pay for each visa issued.
The fee is however for those whose visa applications are approved.
In a statement, the embassy explained Visa issuance fees are implemented under the principle of reciprocity, meaning when a foreign government imposes additional visa fees on U.S. citizens, the United States will impose reciprocal fees on citizens of that country for similar types of visas.
The embassy blamed the Nigerian government for hike, saying it had engaged Nigerian government on the need to remove the additional cost imposed on its citizens without success.
“Effective worldwide on 29 August, Nigerian citizens will be required to pay a visa issuance fee, or reciprocity fee, for all approved applications for nonimmigrant visas in B, F, H1B, I, L, and R visa classifications.
"The reciprocity fee will be charged in addition to the nonimmigrant visa application fee, also known as the MRV fee, which all applicants pay at the time of application. Nigerian citizens whose applications for a nonimmigrant visa are denied will not be charged the new reciprocity fee. Both reciprocity and MRV fees are non-refundable, and their amounts vary based on visa classification.
“U.S. law requires U.S. visa fees and validity periods to be based on the treatment afforded to U.S. citizens by foreign governments, insofar as possible.
"Visa issuance fees are implemented under the principle of reciprocity: when a foreign government imposes additional visa fees on U.S. citizens, the United States will impose reciprocal fees on citizens of that country for similar types of visas. Nationals of a number of countries worldwide are currently required to pay this type of fee after their nonimmigrant visa application is approved.
"Nigerian to obtain a comparable visa to the United States. The new reciprocity fee for Nigerian citizens is meant to eliminate that cost difference.
“Since early 2018, the U.S. government has engaged the Nigerian government to request that the Nigerian government change the fees charged to U.S. citizens for certain visa categories. After eighteen months of review and consultations, the government of Nigeria has not changed its fee structure for U.S. citizen visa applicants, requiring the U.S. Department of State to enact new reciprocity fees in accordance with our visa laws.
“The reciprocity fee will be required for all Nigerian citizens worldwide, regardless of where they are applying for a nonimmigrant visa to the United States. The reciprocity fee is required for each visa that is issued, which means both adults and minors whose visa applications are approved will be charged the reciprocity fee. The fee can only be paid at the U.S. Embassy or the U.S. Consulate General. The reciprocity fee cannot be paid at banks or any other location.

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Nigeria’s Problem Is Revenue, Not Debt — Finance Minister

Nigeria does not have a debt problem, despite misgivings amongst experts over the country’s rising debt profile, Finance minister Zainab Ahmed has said.

Ahmed, who decried what she termed ‘insensitivity’ concerning the country’s debt situation, said what Nigeria had at the moment was a revenue problem rather than debt challenge.
She spoke at a meeting with the management staff of the Ministry of Budget and National Planning on Monday.
The minister said that the Federal Government would convene a meeting with donor agencies in the country, where the organisations would be given directions on areas their interventions were needed.
The minister stressed the need to improve revenue generation in the country.
“There is a lot of insensitivity around the level of our debt," Ahmed said.
“I want to restate that our debt is not too high; what we have is a revenue problem.
“Our debt is still very much within a reasonable fiscal limit. In fact, amongst our comparative countries, we are the least in terms of borrowing.”
She noted that the Federal Government hoped to raise its revenue performance from the 55 percent that was attained in 2018 to 85 percent in the next four years.
“If we don’t do that we will continue to suffer significantly in our capacity to service the national budget,” she warned.
Ahmed, in the same vein, spoke of the need for the Ministry of Budget and National Planning to effectively coordinate donor agencies that were operating in the country.
She said that it was not ideal for the agencies to impose programmes, some of which were not necessarily required, on Nigeria.
A meeting would soon be convened, where the agencies would be summoned and issued directions on how to operate in the country, she said.
“Donor coordination rests on the shoulders of this arm of the ministry. We want to call, as early as possible, a meeting of all donors so that we will discuss with them and give them a clear direction on what and where we want their intervention.”

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Atiku Says Buhari Plans To Frame Obasanjo

Ex-Vice President and presidential candidate of the main opposition party, Atiku Abubakar on Monday claimed that President Muhammadu Buhari’s government was desperately plotting to frame former President Olusegun Obasanjo in a bid to silence him.

