Economy
Hindenburg Research Accuses Tingo Group of Fabricating Financials

By Adedapo Adesanya
Hindenburg Research has published an investigative report claiming that Nigerian financial technology company, Tingo Group has committed multiple scams across its verticals and has also fabricated its financials.
Hindenburg Research, a short seller based in Manhattan, published a detailed investigation into the fintech and agri-fintech group owned by Mr Dozy Mmobuosi, claiming that that company is a scam with “fabricated” financials.
According to the fintech’s website, Tingo has operations in Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East and subsidiaries such as TingoMobile, TingoPay, and a food division.
Tingo, based in New Jersey, is listed on the Nasdaq under TIO and carries out due diligence.
The short seller asserted that Tingo Group’s CEO, Mr Mmobuosi, has fabricated his bio, the company’s financials, and the launch of an airline division, among other accusations.
Hindenburg isn’t the first to sound alarm bells as Tingo’s no ex co-chairman filed a public letter to its founder saying he could not approve the company’s annual report due to critical questions that were left unanswered and had decided to resign from the board.
Other problems include faked businesses; among these are the proven false Tingo Airlines, as well as Tingo Group claiming to be a food processing company but not owning a single plant. Additionally, in April 2023, Tingo Group’s co-Chairman recused himself in a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by resigning from the company.
Also, the report noted that, “Dozy is regularly described by the media as a billionaire and made waves earlier this year when he attempted to acquire the now-Premier League soccer team Sheffield United.
“We’ve identified major red flags with Dozy’s background. For starters, he appears to have fabricated his biographical claim to have developed the first mobile payment app in Nigeria. We contacted the app’s actual creator, who called Dozy’s claims “a pure lie”.”
Business Post had also reported that Stanbic IBTC denied concluding a deal with Tingo International Holdings on the use of its (Stanbic IBTC) payment gateway for the latter’s new product back in 2021.
Tingo had previously claimed that it had entered into a partnership with Stanbic IBTC to power its new payments system, Tingo Pay.
But the lender said this was incorrect. Though it admitted that discussions were underway to make this a reality, noting that it was still at the negotiation stage.
The firm’s shares, as a result of the development, are experiencing heavy trading today, with over 30 million units moving as of this writing.
This is above its daily average trading volume of about 4.5 million shares. The company’s stock is also down more than 57 per cent in the US.
Economy
Dangote Cement Raises Social Investments by 469.8% to N13.2bn

By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Because of its belief in making life better for host communities and Nigerians generally, Dangote Cement Plc has increased its social investments across the country.
At the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the company held in Lagos on Monday, the cement miller disclosed that the amount allotted for its different corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives went up by 469.8 per cent to N13.2 billion in one year.
The leading cement manufacturers said this money was spent across various sectors of the economy, including education, healthcare, agriculture, infrastructure, and economic empowerment.
Addressing shareholders at the meeting, the chairman of Dangote Cement, Mr Aliko Dangote, said the company’s strategy in every country of operation is to be the leader in cost, quality, and service.
He said the company builds large, modern, highly efficient plants that combine the latest equipment from Europe, China, and beyond to enable it to make higher-quality cement at lower costs, thereby giving it strong competitive advantages.
“We achieved a N3.580 trillion revenues, representing a 62.2 per cent year-on-year growth, driven by effective pricing strategies and strong demand recovery in key markets, particularly Nigeria. Group EBITDA reached an all-time milestone of N1,382.0 billion, crossing the N1 trillion mark for the first time,” he said.
Mr Dangote further revealed that the company is set to commission a 3MTA grinding plant in Cote D’Ivoire, this year, as well as a 6MTA integrated plant in Itori, Ogun State.
He said another major milestone was the acquisition of 1,500 compressed Natural Gas (CNG) trucks to replace diesel-fuelled vehicles, thereby contributing to both cost savings and environmental impact, adding that plans are underway to double the fleet to 3,000 trucks.
At the AGM, shareholders approved that payment of N502.6 billion as dividends for the 2024 financial year, translating to N30 per share.
Reacting to this, the president of the Association for the Advancement of Rights of Nigerian Shareholders (AARNS), Mr Faruk Umar, expressed satisfaction with the cement firm fior the cash reward despite the obvious economic challenges, which also affected operations.
“We are happy with this result. 2024 was very challenging due to the fluctuations in the foreign exchange market and the company’s expansion programme.
“But despite all these challenges, the company was still able to pay us a very good dividend and even gave us hope of better returns on our investments in the years to come. This is very commendable, and it is only a company like Dangote Cement that can achieve this laudable feat,” he remarked.
On her part, the chairperson of the Pragmatic Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Mrs Bisi Bakare, commended the organisation’s consistent dividend payment.
“As a shareholder and an acute investor of this company, I am very happy and pleased with the performance of our company so far. The earnings are not even up to N30 per share, and for the company to still declare N30 per share dividend speaks volumes of the quality of leadership that we are lucky to have in Dangote Cement,” she noted.
Economy
Senate Summons Edun Over 4% FOB Fees, Gives Customs N10trn Revenue Target

