Investors Lose N13b as Stocks Shed 0.11%

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira appreciated against the US Dollar in the Nigeria Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) and the unregulated Peer-to-Peer (P2P) and the parallel market segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Wednesday, November 29 as President Bola Tinubu reiterated his administration’s promise to meet its obligations. Speaking during the presentation of his administration’s N27.50 trillion 2024 budget proposal to the joint session of the 10th National Assembly on Wednesday, Mr Tinubu said, “Despite the challenges, we continue to meet our obligations.” In the official NAFEM segment of the market, the value of the local currency went

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 Adedapo Adesanya Nigeria will accept and work with a production quota of 1.5 million barrels of crude oil per day in 2024 as the country aims to grow on the back of its oil resources, following a revision done by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, OPEC+. According to a statement issued by the Press and Public Relations unit of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Thursday’s meeting of the 23-man group addressed crucial aspects, including the completion of assessments by independent sources (IHS, Wood Mackenzie, and Rystad Energy) on the projected production levels for Angola,

By Adedapo Adesanya The return of the bears was averted at the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Thursday by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which helped the alternative bourse close marginally higher by 0.03 per cent. This slight growth increased the value of the OTC exchange by N380 million, closing relatively flat at N1.165 trillion, as the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) increased by 0.27 points to end the day at 859.58 points compared with the previous day’s 859.31 points. During the trading day, the value of CSCS Plc went up by 8 Kobo to settle at N17.08

By Chido Nwakanma “As of 25th January, the PTF had received an initial release of N22.1 billion, with only 59.8% of this figure utilized or committed thus far. This is because of the efficiency in the system plus the support from partners and donors that allowed the government to be judicious with the use of the funds thus far. The entire PTF funds were expected to be exhausted by the end of September 2020. Based on current projections, these funds may likely last until the end of June 2021 and contribute to the response.” – Information from a PTF insider

By Dipo Olowookere The management of Notore Chemical Industries Plc, the newest company to list its shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), has announced the closure of its Ammonia Plant. In a statement signed by the Group Chief Legal Officer/Company Secretary, Otivbo Saleh, it was explained that the shutdown is due to a maintenance exercise on the facility. It was disclosed that the maintenance exercise, which is expected to last 15 to 20 days, will commence on Friday, September 14, 2018. “This is to inform the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), shareholders of Notore Chemical Industries Plc and the general

By Bliss Okperan A news report filtering in indicates that a part of the Supreme Court complex in Abuja has been gutted by fire. The incident, according to what Business Post gathered, happened on Monday morning. It was said that offices of three justices were affected by the inferno, whose cause is yet unknown at the time of filing this report. Details later…

By Adedapo Adesanya Senator Dino Melaye has been unseated as the Senator representing Kogi West, following a decision by the Kogi state national assembly/state assembly election tribunal. In a judgement delivered on Friday, the tribunal led by A.O. Chijioke ordered a re-run in the district for the filling of the vacant senatorial seat. Looking back, Smart Adeyemi, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) following the February 26 election, had approached the tribunal and challenged Melaye’s victory on the grounds that there were cases of irregularities including over-voting and non-compliance with the electoral act. “We’ve decided to fight the results

By Dipo Olowookere Foremost digital payments start in Nigeria, Paga, has received a huge funding package that would enable it spread its tentacles across the global to give leading players in the industry like PayPal, M-Pesa, Alipay, Payoneer and others a run for their money. Chief executive of Paga, Mr Tayo Oviosu, confirmed to TechCrunch at Disrupt San Francisco, USA, the firm has secured $10 million from Global Innovation Fund and other investors interested in the company. With the funds, Paga is already planning to begin operations in Ethiopia, Mexico, and the Philippines, giving it presence in Africa, America and

By Dipo Olowookere The Burundian government has been charged to take prompt and effective action to protect civilians, including allowing the immediate admission of a UN police contingent to monitor the security and human rights situation in the country. This appeal was made by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD). CERD expressed deep concern regarding a Civil Service questionnaire issued on November 8 that asks public servants to state their ethnicity. The fact that armed militia are openly intimidating people demonstrates, “the unwillingness or the inability of the Government to protect civilians,” the Committee wrote in

By Adedapo Adesanya The federal government has appealed to partners in the Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas (NLNG) project to allow transportation of third-party gas through their joint pipelines to increase supply to the plant. This plea was made by Mr Timipre Sylva, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, while speaking with the new Italian Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Sefano De Leo in Abuja. According to a statement by his Senior Adviser on Media and Communications, Mr Horatius Egua, NLNG is at present only able to produce at about 70 per cent of installed capacity and has been unable to