In a statement by his media office, Atiku alleged that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was feeding members of the media with deliberate falsehoods in an attempt to cause disaffection between him and Obasanjo on one hand, and between Obasanjo and Nigerians in general.
“The truth is that there is desperation on the part of the current administration to rope in former President Olusegun Obasanjo into a crime as a way of silencing his voice, which they see as the preeminent critical voice against the misrule that they have foisted on Nigerians.”
“Atiku stated that for the avoidance of doubt, his son-in-law, Mallam Babalele Abdullahi, did not donate any money in cash to the Olusegun Obasanjo Library.
“He said it is true that Abdullahi facilitated the donation of N50m to the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library.
“He added that many other individuals, including civic-minded traditional rulers, state governors, bankers and captains of industry also donated to the library.
Atiku alleged that in attempt to robe Obasanjo into a crime, Buhari’s government officials allegedly asked the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to “falsely and libellously” include Obasanjo Farm in a published list of tax evaders, along with the names of other Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) sympathisers, such as prominent international singer, Mr David Adeleke, popularly called Davido, who played a prominent role in the PDP’s governorship campaign in Osun State, for which he was allegedly being punished.

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Kaduna Govt To Start Paying New Minimum Wage By Sept

The Kaduna State government has approved payment of the new national minimum wage and consequential adjustments to civil servants with effect from September 1, 2019, a statement by the media aide to the governor has said.
Muyiwa Adekeye, media aide to Nasir el-Rufai, governor of the state said the decision to start paying the new wage was taken at an executive council meeting chaired by Hadiza Balarabe, deputy governor.
Balarabe was quoted as saying the development shows the commitment of el-Rufai to strengthen the public service and its capacity to deliver quality and responsive public service.
She said the council deliberated on the minimum wage memo and unanimously approved commencement of the implementation in September 2019.
“The Executive Council stated its that commitment to the public service includes a desire to improve the standard of living of workers in the state. Pursuant to that, the Kaduna State Government launched a pay review process early in 2018. A cabinet committee was charged with exploring how the Kaduna State Government can sustainably improve public sector salaries,” Adekeye said in a statement.
“Guided by the twin principles of ability to pay and sustainability, the government considered several scenarios, bearing in mind the trend of internally generated revenues and allocations from the federation account. Several salary scenarios were considered, and one option was identified as most prudent. A final decision was suspended as negotiations for a new national minimum wage appeared to gather momentum. It was reactivated after the Federal Government announced the new national minimum wage in April 2019.
“Paying the new national minimum wage and consequential adjustments will increase the wage bill of the Kaduna State Government by 33%. Gross monthly salary outlay will rise to N3.759bn from the current N2.827bn.
“This almost N1bn monthly increase in the wage bill means that salary and pension commitments will take the lion’s share of state government expenditure. Meeting these salary obligations while achieving development objectives for citizens will further raise the pressure to expand and deepen revenue sources and collections.
“According to the new wage structure, the lowest paid workers in the civil service enjoyed increments of as much as 67%. Middle-ranking officers from Grade 10 to 14 were awarded increments of 60%.”
The federal government had approved N30,000 minimum wage after a series of discussions with stakeholders, including the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC).

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CBN sets limits for banks on non-performing loans

Nigeria's central bank has set new limits for banks and other financial institutions on non-performing loans to reflect in their books, the regulator said.

The bank disclosed this in its exposure draft on prudential guidelines to microfinance banks, Deposit Money Banks, Mortgage refinance companies, finance companies, and Development Finance Companies.
For the Mortgage Refinance Corporation, it stated, “The maximum ratio of non-performing loans to total gross loans for MRCs shall not at any point in time exceed 10 percent or such other level as may be prescribed by the CBN from time to time.”
It stated that the MFBs must make provisions for credits such as the general provision of two percent of the outstanding balance of performing facilities or as may be advised by the CBN from time to time.
For DMBs, it stated, “The NPL limit banks are required to manage their credit risk effectively. To this end, all banks are to ensure that the level of NPLs in relation to gross loans does not exceed five percent.”
On financial soundness indicators and financial ratios, the CBN stated that banks were required as part of their risk management framework, to institute a process for computing financial ratios and financial soundness indicators for checking the financial health of each institution.
It stated, “Benchmarks shall be set and actual results computed and compared to the benchmarks at least on a quarterly basis.
“The report shall be presented to the board of directors or appropriate board committees for deliberation and remedial actions as considered necessary.”

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VAT Charges On Online Transactions Kick-Off Jan. 2020

Nigeria will begin to impose Value Added Tax (VAT) on online transactions, both domestic and international, with effective from January 2020, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
Babatunde Fowler, Executive Chairman of FIRS said that a lot of countries in the world had identified Nigeria as a good market and many of them were into online businesses, adding that there was the need to tap the potentials to generate more revenue for the country.

