Okomu Oil: Compelling Growth Story Despite Weak Earnings

By Adedapo Adesanya The oil market retreated on Thursday, as traders took profits after prices soared recently while the space worried that high interest rates may weigh on demand. During the trading session, Brent futures fell by $1.17 or 1.2 per cent to settle at $95.38 a barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) declined by $1.97 or 2.1 per cent to close at $91.71 per barrel. The market had reached a 10-month high as some traders worried high oil prices would stoke inflation, encouraging the US Federal Reserve and other central banks to persist with rate hikes.

By Dipo Olowookere Profit-taking persisted on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, as investors refused to tone down their profit-taking activities. It was observed that the market is gradually entering panic mode due to macroeconomic instability in the country, especially with the exchange rate of the Naira to the Dollar going above N1,000 in the parallel market. A stockbroker with one of the leading brokerage firms in the country, who asked not to be named, said the local bourse was witnessing panic selling due to investors liquidating their shares for Dollars. “This trend will continue for a while

By Bliss Okperan A lady who reviewed a product of Erisco Foods Limited, Nagiko Tomato Mix, Mrs Chioma Egodi, has threatened to demand the sum of N500 million from the chief executive of the company, Mr Eric Umeofia, for violating her fundamental human rights. Mrs Egodi said she purchased the product at the market with the intention of using it to cook stew for her family. However, when she tasted it, according to her, it tasted too much sugar, prompting her to post about it on Facebook. It was reported that Erisco was not happy with the negative review. She

By Adedapo Adesanya The prices of Brent futures and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures went down by about 1 per cent on Friday, due to macroeconomic concerns and sustained profit-taking. Data showed that Brent fell by 7 cents to $95.31 per barrel and WTI depreciated by 92 cents to $90.97. Prices rose about 30 per cent in the third quarter of the year helped by the production cuts by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (OPEC+). This action squeezed global crude supply. Brent was about 2.2 per cent in the week and 27 per cent

By Dipo Olowookere Managing Director of the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC), Mr Fidet Okhiria, has informed the Senate that his agency was yet to receive over N330 million allocated for its capital projects captured in the 2016 budget. Mr Okhiria made this disclosure on Tuesday while addressing members of the Senate Committee on Land Transport. The NRC boss further said the corporation was underperforming because it is not well-funded, pointing out that the agency still works with obsolete machineries and workshop equipment and urged the lawmakers to “come to our assistance as the railway is critical to economic development.” According

By Modupe Gbadeyanka On Saturday afternoon, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo was involved in an air mishap, which caused a scare. A chopper carrying the nation’s number two citizen crash landed in Kogi State, but those on board the helicopter survived. After incident, Mr Osinbajo confirmed that he was fine and thanked everyone who expressed concern over the incident. “We are safe and sound! Thank you to everyone who has expressed concern and thank you to the crew who managed the situation well. “We believe that God will continue to keep us and Nigeria safe even as we go higher. We

By Dipo Olowookere Two contracts worth $1.5 billion have been signed by the Federal Government with the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation for the construction and modernisation of rail lines in different parts of the country. These are the Kano-Kaduna Segment 3 of the Lagos-Kano rail modernisation project with a contract sum of $1.68 billion, and the Calabar-Port Harcourt Segment 1, which extends to Onne Deep Seaport of the coastal rail project at a cost of $3.4 billion. According to the Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, who signed on behalf of the FG, the segmentation of the same contract

By Dipo Olowookere A Mathematics teacher in Ogun State named Mr Kolawole Bello has highlighted ways to stem the continuous poor performance of students in Mathematics. Mr Bello, who works at The Ambassador College, Ota in Ogun State, while speaking at the on-going Cowbellpedia Mathematics Television Quiz Show in Lagos, stressed that parents and guardians have a major role to play in sustaining the interest of their children in the subject, which is dreaded by many. According to him, parents must strive to complement the efforts of teachers in encouraging and supporting students’ interest in Mathematics and other science subjects.

By Adedapo Adesanya President Bola Tinubu has claimed that his administration has saved N1 trillion after the removal of fuel subsidies, reiterating plans to use the saved money in education, healthcare, and the economy. Giving a national broadcast on Monday night, Mr Tinubu pleaded with Nigerians facing the heat brought about by the regime that had gulped more than N10 trillion in cost, which he said had only benefitted smugglers and fraudsters. He noted that his administration would also funnel some of the saved cost into providing student loans for vulnerable students in tertiary institutions across the country. In his

By Aduragbemi Omiyale A new report by ONE Campaign has revealed that the health sector in Nigeria is woeful, with key indicators showing that urgent steps are needed to put things in order. For example, the report noted that despite the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic, Nigeria’s health budget as a percentage of the total budget is declining, with 13 states reducing their fiscal allocations to the health sector. It was observed that only two states (Kaduna and Sokoto) consistently met the 15 per cent health allocation target between 2020 and 2022, while public health allocations per person have fallen

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has granted the application filed by the board of International Breweries Plc for the listing of its proposed rights issue on the platform. The breweries giant is planning to raise fresh funds of up to N164.4 billion by selling shares to its existing shareholders at a unit price of N9 per share, N1 lower than N10 it traded on the floor of the NSE on Monday (today). The company had through its stockbroker, Chapel Hill Denham Securities Limited, filed the application to the NSE. The request for approval was admitting the rights

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira appreciated against the greenback in the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Monday by 0.81 per cent or N6.30 to sell at N772.12/$1 compared with last Friday’s closing price of N778.42/$1. Also, in the official market, the Naira improved its value against the Pound Sterling by N3.67 to trade at N973.09/£1 compared to the previously traded rate of N976.76/£1 and appreciated against the Euro by N1.25 to close at N835.73/€1 versus N836.98/€1. The Nigerian currency gained weight on these foreign currencies despite a shortfall in the country’s external reserves