Business

NCC vows to sanction telcos over forced subscriptions

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The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has revealed that it will sanction telecom providers forcefully subscribing consumers to value-added services (VAS).

This warning was contained in a statement issued by Efosa Idehen, director of consumer affairs bureau at NCC, via a video published on the commission’s Twitter account on Friday, February 26.

Idehen explained that VAS is the value added by a service provider to a consumer and if there are no value-added, it is wrong to forcefully subscribe one to it.

Forceful subscription is a no to the commission. For you to subscribe into VAS, a message is first sent to you and then another is sent for confirmation on whether a consumer wants to subscribe to the service or not,” he said.

“If they forcefully subscribe you to content without permission or confirmation, report such case to the commission.

“It is an offence and it is punishable by sanction, there are penalties for forcefully subscribing VAS if consumers didn’t subscribe to it. ”

Idehen advised consumers to always check the contents of any VAS product shared/delivered, as when one is subscribed to such, there are terms and conditions applied to it.

In his remarks, Umar Garba Danbatta, executive vice-chairman (EVC) of NCC, says subscribers in the country now consume 80 terabytes of data monthly.

According to a report by NCC, basic active internet subscriptions grew from 90 million to 154.3 million between 2015 and 2020.

“According to the latest statistics on data usage, Nigerians are consuming in excess of about 80 terabytes of data monthly,” Danbatta said.

We have seen this trend for quite a while due to increase in data usage and increase in online activities, which has led to the increase in demand of data by consumers.”

The EVC further said NCC is fully aware of the difficulties consumers face with their telecom providers on data consumption.

NCC had reported that between January 2019 and April 2020, it received a total of 26,169 complaints, majorly on poor services and data consumption.

It also said that during the COVID-19 lockdown, 76 consumer complaints were received, bordering on data, billing, SIM registration, credit depletion, value-added services (VAS), line barred, poor network, and fraud.

We are aware of the difficulties consumers are experiencing when it comes to data consumption.

“We have received complaints of how consumers’ data is been depleted quickly. However, this depletion is a result of usage by consumers or as a result of an allegation being said that mobile operators are overcharging consumers.”

Danbatta pledged to continue to defend consumers from dubious practices in the telecom industry.

Business

NPA, Lagos govt to commence e-call up system for trucks from Feb 27

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The Lagos State Government (LASG), Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), and other stakeholders have agreed to adopt a new electronic call-up system for trucks scheduled to commence on February 27.

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation and Chairman, Special Traffic Management Enforcement Team, Mr Oluwatoyin Fayinka, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday, February 25, in Lagos.

Ripples Nigeria gathered that the electronic call-up system would be based on a first-come-first-served basis.

Fayinka said that the resolution was agreed upon on Thursday after thorough consideration of all parties involved to effectively eliminate the traffic congestion experienced in the state through ports activities.

“At the meeting which held at Lilypond Terminal, the parties which include: NPA, LASG, Nigeria Police Force, and Truck Transit Park agreed that the new e- call-up system will commence on Feb. 27.

”As the existing call up for trucks will be discontinued from Friday, Feb. 26, due to its inefficiency to manage truckers operations in and out of the ports,” Fayinka said.

He added that it was jointly agreed upon that all articulated vehicles would be prevented from entering Apapa and its environs by 4pm on Feb. 26.

“Subsequently, by 12.00 noon on Feb. 27, trucks in and around the ports access roads are all expected to have vacated the corridors,” Fayinka said.

He warned truck owners and drivers to adhere to the resolutions to prevent harsh reactions from the government.

Fayinka, however, said that parties also urged all stakeholders, especially truck owners to cooperate with the state government as it makes consolidated efforts to create ease in movement for its citizenry safety, welfare, and health which were of primary importance.

Business

NAHCO in market abuse as it silently suspends CEO, Adetokunbo Fagbemi

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Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) has suspended its Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Adetokunbo Fagbemi, silently for four weeks without notifying the investing public.

NAHCO had announced, on January 7, the company would hold its board of directors meeting on January 27 and 28 to discuss its 2020 fourth quarter unaudited financial statements, but didn’t disclose the management will deliberate the suspension of Fagbemi, neither did NAHCO announce her suspension afterwards.

Why Nahco suspended Fabgemi

NAHCO decided to suspend Fagbemi on January 27 during the board of directors meeting, but the suspension took effect on February 3. She had been suspended for the company’s failure to procure an equipment from a vendor.

The company was said to have wasted time in dealing with the acquisition, leading to the failure. As the head of the Aviation service firm, the blame was laid on Fagbemi, and the board resolved to put her on suspension with half-salary paid.

To beat the suspension, she was directed to provide a certified bill of lading for the equipment by February 2, but Fagbemi was unable to produce the bill, leading to the suspension taking effect the next day.

During Fagbemi’s suspension, Olumuyiwa Olumekun, NAHCO’s Group Executive Director for Corporate Services, took over her position as MD/CEO.

The suspension lasted for four weeks following the provision of the certified bill of lading for the equipment by Fagbemi on February 24. The bill of lading provides departure and arrival dates of the equipment.

Fagbemi’s suspension was only brought to the attention of the investing public, in a statement, after the Board held an emergency meeting on Wednesday, February 24, to reinstate Fagbemi.

