Nigeria Pledges Necessary Sacrifice for Oil Market Stability

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 Adedapo Adesanya The trio of Newrest Asl Plc, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, and Acorn Petroleum Plc made the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange appreciate by 0.14 per cent on Friday, December 1. The three gainers pressed down the 8 Kobo loss reported by UBN Property Plc, which closed the trading session at N1.52 per unit compared with the preceding day’s value of N1.60 per unit. During the trading day, Newrest Plc gained N1.46 to close at N16.10 per share compared with Thursday’s closing price of N14.64 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc moved up by 60 Kobo to end the

By Adedapo Adesanya The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) on Thursday asked Nigeria to produce about 1.5 million barrels of crude oil per day in 2024, lower than the 1.78 million barrels per day benchmark it proposed in the 2024 Appropriation Bill presented to the National Assembly on Wednesday for passage. The output ceiling was around 1.8 million barrels per day before it was cut down to 1.5 million barrels yesterday at the group’s virtual meeting, a huge blow to Nigeria’s revenue target for the fiscal year. OPEC had tasked three consultancies – IHS, Rystad

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Government has been urged to give more support to treatment, management and control of sickle cell disease in Nigeria. This plea was made by the Sickle cell Support Society of Nigeria (SCSSN) and a leading pharmaceutical firm, Pfizer. Speaking at a conference organised by SCSSN in support of Pfizer in Enugu last week, Professor of Hematology at the Muhumbili University of Tanzania, Lucio Luzzatto, who was the keynote speaker, echoed sentiments shared by others that government must pass a bill on sickle cell control and management to better insure the life of the people living with the

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Nigeria has commenced discussions with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) on how to obtain sukuk to probably fund the 2017 budget. Specifically, Nigeria is speaking with the investment arm of the Saudi Arabia-based IDB, the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), about this. This, the Africa’s biggest economy, desperately needs as a way to get different sources of funding to reflate its dwindling economy. Sukuk is an Islamic bond structured to generate returns to investors without infringing Islamic law, which prohibits interests or riba. Chief Executive Officer of ICD confirmed on Tuesday at

By Dipo Olowookere In recent times, Diamond Bank Plc has been in the news mostly for the wrong reasons, which has left many people wondering what will happen to their investment in the financial institution. This fear worsened yesterday when a reputable businessplatform, Proshare Nigeria, published a letter purportedly written by theformer Chairman of the bank, Mr Oluseyi, Bickerstheth, to key shareholders and stakeholdersin the industry. The letter detailed how some directors, who were later forced out of the firm, kicked against alleged corporate governance abuse by some key elements of Diamond Bank, including its CEO, Mr Uzoma Dozie. Mr

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Forte Oil Plc has successfully closed its N9 billion Series 1 debt issue, the company has disclosed in a statement signed by its Head of Investor Relations, Mr Doyin Ogun. Forte Oil explained that this is the first series of its proposed N50 billion bond issuance programme it announced few months ago. It said the funds raised would be used to refinance existing short term commercial bank loan obligations and to finance the retail outlet expansion of the company. The company has an Issuer rating of A-long term and A 1- short term rating by the Global

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The board of Flour Mills of Nigeria has disclosed that proceeds from its N39.85 billion rights issue would be used to expand its operations to make the firm more competitive as well as used to strengthen its balance sheet. Speaking on Thursday at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) during its presentation of Facts Behind the Figures on the exercise, Chairman of Flour Mills, Mr John Coumantaros, stressed that this would bring about better returns for shareholders. He noted that the rights issue would be used primarily to pay down some of the company’s outstanding short-term debt in

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The local currency yesterday recorded a slight appreciation at the parallel market, going up by 0.82 percent at the close of transactions. The Naira achieved this gain on Wednesday as pressure on the Nigeria money moderated just as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) continue to ensure enough foreign exchange is supplied into the market. The Naira, which was traded at the black market at N366 per Dollar on Monday and Tuesday, was sold on Wednesday at N363 to the Dollar. This occurred as the CBN supplied the sum of $210 million into the forex market to

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The House of Representatives has said it would be a shame for Nigeria to record another economic recession in four years. In the second quarter of 2016, just over a year into the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, the nation slipped into an economic crisis. The major driver of this was the incessant attacks on oil installations in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, which significantly reduced the volume of crude produced by the country. It took the intervention of the Vice President, Mr Yemi Osinbajo, who held talks with leaders of the region, to bring things

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The Director of Google West Africa, Ms Juliet Ehimuan, has advised women to get out of their comfort zones to take enviable spots in their careers and others because they have the capability to achieve more. Ms Ehimuan gave this charge at the third edition of the Ladies At The Table Empowerment Series (LATTES 3.0) themed The Woman of the Future. The event was hosted by Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers to discuss critical challenges faced by women, including gender bias, work-life balance, personal development, and financial empowerment. The discussions provided a platform for engaging conversations and helped