Economy
Ebonyi Terminates Loan Deal With Bank of Industry for MSMEs
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The loan deal signed between the Ebonyi State government and the Bank of Industry (BoI) has been cancelled by the former.
A statement issued by the state government disclosed that the deal was aborted over the way the BoI has handled the contract meant to uplift civil servants and Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sector in the South Eastern state.
Commissioner for Commerce and Industry in Ebonyi State, Ugo Nnachi, announced the withdrawal at the Executive Council Chambers in the Government House, Abakaliki during a joint briefing on the outcome of Tuesday, August 28, State Executive Council meeting by selected officials of Government, led by the Commissioner for Information and State Orientation, Senator Emmanuel Onwe.
According to the Commissioner, the state government decided to take over the disbursement due to the delays and inability of the BOI to carry out the disbursement since the funds were lunched several months ago. He added that the state government would henceforth takeover the handling as well as the management procedure to ensure speedy disbursement to benefiting MSMEs and civil servants in the state.
“I want to announce to you that due to the difficulty and delay in disbursing the fund, the state government during the executive council meeting today terminated that programme with the Bank of Industry and the state Ministry of Commerce and Industry will now house the fund and ensure that all the 516 cooperative societies that have applied for the fund get it within the shortest possible time,” Nnamdi explained.
“The termination is not that we are going to stop the loan but the fund will now be driven by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The other thing I will like you to know is that for the SMEs, the fund also is going to be driven by the ministry.
“We want to ensure that the beneficiaries get the money as and at when due. We discovered that the Bank of Industry has made it extremely difficult for the beneficiaries and even in the mail that we sent to them, we told them that the termination was as a result of the delay in the disbursement and the difficulty and stringent conditions in accessing the loan even when most of the beneficiaries have met the requirements.”
According to Nnachi, part of the reason for the decision was based on the inability to carry the SMEs along and the feeling that it was not fair on their part. He informed that for the civil servants, about 516 cooperative societies have been registered to benefit from thibeen fund and to fast track the disbursement, the State Government has processed about 240. He revealed that the bank wrote to them to commence disbursement. However, each of the beneficiaries must pay 1 per cent appraisal fee.
The Commerce and Industry Commissioner stated that for them to deal with the delay and difficulty that have been experienced by the beneficiaries in accessing the loan since the MoU was signed, the state government has decided to pay the 1 per cent appraisal fee.
“They assured us that immediately the payment, disbursement will start. But unfortunately, as I speak with you that disbursement has not commenced and the state government has no alternative than to terminate that relationship and partnership and seek other ways of ensuring that civil servants of the state benefit from the fund at appropriate time.”
Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Power, Emmanuel Uguru during the briefing informed journalists of the Executive Council’s review of the Contract sum for the installation of Solar Power Plants at some strategic locations across the State from the initial N160 million to N207 million, which contracts have also been approved to be awarded at the meeting.
Furthermore, the State Executive Council has approved N52 million to execute sporting activities in the state for the year 2018. The Sports and Youth Development Commissioner in the State, Charles Akpuenika made this known while briefing journalists on his Ministry.
Akpuenika noted that three sports competitions have been earmarked to take place in the state before the end of the year, including the David Umahi Tertiary Institutions Games 2018 for the 10 tertiary institutions in the state. He revealed that the sum of N500,000 has been disbursed to each of the participating institutions to enable them prepare and take part in the games.
The Sports Commissioner named other competitions to hold within the year to include: the School Sports Competitions which will hold in October and the Divine Mandate Football Competition for all the 171 wards in the State. He emphasized that the State Government was intensifying efforts to birth a new Football Club for the state to gainfully utilize the talents that would be discovered through these series of sporting activities lined up in the State.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The federal government has been asked by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to suspend the implementation of the controversial tax laws.
In a reaction to the tax reform acts, the president of the group, Mr Afam Osigwe (SAN), the suspension of the laws would allow for a proper investigation into allegations of alterations in the gazetted and harmonised copies.
A member of the House of Representatives, Mr Abdussamad Dasuki, alleged that some parts of the laws passed by the parliament were different from the gazetted copy.
To address the issues raised, the NBA said it is “imperative that a comprehensive, open, and transparent investigation be conducted to clarify the circumstances surrounding the enactment of the laws and to restore public confidence in the legislative process.”
“Until these issues are fully examined and resolved, all plans for the implementation of the Tax Reform Acts should be immediately suspended,” the association declared.