Market abuse

According to Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) listing rules, listed companies are compelled to immediately reveal to the investors and the public, all factors or corporate information that might affect investors’ interest (shares), but NAHCO took four weeks before informing the public of Fagbemi’s suspension.

And the company only revealed the suspension when it lifted it. The NSE listing requirements is placed under market abuse, and the suspension of Fagbemi had a material effect on stock market activity as monitored by Ripples Nigeria.

After the board agreed to suspend Fagbemi, Nahco’s share price value significantly declined, as the company lost N0.17kobo in share price in one day, to close the market at N2.18kobo on February 1, against the N2.35kobo it opened with.

Since then, NAHCO’s share price has been fluctuating, but trading below the price (N2.35kobo) it held prior to Fagbemi’s suspension. The share price recorded its biggest decline on February 11, as it plunged to N2.08 per share.

Between January 27 and February 24, the four weeks period NAHCO kept the information from investing public, NAHCO’s share price lost N0.13kobo, as it closed market at N2.22kobo per share on Wednesday, February 24.

How will NSE act in such situation

Checks by Ripples Nigeria, showed that any company that fails to inform the NSE of a corporate information or development that has potential to impact on their company’s market performance will be fined of 50% of the annual listing fee.

Publication of accounts, notices of Annual General Meetings, closure of register, payment dates, changes in directorate, changes in capital structure, alteration to memorandum and articles of association, changes in general character of the company, all corporate information/development with potential to impact on the company’s performance etc. without prior written approval of The Exchange shall attract a fine of 50% of the annual listing fee.” NSE stated.

It is, however, unsure if NSE will hit the hammer on NAHCO, but according to the market authority, such breach of market requirement and directive attract a financial sanction.

Business

Apple buys companies every three to four weeks

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Apple has acquired about 100 companies over the last six years, the company’s chief executive Tim Cook has revealed.

That works out at a company every three to four weeks, he told Apple’s annual meeting of shareholders on Tuesday.

Apple recently delivered its largest quarter by revenue of all time, bringing in $111.4bn (£78.7bn) in the first-quarter of its fiscal year 2021.

Mr Cook told the shareholders meeting that the acquisitions are mostly aimed at acquiring technology and talent.

Apple’s largest acquisition in the last decade was its $3bn purchase of Beats Electronics, the headphone maker founded by rapper and producer Dr Dre.

Another high profile purchase was music recognition software company Shazam, for $400m in 2018.

Most often, Apple buys smaller technology firms and then incorporates their innovations into its own products.

One example is PrimeSense, an Israeli 3D sensing company whose technology contributed to Apple’s FaceID.

Apple has also invested in back-end technology that wouldn’t be so obvious to iPhone or Macbook users.

Apple’s list of acquisitions and investments is extremely varied.

In the past year, Apple has bought several artificial intelligence (AI) companies, a virtual reality events business, a payments startup and a podcast business, among others.

In 2019, Apple bought Drive.ai, a self-driving shuttle firm, in an effort to boost its own foray into self-driving technologies.https://emp.bbc.com/emp/SMPj/2.39.19/iframe.htmlmedia captionWATCH: Who are the ‘big four’ and just how much power do they have?

In 2016, the company also took a $1bn stake in Chinese ride-hailing service Didi Chuxing, although it wasn’t a controlling interest.

Apple is an immensely profitable juggernaut worth more than $2trn, so it has plenty of money to make acquisitions.

But even if it has bought 100 companies in six years, Apple appears to be very selective about what it buys.

For example, Tesla founder Elon Musk recently revealed that he approached Mr Cook to buy the electric car business when it was struggling in 2013.

Mr Cook didn’t take the meeting, Mr Musk said.

Measured by value, Apple’s acquisitions are actually far more restrained than those of many of its tech rivals.

Microsoft paid $26bn for LinkedIn, Amazon paid $13.7bn for Whole Foods and Facebook paid $19bn for WhatsApp.

Apple’s ten largest purchases put together would still be worth far less than any of those deals.

Business, World News

Read why Boeing 777 aircraft was grounded

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United Airlines says it is grounding 24 of its Boeing 777 aircraft after one of its jets suffered engine failure after take-off on Saturday.

The plane, carrying 231 passengers and 10 crew, was forced to return to Denver airport. No injuries were reported.

Debris from the jet was found scattered over a nearby residential area.

In response to the incident, Japan has asked all airlines using Boeing 777s with the same Pratt & Whitney 4000 engine to avoid its airspace.

Boeing said it supported Japan’s decision and has recommended suspending operations of all 777s with the same engine while an investigation into the incident continues. The manufacturer says there are 69 Boeing 777s currently in service worldwide with this engine.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), United is the only US airline flying such planes, with the others being in Japan and South Korea.

United Flight 328, bound for Honolulu, suffered a failure in its right-hand engine, the FAA said.

The agency has ordered extra inspections of Boeing 777 jets fitted with the Pratt & Whitney 4000 engine following the incident.

“We reviewed all available safety data following yesterday’s incident,” said FAA administrator Steve Dickson in a statement.

“Based on the initial information, we concluded that the inspection interval should be stepped up for the hollow fan blades that are unique to this model of engine, used solely on Boeing 777 airplanes.”

The FAA is meeting representatives from the engine firm and Boeing.

