Elumelu Buys Additional 62.6 million UBA Shares

By Adedapo Adesanya The Supreme Court has ordered that the old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes should continue to co-exist with the new banknotes beyond the earlier December 31, 2023, deadline. The apex court ruled on Wednesday that both old and new notes should continue to remain legal tender until the federal government puts a process in place for its replacement or redesign after due consultation with relevant stakeholders. The seven-man panel led by Justice Inyang Okoro gave the ruling following an application by the central government asking the court to grant an extension of time for old naira notes

By Adedapo Adesanya President Bola Tinubu is targeting to grow Nigeria’s economy by 3.76 per cent next year and moderate the country’s inflation to 21.4 per cent. Speaking at his first budget speech to lawmakers on Wednesday, President Tinubu also projected higher oil production and tax collection, noting that this will boost government revenues and cut down on reliance on borrowing to finance budget deficits. Nigeria plans on spending N27.5 billion in the 2024 fiscal year, with priorities on security, infrastructure and easing the high cost-of-living crisis. The country will borrow around N9 trillion and N18.5 billion generated from internally

By Dipo Olowookere Local equities rebounded by 0.34 per cent on Wednesday on the back of buying pressure on a few energy stocks and others at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited. According to data from the bourse, the bullish stance was attained despite profit-taking activities in the banking space amid plans by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to recapitalise the industry, leaving the market breadth index negative. This was because the number of price losers was more than the price gainers at 39 and 19 apiece, indicating a weak investor sentiment. Business Post reports that the energy counter grew

By Aduragbemi Omiyale A workshop designed to educate investors, especially those in the retail end of the curve, on how they can improve corporate governance has been organised by the Nigerian Exchange Regulation (NGX RegCo) Limited. The two-day event, which took place on Thursday, November 23, and Friday, November 24, 2023, was themed Rights and Responsibilities of Shareholders in Driving Corporate Governance. According to the NGX RegCo, the seminar was designed to promote a transparent and fair market, with participants agreeing that all hands must be on deck to sanitize the market and bring the boards and management of listed

By Adedapo Adesanya About N20 billion was lost to profit-taking at the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange last week, which was the 28th trading week of the year. The huge loss was recorded despite the unlisted securities market opening for only three days as a result of the public holiday observed last Monday and Tuesday for Sallah. Business Post reports that as a result of the loss recorded by NASD investors in the week, the market capitalisation closed at N1.016 trillion compared with the preceding week’s N1.019 trillion, while the NASD Securities Index (NSI) fell by 1.71 points to close

By Adedapo Adesanya Oil prices dropped on Monday after conflicting reports emerged that the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is not considering a half-million barrel daily output increase. Brent crude futures fell by 77 cents or 0.9 per cent to $86.85 a barrel, as the United States West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures slipped by 58 cents or 0.7 per cent to $79.50 per barrel. Both benchmarks had plunged by more than $5 a barrel early due to the effect of the continued demand worry from China. However, the market recovered after the Wall Street Journal reported that

By Adedapo Adesanya There was a marginal rise during Tuesday’s trading session at the NASD Over-The-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange as the market capitalization rose to 516.81 billion from Monday’s 516.76 billion, this spelled that the market gained N5 million equivalent to 0.1 percent. This was also extended to the NASD Security Index (NSI), which went up by 0.1 percent or 0.07 points to close at 719.35 points in contrast to yesterday’s 719.28 points. There was also a higher volume of transactions on the second trading day of the week as the volume of shares traded by investors at the platform

By Dipo Olowookere The news of the slashing of the benchmark interest rate in the country by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to 11.50 per cent from 12.50 per cent on Tuesday excited investors at the stock market on Wednesday. On the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) yesterday, the level of activity improved significantly and this increased the number of price gainers as the traders started mopping some stocks trading at low prices. A total of 414.2 million stocks worth N6.3 billion were traded in the midweek session in 3,793 deals in contrast to the previous day’s

By Okechukwu Keshi Ukegbu It’s not a period to roll out the drums because the bell has tolled for one of us, Elder Sunday Ukaegbu, and, according to John Donne, has tolled for us- his remaining siblings. All the same, I return all glory to the Almighty for sparing my life. It has been a life full of struggle and adventures, especially the struggle for a better society- which we have fought mostly with intectualism. The struggle has seen us traversing the nooks and crannies of the country: from Bauchi to Jos, Kaduna, Benin, Katsina, Kwara, Jigawa, Enugu, Owerri, Onitsha,

By Adedapo Adesanya   The scheduled match between Spanish football giants – Barcelona and Real Madrid, has been rescheduled due to heightened political tensions and protests in Catalonia, with the game now moved to December 7. The Spanish La Liga clash known as ‘El Clasico’ is between two of Spain’s most successful clubs, Real Madrid and Barcelona and the first leg of the 2019/2020 season games due to take place on Saturday 26 October at the Camp Nou has been changed following protests. Nine Catalan separatist leaders were jailed on Monday, October 14, for sentences that run between nine and

For decades, support to start-ups and small businesses (grouped under the acronym MSMEs) in Nigeria has been less than required, owing to a lack of proper bankable business structure, deficient collateral requirement, and low margins needed to attract funding from commercial banks. Wema Bank, however, seems intent on shaping a new reality for small businesses in Nigeria. Wema Bank, the innovative lender behind Africa’s first fully digital bank ALAT, has over the years been passionate about supporting micro, small and medium sized businesses in Nigeria. But over the last six months, it has reviewed the way it backs MSMEs by

By Dipo Olowookere The Lagos State Government, through the State Ministry for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation (WAPA) has partnered the organisers of EWURO Project as part of efforts to further sensitize the public on the issue of violence against women, not only in the State, but in Nigeria as a whole. Commissioner for Women Affairs & Poverty Alleviation, Mrs Lola Akande, disclosed this during a press briefing held at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre, Alausa, saying the objectives of the Project aligned with the Ministry’s vision of continually engaging in productive conversations about the plight and welfare of women