Nigeria’s Unlisted Securities Market Tumbles 0.24%

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 Aduragbemi Omiyale The federal government has expressed its readiness to work closely with the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited to attract startups to the stock exchange. The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Mr Bosun Tijani, said the government would use the newly created NGX Technology Board to achieve this goal. Speaking at a tech event themed Invest in Africa’s Future- Let’s Talk About Exits on Thursday in the United States, he noted that Nigeria had been grappling with its over-dependence on oil in the last few years, adding that diversifying from heavy reliance on a single sector like

By Adedapo Adesanya The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has called on the newly appointed Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Yemi Cardoso, to clear the backlog of foreign exchange as well as guarantee another recapitalisation in the banking sector. “The clearance of the backlog of forex obligations should be accorded high priority to restore the confidence of domestic and foreign investors,” the Managing Director of CPPE, Mr Muda Yusuf said in a press statement titled Ten Point Agenda For The CBN Governor, released over the weekend. Mr Cardoso and four new deputies on

By Adedapo Adesanya The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange continued its weekly positive run as it extended its gains by 0.41 per cent in the 38th week of trading in this year. The bullish posture was supported by the improvements in the share prices of six companies admitted to the alternative stock exchange in Nigeria. This increased the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI) by  2.30 points from 805.65 points in the previous week to 808.95 points, as the market capitalisation of the bourse was relatively unchanged on a week-on-week at N1.140 trillion. Food Concepts Plc led the price gainers’ after

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A report has showed that despite predictions of a huge rise in unemployment due to the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) on businesses in the country, employment in Nigeria decreased marginally in May 2020. In a report by Stanbic IBTC Holdings titled the Nigeria Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), it was discovered that about 98 percent of companies operating in the country kept their workforce numbers in the month despite the global health crisis, which caused a massive job loss in the United States and the United Kingdom. The report revealed that new orders, output, employment

By Adedapo Adesanya The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has said plans are on the way to increase the contribution of the oil and gas sector to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to about 15 per cent from the current eight per cent. The spokesman of the DPR, Mr Paul Osu, said in the statement on Monday that the head of the agency, Mr Sarki Auwalu, was working to align with the federal government’s commitment to reactivating all moribund oil and gas support facilities across the country. Mr Auwalu said this was part of the government’s effort to increase

By Adedapo Adesanya The federal government has given investors waivers for the establishment of 15 modular refineries in Rivers State. The Commissioner for Energy and Natural Resources, Mr Peter Medee, who announced this development, said the waivers cover the bureaucratic process usually underwent by investors for building such refineries. Mr Medee explained that the Rivers State Government would not be building the modular refineries but secured the waivers on behalf of investors to get all the necessary documentation in a very short time. The Commissioner said the waivers was necessitated by the need to set modular refineries as an alternative

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The 20 Local Governments and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) in Lagos State have been directed to restore the Private Sector Partnership (PSP) operators in their areas and begin the packing of refuse with immediate effect. This directive was given on Thursday by Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mr Mudashiru Obasa, on behalf of the lawmakers during plenary. He also ordered the Clerk of the House, Mr. Azeez Sanni, to invite Commissioner for Environment, Mr Babatunde Durosinmi-Etti, to appear before the House on the matter next week. This followed an Urgent Matter of

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The management of MTN Group Limited is considering cancelling its much-awaited listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) via an Initial Public Offering (IPO). Some weeks ago, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) said MTN agreed to list its shares on the local bourse before May 2019. This was part of an agreement reach to reduce a $5.2 billion fine slammed on it in 2016 to $1 billion for failing to disconnect unregistered subscribers on its network. Late August 2018, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) directed MTN Nigeria to refund $8.1 billion to the country, claiming the

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A new tool that shows decision-makers how quickly expectant mothers can access emergency obstetric care in Nigeria has been introduced by Google. This is expected to improve access to emergency maternal care in Nigeria seamlessly as the government and other stakeholders would have used the tool to know where to put healthcare facilities for easy access. This new tool uses Google’s internal directions Application Programming Interface (API) to estimate the travel time to the nearest, second nearest and third nearest EmOC facilities across specific regions in the country. It also builds on a dataset Google released in

By Adedapo Adesanya Following the digital wave that is changing transactions and market systems, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has introduced electronic forms for commercial exports (e-Form NXP) to replace the traditional hard copy form that was in place. This new directive was announced in a circular signed by Dr O.S. Nnaji, on behalf of the Director, Trade and Exchange Department and issued to all authorized dealers, the Nigeria Customs Service, pre-shipment inspection agents, shipping lines and the general public. The e-Form NXP will take effect from Thursday, October 31, 2019 as all authorised dealers have been required to

By Dipo Olowookere Friday, March 20, 2020 has been fixed for the maiden edition of a seminar organised by InfoWARE Limited, a technology-driven solutions company which currently serves a wide range of client businesses in Nigeria. A notice from the organisation said the workshop taking place next month is themed Business Structuring and Efficiency. The event will take place at Adeyemi Pero Hall, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos by 8am. InfoWare stated that the panel of professionals and experts to drive this discussion includes Uwa Agbonile, Chief Software Architect, InfoWARE Limited; Ayoola Awosika Commercial Manager, Coca-Cola Nigeria; Tereigh Okapzo, Business Development Manager,