The National Transportation Safety Board’s initial finding is that most of the damage occurred in the right engine, where two fan blades were fractured and other blades also impacted. The main body of the aeroplane suffered only minor damage.

Passengers onboard the flight described a “large explosion” shortly after take-off.

“The plane started shaking violently, and we lost altitude and we started going down,” David Delucia said.

He added that he and his wife placed their wallets in their pockets so that “in case we did go down, we could be ID’d”.

Police in the town of Broomfield posted pictures of what appeared to be the front of an engine casing in the front garden of a home. Other fragments were seen around the town including on a football field. No one was injured by the falling debris from the plane.

Debris from the engine of a Boeing 777 which failed during take-off from Denver, 20 February

In Japan, all 777s with the Pratt & Whitney 4000 model engines are to avoid its airspace until further notice. This includes take-offs, landings and flights over the country.

The government there has also ordered JAL and ANA airlines to suspend the use of its 777s with the same Pratt and Whitney 4000 model engine.

Last December a JAL flight was forced to return to Naha Airport due to a malfunction in the left engine – the plane is the same age as the 26-year-old United Airlines plane from Saturday’s incident.

In 2018, the right engine of a United Airlines plane broke shortly before it landed in Honolulu. Following an investigation, the National Transportation Safety Board said the incident was caused by a full-length fan blade fracture.

Business, Lifestyle, World News

Adieu to the great sculptor Arturo Di Modica

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The sculptor behind Wall Street’s famous Charging Bull statue has died aged 80, reports say.

Friends of Arturo Di Modica told Italian media that the sculptor died in his home town of Vittoria, Sicily. He had been fighting cancer for many years, La Repubblica reported.

The bull was originally installed in New York in 1989 without permission.

It was designed to represent the “strength and power of the American people” after the 1987 market crash.

Police seized the 7,100 pound (3,200 kg) bronze statue from its position outside the New York Stock Exchange. But following a public outcry, city officials allowed it to be reinstalled days later in the heart of Manhattan’s financial district.

It has gone on to become one of the most recognisable images of New York, and a major tourist attraction.

The Charging Bull or Wall Street Bull is pictured in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., January 16, 2019.

In recent years, Di Modica opposed the temporary installation of another now famous statue, called Fearless Girl, opposite the bull.

The Fearless Girl

Di Modica complained at the time that his bull was meant to embody “strength, power and love”, and that having Fearless Girl – designed to call attention to gender inequality and the pay gap in the corporate world – face off against it turned its message into something negative.

Other notable works by Di Modica include marble pieces exhibited at the Rockefeller Center, works in bronze at Castle Clinton National Monument, and a bronze horse exhibited in the Lincoln Center, his biography on chargingbull.com says.

Business

FAAC disburses N640.3bn to three tiers of govt for January

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The Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) has shared N640.310 billion to the three tiers of government for January.

Mr Hassan Dodo, the Director of Information, Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, said this was revealed in a communique issued at the end of the virtual conference of FAAC on Thursday, February 18.

The committee in its communique explained that the amount shared by the Federal Government, states, and Local Government Areas (LGAs) included the cost of collection to different agencies involved.

It noted that the N640.310 billion shared included cost of collection to Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).

The committee also noted that the Federal Government received N226.998 billion, the states received N177.171 billion and the LGAs got N131.399 billion.

It added that the oil-producing states received N26.777 billion as derivation (13 per cent of Mineral Revenue) and the Cost of Collection/Transfer and Refunds was N75.966 billion.

According to the communique, the Gross Revenue available from the Value Added Tax (VAT) for January was N157.351 billion.

It added that the oil-producing states received N26.777 billion as derivation (13 per cent of Mineral Revenue) and the Cost of Collection/Transfer and Refunds was N75.966 billion.

According to the communique, the Gross Revenue available from the Value Added Tax (VAT) for January was N157.351 billion.

It stated that this was against N171.358 billion distributed in the preceding month of December 2020, resulting in a decrease of N14.007 billion.

The distribution is as follows: Federal Government got N21.950 billion, the states received N73.168 billion, LGAs got N51.218 billion, while Cost of Collection – FIRS and NCS got N11.015 billion.

“The distributed Statutory Revenue of N482.958 billion received for the month was higher than the N437.256 billion received for the previous month by N45.703 billion.

“From this, the Federal Government received N205.047 billion, states got N104.003 billion, LGAs got N80.162 billion, Derivation (13 per cent Mineral Revenue) got N28.777 billion and Cost of Collection/ Transfer and Refund got N64.951 billion.”

The communique also revealed that Companies Income Tax (CIT) and Oil and Gas Royalty, VAT, and Excise Duty recorded marginal to significant decreases.

However, Import Duty increased only marginally and Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT) recorded a considerable increase.

Furthermore, the balance in the Excess Crude Account as of February 18 was $72.412 million.

Business

IMF backs CBN ban on cryptocurrency in Nigeria

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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has thrown its weight behind the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) two weeks after the CBN directed banks to close accounts related to cryptocurrency across Nigeria.

The CBN had also warned deposit money banks and other financial institutions against dealing with cryptocurrency exchanges, starting that the digital asset isn’t a legal tender in Nigeria.

According to the IMF, the caution shown by Nigeria’s monetary authority is warranted due to the risk in cryptocurrency. The IMF made its reservation known in the 2020 Article IV IMF Staff Report for Nigeria.