It noted that the controversies “raise grave concerns about the integrity, transparency, and credibility of Nigeria’s legislative process.”
“These developments strike at the very heart of constitutional governance and call into question the procedural sanctity that must attend lawmaking in a democratic society,” it noted.
“Legal and policy uncertainty of this magnitude has far-reaching consequences. It unsettles the business environment, erodes investor confidence, and creates unpredictability for individuals, businesses, and institutions required to comply with the law. Such uncertainty is inimical to economic stability and should have no place in a system governed by the rule of law.
“Nigeria’s constitutional democracy demands that laws, especially those with profound economic and social implications, emerge from processes that are transparent, accountable, and beyond reproach. Anything short of this undermines public trust and weakens the foundation upon which lawful governance rests.
“We therefore call on all relevant authorities to act swiftly and responsibly in addressing this controversy, in the overriding interest of constitutional order, economic stability, and the preservation of the rule of law,” the organisation stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Demand for hot stocks, including MRS Oil Plc, buoyed the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.52 per cent on Tuesday, December 23.
The energy company was one of the three price gainers for the session as it chalked up N19.69 to sell at N216.59 per share versus the previous day’s value of N196.90 per share.
Further, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained N2.95 to close at N56.75 per unit versus N53.80 per unit and Golden Capital Plc appreciated by 84 Kobo to N9.29 per share from Monday’s N8.45 per share.
Consequently, the market capitalisation went up by N10.95 billion to N2.125 trillion from N2.125 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rose by 18.31 points to 3,570.37 points from 3,552.06 points.
Yesterday, the NASD bourse recorded a price loser, the Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS), which gave up 17 Kobo to close at N33.70 per unit against the previous trading value of N33.87 per unit.
The volume of securities traded at the session went down by 97.6 per cent to 297,902 units from the previous day’s 12.6 million units, the value of securities decreased by 98.5 per cent to N10.5 million from N713.6 million, and the number of deals remained flat at 32 deals.
By value, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc ended as the most actively traded stock on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units exchanged for N16.4 billion. This was followed by Okitipupa Plc, which traded 178.9 million units valued at N9.5 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 36.1 million units worth N4.9 billion.
In terms of volume, also on a year-to-date basis, InfraCredit Plc led the chart with a turnover of 5.8 billion units traded for N16.4 billion. Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc ranked second with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.7 million, while Impresit Bakolori Plc followed with the sale of 536.9 million units valued at N524.9 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
It was another bullish trading session for the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited as it closed higher by 0.59 per cent on Tuesday.
The market further rallied due to continued interest in large and mid-cap stocks on the exchange by investors rebalancing their portfolios for the year-end.
Yesterday, Aluminium Extrusion sustained its upward trajectory after it further appreciated by 9.96 per cent to N14.90, as Austin Laz gained 9.81 per cent to close at N2.91, Custodian Investment improved by 9.69 per cent to N38.50, and First Holdco soared by 9.35 per cent to N50.30.
Conversely, Royal Exchange declined by 7.22 per cent to N1.80, Champion Breweries shrank by 6.57 per cent to N15.65, NASCON lost 5.36 per cent to trade at N105.05, Sovereign Trust Insurance depreciated by 5.28 per cent to N3.77, and Japaul went down by 4.51 per cent to N2.33.
At the close of business, 29 shares ended on the gainers’ table and 27 shares finished on the losers’ log, representing a positive market breadth index and bullish investor sentiment.
This raised the All-Share Index (ASI) by 895.06 points to 153,354.13 points from 152,459.07 points and lifted the market capitalisation by N579 billion to N97.772 trillion from the previous day’s N97.193 trillion.
VFD Group finished the day as the busiest stock after it recorded a turnover of 192.0 million units worth N2.1 billion, GTCO exchanged 63.5 million units valued at N5.6 billion, Access Holdings traded 49.8 million units for N1.0 billion, First Holdco sold 45.8 million units valued at N2.3 billion, and Secure Electronic Technology transacted 38.3 million units worth N28.4 million.
In all, market participants bought and sold 677.4 million units valued at N20.8 billion in 27,589 deals compared with the 451.5 million units worth N13.0 billion traded in 33,327 deals on Monday, showing an improvement in the trading volume and value by 50.03 per cent and 60.00 per cent apiece, and a shortfall in the number of deals by 17.22 per cent.
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