Economy
Only 22 Persons Received First Dose of COVID-19 Vaccine in Abia
**As 513,626 Get First Jab in Nigeria
By Ahmed Rahma
More than 500,000 persons living in Nigeria have received the first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
This information was revealed by the National Primary Health Care Agency (NPHCDA) on Sunday. The agency is in charge of vaccination in the country.
In a post on its official Twitter handle yesterday, NPHCDA said the precise number of persons in the country already vaccinated with the first jab is 513,626.
The COVID-19 drug was shipped to Nigeria at the beginning of this month and a total of 3.94 million doses were given to the nation from the World Health Organisation (WHO) COVAX facility aimed to help poorer countries of the globe. They were reportedly given to Nigeria, which prides itself as the giant of Africa, for free.
Recall that the country commenced vaccination on March 5, first with healthcare workers who are mostly at risk of infections being the first responders.
NPHCDA said that the vaccine roll-out would be in four phases, starting with health workers, frontline workers, COVID-19 rapid response team, laboratory network, policemen, petrol station workers and strategic leaders.
“Phase 2 – Older adults aged 50 years and above, those with co-morbidities, aged between 18 years and 49 years.
“Phase 3 – Those in states/LGAs with high disease burden and who missed phases 1 and 2.
“Phase 4 – Other eligible population as vaccines become available,’ it said.
According to the agency, as at March 28, over 513,626 eligible people have been vaccinated in 35 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The agency said that Kogi state is yet to commence vaccination as at March 28, because the state had not been supplied with the vaccines.
“Kogi State was not supplied with the vaccines because their cold store is still under repairs following vandalisation during the #EndSARS protest,” it stated.
The NPHCDA stated that Lagos State had vaccinated 110,042 people, making it the highest in the country.
It said Ogun followed with 47,507, Kaduna with 38,063, Bauchi with 32,482, Katsina with 28,918 and Kwara with 26,473.
NPHCDA also said that the states with the lowest number of those vaccinated are Abia with 22, Taraba with 111 and Kebbi with 532.
It will also be recalled that Nigeria first received 3.94 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines and another 300,000 doses from telecom giant, MTN, as part of the latter’s contribution to Africa.
The Nigerian government hopes to vaccinate 109 million people against the COVID-19 virus over a period of two years.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) has announced the commencement of compliance monitoring activities for large taxpayers under the National e-Invoicing and Electronic Fiscal System (EFS) regime.
A statement issued on Monday and signed by the agency’s chairman, Mr Zacch Adedeji, advised corporate organisations that have yet to adopt this system to do so on or before July 31, 2026.
Recall that on February 17, 2026, NRS issued an implementation timeline for the mandatory adoption of the EFS, also known as the Merchant Buyer Solution (MBS), by large taxpayers.
They were asked to complete the process of onboarding, integration, testing, and commence invoice transmission to the NRS e-invoicing platform in accordance with the prescribed implementation framework.
The compliances include the completion of onboarding on the NRS MBS; the successful integration of taxpayer systems through approved Access Point Providers (APPs) and/or Systems Integrators (SIS); the completion of all required validation and testing activities; the active transmission of invoices to the NRS e-invoicing platform in line with approved standards and guidelines; and the receipt of only compliant e-invoices with a valid Invoice Reference Number (IRN) from suppliers.
Ahead of the deadline, the NRS has commenced compliance monitoring activities to assess the level of adherence to the e-invoicing mandate across the large taxpayer segment.
Those that have not completed the process have been asked to conclude all outstanding onboarding and integration activities and commence invoice transmission before the compliance deadline.
The organisation warned that failure to comply would trigger regulatory and enforcement actions in accordance with the provisions of the relevant tax laws and regulations.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Transcorp Power Plc suffered declines in its revenue and profit in the first half of this year; details of the company’s financial statements for the period ended June 30, 2026, have revealed.
The losses were attributed to recurring transmission line vandalism, which materially constrained the organisation’s ability to evacuate available generation capacity.
Business Post reports that earnings contracted in the first six months of this year to N181.97 billion from the N205.81 billion recorded in the same period of last year, while profit before tax moderated to N54.99 billion from N58.73 billion.
However, on a year-to-date basis, total assets went up to N619.02 billion from N563.48 billion in December 2025, as shareholders’ funds grew to N189.34 billion from N183.40 billion in FY 2025, while retained earnings soared to N140.90 billion from N123.41 billion in FY 2025.
It was observed that the increase in receivables and borrowings largely drove the expansion in the balance sheet during the period.
Also, the firm’s gross margin expanded to 38.4 per cent from 34.7 per cent in H1 2025, operating margin increased to 30.6 per cent from 28.5 per cent, and PBT margin rose to 30.2 per cent from 28.5 per cent, reflecting cost optimisation efforts and disciplined financial management, positioning the company to continue delivering sustainable value for shareholders.
“Our H1 2026 performance is a reflection of the resilience of our business operations despite significant sector-wide existential challenges.
“Regrettably, recurring transmission line vandalisation materially constrained our ability to evacuate available generation capacity.
“Nonetheless, we continued to deliver strong profitability, maintain operational efficiency, and strengthen our balance sheet,” the chief executive of Transcorp Power, Mr Peter Ikenga, stated.
“We remain committed to working with relevant stakeholders to put an end to transmission line vandalisation and to further improving operational performance, power generation supply reliability, and creating sustainable value for our shareholders. We remain highly confident that we will recover lost ground in H1 2026 and finish FY 2026 stronger than FY 2025,” he added.
By Dipo Olowookere
A total of 2.819 billion stocks worth N182.499 billion exchanged hands in 226,729 deals on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited last week, in contrast to the 3.648 billion stocks valued at N220.568 billion transacted in 251,861 deals a week earlier.
From this, financial shares accounted for 2.006 billion units sold for N99.697 billion in 96,171 deals, contributing 71.17 per cent and 54.63 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively.
Consumer goods equities traded 178.863 million units worth N7.872 billion in 26,637 deals, and energy stocks recorded a turnover of 151.237 million units valued at N38.309 billion in 16,879 deals.
First Holdco, FCMB, and Access Holdings accounted for 939.402 million units worth N57.673 billion in 19,051 deals, contributing 33.33 per cent and 31.60 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively.
Business Post reports that the performance indicators were mixed in the five-day trading week, as the All-Share Index (ASI) depreciated by 0.14 per cent to 243,462.13 points, while the market capitalisation appreciated by 0.39 per cent to N157.057 trillion.
All other indices finished higher except the main board, consumer goods, energy, Lotus II, industrial goods, growth, and sovereign bond indices, which fell by 1.54 per cent, 0.15 per cent, 0.11 per cent, 0.40 per cent, 6.26 per cent, 0.09 per cent, and 0.33 per cent, respectively, while the commodity index closed flat.
Forty-four shares gained weight in the week versus 60 shares of the preceding week, 35 equities depreciated versus 28 equities in the previous week, and 67 stocks closed flat versus 58 stocks of the earlier week.
The best-performing stock was First Holdco, which gained 38.66 per cent to trade at N95.95. Thomas Wyatt expanded by 27.16 per cent to N3.09, Fidelity Bank grew by 15.00 per cent to N21.85, Learn Africa grew by 14.44 per cent to N10.30, and UBA chalked up 10.98 per cent to close at N45.50.
The worst-performing stock was BUA Cement after giving up 18.99 per cent to quote at N275.60, Red Star Express shed 18.53 per cent to end at N20.00, International Energy Insurance declined by 15.27 per cent to N4.66, C&I Leasing dropped 13.28 per cent to N5.55, and PZ Cussons crashed by 10.06 per cent to N80.95.