In the report, the Resident Representative of IMF for Nigeria, Ari Aisen, said the use of cryptocurrencies raises concern as bitcoin and other digital assets could be used in illegal activities such as money laundering and drug peddling.

The issue with some of the cryptocurrencies is that perhaps some care should be taken about their activities. The use of cryptocurrencies is a concern.

“That is why some central banks, not only in Nigeria, have these concerns about what kind of activities these cryptocurrencies are put and how best to monitor those activities.”

Aisen’s reason for caution is same with the CBN, but this warning has failed to curb the growing penetration of bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies. The persons, companies and institutional investors are purchasing bitcoin to grow their wealth.

The increasing acceptance is reflected in the valuation of Bitcoin, which was $1 as at the time it was created in 2009, but now trades above $50,000 in February 2021. As at December 2020, Bitcoin crossed $20,000 mark, but Bitcoin current price is $51,828.64 as at the time of filing this report.

Business, World News

Don’t Create Artificial Petrol Scarcity, NNPC Warns Marketers

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The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has warned petrol marketers against hoarding Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) in order not to create hardship for Nigerians.

In a press release on Thursday, Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of NNPC, Dr. Kennie Obateru, said there is no plan to increase pump price of petrol in February.

While giving assurance that it has enough stock of petrol to keep the nation well supplied for about 40 days, NNPC called on relevant regulatory authorities to monitoring of the activities of marketers with a view to sanctioning those involved in products hoarding or arbitrary increase of pump price.

It would be recalled that the nation’s downstream sector was deregulated in March 2020 with the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, stating that the prices of petroleum products would be determined my prevailing market forces.

Business

FG spends N50bn to subsidise electricity for Nigerians – Power minister

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The Minister of Power, Sale Mamman, said on Tuesday the Federal Government spends over N50 billion monthly on electricity.

The minister, according to a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media, Aaron Artimas, stated this when he received the Guild of Actors and Film Producers in his office in Abuja.

He said: “Worried by the incessant complaints by ordinary Nigerians over the unavoidable and periodic increase in the cost of electricity, the Federal Government has been subsidising electricity supply in the country to the tune of over N50 billion.

The funds are provided to augment the shortfall by the Distribution Companies (DiSCos) who have failed to defray the cost of bulk electricity supplied to them by the Generating Companies (GenCoS).

“However, following a minor increase in the tariff regime, the subsidy has now decreased by half, but still constitutes a serious drain on the nation’s economy.”

Mamman expressed concern over the failure of the DiSCos to stabilise their operations to meet their financial obligations to other players in the sector.

He said it was in response to this unfortunate development that the federal government was forced to partly subsidise the sector to reduce the burden on ordinary Nigerians.

The minister added: “Nigerians must understand that these companies were privatised long before the advent of this administration but the government has no alternative than to continue managing the sector before a final solution is secured.

Through the Presidential Power Initiative and other intervention measures, the government is diligently working to massively resolve all these inherited problems that have continuously frustrated the success of the sector.”

Mamman claimed that most of the DisCos were sold off and managed as family businesses, a development that has hampered its effective management.

Business

Nigeria to set new trade policy amid Okonjo-Iweala reign as WTO DG

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The Nigerian government is in the process of setting a new trade policy that would decide the country’s trade relations with African countries and global economies, as the Federal Government plans to take advantage of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s emergence as Director-General of World Trade Organisation (WTO).

It was gathered that Nigeria’s current trade policy used in the business community is about to expire, hence, the need for a new trade policy to shore up the country’s position in global trade.

According to Nigeria’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, AdeniyI Adebayo, his ministry is drafting a new policy that should be concluded months from now when the Federal Executive Council (FEC) give their approval.

The trade policy Nigeria has been operating is about to expire, and we are in the process of putting in place a new trade policy, which is being worked on at the moment.

“We are hopeful within the next few months, we would be able to take it to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for approval. And that’s what we would be working on for the next few years.” Adebayo said during Arise TV interview on Monday.

He said the trade policy is vital as Nigeria had outgrown the African market and plans to play on global stage with Okonjo-Iweala as WTO Director-General. Okonjo-Iweala had been confirmed as WTO DG on Monday, following a long breakdown in the selection process.

Now that we have one of us as the DG of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Nigeria’s ambition is to play on the world stage. We are outgrowing Africa – we want to play with the biggest in the world.” Adebayo said.

Business

Cyber criminals stole N5.20bn from Nigerian banks customers in 9 months

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On the back of rising electronic transactions, bank customers recorded a loss of N5.20 billion between January and September 2020 in 41,979 fraud-related incidences representing 91 percent success out of the total 46,126 fraud attempts.

This is according to data at the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) shown in its latest report titled Fraud in the Nigerian Financial Services.

The data also showed N203.357 million were partially lost by customers in 984 fraud attempts while 3,163 fraud attempts were repelled that could have resulted in the loss of N380.159 million.

A breakdown of how the frauds were perpetrated in 2020, shows majority of the fraud was done via the web representing 47 percent, Mobile transaction 36 percent, Automatic Teller Machine 9 percent while internet banking 1 percent.

On year on year growth, Mobile channel rose by 330 percent, while Web and Point of Sales channels fraud activities increased by 173 percent and 215 percent respectively from 2019 to 2020.

