Stanbic IBTC Pension’s Assets Under Management Rises to N3.5trn

By Adedapo Adesanya The House of Representatives has pledged to stop international oil companies (IOCs) operating in the Niger Delta from divestment of their offshore assets without being accountable to the environment. The Chairman of the House of Reps Committee on Host Communities, Mr Dumnamene Dekor, said this during a technical session on the implementation of the Host Communities Development Trusts (HCDT), organised by Spaces for Change (S4C) with support from Ford Foundation. Mr Dekor raised the alarm that since the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act in 2021, host communities have not experienced any positive change, rather have remained

By Adedapo Adesanya Crude oil prices fell on Thursday members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) agreed to voluntary output cuts for the first quarter of next year, falling short of market expectations. As a result, Brent crude futures lost 27 cents or 0.3 per cent to close at $82.83 per barrel, and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures went down by $1.90 or 2.4 per cent to $75.96 a barrel. On a monthly basis, Brent fell by 5.2 per cent while WTI was down by 6.2 per cent. Saudi Arabia, Russia

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 Aduragbemi Omiyale A workshop designed to educate investors, especially those in the retail end of the curve, on how they can improve corporate governance has been organised by the Nigerian Exchange Regulation (NGX RegCo) Limited. The two-day event, which took place on Thursday, November 23, and Friday, November 24, 2023, was themed Rights and Responsibilities of Shareholders in Driving Corporate Governance. According to the NGX RegCo, the seminar was designed to promote a transparent and fair market, with participants agreeing that all hands must be on deck to sanitize the market and bring the boards and management of listed

By Adedapo Adesanya The Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) has decried rising cases of vandalism across its franchise states. In a press statement signed by its Head of Corporate Affairs, Mr Adekunle Tayo, the DisCo stressed that aside from being an economic crime, it is an act of sabotage against the good purpose and intents of the company. It, therefore, canvassed that vandalism should attract tougher laws to be enforced to protect public property, especially electricity infrastructure. BEDC appealed to members of the public to be vigilant and security conscious on the activities of some criminal elements in the society

By Dipo Olowookere Mali and Nigeria have been named as the second most-prominent theatres of Islamist militant activity with attacks most concentrated in Somalia. It was disclosed that sub-Saharan Africa suffers under a sharp rise in the number of Islamist militant attacks. In its report Changing Patterns in Terrorism and the Threat to Business, Control Risks, the specialist global risk consultancy, finds that the number of incidents rose from 317 in 2013 to 1,549 for the period April 2017 to April 2018. While some of the attacks are inspired by the so-called Islamic State (IS) that loses its grip in

By Dipo Olowookere President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to recirculate old N200 notes to ease the tension caused by the scarcity of the Naira. In a national broadcast on Thursday, the President said with this, the old denomination would remain as legal tender for another 60 days, from February 10 to April 10, 2023. However, he hinted that the old N500 and N1,000 notes would not be returned to the financial system. Mr Buhari asked the Governor of the CBN, Mr Godwin Emefiele, to ensure that the new currency notes are made available to

By Modupe Gbadeyanka President Muhammadu Buhari has urged Nigerians to remain calm as they express their anger over the shortage of Naira in the financial system. Since last week, many citizens of the country have been unable to access their funds in the banks because of a shortage in the supply of the redesigned Naira notes. This has resulted in a huge crowd at banking premises across the nation, with several persons queuing at Automated Teller Machine (ATM) terminals waiting to withdraw their money with success. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) redesigned the N200, N500, and N1,000 denominations last

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Nigeria’s Vice President, Mr Yemi Osinbajo, has said Nigeria, under the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, was making steady progress and on the path of prosperity as a result of reforms covering critical sectors of the economy over the past four years. He said even though much still needed to be done in the different sectors of the economy, the country has enormous potential which would be realised. In a keynote address delivered at the Redeemer’s Men Fellowship Conference themed Galvanized for Geometric Growth in Lagos on Saturday, Mr Osinbajo stressed that the reforms by the present administration

By Modupe Gbadeyanka All is not going well concerning the bid by the lawmaker representing Kogi East Senatorial District of Kogi State, Mr Attai Aidoko, to return to the upper legislative chamber of the National Assembly under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as his ambition suffered another set-back. This is consequent upon the Kogi State Peoples Democratic Party leaders’ refusal to grant him automatic ticket to vie for the position this time at the 2019 general elections. This newspaper learnt last week that Mr Aidoko was told by leaders of the party that unlike Senator Dino Melaye, his desire for

By Adedapo Adesanya Oil futures settled downwards on Friday as there were reports of an end to the strike in Norway that threatened production. The Brent crude went down by 49 cents or 1.13 per cent to $42.85 per barrel while the United States’ benchmark, the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude, lost 67 cents or 1.63 per cent to close at $40.60 per barrel. Even with the slide, the benchmarks marked a week of over 8 per cent gains despite temporary factors such as Hurrican Delta, the strike action in Norway and President Trump’s coronavirus situation. There were reports that

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A team has been set up by the Kwara State government to assist in revenue collection from private schools, especially those offering post-secondary school services in the state. The task force, headed by Mr Banigbe Rotimi Williams, has six other members and would ensure that advanced coaching centres and private tertiary institutions in the state are up to date with the payment of their dues. The Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Science and Technology, Mr Ibrahim Sulyman, who inaugurated the seven-man group, said efforts must be made to identify those operating with and without a licence in the