CBN Insists Investments in Cryptocurrency Illegal

By Adedapo Adesanya A foreign oil company, Equinor ASA, has chosen a little-known Nigerian company, Chappal Energy, as the preferred buyer of its stake in one of the country’s largest deep-water oil fields, Agbami. According to a report by Bloomberg on Monday, the Norwegian energy giant is trying to sell its 20.2 per cent interest in the Agbami field – joining other international producers such as Shell Plc, Exxon Mobil Corporation and Eni SpA in looking to offload assets in Africa’s biggest crude producer, Nigeria. In January, Equinor launched the sale of its stake in an offshore Nigerian oilfield, joining

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The value of unsold finished products in the inventory of Nigerian manufacturers in the first half of 2023 increased by 44/9 per cent on a year-to-date basis to N272 billion from N187 billion in the same period of 2022. This information was contained in the report released by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) on Tuesday. According to Punch, the document also revealed that in the period under review, the manufacturing sector laid off 3,567 workers due to the harsh business environment triggered by high inflation, the foreign exchange (FX) crisis, and fuel subsidy removal. “This increase

By Aduragbemi Omiyale A new Code of Conduct for Approved Persons of Trading License Holders, otherwise known as stockbrokers, has been introduced by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Regulation Limited (NGX RegCo). It was disclosed that the ethical guideline was designed to ensure professionals dealing with the trading of shares at NGX Limited follow high standards. Furthermore, it highlights the expected standards and values that Approved Persons must display at all times when conducting their businesses at all times. The idea of the code of conduct for stockbrokers, according to the regulator, is to deepen the market and foster professionalism, integrity,

By Dipo Olowookere The domestic currency had a breather in the peer-to-peer (P2P) and the parallel market segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Wednesday, with its value strengthening against the Dollar at the two windows. This was supported by the ease in the forex demand pressure during the trading session, which had the official market, the Investors and Exporters (I&E) arm of the market, non-operational yesterday due to the public holiday observed in the country for Eid el Maulud. Many customers who may have needed FX for their transactions stayed back to enjoy the work-free day, easing off

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A Senegalese citizen, Mr Abdoul-Aziz Dia, has been appointed to the board of directors of Lagos-based United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc. The new appointee is joining the board as a non-executive director with effect from May 8, 2019, subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). He is armed with over 25 years of banking experience garnered from several countries across the globe, including the United Kingdom, France, Nigeria, Ghana, Togo, Senegal, Kenya and Cote D’Ivoire. He has also worked in senior management positions at international financial institutions such as the African Development

By Adedapo Adesanya Air Peace Airline has announced the launch of commercial flights to Makurdi, the Benue capital. Speaking during a brief ceremony to mark the commencement of the flights today, the chairman of the airline, Mr Allen Onyeama, noted that the commencement of flights to the capital of the Food Basket of the Nation was part of the company’s original plan to connect cities within the country. He said the company was thrilled to be the first airliner to operate commercial flights to Makurdi as the first flight to the state by the airline company took off from Abuja

By Modupe Gbadeyanka **Promotes 5,000, Recruits 4,000 The management of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has approved salary upgrades for its employees with immediate effect this January. A statement issued by the financial institution stated that beneficiaries of this exercise, over 5,000, will receive up to 170 percent increase in their salaries and benefits, whilst a good number have been moved to higher grade levels. The Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of UBA, Mr Kennedy Uzoka, who announced the bank’s new staff improvement initiatives to the excited employees, noted that the bank was continually seeking new ways to improve

By Dipo Olowookere The value of the Dollar to the Naira crashed at the black market on Wednesday to N800/$1, Business Post reports. This was caused by panic selling from some customers who had earlier hoarded the foreign currency in anticipation that the local currency would continue to weaken in the foreign exchange (FX) market. It was observed that most forex hawkers in Lagos were reluctant to buy the Dollars from their customers because they are not certain if the value would further move downward. In the previous trading session, the Naira was exchanged to a Dollar at the parallel

By Adedapo Adesanya Meta, the parent company for WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram, has launched a digital non-profit training programme for 1,500 non-governmental organisation (NGO) personnel across Anglophone West Africa. Meta, in a statement, said the digital capacity-building programme is aimed at supporting the non-profit and social impact sector across West Africa. Speaking on this, Mrs Adaora Ikenze, Head of Public Policy for Anglophone West Africa at Meta, said: “We know the value of digital skills and Meta is committed to helping non-profits and social enterprises across Nigeria acquire these skills.” She said the company would provide them with information to

By Modupe Gbadeyanka With just two weeks left to the first meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting this year, it is not certain if the meeting will hold. This is because the committee lacks the quorum to seat and the Senate, which is to screen and confirm nominees to fill the vacant positions, has refused to carry out this duty because of a face-0ff with the executive arm of government. The MPC meeting is organised by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and it uses it to formulate monetary policies and set interest rates. The committee comprises the

By Ahmed Rahma Over the weekend, the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) bagged two reputable awards for its contributions to the fight against insecurity in the country. For its harmonised emergency number, 112, and the construction of Emergency Communications Centers (ECCs) in 36 states of the federation and the FCT, with 19 states already operational and additional five getting ready for activation, the commission won the International Public Relations Association (IPRA) Golden World Awards (GWA) 2020. The agency also received the African Public Relations Association’s (APRA) certificate of excellence for its efforts in leveraging the emergency communication centres for national security.

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A new report from Google has revealed that the demand for African developers reached a record high in 2021 against the backdrop of a global economic crisis and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the report titled Africa Developer Ecosystem Report 2021, it was found out that despite the challenges associated with the pandemic, the continent’s developer ecosystem is on the rise. Google conducted the study across 16 Sub-Saharan African countries through fielded and analysed surveys of software developers as well as interviews with local experts. With increased (+22%) use of the internet among small and