Paxful Records 54% Surge in Deposit Volume in One Month

By Dipo Olowookere The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) kicked off the first trading session in the last week of the third quarter of the year on a negative note, with the key performance indices going down by 0.66 per cent on Monday. This was partly caused by the reaction of investors to the 30 Kobo interim dividend declaration of the board of Access Holdings Plc. A few days ago, its peer, UBA Plc, raised its interim dividend payment by 150 per cent to 50 Kobo and it was expected that Access Holdings would follow the same path. However, the company disappointed

By Precious Olisa This news may not be palatable to developers and Nigerians planning to start a building project, as the Cement Producers Association of Nigeria has warned that the price of a 50kg bag of cement may start selling for N9,000 when the dry season begins in November. At the moment, the product is sold at over N5,000. In a statement jointly signed on Sunday by the National Chairman of the group, Mr David Iweta, and its National Secretary, Mr Ufomba, the manufacturers said the rise in the price of cement would be caused by the decision of the

By Adedapo Adesanya The Minister of Power, Mr Adebayo Adelabu, has called for collective efforts to shape the energy sector in Nigeria, noting that no meaningful economic growth can be achieved without it. Mr Adelabu said this at the Nigeria Energy 2023 leadership summit recently held in Lagos, with the theme Unlocking new value with reforms, investments, and technology which saw in attendance industry leaders. The Minister said, “Energy is the lifeblood of any modern economy of which Nigeria is no exception. No meaningful economic growth or industrial development can be achieved without energy. “We can be talking of potential

By Adedapo Adesanya Nigeria has repaid a total of $12.56 billion in external debt as of 2022, data from Intelpoint showed. According to the latest debt figures, Nigeria’s total public debt rose by 75.3 per cent to N87.38 trillion at the end of the second quarter of 2023 against N49.85 trillion recorded in the first quarter of the year. The rise came as the country securitised the N22.71 trillion Ways and Means Advances of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to the federal government. The overdraft is a loan facility through which the CBN finances the shortfalls in the government’s

The investment banking and asset management subsidiary of FBN Holdings Plc, FBNQuest Merchant Bank, has emerged winner in the Best Sukuk House category at the 2018 EMEA Finance Achievement Awards. Now in its 11th year, EMEA Finance has continued to spotlight the achievements of leading investment banks, asset managers and brokers in Africa. Recognising FBNQuest Merchant Bank’s support for the development of infrastructure in Nigeria through the issuance of the FGN Sukuk II in December 2018, this award reaffirms the bank’s strong performance as a leading Investment Bank in Nigeria. With the Sukuk II issuance, FBNQuest Merchant Bank has continued

By Ebitonye Akpodigha President Muhammadu Buhari Tuesday in Abuja called for stronger global alliance in intelligence and information sharing to halt the scourge of terrorism that currently haunts both developing and developed countries. The President made the call at the State House while receiving Letters of Credence from the Ambassadors of Republic of Tunisia, Mr Jalel Trabelsi; Federal Republic of Germany, Dr Bernhard Stephen Schlagheck; Kingdom of Sweden, Mrs Inger Ultvedt and the High Commissioner of Canada, Mr Christopher Thornley, at separate meetings. President Buhari told the Canadian High Commissioner that countries must always be on alert, and be willing

By Dipo Olowookere One of the world’s leading telecommunications operators, Orange, has announced the launch of its brand in Burkina Faso. Less than one year after the closing of the Group’s acquisition of Airtel, together with Orange Côte d’Ivoire, this announcement clearly demonstrates Orange’s ambitions for the West African market. Orange will pursue its development in mobile financial services and 3.75G mobile Internet, where it was the first operator to launch and is today the uncontested leader in Burkina Faso. Its Orange Money solution for international transfers will be further expanded in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA).

By Adedapo Adesanya Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke has been charged with bribery offences relating to her time as Nigeria’s Minister of Petroleum Resources, the United Kingdom National Crime Agency (NCA) said on Tuesday. The head of the NCA’s international corruption unit, Mr Andy Kelly, said in a statement that, “We suspect Diezani Alison-Madueke abused her power in Nigeria and accepted financial rewards for awarding multi-million-pound contracts.” The NCA said Mrs Alison-Madueke allegedly benefited from at least £100,000 ($127,000) in cash, chauffeur-driven cars, flights on private jets, luxury holidays for her family, and the use of multiple London properties. Charges against her

By Dipo Olowookere The board of Guinness Nigeria Plc has announced the appointment of Mr Baker Magunda as its new Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer. In a statement signed by the Legal Director/Company Secretary of Guinness Nigeria, Rotimi Odusola, it was disclosed that the new MD/CEO is now a member of the board of the brewery giant. The appointment of Mr Magunda followed the resignation of Mr Peter Ndegwa, who was said to have given notice of his resignation as the chief executive of the company via his letter dated June 30, 2018 and was accepted by the board on the

By Adedapo Adesanya The Jos Electricity Distribution Company (JED) has assured all its unmetered customers within its coverage areas; Bauchi, Gombe, Benue and Plateau, that they would be metered very soon. The company gave this assurance in a statement issued by the spokesman for the Disco, Mr Friday Elijah. The firm urged consumers not to panic as there are enough meters to serve all unmetered customers. Mr Elijah noted the firm has started to install prepaid meters in some area. According to him, not less than 20,000 customers have been metered in two months. This, he said, was in compliance

By Dipo Olowookere The upward movement recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited Tuesday could not be sustained on Wednesday as the bourse relapsed into its depression state with a 0.07 per cent loss at the close of business. The exchange came under heavy selling pressure amid weak investor sentiment caused by the decline in the share prices of 18 companies and the growth posted by nine firms. Global Spectrum Energy Services recorded the highest fall as its share value waned by 9.82 per cent to N2.48, followed by Honeywell Flour, which lost 9.77 per cent to close at N1.94.

By Adedapo Adesanya The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has pledged to work with the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) to implement and enforce compulsory insurance in all the 36 states of the federation. This came at the beck of a courtesy visit by the management of NAICOM led by the Commissioner for Insurance, Mr Sunday Thomas, to the office of the Chairman of the forum and Governor of Ekiti State, Mr Kayode Fayemi, in Ado-Ekiti on Tuesday. Mr Fayemi noted that the forum may invite the insurance sector regulatory agency to meet with the 36 state governors to enlighten them of