During the first 9 months of 2020, July represented the biggest loss for customers, as over 7,000 fraud cases were recorded.

January and March followed behind with over 5,000 fraud attempts in olumes.

On the technique applied to defraud bank customers in 2020, NIBSS revealed that Social engineering remains one of the principal ways in which fraudulent activities are attempted.

Social engineering is a way of manipulating a victim into giving away sensitive information.

NIBBS disclosed that 56 percent of fraud techniques were Social engineering, followed by phone theft, card theft and fake assistant representing 6 percent.

PIN compromise was 3 percent of the total fraud activities, Robbery 2 percent, Lack of 2FA 1.9 percent, missing lost card 1 percent, card phone theft 1 percent.

Business

CBN hands over National Theatre renovation to firm partly-owned by Lagos

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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has concluded plans to renovate the National Theatre, with three contractors chosen to conduct the reconstruction work.

One of the firms is partly-owned by the Lagos State government with chieftains of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as directors in the company.

The three contractors chosen are Nairda Limited, which is the Electrical Sub Contractor; VACC Limited, the Mechanical Sub Contractor, and Cappa & D’Alberto Limited, which is the Main contractor of the National Theatre renovation project.

According to findings by Ripples Nigeria, Cappa & D’Alberto Limited is partly-owned by the Lagos State government, through Ibile Holdings Limited, which is an investment company of the state government.

Ibile – which is the acronym of the first letter from names of the five administrative divisions of Lagos State; Ikorodu, Badagry, Ikeja, Lagos Island and Epe – is a substantial shareholder of Cappa & D’Alberto Limited.

Cappa & D’Alberto constructs residential and commercial buildings, and Ibile Holdings is its third largest shareholder with 18.56% as at July 25, 2019, checks by Ripples Nigeria confirmed.

On Cappa & D’Alberto board of directors, are two All Progressive Congress (APC) chieftains, Adedamola Seriki, current Nigerian ambassador to Spain and Abayomi Kiyomi, former Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly.

Cappa & D’Alberto will be in charge of the renovation – which will cost the CBN and bankers committee N21.89 billion – as the main contractor, with renovation expected to be completed in the next 18 months, while CBN will run the entertainment site until 2042.

Cappa & D’Alberto were previously listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), but chose to delist after an Annual General Meeting (AGM) in 2009.

The company was eventually delisted by NSE in 2015 due to its failure to comply with listing requirements.

Prior to the decision to delist, Cappa & D’Alberto shares traded at above N100 per share, but dropped to N90.72kobo after the announcement.

The construction firm now operates as a private company.

Business

NSE: Zenith Bank, Transcorp record highest trade amid shares dumping

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The stock market dip at the end of the week, with investors losing N300 billion as the equity capitalisation ended trade with N21.15 trillion on Friday, trading below the N21.45 trillion the market closed with on Thursday.

The All Share Index (ASI) also depreciated following a loss of 574.45 basis points, to end the trade at 40.439.85 ASI on Friday, below the 41,014,30 ASI the market closed with the previous day.

Volume of shares traded declined significantly, with data from Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) showing investors traded 395.62 million shares on Friday, lower than the 1.27 billion shares of Thursday.

Deals sealed by investors also decreased to 5,321 at the close of market on Friday, below the 6,573 deals secured on Thursday. Also, value of shares traded declined to N5,19 billion from N6,39 billion.

Meanwhile, at the capital market today, UAC Property rose to the top gainers’ chart after rising by 9.59% to close at N0.8kobo on Friday, against the N0.73kobo it opened with on Thursday.

Linkage Assurance came second with N0.59kobo as it share price moved upward from N0.54kobo following a 9.26% rise in share price. Japaul Gold followed after closing the market with N0.65kobo, rising from the opening price of N0.71kobo per share after recording 9.23% gain.

Unity Bank gained 9.23% to move to N0.71kobo from the opening trade of N0.65kobo.

Afrinsure completed the top five with N0.24kobo per share, gaining 9.09% to increase its share price from N0.22kobo.

Livestock topped the losers’ chart after shielding N0.22kobo to close the market with N2.03, having opened trading at N2.25kobo.

NEM also made the losers’ list after its share price dropped to N2.05 from N2.27kobo per share, following a loss of N0.22kobo.

BUA Cement share price dip by N5.7kobo to secure the third spot as it ended trading with N73.3kobo from N79 it opened with.

Sovereign Insurance share price declined to N0.26kobo per share from N0.28kobo, declining by 7.14%.

Dangote Cement completed the list as its share price fell by N8 to end trade with N220, having opened the trade with N228 per share.

For top traded shares, Zenith Bank was the most active stock on Friday, as investors traded 55.60 million shares worth N1.37 billion.

Transcorp shares were traded at a volume of 42.71 million valued at N40.96 million.

First Bank was next with 42.06 million shares traded at a cost of N302.48 million.

GTBank reported 42.06 million shares worth over N1.28 billion while Access Bank recorded 40.94 million traded shares at a value of N330.47 million.

Business

Senate summons CBN governor, SEC chief over ban on cryptocurrency trading

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The Senate on Thursday summoned the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, over the ban of cryptocurrency transactions in the country.