“We have thrown it out to Nigerians. Effective from January 2020, we will ask banks to charge VAT on online transactions, both domestic and international.
“VAT remains the cash cow in most African countries, with an average VAT-to-total tax revenue rate of 31 percent. This is higher than the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s average of 20 percent.
“This statistics, therefore, is a validation of the need for us to streamline the administration of this tax with the full knowledge of its potential contributions to national budgets.
“It is, however, also bearing in mind the rights of our taxpayers,” he said.
He, however, said that that the date of commencement of the VAT on online transactions would be subject to government’s approval.
He said in Nigeria, for example, VAT is critical to the development of projects at all levels of government.
“VAT revenue is shared 15 percent to the Federal Government, 50 percent to state governments and 35 percent to local governments.
“FIRS wrote to all commercial banks in May 2018, requesting for a list of companies, partnerships and enterprises with a banking turnover of N1 billion and above.
“This activity is aimed at ascertaining those companies that are compliant with the tax laws and those that are not,” he said.
Fowler, who is also the chairman of ATAF, said that the African tax outlook gave some starting points on the questions to ask regarding some aspects of VAT.
“Why does VAT contribute 51 percent to total tax revenue in Senegal but only 17 percent in Nigeria? Why is the ratio on VAT refunds at 49 percent in Zambia but only one percent in The Gambia?” he queried.

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9Mobile Gets $230 Mln Loans From AFC To Fund Debt, Operations

Nigeria's fourth biggest telecommunications firm 9mobile has obtained a $230 million credit facility from the Africa Finance Corporation )AFC) to refinance debt and improve its operations.
According to the telecoms firm, the facility will be used to honour existing debts, finance its costs and invest in growth.
9mobile, formerly called Etisalat Nigeria, is the country’s fourth-biggest telecoms operator and was operated by Abu Dhabi-based telecoms firm Etisalat until the local company defaulted on its debt, forcing lenders to step in to find new investors.
Competition in Nigeria’s mobile telecoms market is intense, with the biggest operator, MTN, expanding its service through partnerships with banks.

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Court Orders Govt To Renew Shell’s OML 11 For 20 Years

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday ordered the Minister of Petroleum Resources to grant the renewal of the Oil Mineral Lease 11 to Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria for 20 years.
Justice Taiwo Taiwo, in his judgment delivered on Shell’s suit, ruled that renewal would be for 20 years and not 30, as requested by the company.
‎The suit by Shell was instituted against the Minister of Petroleum Resources and the Minister of State.
President Muhammadu Buhari doubles as the Minister of Petroleum Resources.

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Senator Melaye Eyes Appeal Court To Uphold Mandate

Senator Dino Melaye said on Friday that he will appeal the judgment of the Kogi State Election Petition Tribunal which nullified his election as senator representing Kogi West in the Nigerian Senate.
“On Tribunal judgment: No cause 4 alarm at all. Even if it went my way they will still go to the Appeal Court. Our mandate cannot be taken.
“We will get judgment at the Appeal Court. There will be fresh election in Kogi West bc I will be Governor. For my Senate mandate no shaking,” Melaye said in a tweet.
It would be recalled that Melaye was declared the winner of the Kogi West Senatorial election conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in February but the tribunal nullified it on Aug. 23 (Friday) and ordered for fresh election.
A three-man panel led by Justice A. O. Chijioke in a unanimous judgment ruled in favour of Adeyemi’s petitions and ordered for reelection into the Kogi West senatorial district.
However, Melaye in a tweet shortly after the annulment by the tribunal vowed to appeal the judgment noting that his challenger would have also challenged the ruling if he was in his shoes.

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Nigerian Stocks Rally To 3-Week High As Investors Eye Reforms

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) major index gained the most on Friday to a three-week high after President Muhammed Buhari’s inauguration of cabinet ministers, boosting hopes for reforms that could lift growth for Africa’s biggest economy, traders said.

