Alleged N3.7bn Fraud: Court Fixes July 21 for UK Dion’s Trial

By Adedapo Adesanya The distributors of petrol and other fuels in Nigeria said they can no longer sustain the distribution of the products nationwide as the price of diesel used to power their trucks is now N1,100/litre in many locations. The marketers, under the aegis of the National Oil and Gas Suppliers Association of Nigeria (NOGASA), raised the concern in a statement on Tuesday. The president of the group, Mr Benneth Korie, said that diesel has witnessed incessant hikes in recent months, lamenting that the development has been worsened by marketers’ inability to secure cheap bank loans that will enable

By Adedapo Adesanya Oil prices fell by 1 per cent on Wednesday after the US Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged, as widely expected. Brent futures fell 81 cents or 0.9 per cent to settle at $93.53 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) fell by 92 cents or 1.0 per cent to trade at $90.28 per barrel. Wednesday’s decision means the benchmark short-term interest rate will remain at 5.25 per cent to 5.5 per cent, a 22-year high. This is only the second time since March 2022 that the US central bank meetings have concluded without

By Adedapo Adesanya Pressure further mounted on the Nigerian Naira at the different segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Tuesday as it depreciated against the US Dollar at the close of business. The scarcity of forex was responsible for the poor performance of the Naira in the Investors and Exporters (I&E), black market and peer-to-peer (P2P) segments of the market during the session. Business Post reports that the domestic currency lost N2.62 or 0.34 per cent on the greenback in the spot market yesterday to close at N776.60/$1 compared with the preceding session’s N773.98/$1, amid a 10.6 per

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Global music and video streaming platform, TIDAL, in partnership with the leading communications operator in Uganda offering mobile & fixed telecommunications, MTN Uganda, have announced an exciting, first-of-its kind collaboration. The partnership provides MTN Uganda customers a variety of options for a data-inclusive TIDAL membership as part of their mobile plan to gain access to exclusive high-quality streaming music, videos, concerts and more. “Africa is a continent that has long been an inspiration for music heard around the world and TIDAL is excited to highlight the vibrant musicians on our platform. TIDAL is also thrilled to bring

By Adedapo Adesanya The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has promised to punish employers remitting the pension contributions of their employees with incomplete documentation, giving them a deadline of December 31, 2023, to fix the issues. In a press release seen by Business Post, the pensions regulator said it observed that some employers were remitting without following the set procedures, adding that Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) have been unable to credit the RSAs of the affected employees. “Please note that the commission shall take appropriate regulatory actions against employers who fail to comply with this directive by December 31, 2023, in

By Adedapo Adesanya  The Naira recorded various outcomes against the US Dollar across the different segments of the foreign exchange (forex) market on Tuesday, February 4, 2020. The local currency further depreciated yesterday at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment by 26 Kobo equivalent to 0.07 percent against the American currency to sell at N364.43/$1 in contrast to N364.17/$1 it traded at the window on Monday. This followed the higher demand for forex at the market as reflected in the market turnover for the day, which rose 360 percent rise or $461.03 million to $589.06 million from the previous session’s

By Dipo Olowookere The shares allotted to shareholders and investors who bought the rights issue of Abbey Mortgage Bank Plc have been listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited. The stocks, a total of 3,692,307,692 units, were listed on the exchange on Wednesday, February 16, 2022, and have now increased the total issued and fully paid up shares of the firm to 10,153,846,154 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each from 6,461,538,462 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each. Recall that recently, Abbey Mortgage Bank sold the rights issue to shareholders at 2 kobo per share on the basis of four new

By Modupe Gbadeyanka After staying away from the classrooms for nine months, the Academic Staff Union of University (ASUU) has finally called off its strike. In March 2020, the university lecturers embarked on an industrial action to demand the implementation of agreements they had with the federal government. On Wednesday, the group said it has suspended conditionally after a meeting with representatives of the federal government. Speaking this morning in Abuja, the national president of ASUU, Mr Biodun Ogunyemi, said the association agreed to call off the action after it held talks with its National Executive Council (NEC). With this

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Last month, the Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, signed the 2021 budget into law. He said his administration intends to spend a total of N1.164 trillion in the current fiscal year. From the N1.164 trillion projected to be spent in 2021, Mr Sanwo-Olu had said N971.02 billion would be sourced from three components; N723.81 billion from Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), N71.81 billion from capital receipts, and N175.40 billion from federal transfer. Business Post gathered that the N193 billion deficit from the budget would be sourced from borrowings, with N100 billion to be sourced from the capital

By Adedapo Adesanya The first trading day of the week at the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange ended with a 0.08 per cent loss on Monday. The welcoming of the bears to the unlisted securities market was driven by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Group Plc and Central Securities Clearing Systems (CSCS) Plc. These two cousins weakened the gains recorded by Food Concepts Plc yesterday as the shares of the operators of the popular Chicken Republic appreciated by 2 kobo or 2.4 per cent to 82 kobo per unit as against the previous 80 kobo per unit. Business Post reports that

By Adedapo Adesanya Nigeria’s tax administration body, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), says it is targeting a total of N8.505 trillion in revenue for the year 2020. This revelation came from Mr Mohammed Nami, the new Executive Chairman of the body, during the opening ceremony of the FIRS Corporate Plan Retreat in Abuja on Friday. According to Mr Nami, the set revenue target of N8.505 trillion was lower than the 2019 returns target of N8.802 trillion by almost N300 billion. Breaking down the expected revenue, he stated that N3.698 trillion would be realised from oil tax, while N4.8 trillion