The upper legislative chamber also directed its Committees on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions, ICT and Cybercrimes, and Capital Market to summon the Director-General of the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), Lamido Yuguda, on the same matter.

The duo are expected to brief the parliament on “the opportunities and threats of the cryptocurrency on the nation’s economy and security.

The committee is expected to present its findings within two weeks.

The apex bank had last week directed Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and other financial institutions to close accounts of persons using their systems for cryptocurrency trading.

A cryptocurrency is a virtual or digital currency that appreciates or depreciates on the influence of market forces.

The decision to summon the CBN and SEC chiefs was taken following the adoption of a motion titled: “CBN decision to stop financial institutions from transacting in cryptocurrencies and matters arising therefrom,” presented by Senators Istifanus Gyang and Tokunbo Abiru.

However, senators differed in their opinion on the matter during the plenary.

While Abiru, the Chairman of Senate Committee on Finance, Solomon Adeola and Biodun Olujimi spoke in support of cryptocurrency usage, Senator Sani Musa defended the CBN’s decision to ban cryptocurrency trading in Nigeria.

Abiru said: “The last five years, we have had people changing cryptocurrencies to over 500 million dollars. It is good to ban because of the challenges it has presented; in reality, banning it doesn’t take it away.

“Even our Security Exchange Commission (SEC) also recognized cryptocurrency as a financial asset they need to regulate. What we should do is to invite the major stakeholders to a public hearing.”

On his part, Adeola said: “I am strongly against the outright ban of this medium of exchange by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). What the CBN should be telling Nigerians are the regulations put in place to regulate the activities of the operators.

All over the world, these cryptocurrencies are regulated. The operators of this so-called currency are everywhere. I would indulge this Senate to allow the regulators also to be invited so that they can also tell the committees their own position concerning the operation of cryptocurrency in Nigeria.”

Olujimi, who canvassed the continuous usage of cryptocurrency, added: “We didn’t create cryptocurrency and so we cannot kill it and cannot also refuse to ensure it works for us. These children are doing great business with it and they are getting result and Nigeria cannot immune itself from this sort of business.

What we can do is ensure bad people must not use it. This motion is most important to us. The time has come for us to harmonize all the issues concerning cryptocurrency.”

But Musa insisted that Bitcoin has made the Naira almost useless.

He added that the Nigerian economy was too weak for the usage of Bitcoin which “can’t be regulated.”

The senator said: “Cryptocurrency has become a worldwide transaction of which you cannot even identify who owns what. The technology is so strong that I don’t see the kind of regulation that we can do. Bitcoin has made our currency almost useless or valueless.

If we have an economy that is very weak and we cannot regulate cryptocurrency in Nigeria, then I don’t know how our economy would be in the next seven years.”

Business

FEC approves new debt management strategy

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DMO reveals approval of new debt management strategy 2020-2023 by FEC

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) at its meeting on Wednesday, February 10, approved a new Medium Term Debt Management Strategy (MTDS) for Nigeria, for the period 2020-2023.

This was contained on the official website of the Debt Management Office (DMO).

According to the DMO, the MTDS was a policy document that provided a guide to the borrowing activities of a government in the medium-term, which is usually four years.

It said: “it is recognised as one of the best practices in public debt management and is recommended by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF)

This is to ensure that public debt management is driven by a well-articulated strategy that is structured to meet a country’s broader macroeconomic and public debt management objectives.

“The MTDS, 2020-2023 has been prepared by the DMO, in collaboration with Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

“Other collaborating stakeholders are the Budget Office of the Federation, National Bureau of Statistics, and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.”

The DMO revealed that Nigeria has had two previous MTDS (2012-2015 and 2016-2019), prior to the current Strategy, which was designed with a consideration of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The new Strategy had to be re-worked to reflect the global and local economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and it incorporates data from the revised 2020 Appropriation Act and the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework 2021-2023.

“The new MTDS adequately reflects the current economic realities and the projected trends. The preparation of the MTDS usually involves the consideration of alternative funding strategies available to the government.

“It seeks to meet its financing needs, taking into consideration the cost of borrowing and the associated risks, while ensuring debt sustainability in the medium to long-term,” the DMO explained.

Debt incurred by the Federal Government

As of Q4 2020, the total public debt (External and Domestic) incurred by Nigeria stood at N32.22 trillion ($84.57 billion).

This represents an additional N6.01 trillion when compared to N26.21 trillion recorded as of the corresponding period of 2019.

This is according to the Nigerian Domestic and Foreign Debt report, released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

A cursory look at the breakdown of the domestic debts shows that 73.53% (N11.65 trillion) were in form of Federal Government bonds, 17.17% (N2.72 trillion) in Treasury bills, followed by Promissory Notes accounting for 6.13% (N971.9 billion) of the total federal government domestic debts.

Others include; FGN Sukuk (N362.6 billion), Treasury Bonds (N100.9 billion), Green bond (N25.7 billion), and Savings bond (N12.6 billion).

On the 31st of December 2020, President Buhari signed the 2021 appropriation bill of N13.59 trillion into law, which 25.7% higher than the revised 2020 budget of N10.8 trillion.

However, the budget comes with a deficit of N5.6 trillion, which is expected to be financed mainly through borrowings both externally and domestically.

