UBA to Launch $500m Eurobond, Targets Irish Listing

By Adedapo Adesanya The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed banks across the country to continue issuing and accepting old as well as the redesigned Naira banknotes following the order of the Supreme Court. Business Post reported on Wednesday morning that the apex court granted the prayer of the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation to extend the use of old Naira banknotes ad infinitum, scrapping a previous deadline of December 31. In a statement after the judgement, the central bank “directed all its branches to continue to issue and accept all denominations of Nigerian banknotes, old

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Head of Partnerships at Stanbic IBTC Bank Limited, Ms Omolara Osunsoko, has posited that any economy that intends to flourish must do everything possible to support business owners, especially those in the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) sector. The banker said this at a webinar organised to inform participants of a seamless payment experience for business owners through the enhanced Enterprise Online (EOL) payment platform. At the event themed Simplifying Payments for Businesses, the company unveiled EOL 2.0, an upgraded solution created to facilitate a smooth payment experience and improve human resources (HR) services for business

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The popular Ajose Adeogun Street and Roundabout on Victoria Island, Lagos, is wearing a new look, thanks to Zenith Bank Plc, which designed the areas with beautiful Christmas decorations. The yearly ritual of the financial institution is a part of its Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives aimed at setting the tone for the Christmas and Yuletide seasons. Performing the Light-Up ceremony, the 17th of its kind recently, the chief executive of Zenith Bank, Mr Ebenezer Onyeagwu, expressed his delight in heralding the 2023 Yuletide season by lighting up the iconic Ajose Adeogun Street and Roundabout. He urged everyone

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A business grant of N10 million has been given to 30 members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), who partook in the entrepreneurship development initiative of Unity Bank Plc known as the Corpreneurship Challenge. The young entrepreneurs received funding support for developing innovative solutions in several business value chains like honey production, rice, and snail farming, among others. The beneficiaries pitched their business ideas to judges selected for the competition across 10 state NYSC Orientation Camps; Katsina, Kano, Kwara, Imo, Rivers, Delta, Sokoto, Edo, Akwa-Ibom, and Osun States. At the NYSC Orientation camp at Ikot Itie

By Adedapo Adesanya A total of three deals were executed by investors at the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Friday, September 4, 2020. Business Post reports that these were the same number of deals carried at the unlisted securities market on Thursday. It was observed that these deals were done on securities belonging to Niger Delta Exploration and Production (NDEP) Plc, which accounted for two, and FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc with one deal. The three deals amounted to N1.2 million, 126.4 per cent higher than the previous day’s N518,447 worth of securities exchanged by market participants. However, the total

By Adedapo Adesanya The federal government has commenced the implementation of the 14-day paternity leave policy for serving civil servants on its payroll. The leave with pay is mainly for employees whose spouses deliver a baby. Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Folasade Yemi-Esan, in a circular, said the leave would take effect from November 25, 2022, adding that it is in line with the provisions of the Public Service Rules, 2021 Edition. “Government has also approved paternity leave for serving male officers whose spouse delivers a baby. The period of the leave shall be 14 working days.

By Adedapo Adesanya The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has accused electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOs) operating in the country of frustrating the consumers, resulting in their non-payment of energy bill as expected. Managing Director of the TCN, Mr Usman Gur Mohammed, who made this allegation while explaining why his firm sanctioned some Discos recently, stated that the actions of some DISCOs do not align with the laid down regulations of the Market Conditions/Market Participation Agreements. Mr Mohammed accused the electricity distribution firms of refusing “to put prepaid meters in some places, [but] supply them energy for few hours and charge

By Modupe Gbadeyanka As a result of increasing rate of crime, especially kidnappings, terrorist activity and high crime in the Republic of Niger, the United States government has warned its citizens to be careful of their visit to the country. In a statement issued on Tuesday, the US Department of State said it recommends US citizens avoid travel to Niger’s border regions, particularly the Malian border area, the Libyan border area, the Diffa region, and Lake Chad Basin area because of activity by various extremist groups including al-Qa’eda in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the self-proclaimed Islamic State

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira appreciated against the US Dollar at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window of the foreign exchange (FX) market by 0.01 per cent or 3 kobo on Wednesday, October 27. The local currency sold for N415.07/$1 yesterday, according to data obtained from FMDQ Securities Exchange and at the previous trading day, the exchange rate was N415.10/$1. It was observed that the decline in the demand for forex at the segment supported the appreciation the domestic currency recorded at the midweek trading session. The turnover for the day stood at $147.44 million in contrast to the $200.74

By Dipo Olowookere The board of Access Holdings has surprised the company’s shareholders by increasing the final dividend payout for the 2022 financial year by almost 86 per cent, precisely 85.7 per cent. Access Holdings is not too known to pay higher dividends to investors, unlike its peers, Zenith Bank and GTCO. But in the audited results of the financial institution released on Thursday, the board proposed the payment of N1.30 as the final dividend compared with the 70 Kobo paid in the 2021 accounting year, bringing the total cash reward for the year under review to N1.50. “The board

By Dipo Olowookere The Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) and its joint venture partners have organized a workshop for its contractors on regulatory and procurement best practices. The workshop was organised in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State recently and sought to enlighten contractors on the regulations, policies and laws that are applicable in the oil and gas industry and encourage compliance. Delivering the keynote address, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Mr Simbi Wabote, represented by the Director, Planning, Research and Statistics, Mr Daziba Patrick Obah commended NAOC/ENI for hosting the workshop in the state annually.

By Adedapo Adesanya The federal government said it has disbursed N56.84 billion (about 76 per cent) of the N75 billion Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Survival Fund to 835,161 beneficiaries. This was disclosed by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mrs Evelyn Ngige, on Monday, during the technical session of the 13th meeting of the National Council on Industry, Trade and Investment, noting that the fund would help strengthen Nigeria’s MSMEs sector. Giving a breakdown, she noted that a huge chunk of the fund went to 459,334 beneficiaries under the Payroll Support Scheme, totalling N43.92