The stock market rose for the third session on Friday to 27,830 point, up 0.73 percent.
Analysts said the rise was a relief rally and that half-year corporate results, particularly from banks, were also supportive.
Local banks have been trading at low book values, weighed down by weak sentiment over the economy.
Stocks had been on a losing streak since end of May, when Buhari was sworn in, due to his failure to appoint a cabinet months after winning a second term in February’s election. That prompted foreign investors to trim their holdings.
The index of Nigeria’s top 10 lenders gained 2.18% while oil and consumer stocks rose marginally. Dangote Cement, the biggest firm by market cap, climbed 1.2%, to help lift the index.
Nigeria’s economy has grappled with low growth since recovery from recession three years ago. Buhari, who began a second four-year term in May, has pledged to revive the economy. But investors have been waiting for policy signals that could lift economic growth.
However, minister of finance, budget and national planning, Zainab Hamed told the National Executive Council (NEC) in Abuja on Thursday that the economy has seen eight successive quarters of growth since Nigeria emerged from the recession.
"Macro-economic stability has been achieved with growth in end Q3, 2019 at 3.01 percent; continued increase in Real GDP from 1.89 percent in Q2, 2018 to 2.01 percent in 2019; there has been significant growth in non-oil sector.," Ahmed said at the NEC meeting.

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Nigeria's GTBank Seeks Expansion Into East Africa Market

Guaranty Trust Bank Plc Is mulling expansion into the Eastern African market through acquisition of existing lender, its chief executive officer said.

According to Segun Agbaje, CEO of GTBank, the country's biggest lender by market value seeks to expand on the rest of the continent.
The company, which already has offices in 10 countries outside Nigeria, is looking to East Africa for growth, Agbaje said.
Guaranty Trust Bank, or GTB, already has operations in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda, and will also consider ways of expanding existing businesses, he said.
“We’ll start to look at other things, probably outside of what you are seeing us doing now, some of it might be to look at making acquisitions outside of Nigeria,” the CEO said.
“In East Africa, we have to do one of two things: We either have to bring in capital or we have to think of acquisitions.”
Pre-tax contributions from units outside Nigeria rose to 16% in the six months through June from 12% a year earlier, and are expected to grow even further, Agbaje said.
GTB and other banks in the West African nation, including United Bank for Africa Plc, are looking to expand abroad following a recession in 2016 that triggered a surge in non-performing loans, from which the industry is still struggling to recover.

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Ipaye, Ojudu, Odion, Ngelale, Others To Work For VP Osinbajo

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the re-appointment of Mr. Ade Ipaye as Deputy Chief of Staff to the President. Mr Ipaye who was former Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Lagos State works from the Office of the Vice President.
The President has also approved the re-appointment of Dr Adeyemi Dipeolu, Special Adviser to President on Economic Matters; Mrs Maryam Uwais who retains her position as Special Adviser to the President on Social Investment Programme as well as Senator Babafemi Ojudu, Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters.
Also, re-appointed is Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, who will now serve as the Special Adviser to the President on Ease Of Doing Business.
Equally, President Buhari has also appointed Mr. Ahmad Rufai Zakari as Special Adviser on Infrastructure, Mr. Obafela Bank-Olemoh, as Senior Special Assistant on Education Interventions, Mr. Louis Odion as Senior Technical Assistant on Print Media, and Mr. Ajuri Ngelale as Senior Special Assistant for Public Affairs in the Presidency.
All appointees are to serve in the Office of the Vice President.
Except for Zakari, Bank-Olemoh, Odion and Ngelale, all the other appointments take retrospective effect from May 29, 2019.

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Nigerians To Pay More For Electricity Consumption

