IGR: Osinbajo Expresses Worry Over Governors’ ‘Laziness’

By Adedapo Adesanya  The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has confirmed the resignation of Mr Godwin Emefiele as its governor and the resumption of Mr Olayemi Cardoso as the next head of the apex bank, albeit in an acting capacity. The apex bank’s Director of Corporate Communications, Mr Isa AbdulMumin, said Mr Cardoso will act as governor pending his confirmation by the Nigerian Senate, which is away on recess until Tuesday, September 26. This also confirms the exit of Mr Folashodun Shonubi, who was acting in that position following the ousting of Mr Emefile three months ago. “Dr Olayemi Michael

By Adedapo Adesanya The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed in the green territory after it chalked up by 0.37 per cent on Friday, September 22, as three securities finished on the price gainers’ chart and one stock closed in the price losers’ table. This raised the market capitalisation of the OTC Exchange by N4.24 billion to N1.143 trillion from the previous day’s N1.139 trillion, as the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI) increased during the session by 3.00 points to finish at 808.95 points compared with Thursday’s 805.95 points. At the close of transactions, investors traded a total of 10.7

By Bliss Okperan Nigeria’s internet speed averages 25 megabits per second (Mbps), according to data from Surf Shark, a cybersecurity company focused on developing humanised privacy and security solutions. The ranking, contained in the 5th annual (Digital Quality of Life Index (DQL), showed that the country dropped two places to 7th from 9th within the last two years. A quick average analysis shows that at an average of 25 Mbps, Nigeria is far from the world’s fastest fixed internet Singapore, which is 300 Mbps and is ahead compared to the slowest fixed internet in the world, Yemen, which is 11

By Dipo Olowookere The trio of Universal Insurance, Oando and UBA were the busiest stocks on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited last week, trading 2.212 billion units valued at N8.907 billion in 7,593 deals, contributing 56.56 per cent and 29.32 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively. In the week, investors transacted 3.911 billion shares worth N30.379 billion in 38,536 deals versus the 2.933 billion shares worth N47.449 billion exchanged in 44,654 deals in the preceding week. Financial stocks dominated with 2.774 billion units valued at N15.241 billion in 16,379 deals, contributing 70.92 per

By Dipo Olowookere President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday directed the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) to inject N2 billion into each of the 12 new universities established by the Federal Government in 2011. Mr Buhari, who spoke as a visitor to the maiden convocation of the Federal University, Wukari in Taraba, said that the amount was to fund critical infrastructure in the institutions. The President, presently away in London due to health reasons, was represented at the event by Dr Bello Kumo, the Director Academic Standards in the National Universities Commission (NUC). At the occasion, the President also directed that

By Adedapo Adesanya After three sessions of gains that followed extended production cuts from Saudi Arabia and Russia, oil prices fell on Tuesday as investors took profits, leaving the Brent crude futures down by 9 cents to $94.34 a barrel after it hit a session peak of $95.96, as the US West Texas Intermediate crude futures dropped 28 cents to close at $91.20 per barrel after earlier reaching $93.74 a barrel, also the highest since November. Despite the profit-taking, expectations remain that Brent will trade in a range of $90-100 per barrel over the coming months, with a year-end target

By Dipo Olowookere The board of Dangote Flour Mills Plc has announced the postponement of the company’s 2019 Annual General Meeting (AGM) earlier slated for this month. In a notice to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) the flour miller said though it has no specific date this gathering of shareholders would take place, it was optimistic it should occur before December 21, 2019. Explaining the rationale behind the cancellation of the AGM, the board said it was because of the Court-Ordered Meeting (COM) scheduled to hold on October 14, 2019 in Lagos. “Based on the forthcoming Court Ordered Meeting, the

By Dipo Olowookere Stockbrokers in Nigeria have been charged to always prioritise the interest of investors over theirs so as to boost confidence in the capital market. This charge was given by the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr Lamido Yuguda, who said the agency would do everything possible to reduce poor market conduct to the barest minimum. Speaking at the Annual Stockbrokers Conference of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), Mr Yuguda said the commission will intensify monitoring and surveillance of the market and apply stiff sanctions to any operator who engages in unethical conduct. According

By Adedapo Adesanya The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has said that Nigeria will become a net exporter of petroleum and petroleum products in the next two years, saying that oil refinery projects across the country are progressing towards completion and take-off. This was disclosed by the Director of the DPR, Mr Sarki Auwalu, in a statement, noting that a combined 375,000 barrels per day capacity is expected from 27 modular refineries and that additional 650,000 barrels per day are expected to come from the Dangote refinery being built by business mogul and Africa’s richest man, Mr Aliko Dangote set

By Adedapo Adesanya Prices of shares listed on the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed on Wednesday the way they were on Tuesday despite the activity level printing movements. Apart from the fact that the OTC market closed with no price gainer or loser, the major performance indicators also remained unchanged at the close of the midweek’s trading session. The market capitalisation ended at N504.84 billion, while the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI) finished at 702.69 points. However, the volume of shares transacted during the trading day rose by 1,174 percent or 259,590 units, while the value of the securities

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The inaugural Commercial Paper issuance of leading investment bank in Nigeria, Coronation Merchant Bank Limited, has recorded a very strong performance. This is because the exercise was oversubscribed by 80 percent, reflecting the huge confidence investors have in the lender. The financial institution had set out to raise the sum of N15 billion on the first tranche under its N100 billion Commercial Paper Programme. However, subscriptions worth N28 billion were received from both Institutional and high net worth Investors. The issuance comprised of two series of 180 and 270-days. While the 180-day paper was issued at a

Dutch centre back, Virgil Van Dijk, will join other Liverpool players to face Chelsea in a Super Sunday Premier League this evening at the Stamford Bridge. The Jurgen Klopp’s men would hope to defeat Frank Lampard’s boys at The Bridge to extend their lead on the table by five points after Manchester City reduced the deficit to two yesterday after defeating Watford 8-0. The trio of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah will lead the attack to turn the sky Red from Blue at the English capital. The midfield would be manned by Jordan Henderson, Fabinho Georginio Wijnaldum, while