Lafarge, Others Join Meristem Value Index as FBN, Honeywell Exit

By Adedapo Adesanya The boards of insurance companies operating in the country have been charged by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) to embrace the measures put in place to tackle the challenges of unpaid claims. The Commissioner for Insurance, Mr Sunday Thomas, expressed worry over the number of outstanding claims in the sector despite efforts by the regulator to address the issue. Mr Thomas, who is also the chief executive of NAICOM, said the organisation, in collaboration with members of the Insurers’ Committee, has taken decisions and incepted measures designed to tame the menace of unpaid claims. Speaking at the

By Adedapo Adesanya  Angola, one of Africa’s top crude oil producers and a key member of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), has officially rejected the proposed production quota for the year 2024 and may even exit the group. This was signalled by Mr Diamantino Pedro Azevedo, Angola’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, confirming the nation’s decision and indicating a divergence from OPEC’s suggested allocations for both member and non-member countries. The announcement was made during the 26th OPEC+ Meeting on Thursday, where the organisation proposed 1.11 million barrels of crude oil per day production quota for

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 The House of Representatives has pledged to stop international oil companies (IOCs) operating in the Niger Delta from divestment of their offshore assets without being accountable to the environment. The Chairman of the House of Reps Committee on Host Communities, Mr Dumnamene Dekor, said this during a technical session on the implementation of the Host Communities Development Trusts (HCDT), organised by Spaces for Change (S4C) with support from Ford Foundation. Mr Dekor raised the alarm that since the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act in 2021, host communities have not experienced any positive change, rather have remained

By Dipo Olowookere The downward review of the stop rates of treasury bills by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) at the primary market continued on Wednesday, December 18, 2019. Business Post reports that the apex bank further slashed the rates to as low as 4 percent during the primary market auction today, where the debt instrument worth N7 billion was offered to mainly local investors. The bills were sold in three tenors, with N2 billion worth of the 91-day bill offered for sale, another N2 billion worth of the 182-day bill auctioned and N3 billion worth of the 364-day

By Adedapo Adesanya A charity organisation known as Save the Children has called on the Nigerian government to urgently assist more than 2.3 million children, including some 700,000 children under five, and youths starving in North East Nigeria. The crisis in Nigeria comes at a time when the world is facing its biggest hunger crisis of the 21st century, with an estimated 5.7 million children under five on the brink of starvation across the globe. A further 13 million children under 18 are facing extreme food shortages, the organisation said. A recent United Nations report found out that 4.4 million

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira was stable against the United States Dollar at the parallel market on Monday as its value remained unchanged at N775/$1 at the close of transactions. However, in the Investors and Exporters (I&E) and the Peer-to-Peer (P2P) segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market yesterday, the Nigerian currency appreciated against its American counterpart in indicative signals of an easing market after weeks of pressure. In the I&E market, the value of the local currency to the greenback was strengthened by N1.63 or 0.37 per cent to trade at N444.70/$1, in contrast to the preceding session’s N446.33/$1,

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A motion for interim forfeiture of $2.8 million belonging to Union Bank of Nigeria Plc has been filed before a Federal High Court sitting in Enugu State by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Also filed is an affidavit of urgency for the matter to be heard on December 27, 2018, before a vacation judge sitting in Port Harcourt. Recall that the commission had on Thursday, December 20, 2018, intercepted the said money based on intelligence report from two persons: Ighoh Augustine and Ezekwe Emmanuel suspected to be money launderers, at Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu.

By Adedapo Adesanya The Edo State Government has announced the imposition of a 24-hour curfew across the state following the escalation of protests against police brutality in the state. The curfew is to take effect from 4:00 pm today, October 19, 2020, till further notice. This was announced by the secretary to the state government, Mr Osarodion Ogie, who explained that the imposition of the curfew was due to the incidents of vandalism and attacks carried out by hoodlums who hijacked the peaceful #ENDSARS protests. “This decision has become necessary because of the very disturbing incidents of vandalism and attacks

By Dipo Olowookere The All-Share Index (NSE) of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) went down by 695.92 points or 2.32 percent last week to finish at 29,270.95 points, data from the NSE revealed. Also, the market capitalisation depreciated by 2.30 percent in the week to settle at N12.902 trillion as investors continued with profit-taking. Similarly, all other indices finished lower with the exception of the NSE Industrial Goods, which appreciated by 3.28 percent. According to the data, a total of 21 equities appreciated in price during the week, lower than 36 in the previous week, while 44 equities depreciated in

By Adedapo Adesanya The headwinds continued to knock down the Naira at the black market segment of the foreign exchange (FX) market with the local currency crashing against the US Dollar by N5 to N545/$1 from the previous day’s rate of N540/$1. The forex market in the country is under pressure as the high demand for foreign currencies a shortage of supply is having a toll on the domestic currency and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) seems to be confused on what to do. The issues started after it announced the suspension of FX sales to Bureaux De Change

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira further depreciated against the US Dollar at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window of the foreign exchange (forex) market on Tuesday, September 6. According to data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange, the domestic currency lost 0.29 per cent or N1.25 to sell for N436.00/$1 compared with the previous session’s rate of N434.75/$1. The exchange rate of the local currency to the greenback yesterday was the lowest level it has traded in 9 months as on December 30, 2021, it was exchanged at N435.00/$1. In the second trading session of the week, the FX turnover was