Electricity consumers are expected to pay more for power supply in Africa's largest economy as the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has approved a new tariff payable by power consumers across the country.
From next year, electricity consumers in the country will have to pay an additional sum of between N8 and N14 for every kilowatt-hour of energy provided by their respective distribution companies, according to document from the regulator of the power sector.
The document also revealed the actual cost-reflective tariff for each of the 11 power distribution companies operating in Nigeria.
The regulator disclosed the cost-reflective tariff of each of the Discos in separate documents for each particular distributor in a regulatory instrument cited as ‘The 2016-2018 Minor Review of Multi-Year Tariff Order 2015 and Minimum Remittance Order for the Year 2019’.
The tariff increase for each Disco differs, going by figures in the documents from the commission.
For instance, Abuja Distribution company's minor review assumptions 2015 – 2021, the commission stated that the Disco’s end-user cost-reflective tariff from 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 per KWh were N42.81, N46.44, N52.86, N46.02 and N44.29 respectively.
NERC, however, stated that the end-user allowed tariff from 2017 to 2019 per kWh was N32.66 in each of the years, while those of 2020 and 2021 were put at N42.46 and N44.21.
The difference between what AEDC’s customers pay currently and what they will pay from next year, going by NERC’s figures, is an increase of N9.8/kWh.
For Benin Disco, it said the end-user cost-reflective tariff from 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 per kWh were N51.37, N54.36, N59.07, N47.61 and N43.79, respectively.
It also stated that the end-user allowed tariff from 2017 to 2019 per kWh was N32.50 in each of the years, while those of 2020 and 2021 were put at N42.25 and N43.79.
Here, the difference between what BEDC’s customers pay currently and what they will pay from next year is an increase of N9.75/kWh.
For Eko Disco, the commission said the end-user cost-reflective tariff from 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 per kWh were N39.7, N41.8, N46.1, N39.8 and N39.2, respectively.
For the end-user allowed tariff from 2017 to 2019 per kWh, it said this was N28.3 in each of the year, while those of 2020 and 2021 were put at N36.8 and N39.2.
The difference between what Eko Disco customers pay currently and what they will pay from next year is an increase of N8.5/kWh.
For Enugu Disco, customers under the power firm’s franchise areas will get a tariff increase of N10.6/kWh from next year.
This is because based on figures from the commission, the allowed end-user tariffs for Enugu Disco for 2019, 2020 and 2021 per kWh are N35.3, N45.9 and N41.6, respectively.
For residents who are served by Ibadan Disco, the end-user allowed tariffs for 2019, 2020 and 2021 per kWh are N30.6, N39.7 and N44.2, respectively.
This implies that by next year, power consumers who get supply from Ibadan Disco will witness an increase of N9.1/kWh in their tariff.
In Ikeja Disco’s franchise areas, customers will have to pay additional N8.2/kWh from next year.
This is because the end-user allowed tariffs in the order from NERC put the tariffs for 2019, 2020 and 2021 per kWh at N27.3, N35.5 and N37.1 respectively.
In Jos Disco, the tariff increase for 2020 is N10.1/kWh, as consumers under this Disco will have to pay N43.9/kWh, as against N33.8/kWh which they currently pay.
In Kaduna, power users will witness an increase of N9/kWh. The end-user allowed tariffs for 2019, 2020 and 2019 per kWh for Kaduna Disco, as captured by NERC, are N30.3, N39.3 and N41.7, respectively.
Also, in Kano Disco, NERC increased the end-user allowed tariffs from N30.1/kWh in 2019 to N44.7/kWh in 2020 and N41.8/kWh in 2021.
This implies that residents who are served by this Disco will witness an increase of N14.6/kWh in the tariff they pay for electricity.

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How Battle For 2023, Cabal Influence Ministerial Allotment

President Mohammadu Buhari on Wednesday swore in his 43-member new cabinet into office as he as assigned portfolio to them with sources claimed that positioning for the presidential election in 2023 influenced the choice of who gets what in the new federal executive.
At the swearing-in of the new cabinet, President Buhari directed the newly sworn-in ministers to channel all their meeting requests to him through his Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari.
Sources said the Aso-Rock cabal, headed by the chief of staff, Kyari practically dictated the assignment of portfolio to the new ministers as the scheming who will emerge the candidate of the ruling All Progressive Party (APC) come 2023 played a significant role in the placement of the ministers in the president's cabinet.
“As I said yesterday (Tuesday), in terms of coordinating communication, kindly ensure that all submissions for my attention or meeting requests be channeled through the Chief of Staff while all Federal Executive Council matters be coordinated through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation in order to speed up the process of decision-making,” the President told the ministers at their inaugurations.
Sources said the president statement confirmed the power play in the presidency to influence who get the ticket for the ruling party in the 2023 general election.
On Wednesday, former Bayesal State Governor Timipre Silva emerged as the junior minister of petroleum while the president retains the substantive position in the oil ministry.
“We have seen an exodus of the more capable and technocratic ministers and in their place, there are politically connected replacements,” said Malte Liewerscheidt, vice president at Teneo Intelligence.
Babatunde Fashola, a former governor of Lagos State was named the minister of Housing and Work, excluding his former portfolio of Power Ministry which is now headed by Sale Mamman, a businessman and former ministry of works official.
Apart from what appears to be a reward for those who helped the president to win the last presidential election, others in the cabinet were positioned to help solidify the party’s base in some parts of the country ahead of elections in 2023.
The distributions of the portfolio was designed also to influence where the candidate for the ruling party will emerge in the 2023 election.
Sources said the cabal in the presidency are scheming for a candidate from the Northern part of the country, to upset the arrangement on the ground which favoured rotations of the presidency between the south and the northern part of the country.
The sources pointed to the fact that the distributions of the senior members of the cabinet were in favour of the north, apparently to kick-start the campaign for the 2023 election.

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