Economy
Komolafe for Workshop on Reporting Money Market November 15
By Dipo Olowookere
A veteran financial journalist, Mr Babajide Komolafe, has been billed to tutor his colleagues at the Reporting the Money Market Workshop slated for Friday, November 15, 2024.
According to information gathered by Business Post, the virtual event is organised by a press release distribution company, SquirrelPR, and will begin at 9 am on Microsoft Teams.
It was learned that registration is open to interested journalists and closes on Wednesday, November 13, 2024.
SquirrelPR explained that it came up with this full day webinar to equip media practitioners with the necessary skills to excel in financial journalism.
The key focus include Basics of Money Markets & Key Instruments, Interpreting Macroeconomic Indicators, Navigating Central Bank Policies & Regulations, Understanding Risk, Liquidity & Market Analysis, Mastering Financial Statement Analysis, Essential Investigative Techniques, and Reporting Ethics & Objectivity.
The resource person is an award-winning financial journalist with over 20 years of experience and is currently the Economy Editor at Vanguard Newspaper.
He has closely observed and reported on the growth of Nigeria’s financial system since the nation’s fourth democratic republic began in 1999.
His journalism career began at Business Times in December 1999 as a Money Market Correspondent. He moved to Vanguard Newspaper in September 2001, where he continued his role as Money Market Correspondent before being appointed Assistant Business Editor in 2003. In 2016, he became Deputy Business Editor, and in December 2022, he was promoted to Economy Editor.
Mr Komolafe has attended several high-level training courses, including Reuters Advanced Business and Financial Reporting (London), Advanced Financial Journalism (London), Digital Multimedia Journalism, University of New York Graduate School of Journalism (USA), Reporting Wealth Creation in Africa (South Africa), and Reporting Commodities in Africa (South Africa)
He is an active member of the African Economic Editors Network (AEEN) and the Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria (FICAN), where he has served as both National Financial Secretary and National Chairman.
Mr Komolafe, who serves as the Pastor-in-Charge of the RCCG Seed of Abraham Assembly in Ogun State, obtained a BSc in Education and Economics from the University of Ilorin, an MSc in Economics from the University of Lagos, a Professional Diploma in Public Relations from the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) and a Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing from NIPR.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Nigeria slightly surpassed its quota set by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in July 2026.
In the month under review, the country produced about 1.57 million barrels of crude oil per day.
It was the third consecutive month Africa’s largest oil-producing nation was meeting its monthly quota, set to stabilise the price of the commodity on the global market by the oil cartel.
Data released by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) on Wednesday showed that the 1.5 million barrels per day ceiling for Nigeria was surpassed last month.
The agency disclosed in a statement today that the country produced 1.505mbpd of crude oil and 0.17mbpd of condensate, bringing the combined daily production to 1.67mbpd.
In the month under review, the daily peak production of crude oil and condensate was 1.78mbpd, while the lowest daily production was 1.57mbpd.
Although Nigeria met its OPEC quota in the month of July, the statistics show that on a month-on-month basis, production fell by 4 per cent.
This was attributed to the decline in production due to operational challenges experienced at the Erha and Akpo fields, which impacted crude oil output during the period under review.
These disruptions constrained production volumes and contributed significantly to the overall reduction in national crude oil output.
Despite the challenges, production operations across most other producing assets remained relatively stable, with operators implementing measures aimed at maintaining production efficiency and minimising the impact of operational constraints, NUPRC stated.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The over 9 billion shares of Lasaco Assurance Plc issued to shareholders of the company via a rights issue have been listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
The equities were brought to Customs Street on Wednesday by the organisation, increasing its total issued and fully paid-up share capital.
Lasaco Assurance, which scaled the recapitalisation hurdle of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) in July 2026, raised fresh capital from the capital market to shore up its capital base.
The underwriting firm got about N18.5 billion from the rights issue, which involved the issuance of 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares at a unit price of N2.00.
The exercise was on the basis of five new ordinary shares for every existing six ordinary shares held as of the close of business on Friday, February 20, 2026.
Confirming the listing of the additional stocks of Lasaco Assurance today, the Head of Issuer Regulation Department of NGX RegCo, Mr Godstime Iwenekhai, announced in a circular that, “Trading licence holders are hereby notified that an additional 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each of Lasaco Assurance Plc were today, Wednesday, August 12, 2026, listed on the daily official list of Nigerian Exchange Limited.
“The additional shares arose from the company’s rights issue of 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N2.00 per share on the basis of five new ordinary shares for every existing six ordinary shares held as of the close of business on Friday, February 20, 2026.
“With the listing of the additional 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares, the total issued and fully paid-up share capital of Lasaco Assurance Plc has now increased from 11,083,585,855 to 20,319,907,401 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) has said the successful recapitalisation of the insurance industry will strengthen the sector’s ability to support financial stability and economic growth.
NIA Chairman, Mrs Ebelechukwu Nwachukwu, said a well-capitalised insurance industry would be better positioned to meet its obligations promptly, underwrite complex and large-scale risks and serve as a dependable pillar of the Nigerian economy.
She made the remarks while commending the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) for its structured implementation of the new minimum capital requirements under the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025.
Mrs Nwachukwu said NAICOM’s clear guidelines, systematic verification process, defined timelines and rigorous supervision had provided operators with a credible framework for navigating the recapitalisation exercise.
She described the outcome as a major milestone for the industry and congratulated the 43 insurance and reinsurance companies that have successfully met the prescribed minimum capital requirements.
According to her, the exercise represents “a major win not just for regulators and operators, but for policyholders, investors and the wider Nigerian economy.”
Mrs Nwachukwu said the association would continue to work with NAICOM and other stakeholders to consolidate the gains of the exercise, with emphasis on sustainable industry growth, stronger market conduct and improved consumer confidence.
The official also expressed solidarity with the eight companies still undergoing final verification and regulatory review, urging them to remain confident as NAICOM completes the process within the 14-day review period.
The NIA chairman assured policyholders and the wider business community that the insurance industry would emerge from the recapitalisation exercise stronger, more resilient and better positioned to contribute to Nigeria’s economic development.
