Nigeria’s Unlisted Securities Market Closes Friday Session Flat

By Adedapo Adesanya  President Bola Tinubu has written to the House of Representatives seeking the approval for an $8.6 billion and €100 million external borrowing plan for critical infrastructure in areas such as power, roads, water, railway, and health. The President also forwarded the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Supplementary Budget to the lower chamber for consideration. Meanwhile, the President will present the 2024 budget to the National Assembly on Wednesday. This was after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved a 2024 budget of N27.5 trillion. The approval followed the review of the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) earlier passed by the

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The sum of N27.5 trillion has been approved for the 2024 budget by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Monday. The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Mr Atiku Bagudu, confirmed this development to newsmen after the FEC meeting in Abuja. He also disclosed that the council, which was chaired by President Bola Tinubu, said the 2024 Appropriation Bill should be funded from N18 trillion revenue expected to be generated by the country. “The federal executive council considered the 2024 Appropriation bill. The Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) was earlier approved by the National Assembly. It has

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira depreciated in the opening session of the week in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Monday, November 27 against the Dollar by N19.71 or 2.5 per cent as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Olayemi Cardoso, said the lender was committed to clearing a backlog of foreign exchange (forex). “We have initiated the payment of unsettled forward foreign exchange obligations, and these payments will continue until all obligations are cleared,” he told bankers last Friday during a dinner speech in Lagos. However, his assurance could not ease the pressure

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Nigeria is endowed with favourable atmospheric conditions for farming as well as abundant natural resources and teaming youthful population. If these are harnessed and a vibrant commodities market is created, the end to poverty in the country is near, Professor Yemi Osinbajo has submitted. Speaking at the beginning of a 2-day International Conference on the Nigerian Commodities Market (ICNCM 2020) in Abuja, Mr Osinbajo, who is the country’s Vice President, further stated that the commodities can help in the area of job creation. Represented by the Minister of State, Industry, Trade and Investment, Ambassador Maryam Katagun, the

The flag bearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the September 10 Edo governorship elections, Mr Godwin Obaseki, emerged as the clear winner from the gubernatorial debate organized by Channels Television between the candidates in the governorship race – ahead of Mr Osagie Ize-Iyamu, candidate of a faction of the major opposition in the state, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). According to those present in the audience, Mr Obaseki was the most outstanding of the four runners in the 90-minute televised debate from Best Western Hotel, Benin City. He exuded confidence as he expertly responded to a series of questions

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Director General of the Lagos State Safety Commission, Mr Hakeem Olaogun Dickson, has been ordered to stop occupying the office until he is cleared by the State House of Assembly. This was sequel to the observation of the Chairman of the House Committee on Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs, Mr Akeem Shokunle. The lawmaker had informed his colleagues that the DG was occupying the office without an approval from the House of Assembly against the law which established the commission and the normal practice. He added that this is a wrong step that should be urgently

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The management of Orange has opened two very large-capacity IP and IPX Points of Presence (PoP) in South Africa. The facilities, which are located in Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa are operational from today and will enhance Internet and mobile connectivity in the region by offering faster connection speeds and improved reliability for wholesale customers. IP and IPX Points of Presence are part of the technical infrastructure equipment necessary to enable local operators to access the Internet & mobile services through an interconnection point with long-distance networks. By offering access to an IP and IPX PoP

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The federal government has expressed optimism that all things being equal, the economy of Nigeria should get back on its feet from the first quarter of next year. Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, said this when she received officials of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) led by its Executive Chairman, Mr Mohammed Nami. She said the various policies of the government are capable of injecting life into the economy, which contracted in the second quarter of 2020 by 6.1 per cent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which also

By Adedapo Adesanya To further advance African genomics research for improved global health outcomes, Nigerian healthcare startup, 54gene, has announced the launch of its diagnostic arm, 7RiverLabs. This is coming three months after the startup raised a $25 million Series B funding round. The 7RiverLabs is a series of diagnostic hubs fitted with state-of-the-art technology that offer healthcare providers and patients access to world-class, cost-effective, speedy, reliable and advanced molecular diagnostics. Sample collection centres with over 100 employees are already open in Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt. With that in mind, more centres are due to launch in 10

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The management of Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has announced that Dangote Flour Mills is no longer a member of the local bourse and its shares no more tradeable on its platform. A statement issued by NSE last week and signed by its Head of Listings Regulation Department, Mr Godstime Iwenekhai, confirmed that the flour milling firm ceased to be on its daily official with effect from Monday, November 18, 2019. Before its eventual exit from the stock exchange last week, the buying and selling of the company’s shares by investors were suspended on the NSE trading platform.

By Dipo Olowookere Profit-taking by investors on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Wednesday brought the market down by 0.16 percent to reduce the year-to-date gain to 2.20 percent. Seplat, which released its 2018 financial figures hours after the commencement of the trading day, led 19 other stocks to the red zone after going down by N22.10k to finish at N596.90k per share. Though the firm improved its topline by 65.16 percent, its profit after tax depreciated by 45.1 percent, with $0.05 recommended as dividend. Other price losers at the market yesterday were CCNN, which lost N1