According to the minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Dr. Zainab Ahmed, during a budget presentation, N2.34 trillion will be sourced each from domestic and foreign sources respectively, N709.69 billion from Multilateral/bilateral loan drawdowns, and N205.15 billion from privatisation proceeds.

Business

United Nigeria Airlines begins operation

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United Nigeria Airlines will conduct its inaugural flight on Friday, February 12, 2021.

The inaugural flight will take off from the domestic wing of Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MM2) in Ikeja, Lagos state and terminate at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport Enugu, the operational base of United Nigeria.

The flight will also visit Abuja from Enugu and finally return to Lagos.

Head, Corporate Communications, Achilleus-Chud Uchegbu said the inaugural flight will be conducted with an EMB145 aircraft.

Daily Trust reports that the commencement of operation followed the issuance of an Air Operators Certificate (AOC) to United Nigeria by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), having fulfilled all mandatory regulatory requirements.

The airline said regular daily flight operations to Lagos, Abuja, Asaba, Enugu airports would commence immediately while Owerri and Port Harcourt will follow shortly.

Business, Politics

Reasons NIN is so important in Nigeria

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The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, recently disclosed that the federal government has begun the process of replacing the Bank Verification Number (BVN) and other national database systems with the National Identity Number (NIN).

Aside from BVN, there are other key data systems in Nigeria.

Some of these are the Drivers Licence, issued by the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), the Tax Identification Number (TIN) and the International Passport Number.

Others include professional licences like medical practice licence, pharmacology, nursing licence, teachers’ registration licence and engineering licence, among others.

According to the minister, his office was leading the initiative.

And the key reason for the migration of all databases to NIN is the fact that NIN is backed by law.

He said there is the need to replace BVN with NIN because the BVN is a bank policy but NIN is a law.

Because it has been established by law, the strength of the law everywhere is higher than a policy made by an institution.

The BVN was a policy directive by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that all customers of commercial banks must be identified through a verifiable number system.

Just like BVN and other data systems, there are limitations: you must be eligible to be captured in one or all these databases, but the NIN is not so, as long as you are a Nigerian or living in Nigeria.

For instance, BVN is only for those with active bank accounts, International Passport is often done by people who may have the need or opportunity to travel abroad, drivers licence works for those who have attained the 18-year for driving and are duly certified and fit for driving, while TIN is for those who are in the working-age and eligible to pay tax – Pay As You Earn (PAYE).

Countries in Asia, Europe and even the United States practice a central national identity system that tracks residents in a country.

The NIMC’s database is the primary one in the country that every institution should make reference to.

Another reason for prioritising NIMC is due to the insecurity issues in Nigeria.

Pantami said, with NIMC’s database, the level of security is 99.9 percent which is further guaranteed by the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation to guarantee safety of all data collected in the country.

Currently, NIN has been harmonised with the BVN of customers by most of the banks, the process is still on to integrate SIM cards with NIN by the telecommunication companies.

The NIN has been integrated as a central identity number in new international passports.

In December, FRSC rolled out its enforcement of NIN first before drivers licence, meaning you cannot get a new licence and renew one if you have no NIN.

Business

NNPC records N13.43bn trading surplus

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The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) recorded a trading surplus of N13.43billion in November last year.

The figure was a 54 percent increase from N8.71billion surplus recorded in October.

The Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of NNPC, Dr. Kennie Obateru, who disclosed this in the corporation’s Monthly Financial and Operations Reports for November 2020, added that NNPC generated $108.84 million from the export of crude oil and gas during the period.

He said NNPC surplus was bolstered by additional engineering services rendered by the Nigerian Engineering and Technical Company (NETCO) and increased revenue from import activities posted by Duke Oil Incorporated.

Obateru said: “These healthy performances dominated the positions of all other NNPC subsidiaries to record the Group surplus.

“Operating revenue decreased slightly by 0.02 percent or N0.09billion to stand at N423.08 billion while expenditure for the month also decreased by 1.16 percent or N4.81billion to stand at N409.65billion. This led to the N13.43billion trading surplus.”

The NNPC spokesman added that crude oil export contributed $73.09 million (67.15 percent) of the dollar transactions for November compared with $12.38 million contributions recorded in the previous month.

Gas export sales amounted to $35.75 million in the month.

The total crude oil and gas export for November 2019 to November 2020 stood at $2.89billion.

The spokesman added: “In the Gas Sector, a total of 222.34 Billion Cubic Feet (BCF) of natural gas was produced in the month under review, translating to an average daily production of 7,411.52 Million Standard Cubic Feet per Day (mmscfd).

“Furthermore, for the period November 2019 to November 2020, a total of 3,004.06BCF of gas was produced, representing an average daily production of 7,642.69mmscfd during the period.

Out of this volume, production from Joint Ventures (JVs) accounted for 67.29 percent, Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) accounted for 19.97 percent, while the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) contributed 12.74 percent.

“Breakdown showed that a total of 137.41 BCF of gas was commercialized. This consists of 39.99BCF and 97.42BCF for the domestic and export market respectively. This translates to a total supply of 1,332.82 mmscfd of gas to the domestic market and 3,247.44 mmscfd of gas supplied to the export market for the month.”