By Adedapo Adesanya
The Senate has directed the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to raise its revenue target for 2025 from N6 trillion to N10 trillion.
The upper chamber of the National Assembly on Monday cited the urgent need for enhanced enforcement and surveillance amid rising smuggling and insecurity challenges across the country as rationale for the upward review.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Customs, Mr Isah Jibrin, stated this when the NCS’ Deputy Comptroller General Jibo Bello appeared before the committee for its budget defence.
The tariff policy of the government became the crux of the matter as the committee identified gaps, frowning upon the lack of enforcement of a 4 per cent freight on board (FOB) by the agency.
Mr Bello disclosed that customs had been authorised by the Ministry of Finance to halt collection of the 4 per cent freight on board.
Based on this, the chairman of the committee mandated the Minister of Finance, Mr Wale Edun, to appear before it to explain the suspension of the 4 per cent freight on board charges, which they say was an infraction of the law.
The Senate is expected to question the finance minister and key stakeholders at the scheduled appearance on Thursday, as it seeks to ensure accountability, revenue optimisation, and national security enforcement in line with existing legislative frameworks.
Earlier this year, the Customs announced the suspension of the 4 per cent charge and noted that the pause period will enable comprehensive engagement and consultations between the Minister of Finance, Mr Wale Edun and other stakeholders.
The FOB, put at 4 per cent charge on imported goods, was meant to replace an older system where companies like Webb Fontaine handled import inspections for a 1 per cent fee. The move sparked heavy criticism from stakeholders like the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA).
“The suspension period will allow the Service to further engage with stakeholders while ensuring proper alignment with the Act’s provisions for sustainable funding of these modernisation initiatives.” NCS said in February.
NCS also cancelled declarations made during the short-lived implementation.
Economy
DMO Receives N561.17bn for New 7-Year Bond, Allots N98.95bn at 17.95%

By Dipo Olowookere
Investors demonstrated strong appetite for the new seven-year FGN sovereign bond auctioned at the primary market by the Debt Management Office (DMO) on Monday.
Business Post reports that the debt office, on behalf of the federal government, was at the market yesterday to seek N100 billion from bond investors.
The agency asked investors for the funds in two different bonds, a re-opening five-year paper and a new seven-year note at N50 billion each.
However, the DMO ended up allotting about N98.95 billion of the longer tenor to subscribers and N1.05 billion for the shorter note.
Details of the exercise showed that the seven-year paper was sold to investors at a coupon rate of 17.95 per cent, with bids worth N561.17 billion, showing a siginificant oversubscription, indication the strong confidence investors have in the ability of the government to service the debt.
It was observed that the debt office received a total of 209 bids, but only 41 bids were successful, according to results of the auction released by the DMO.
As for the five-year paper, which has an actual 3 years and 10 months to maturity, it got 30 bids from subscribers, with only two cleared by the DMO.
The value of its subscription was N41.69 billion sold at a coupon rate of 17.75 per cent. This paper was first sold by the Nigerian government about two years ago at 19.30 per cent.
According to the note released by the debt office, the settlement date for this latest bond issuance is Wednesday, June 25, 2025.
It was offered to investors at a unit price of N1,000 subject to a minimum subscription of N50 million and in multiples of N1,000 thereafter.
FGN bonds are tax-free as they qualify as government securities within the meaning of Company Income Tax Act (CITA) and Personal Income Tax Act (PITA) for tax exemption for pension funds, among others.
After the sale, the bonds will be listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited and the FMDQ Securities Exchange for trading at the secondary market.
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