SEC Lists 9 Major Sins of Oando, Imposes N417.7m Fine

By Dipo Olowookere The last trading day of November 2023 on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended on a bullish note by 0.11 per cent on Thursday. Mild bargain-hunting in industrial goods equities like Lafarge Africa, supported by Airtel Africa, GTCO and other financial stocks left the market in the green territory at the close of business. Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 81.91 points to settle at 71,365.25 points compared with the preceding day’s 71,283.34 points, and the market capitalisation grew by N44 billion to N39.052 trillion from N39.008 trillion. Business Post reports that the

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr Zacch Adedeji, has asked his counterpart in the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ola Olukoyede, to support his agency to achieve the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, who appointed both of them. Speaking during a courtesy visit to the headquarters of the anti-money laundering firm, Mr Adedeji said the EFCC has a role in ensuring that taxpayers’ funds are “judiciously utilised in line with the social contract with the people.” He assured that the FIRS would continue to strive to raise the revenue

By Adedapo Adesanya Equinor and Chappal Energies have entered into an agreement for the sale of Equinor Nigeria Energy Company (ENEC), which holds a 53.85 per cent ownership in oil and gas lease OML 128, including the unitized 20.21 per cent stake in the Agbami oil field, operated by Chevron. Speaking on the deal, Equinor’s senior vice president for Africa Operations, Ms Nina Koch, said Nigeria has been an important part of Equinor’s international portfolio over the past 30 years, noting that, “This transaction realizes value and is in line with Equinor’s strategy to optimize its international oil and gas

By Adedapo Adesanya The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) on Thursday asked Nigeria to produce about 1.5 million barrels of crude oil per day in 2024, lower than the 1.78 million barrels per day benchmark it proposed in the 2024 Appropriation Bill presented to the National Assembly on Wednesday for passage. The output ceiling was around 1.8 million barrels per day before it was cut down to 1.5 million barrels yesterday at the group’s virtual meeting, a huge blow to Nigeria’s revenue target for the fiscal year. OPEC had tasked three consultancies – IHS, Rystad

‌By Ahmed Rahma The Chairman of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Private Universities in Nigeria, Prof. Timothy Olagbemiro, has said private higher institutions deserve to benefit from the N500 billion Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) set aside for tertiary institutions. Mr Olagbemiro argued that the money should not only be for public universities because the fact that some people attend private higher institutions does not mean they should be discriminated against. At a recent event, Chairman, Board of Trustees of TETFund, Mr Kashim Ibrahim-Imam, and the Executive Secretary of the organisation, Prof. Suleiman Bogoro, had stated that the fund was

By Dipo Olowookere One of the members of the judicial panel set up by the Lagos State government on police brutality and the infamous October 20, 2020, shooting at the Lekki Toll Gate, Ms Rinu Oduala, has stepped down. The human rights activist announced her decision to quit the panel on Friday, citing insincerity on the part of the government as the rationale behind her action. Ms Oduala, a prominent member of the #EndSARS campaign, said it was now obvious to her that the “government is only out to use us for performative actions.” She said the decision of the

By Dipo Olowookere Equities in Nigeria lost 0.04 per cent on Wednesday a day after printing the first growth in four sessions. The decline came despite the market breadth closing positive with 13 price gainers as against the 12 price losers. Losses recorded by the insurance (1.03 per cent), banking (0.42 per cent) and consumer goods (0.02 per cent) sectors suppressed the 1.27 per cent growth recorded by the energy sector. The industrial goods counter closed flat during the session. At the close of transactions, the All-Share Index (ASI) shed 14.68 points to finish at 38,706.13 points as against 38,720.81

By Adedapo Adesanya The Chief Executive Officer of Invictus Group, Mr Obinwanne Okeke, who made it into Forbes Africa’s 30 Under 30 List in 2016, has been arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for conspiracy to commit computer fraud. Mr Okeke was arrested by the FBI over $11 million wire fraud after an Office365 account belonging to a steel company’s CEO was hacked. The suspect was said to have conspired with several individuals to access the CEO’s computers without authorization. According to an affidavit released by the FBI and signed by Mr Marshall Ward, a Special Agent of

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira depreciated by 0.12 per cent or 50 kobo against the Dollar on Friday, April 29 at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment of the foreign exchange (FX) market as investors exchanged their local currency at N419.00/$1 in contrast to the N418.50/$1 of the preceding session. Foreign currency sellers struggled during the session to meet the demand of forex by their customers as they prepare for a long holiday. The federal government declared next Monday and Tuesday as public work-free days to mark Workers’ Day and Eid el-Fitri. The demand for FX by users put pressure

By Aduragbemi Omiyale Recently, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) launched a policy aimed to boost foreign exchange (FX) liquidity in the country with a policy known as the CBN RT200 FX Programme. The scheme intends to generate about $200 billion in forex repatriation in the next three to five years through non-oil exports. Nigeria, which is the largest economy in Africa, has mainly relied on the sale of crude oil for FX earnings and because of the global economic meltdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it has not earned much, putting pressure on the Naira at the exchange rate

By Dipo Olowookere A Niger Delta militant group called the Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate (NDGJM) has claimed responsibility for the bombing of an oil facility in Delta State belonging to NPDC/ND WESTERN. NDGJM said its Akuma Strike Force Team carried out the attack in the early hours of Sunday at Otu-Jeremi. The group, in a statement signed by its spokesman, General Aldo Agbalaja, the latest bombing was to register their presence as far as the crisis in the Niger Delta region is concerned. General Agbalaja said the group brought down the 42 inch delivery line operated by NPDC/ND WESTERN

The management of NIPCO Investments Limited has released update concerning the takeover bid of shares of Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc minority shareholders. The update was released to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Tuesday. “Further to the publication of Monday June 19, 2017 on the above captioned takeover bid of shares of minority shareholders in Nilobil Oil Nigeria Plc, kindly note that Acceptance forms can be obtained through the Registrar, GTL Registrars Limited, 266 l\4urtala Muhammed Way, Yaba, Lagos. “Please download the acceptance form through this link and Kindly also be informed that all executed Acceptance Forms must be forwarded