Business

SERAP wants World Bank to publish records on electricity projects funded with $500m loan

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Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged the World Bank President Mr David Malpass “to exercise the Bank’s prerogative to release archival records and documents relating to spending on all approved funds to improve access to electricity in Nigeria between 1999 and 2020, the Bank’s role in the implementation of any funded electricity projects, and to identify and name any executed projects, and Nigerian officials, ministries, departments and agencies involved in the execution of such projects.”

The World Bank Board of Directors had last week approved $500m “to help boost access to electricity in Nigeria and improve the performance of the electricity distribution companies in the country.”

But in the application dated 6 February 2021, and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organization urged the Bank to “explain the rationale for the approval of $500m to implement electricity projects in the country, despite reports of widespread and systemic corruption in the sector, and the failure of the authorities to enforce a court judgment ordering the release of details of payments to allegedly corrupt electricity contractors who failed to execute any projects.”

SERAP said: “This application is brought pursuant to the World Bank’s Access to Information Policy, which aims to maximize access to information and promote the public good. There is public interest in Nigerians knowing about the Bank’s supervisory role and specifically its involvement in the implementation of electricity projects, which it has so far funded.”

According to SERAP, “The $500m is part of the over one billion dollars available to Nigeria under the project titled: Nigeria Distribution Sector Recovery Program. We would be grateful for details of any transparency and accountability mechanisms under the agreement for the release of funds, including whether there is any provision that would allow Nigerians and civil society to monitor the spending of the money by the government, its agencies, and electricity distribution companies.”

SERAP also said: “Should the Bank fail and/or refuse to release the information and documents as requested, SERAP would file an appeal to the Secretariat of the Bank’s Access to Information Committee to challenge any such decision, and if it becomes necessary, to the Access to Information Appeals Board. SERAP may also consider other legal options outside the Bank’s Access to Information framework.”

The letter copied to Shubham Chaudhuri, World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, read in part: “SERAP believes that releasing the information and documents would enable Nigerians and civil society to meaningfully engage in the implementation of electricity projects funded by the Bank, contribute to the greater public good, and enhance the Bank’s oft-stated commitment to transparency and accountability.

The World Bank has been and continues to be involved in overseeing the transfer, disbursement, spending of funds on electricity projects in Nigeria. The Bank also reportedly approved a $750 million loan for Nigeria’s electricity sector in June 2020 to cut tariff shortfalls, protect the poor from price adjustments, and increase power supply to the grid. As such, the World Bank is not a neutral party in this matter.

“SERAP is seriously concerned that the funds approved by the Bank are vulnerable to corruption and mismanagement. The World Bank has a responsibility to ensure that the Nigerian authorities and their agencies are transparent and accountable to Nigerians in how they spend the approved funds for electricity projects in the country, and to reduce vulnerability to corruption and mismanagement.

SERAP also believes that the release of the requested information and documents is of paramount important to the public interest in preserving the legitimacy, credibility and relevance of the Bank as a leading international development institution. The Bank ought to lead by example in issues such as transparency and public disclosure raised in this request.

“It would also demonstrate that the Bank is willing to put people first in the implementation of its development and governance policies and mandates, as well as remove any suspicion of the Bank’s complicity in the alleged mismanagement of electricity projects-related funds.

The information is also being sought to improve the ongoing fight against corruption in the country and the provision of regular and uninterrupted electricity supply to Nigerians as a fundamental human right.

“The information requested is not affected by the “deliberative” “corporate administrative matters” or “security and safety” exceptions under the Policy. The information requested is crucially required for Nigerians to know how the funds released to the authorities to improve electricity supply in the country have been spent, and monitor how the funds are being used.

SERAP’s report, titled: From darkness to darkness: How Nigerians are paying the price for corruption in the electricity sector documents widespread and systemic corruption in the electricity sector, and reveals how about N11 trillion electricity fund was squandered by successive administrations in Nigeria since the return of democracy in 1999.

“This report raises specific questions of public interest, and the World Bank ought to be concerned about how Nigerian authorities are addressing reports of widespread and systemic corruption in the electricity sector, and to seek some answers from the authorities on the problems.

However, as the report shows, the Bank’s funding of the electricity sector has not resulted in corresponding access of Nigerians to regular and uninterrupted electricity supply. Successive governments have failed to provide access to regular and reliable electricity supply to millions of the citizens despite budgeting trillions of naira for the power sector.

“Millions of Nigerians still lack access to free pre-paid meters. Authorities continue to use patently illegal and inordinate estimated billing across the country, increasing consumer costs, and marginalizing Nigerians living in extreme poverty, disproportionately affecting women, children and the elderly.”

SERAP therefore urged Mr Malpass to:

  1. Disclose and release information and documents relating to spending of funds approved and released to Nigeria between 1999 and 2020 to improve access to regular and uninterrupted electricity supply, including copies of supervision reports, periodic reviews and other appropriate reports on the Bank’s role in the spending and disbursement of the funds, as well as specific projects on which the funds have been spent.
  2. Disclose implementation status and results and completion reports on the electricity projects that the Bank has so far funded in Nigeria.
  3. Disclose information on the of level of involvement of World Bank in the implementation of electricity projects between 1999 and 2020.
  4. Disclose information on agreements and the mechanisms the Bank is putting in place to ensure transparency and accountability in the spending of all funds on electricity projects in Nigeria.
  5. Disclose the terms and conditions of all electricity projects related funds that have been approved for Nigeria between 1999 and 2020
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